Raumfeld One S review

Raumfeld’s Stereo Cubes sounded fantastic when I reviewed them earlier this year, and while the boxy design was certainly eye-catching, it made it tricky to fit them into every room. The need to connect the two speakers with a physical cable was another stumbling block, but thankfully these are issues Raumfeld has remedied with the One S.

Available individually for £200, or as a pair for £250, each One S has true wireless connectivity for cable-free stereo pairing. The black and white colour options let you match the speaker to your décor, just like the Stereo Cubes, but both use the same black cloth grilles to protect the drivers underneath.

The shallow, rectangular shape means each One S is considerably more compact than the Stereo Cubes, and the use of silicone-coated buttons means the speaker is resistant to humidity, making it a great choice for use in the kitchen. You’ll also need to fit a rubber cover to protect the Ethernet and USB ports on the rear. The latter doubles as a convenient smartphone charging point, or a way to play music stored on a flash drive. Unfortunately, the One S lacks any auxiliary inputs, whereas the Stereo Cubes had RCA jacks. If you have a pair, you can connect your analogue source to it and broadcast the audio to any other Raumfeld speaker in your setup.

It might look quite minimal, but the One S puts its limited number of physical buttons to good use. The four shortcut buttons on the top of the speaker can be configured through the Raumfeld iOS and Android apps to instantly play your favourite albums, playlists or internet radio stations. The pair of white status LEDs on the front glow at an eye-searing level, so I was pleased to see they can be disabled through the app.

You don’t need to connect the One S to your network with a cable – each speaker has integrated 802.11n Wi-Fi. Not only is the faster 802.11ac standard not supported, however, but you’re also limited to the 2.4GHz band. The only saving grace is that you don’t need a separate wireless hub, as you did with older Sonos systems. Raumfeld’s optional Expand box creates a dedicated wireless network, but I never found reason to use it; high resolution tracks played perfectly from a NAS when connected over 2.4GHz 802.11n Wi-Fi.

A straightforward in-app tutorial walks you through the setup process, which only took a few minutes to share wireless security settings with each speaker. The app itself has a nice and clean design that in part matches the design of the speakers. Navigating between services is also straightforward; Tidal, Napster and TuneIn internet radio are all supported, but you can’t use Spotify Connect on multiple speakers simultaneously – unless you run two One S units in stereo mode. Service support is one area that Raumfeld lags behind rivals such as Sonos, which supports many more services including Google Play Music and Deezer.

You can also play music from any network-connected smartphones, tablets or computers, as well as tracks stored on NAS devices. A multitude of formats are supported, including WAV, FLAC, OGG and MP3, with bitrates up to 192kHz/24-bit, so anyone with high-resolution music libraries will be able to listen to their tracks.

Sound quality was impressive for a small speaker, which is unsurprising considering much of what made me a big fan of the Stereo Cubes has been shrunken down to fit in a smaller package. Just like its bigger brother, each One S uses a two-way coaxial system based around a 90mm mid-range driver, 25mm tweeter and two woofers.

My test tracks sounded impressively detailed, with delicate mids and treble in Menahan Street Band’s ‘Three Faces’. Bass had a respectable presence, but I still expected a little more from the lower frequencies. Jazz tracks made for a particularly delightful listening experience, but there’s also enough impact to make electronic or dance sound lively and energetic.

According to Raumfeld, the Stereo Cubes were wired in order to minimise latency between the two speakers, but there wasn’t any perceptible delay between two One S speakers paired wirelessly in a stereo configuration. This makes them a versatile way to open up the sound stage compared to listening to a single speaker.

The One S is a great compact speaker that has an air of class and refinement to it, something which is reflected in its sound quality. Used solo it sounds excellent, but the wireless stereo pairing really expands the sound stage and is far more convenient than the tethered Stereo Cubes. The fact it also works out slightly less expensive to buy two One S speakers is a bonus.

While I prefer the design and sound quality of the One S over the nearest equivalent Sonos, the Sonos Play:1 still has a slight edge for the quality of its app and streaming service support. If you have an existing Raumfeld setup, however, the One S is an excellent addition for a kitchen or smaller room.