The Cambridge Audio Minx Air 100
wireless speaker offers both AirPlay and
Bluetooth playthrough options, and is geared
up to accept audio feeds from almost any
music or AV source. It certainly isn’t small,
but its girth is mitigated by the gentle curves
that conceal the wired analogue inputs and
mains connection at the back.
The sturdy construction contrasts with the
bright and detailed audio it offers. Despite
being a single-speaker unit, there was plenty
of volume to fill a 15 x 15ft room. You’ll
need to press the squidgy volume buttons
repeatedly to make much difference to the
output levels, though, so use your iPad or
iPhone volume controls instead.
Connectivity is one of this speaker’s main
strengths. Getting the Minx Air 100 to play
songs from your iTunes library couldn’t be
easier. Just tap the music icon at the top left
of the Minx Air app (free, bit.ly/11yjdx2) and
select speaker as the output device.
Whenever you switch between output
modes, the app searches for the Air 100
speaker, but
changing radio
stations or iTunes
tracks is seamless.
There are 10 radio
station presets
available through
a single tap on the
app screen, plus the
option to search for online radio stations by
location or genre. Up to five presets can be
added. We particularly liked the option to
specify a minimum bitrate for online radio
station search results. Superior audio codecs
such as AAC are supported, too.
VERDICT
Cambridge Audio has designed a fantastic
wireless speaker that produces great sound
and the option of playing your music through
any device you choose. We’re not completely
sold on the Minx Air 100’s looks, but the
solid build and sonic output are impressive.
Rosemary Hattersley
