I’ve been utilizing the studio displays for a few months now. And initially, I wasn’t certain what to make of them. They’re stable studio displays with 4-inch woofers and 1-inch silk tweeters. They sound good and look good. However the pitch — the rationale these items value for a pair — is that they’re wi-fi. And never, “they’re studio displays that additionally occur to have Bluetooth” wi-fi, although they’ve that as effectively. They embrace AIAIAI’s low-latency 2.4Ghz wi-fi tech that made its debut on the a few years again. Plus they’ve sizable batteries, permitting them to run for as much as 20 hours with none cables in any respect.
I used to be skeptical of the Studio Wi-fi+, however was finally gained over by the stunning comfort of not being tethered to my audio interface by a 3-meter lengthy coiled cable. The have a considerably harder case to make, although. The cables that maintain my present PreSonus displays tethered to my desk don’t get in the way in which. I don’t must unplug them to placed on my guitar and I don’t journey over them whereas grabbing a synth from the shelf. As a substitute, the Unit-4 are supposed to clear up a really particular drawback: needing studio high quality displays if you’re not in your studio.
AIAIAI
Unit-4 Wi-fi+ studio displays sound nice and look nice, however their distinctive options and excessive value will solely attraction to a really particular area of interest.
- Fashionable minimalist appears
- Comparatively flat frequency response
- Extremely lengthy lasting battery
- Distinctive low-latency wi-fi
- Costly
- Area of interest attraction
- Slight noise over W+ at increased volumes
As you may think, this isn’t a factor I discover myself needing terribly usually. I’m certain that somebody on the market, possible skilled musicians who spend important time on the street, would instantly see the attraction. However for a hobbyist like me, discovering a use case is more durable.
Earlier than we get too deep into the “why,” let’s discuss a bit of bit in regards to the “what.” Till now AIAIAI has centered solely on headphones. A extra conservative firm might need merely made some bog-standard studio displays and referred to as it a day. However at this time you will get bog-standard studio displays, and fairly respectable ones at that, for not a lot cash. So relatively than simply add extra noise to an already saturated market, AIAIAI seemed to see what it might do that will be distinctive.
The considerably stunning reply it received from some artists was wi-fi, battery-powered displays. So it took the low-latency W+ Hyperlink know-how it had developed for Studio Wi-fi+ and tailored it to be used in a pair of 4-inch studio displays. The place Bluetooth latency may be all around the map, starting from round 40ms below supreme circumstances with the most recent {hardware}, to effectively over 100ms, W+ Hyperlink is a constant 16ms. It’s not zero latency, nevertheless it’s shut sufficient for a fast recording session or an off-the-cuff jam.
Due to their dimension you’re not gonna get a ton of bass out of them. You get a stunning quantity extra low finish simply by leaping as much as 5-inch woofers. However, it’s not just like the Unit-4 lack oomph. They’ve received a good quantity of punch and a fairly flat frequency response. That stated, as with the Studio Wi-fi+, I discover their tone a contact on the darkish facet.
There may be an app for iOS and Android, although, the place you’ll be able to tune the EQ to your liking. I personally scooped the mids and minimize the sub bass only a smidge to assist brighten up the sound ever so barely and maintain issues from getting muddy in my small attic studio. However there are additionally helpful presets in there relying on the place you might be and what orientation the audio system are in, whether or not that’s horizontal in your desktop or on a picnic blanket in a park.
Whereas it’s purely subjective and of little sensible worth, the Unit-4 look nice in any orientation or setting. They’re a lot better wanting than most studio displays. They’re smooth, black and have a trendy metallic speaker grill that attaches firmly with the assistance of some magnets. A hoop of white gentle glows across the woofer after they’re powered on too. Like I stated, it makes no purposeful distinction, however they’re actually a visible improve from my PreSonus Eris E5s.
There are just a few design selections that I can quibble with, nevertheless, even when I perceive the reasoning (often to shave dimension and weight). First off, the Unit-4 lack XLR hookups. This isn’t exceptional on transportable studio displays, they usually do have balanced TRS connections, however combo XLR / TRS jacks are fairly ubiquitous at this level and wouldn’t have required way more room.
The ability bricks for every speaker are additionally huge. Clearly, placing these parts contained in the speaker, together with their sizable 77Wh batteries, would have dramatically elevated their dimension and weight. However it appears odd that, what I imagine are, the most important energy bricks in my residence presently belong to the Unit-4, whereas not one of the different studio displays or audio system I personal have exterior energy provides in any respect, simply normal AC cables. They weigh greater than a pound every, which signifies that, regardless of AIAIAI bragging that the Unit-4 solely tip the scales at 2.5kg (or about 5.5 kilos), should you had been to hit the street with two displays and the chargers for every you’d be taking a look at a complete weight of near 14 kilos.
That’s hardly unreasonable in case your definition of transportable is just that you may transfer them from place to position — no person is taking the Unit-4 with them on a whim on the off probability that they could want a studio monitor. Nonetheless, I’ll say that I believe AIAIAI ought to embrace the carrying case in the event that they’re pitching the portability issue, relatively than it being a $70 add-on.
My greatest problem, although, was the choice to take away the battery from the transmitter. The X01 Transmitter that comes with the Studio Wi-fi+ has a built-in battery. The X02 Transmitter that’s packaged with the Unit-4 doesn’t. The perk of that is that, when used as a USB-C audio dongle with a laptop computer, it’s good and discrete. The draw back is that should you use the minijack output you might want to present your personal energy, ideally by way of a powerbank, relatively than an AC adapter to reduce alternative for interference or floor loops.
