Hands-on with the Libratone Lounge: a wireless speaker covered in fine Italian wool

Libratone does feature an app for the iPhone (iPad compatible) allowing you to change the “voicing” of the sound, effectively playing with a form of EQ that defines bass and treble different depending on what you’re listening to.

We had the best luck with the “live concert” mode, bringing the bass to life provided we pumped up the sound. Certainly from our testing, this setting provided the most balanced sound, especially in comparison with leaving the speaker on its “neutral” default setting.

The Libratone app allows you to change internal EQ settings with presets, designed to customise the sound for specific music.

With a recommended retail price of $1599, we’re not game enough to say that the Libratone Lounge is worth the asking price, even with its wireless control. It’s certainly a cool concept, but if you ignore the wireless control, you could easily get better sound out of competing sound bars with half the weight.

In fact, we’d hazard a guess that by connecting a decent amplifier package to an Apple TV – a device which supports AirPlay – you’d be able to do the exact same thing, and probably for a lot less money.

Pet owners may find themselves with a few problems too, as the product really does look and feel like a cat-scratch post, thanks to the fuzzy wool covering.

It's a very fuzzy speaker. We've had cats before, and we know that this would be too good an opportunity for them to pass up.

To its credit, Libratone does include a wall mounting plate in the box, making it easier to mount the 12 kilogram speaker and take it off the floor, but it’s worth pointing out that any curious kitten will still probably take a stab and play with this fuzzy-feeling speaker.

Still, with rumours pointing to a change in Apple’s docking connector, the wireless AirPlay functionality does make the Libratone Lounge a more desirable way of sending music directly from your iDevice, especially since you can keep using the phone or tablet while music is playing.

At $1599, however, there are less expensive ways of making this happen, especially if you’re already an Apple aficionado.