Sony LSPX

This was published 3 years ago

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Here's one to file under "they made it because they could"; a wireless speaker that uses an organic glass tube rather than a traditional tweeter, and doubles as a digital candle.

With hundreds of high-end Bluetooth and Wi-Fi speakers on the market, a point of difference is vital. Some manufacturers do it with proprietary networking that locks customers in to multi-room ecosystems, while others do it with support for particular formats, specifications honed for very specific use cases or — especially recently — angular avant garde cabinets. But with the $799 LSPX-S2, Sony has devised a unique and striking design that plays music differently to just about everything else on the market.

Sony's Glass speaker sounds good and creates a soft, warm glow.

And while you might think that going for an unusual and experimental form factor over pure audio fidelity is a move for people with more money than good sense, Sony's device offers what few home speakers do; a charming piece of anti-gadgetry that stands on its own as an aesthetic object while hiding some cutting edge technology.

With its tall translucent cylinder and heavy, vented aluminum base, the LSPX-S2 has an industrial look that brings to mind vacuum tubes and gas fixtures. It certainly doesn't look like a speaker at first glance, and since the sound it creates is omnidirectional you might not even peg it as such while the music is playing.

That's not to say it blends in. This is a conspicuous piece of gear that's meant to drive conversation and add to a home aesthetic, rather than serve a simple function. It's like a replica Edison filament light bulb or a Bluetooth keyboard made to resemble a typewriter, except the LSPX-S2 doesn't look like any specific bygone technology; it just has that vibe.

And speaking of vibes, Sony has made the unusual choice to have its speaker double as a source of illumination, with a tiny warm-tinted LED at the base producing a candle-like light. It looks dumb in broad daylight, but the glossy tube and reflective cap produce a comforting glow in the dark. You can even set it to flicker realistically. It's barely enough to read by on its own, but it works for setting a romantic mood or for snoozing by in the loungeroom. It also adds to the old world kitsch of the device; carrying it carefully from the lounge to my bedroom one night I felt as though I should be wearing feety pyjamas and a long night cap.

The LSPX-S2 has power, volume and Spotify Connect buttons on the base, with controls for brightness and networking underneath.

But unless you're happy to spend $800 on an interesting-looking glass candle, you'll want to know how it sounds. Truth be told it's a lot better than I expected given the unusual construction, and very nice for a wireless speaker of this size, but probably not as good as you'd generally expect of a speaker at this price.

The base houses a circular actuator that vibrates the glass tube producing clear, detailed highs and warm mids. Lows are handled by a passive radiator at the bottom. Volume is surprisingly good given the size, probably owing to the larger surface area of the tube versus standard tweeters, but you'll get best results with intimate listening rather than trying to fill a large room. An intimate setting is also good because soft acoustic and jazz music — particularly with high vocals — sound amazing on the LSPX-S2, but it struggles with anything much harder or poppier.

Connectivity-wise you get Bluetooth up to LDAC, which is great news if you're using an Android device. iPhone users are stuck with regular SBC Bluetooth, since the LSPX-S2 does not support AirPlay or Cast. There's Hi-Res support via the 3.5mm headphone jack or Wi-Fi, but the latter only supports Spotify. I do appreciate the physical button on the base that will resume your Spotify music from where you last listened.

The device lasts eight hours and charges fairly slowly by microUSB, but if you can find a permanent place to put it you could always just leave it plugged in and flick music to it whenever you like. Downloading Sony's app gives you an easy way to adjust the light, set a sleep timer or play with some equaliser settings without needing touch to the speaker itself.

In the end making (or owning) a glass tube speaker is still more flex than function, but the LSPX-S2 is also a great example of how to do sound differently. It doesn't have the range of some wireless units, but it provides an intimate and interesting musical atmosphere that makes it unique.