Sound quality: AirPulse's A100 had Very Good overall sound quality - although it has some noticeable sonic quirks, this model reproduces music and dialog very well. Bass has good impact and goes fairly deep, but is a touch boomy. Midrange is even but is a bit grainy and hazy. Treble is extended but a touch smeared. Does a decent job of recovering room ambience but is a bit congested and lacks a sense of openness and air overall. This two speaker model comes as a stereo pair, and its sound stage width and focus depends on how well it is placed. When it is well placed the sound field extends somewhat above and to the sides of the speakers but lacks a strong sense of depth. Can provide a high volume level in a medium sized room. No significant difference between Bluetooth, optical, USB, and aux sound quality.
Ease of use: We found the AirPulse A100 ease of use to be Very Good overall. Wired setup: A 5 Din Pin cable is provided for left/right interconnect of speakers, simply plug in, no prep needed. Unit is always in pairing mode when not already paired when the Bluetooth input is selected, however, it lacks a pairing mode indicator and lacks Indicator when pairing mode has occurred but it never times out. The volume control is a labeled multifunction and is an infinite-turn knob (volume/Input selector) which has a visual indicator when max and min volume is reached. Volume control is not obvious due to extremely poor placement on rear of speaker. Source selector control is a multi-function push button-knob that is clearly labeled. The control is not prominent (rear of unit), but the source selections are persistently shown on a front display.
