Wren V3USP - Review 2022 - Behrens Insittlyse

The "P" in the Wren V3USP's proper name stands for portable, just no 1 should confuse this wireless speaker with an outdoor-friendly, throw-information technology-in-the-backpack device. The $449 V3USP is fairly big and heavy for a portable speaker of whatever type—aye, it has a rechargeable battery and so information technology needn't be plugged into the wall to work, but this is more of a room-to-room portable option than anything else. And for $50 less, yous can forego the internal battery with the otherwise identical Wren V3US. Visually, the speaker has a pleasing design, and sonically, the V3USP offers solid playback at moderate volumes. Only upon closer inspection, some of the concrete pattern tin can look slapped together, and the WiFi setup process is anything but svelte. The V3USP offers a positive experience as a Bluetooth speaker, but distortion is yet an issue at top volumes on deep bass tracks.

Design

Measuring 12 by iv.5 past four.5 inches and weighing 6.7 pounds, the V3USP has a rounded rectangular outside half-covered in wood veneer, half-covered in speaker grille. The grille is removable, and the arrangement looks quite nice with it off. Nether the grille, there are dual 3-inch drivers and a central passive bass radiator. The horizontal orientation of the speaker allows for a semblance of stereo separation, but we'd like to have seen the drivers angled upward a bit. As is, the drivers fire at your torso when it's on a desktop and you're seated, and to get them lined upward with your ears requires a high shelf or a low seat in a living room. It tin can be placed vertically, just of course, that takes away the stereo separation.

The V3USP sits on a rubberized console, and at either end of the speaker, with the right-paw side housing the controls. Hither you'll discover the Power, Audio Source, and Plus/Minus Volume buttons.

Something about the Wren'south structure, however, feels a tad off. The wood veneer edges and the rubber ends seemed glued-on in a way that they can curl up ever so slightly at the edges. Are we being picky? Yes, you lot need to exist looking closely to notice this—from a distance the speaker looks nice. But it'due south the kind of telltale sign out-of-the-box that makes you wonder how this $450 product will historic period—something we unfortunately can't test in this review.

Wren V3USP inline

On the back panel, forth with the connection for the included AC adapter/charger, at that place'due south a Setup button, a USB Service port (which too serves every bit an Ethernet input via a not-included RJ45-to-USB cable, a three.5 Aux input, and a Reset button. Here, you will also notice an EQ switch with three positions that accommodate the bass response—"gratis from boundaries," "well-nigh a wall," and "in a corner." This is a thoughtful inclusion that allows for bass response to be adjusted to the room setting, but with most manufacturers switching to app-based support for firmware updates and system adjustments, many of these buttons on the dorsum console feel dated.

Information technology'south a head-scratcher that a speaker utilizing both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi lacks its own defended app, instead using Play-Fi for Wi-Fi setup and control. More telling is the manual, which manages to take what nearly speakers are able to do in a few app taps and turns information technology into a rather fatigued-out process, with 3 or iv pages of instructions merely to connect. I don't heed light reading, but this unabridged process feels similar something apps eliminated a few years ago.

Beyond that, the Play-Fi app setup process is a tad slow, and in one case you are connected via WiFi, the app and the speaker don't ever play nice. The speaker connectedness was dropped within the app immediately afterward setup. Getting it dorsum was like shooting fish in a barrel enough, but it was easier using the AirPlay pull-upwards menu on our iPhone 6s rather than within Play-Fi. Beyond that, at that place are other issues, like a noticeable loftier-pitched interference signal that didn't sound pleasant—and I can just imagine what dogs and cats would think. There's oftentimes a several-2d delay between pressing play on the phone and hearing the music through the speaker. Simply put, the setup and operation using Wi-Fi feels like the kind of clunky that was much more present amidst Wi-Fi and AirPlay speakers several years ago.

Bluetooth pairing is another story—information technology involves maybe two steps and takes a few seconds. And any sound fidelity gained by streaming over WiFi is lost when the high pitch interference is part of the mix—Bluetooth playback suffered none of these issues, and thus it'southward what nosotros'd stick with if we were using this speaker on a regular basis.

Wren estimates the V3USP'due south battery life to be roughly 9 hours, but your results volition vary depending on your mix of wired and wireless playback, likewise equally your volume levels. There's no drib in audio levels or performance in portable mode.

Operation

On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the Wren V3USP delivers solid bass depth at moderate volumes. At maximum volumes, though, we have bug. It distorts, which usually isn't shocking on this challenging runway, only it is uncommon for a speaker that costs this much. Enough of speakers that price half as much don't take this effect, but the V3USP's drivers vibrate and buzz with each bass hit, fifty-fifty at roughly 75 percent volume.

Pecker Callahan'due south "Drover," a track without much deep bass in the mix, plays more than to the V3USP's strengths. The drums receive a pleasant low frequency roundness without sounding overly thunderous. When your ears are lined up with the drivers, or if you lot place the speaker vertically, yous'll hear more high-mid presence, which gives the entire mix some pleasant treble border and definition—both Callahan's baritone vocals and the guitar strumming do good greatly from it.

On Jay-Z and Kanye Westward's "No Church in the Wild," we hear the DSP (digital signal processing) most obviously. At maximum book, there's a smidge of distortion. The sub-bass synth hits are also tamped downwardly quite a fleck, and the drum loop thins out considerably. At closer to 60 percent volume, the loop sounds fuller and bass-heavier, as practice the sub-bass synth hits. The vocals receive enough treble edge to keep things clear, but this rails, particularly at moderate volumes, sounds more than bass-leaning than on other speakers.

Orchestral tracks, similar the opening scene in John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, probably sound amend than any other genre through the Wren V3USP. The bass response of the lower register instrumentation is more subtle here, and the higher register brass, strings, and vocals are delivered with enough high-mid presence to remain the bright, prominent force in the mix.

Conclusion

It'due south non that the Wren V3USP doesn't work. As a Bluetooth speaker it'south perfectly capable, and as a Wi-Fi speaker it functions (only non gracefully and often with very annoying hiccups). Wren would do well to take a good look at its similarly priced competition. Designing a proprietary app is now more or less role of the equation, and making the wireless connectedness a brusque, pain-gratis process is often the app'southward primary job. The Play-Fi app isn't atrocious, perhaps it'due south a pure joy with other speakers, but it doesn't provide the kind of seamless user feel that apps from Bose, Bang & Olufsen, Sonos, and several other manufacturers take slowly refined and made useful and simple to operate. And so, there is the distortion and the issue of the high frequency interference when using Wi-Fi. These aren't issues you desire to see in a $450 speaker, especially when you take multiple superior options in the home-based wireless speaker realm, similar the Sonos One, Klipsch The Three, B&O Play Beolit 17, and Libratone Zipp.