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Naim takes on Bowers and Wilkins with updated Mu-so speaker, Apple AirPlay 2 and HDMI

Naim's flagship Mu-so speaker has been overhauled with better connectivity, enhanced bass and all-new drivers.

Ty Pendlebury Editor
Ty Pendlebury is a journalism graduate of RMIT Melbourne, and has worked at CNET since 2006. He lives in New York City where he writes about streaming and home audio.
Expertise Ty has worked for radio, print, and online publications, and has been writing about home entertainment since 2004. He majored in Cinema Studies when studying at RMIT. He is an avid record collector and streaming music enthusiast. Credentials
  • Ty was nominated for Best New Journalist at the Australian IT Journalism awards, but he has only ever won one thing. As a youth, he was awarded a free session for the photography studio at a local supermarket.
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Ty Pendlebury
2 min read
muso2-black-2
Peter Crane

While the Sonos One is great for people who want a kitchen speaker, there are plenty of higher-end options for people looking to replace a stereo or AV system. Naim's Mu-so was a beautifully designed and loud(!) all-in-one speaker, and it's been completely redesigned to be even better.

Though it may look like the old model, Naim says 95 per cent of the second-gen Mu-so has been re-engineered. For example, the cabinet volume has been increased by 13 per cent for deeper bass. The Mu-so features "450 watts of music power," an upgraded processor and all-new drivers designed by speaker manufacturer Focal.

The long, low-profile cabinet comes in burnished grey aluminum casing with a new speaker grille available in Black, Terracotta, Olive or Peacock. The iconic control ring now offers more controls including 15 touch-sensitive buttons.

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The top of the Naim Mu-so

 Peter Crane

The company has expanded the multiroom options available since the release of the first Mu-so. These now include Spotify Connect, AirPlay 2, Chromecast , UPnP and Roon. You can also use Naim's music app to control the speaker.

When CNET looked at the original Mu-so it was as a sound bar replacement. Naim has taken this idea and run with it by adding an HDMI ARC port.

Other connection options include:

  • Upgraded Wi-Fi
  • Ethernet
  • USB
  • Bluetooth
  • Optical Digital
  • 3.5mm analog

The reinvigorated Mu-so follows last month's launch of Bowers and Wilkins' own high-end Formation wireless system and the recent Devialet Phantom Reactor . Though these products can't compete for the smarts of voice-operated systems such as the Klipsch The Three or Google Nest Hub Max, though neither are they designed to. However, users who own a $30 Google Home Mini can voice control the Mu-so if they wish thanks to the Chromecast integration.

As a high-end product the Naim Mu-so is priced accordingly at £1,299 and $1,599 and it will be available from May 9 2019. It joins the company's other multiroom products including the Naim Uniti Atom and the Mu-so Qb.