A part of AIAIAI’s rationale for ditching the battery was that, effectively, batteries generally tend to wear down. And this manner, you don’t must chuck the entire transmitter simply because it gained’t maintain a cost anymore. However, the corporate has found out easy methods to make virtually each a part of the studio displays (together with the battery), so it looks like doing that for the transmitter shouldn’t have been too robust.
The dearth of a battery is a non-issue should you’re primarily utilizing the Unit-4 related to a pc. However should you’re utilizing a standalone piece of substances like an , connecting to a mixer for a jam session or out busking it in a park, the additional cable and exterior energy financial institution change into one thing else to neglect at residence and form of undermine the entire “wi-fi” factor.
I do know that looks like numerous negatives all in a row, however these are actually fairly minor complaints. And I believe that, in case you are one of many individuals who will get numerous use out of the Unit-4, they most likely gained’t deter you. The viewers right here is undoubtedly smaller than with the Studio Wi-fi+, although. The place virtually any bed room producer might use a stable set of headphones that may be wired or wi-fi at a second’s discover, bouncing from low-latency studio mode to Bluetooth on the flip of a change. The checklist of musicians that want the identical from their desktop studio displays might be fairly brief.
I can think about these being tremendous useful on a tour bus however, I’m not a touring musician. As a substitute the place I discovered the wi-fi characteristic most helpful was for dabbling with new musical toys from anyplace in my home. Slightly than cover in my attic, I might carry one of many Unit-4s down into the lounge (however not each), join the transmitter and a powerbank to say, the and get some work executed whereas additionally hanging out with my children.
Only for the hell of it, I took the Unit-4 to a park to shoot some assessment images. I can’t say that’s one thing I’d need to do terribly usually. Lugging them by the park as I seemed for a good sufficient place to stage my shoot received tiresome fairly rapidly. However, I did put their loudness to the take a look at by cranking the audio system all the way in which with my SP-404 MKII set to high quantity. Fairly lots of people stopped and stared at me with open hostility. They nonetheless sounded nice, with no distortion and the audio remained clear and punchy even from just a few dozen ft away. However, like with the Wi-fi Studio+, the W+ Hyperlink does introduce some noise that turns into noticeable as you strategy the 75-percent mark on the amount.
They had been useful as simply common ol’ Bluetooth audio system. Whereas it’s been a contact too chilly to throw events in my yard, I’ve set one of many Unit-4s up outdoors whereas I’ve raked the leaves. If I actually needed to make my neighbors hate me, I might flip the audio system all the way in which up they usually’d even be audible over my trimmer and leaf blower.
And because of their big batteries they’d simply be capable to final by just a few hours of yard work, a raucous BBQ, some late evening cleanup after which some. AIAIAI claims over 20 hours of battery life, however doesn’t specify if that’s over Bluetooth or W+ Hyperlink. I did a battery rundown take a look at the place I left the Unit-4 related over W+, sometimes taking part in music by them from Ableton Dwell and djay Professional with the amount set at 75 %. The primary speaker gave up the ghost after 17 hours and 46 minutes, and the second adopted 11 minutes later. Contemplating the Studio Wi-fi+ final greater than 4 instances as lengthy when on Bluetooth versus W+ Hyperlink, it’s secure to imagine you’d be capable to eke fairly a bit extra playtime out of the Unit-4 should you had been utilizing them strictly as Bluetooth audio system. In fact, should you did that you just’d be lacking out on the entire level of the Unit-4.
Regardless that they’re expensive, maybe the perfect buyer could be a busker. The Unit-4 can cowl reside performances with low sufficient latency to not be distracting, are dependable displays for mixing in a studio, and likewise loud sufficient replenish an condo or yard with tunes for a celebration. The one factor I wouldn’t need to depend on them for is DJing. Whilst you might work across the latency by feeding each the cue and the reside combine to a pair of headphones, it’s only a smidge an excessive amount of should you actually need to be certain that your transitions are 100-percent on level.
One different factor value noting is that the quantity of latency you expertise with the Unit-4 will fluctuate relying in your supply (USB-C vs ⅛” TRS) and even whether or not you’re on Home windows or macOS. Should you intend to make use of the Unit-4 with a Home windows PC over USB-C you completely want to put in the ASIO4ALL driver. Constructed-in Home windows audio drivers have improved through the years, however they nonetheless can’t maintain a candle to Apple’s Core Audio or Steinberg’s ASIO. To be clear, this isn’t a difficulty with the Unit-4, however with Home windows. For one of the best outcomes and the bottom latency, your finest guess remains to be to make use of a devoted Audio interface and to attach the X02 Transmitter to that utilizing a TRS cable. In fact, that additionally means you’ll must carry some method to energy the transmitter, whether or not that’s an influence financial institution or a USB-C energy adapter.
If you’re somebody searching for a pair of transportable studio displays that allow you to (kind of) ditch the cables completely, the are principally the one recreation on the town. They’re fashionable, pure sounding and have a unique set of options. However they’re positively extra of a distinct segment product than the Studio Wi-fi+. Whereas their price ticket isn’t low cost, the flexibleness and broader attraction make them a better promote. The Unit-4 alternatively are each fairly costly at $800, and attempting to resolve a very particular drawback. No less than I can say unequivocally, they clear up that drawback fairly effectively.
