Moshi’s Spatia is a wireless sound system designed to work with Apple’s AirPlay technology. It sounds great — and looks almost as good as it sounds.
At US$399.95, the Spatia is pricey. However, if you want a svelte, attractive sound system to which you can wirelessly stream what’s on your iOS devices and Macs, the Moshi product may be calling your name.
The Spatia has a streamlined, modern look. Measuring 19.57 x 7.2 x 7.64 inches, it doesn’t take up much space on a desktop or cabinet. And you’ll be impressed how much sound is coming out of this (relatively) small sound system.
I’ve yet to run across a speaker system lacking a separate, dedicated subwoofer that sounds as good as one with a separate, dedicated subwoofer, but the Spatia is as close as I’ve seen … or, rather heard. The mid-tones and highs are pristine, the lows are rich, and bass is surprisingly beefy. The balanced sound can be attributed to: the single-enclosure, three-way system that packs five individual speakers: two 1-inch silk dome tweeters, two 2.75-inch mid-range drivers, and a 4-inch downward firing subwoofer.
The audio system employs two Class-D amplifiers to drive the high/mid, and low frequencies separately. The Spatia’s circuitry is comprised of two discrete DSP chips and digitally-tuned crossovers.
The sound system is easy to set up and allows you to play music from multiple devices (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, etc.). The Spatia also has a 3.5 mm auxiliary input for wired playback
Moshi also offers a Spatia App — available free at the Apple App Store — that serves as a wireless remote control for your Spatia speaker. It sports a customizable equalizer that lets you save unique sound profiles for all types of music. It also comes with a suite of ambient sounds for sleeping or relaxation: Thunderstorm, Ocean Surf, Campfire, Light Rain, Brook, White Noise, and Heartbeat. A built-in sleep timer saves electricity.
The Spatia App also lets you control your speaker’s internal functions: ON/OFF control of the front LED indicator light, change the speaker name as it appears in the AirPlay menu, and automatically update Spatia’s firmware for future upgrades. It also lets you control the Spatia’s volume. This is especially useful as you can’t control the sound systems volume via your Mac keyboard.
There’s a brief lag the first time you choose the Spatia as your AirPlay speaker. After that, I never noticed any lag at all when playing music or movies. Just full, rich sound.
