Phorus PS1 Speaker with Multi-Room Wireless Audio Streaming

[disclosure] I work for DTS who owns the Play-Fi and Phorus brands. Regardless, I really love this Phorus PS-1 speaker and its' Play-Fi capabilities. I've walked away from competitive bluetooth speakers countless times and lost the signal at home because of distance between device and speaker. No worries about that when your audio is over Wi-Fi and you have the functionality of Play-Fi to connect this Phorus speaker to your music. The quality is superior and your location is not a factor. This speaker is excellent for a smaller single room application like a bedroom or office. I do not recommend it for large open spaces. I'd go with another Play-Fi speaker like the Wren V5PF or the upcoming larger (louder) options from Polk Audio and Definitive. The shape/design of the speaker is unusual but it works really well as a charging station and resting place for phones/tablets. My primary device I use for playback is a Google Nexus 7 tablet that I leave plugged in while storing the tablet horizontally in the rubber "nook" on the speaker. Play-Fi high quality audio over Wi-Fi is life changing vs options like Bluetooth and AirPlay which both are inferior. I highly recommend Play-Fi and I also recommend this speaker for smaller rooms and as a first step to building out your multi-room setup at home.

I have had my system for several years now. They have always worked fine, until their last software update. That software update knocked out my favorite station. This occurred several months ago. I opened a support ticket through their website and have yet to hear back from them. Might be time for a new system.

So, I picked a couple of these up for my roommate. I have a couple Polk Play-Fi speakers, Play-Fi adapters for my home theater receiver and my office soundbar. Play-Fi is alright, but thats something for a different time. This little guy cost me $50 each. it is a stereo little thing and it sounds just OK. like sound quality is like 5 out of 10. BUT, this is perfect for a non discerning ear. My roommate wanted tunes for their bathroom and bedroom. this thing is perfect for that. It is: Airplay, Play-Fi, Bluetooth, aux audio input, and it has a mobile device stand all in one. My gripe with some play-fi speakers is that not everyone likes play-fi, and there is limited ways to connect some play-fi speakers. With these, anyone who comes to my play and connects to my wifi, can just use one speaker at a time with Airplay. my roommate takes like an hour in their bathroom in the morning, and now they set their phone on the stand and airplay music in the morning. this bathroom is also the common/guest bathroom, When they arent around, I setup the whole house to play music. great for parties and stuff. Overall, its a nice little speaker that is usefull for small rooms that has a ton of connectivity options that make it worth it.

This review may be a little unfair because I should be just reviewing the hardware, but integral to the experience is the software and that is why I am subtracting a 🌟 star. The sound is decent, and while I know I can get better sound from other speakers, even other Play-fi speakers, I believe that the price/performance ratio is great. The sound is loud without crackling, and the passive bass is decent without being over powering. So why the four star rating? Well, one must use either the Phorus app or the Play-fi app, and while these apps are decent they are not quick nor are they full audio control (unless you buy the PC app for an additional $15, which seems a little ticky-tack as well (you have to purchase an app to use the speaker in Hi-Fi mode?)). But here's what I mean... let's say you want to play a YouTube video through your Phorus speakers, you've got to do that on either a PC (there is a free version, but one speaker at a time), or BlueTooth/AirPlay (limited to one speaker), because the Android or iPhone *apps* don't have a YouTube output. Here's what it does have: Internet Radio (although for some reason, even though I see my local stations in the Internet Radio dialogue, I can't hear it through my speakers... other local stations I do get), Media server, Deezer, KKbox, Pandora (Phorus app only, not Play-fi), QQMusic, SiriusXM, and Songza. Finally when it loses a connection, the app hangs, and I'm stuck, with nothing to "click" to and no music to play. Now, with all that said, the app does get updates every so often, and maybe then boot time speed won't be such an issue and maybe Phorus Speakers will be integrated into the Android IS (I can wish, can't I)?