Cambridge Audio Minx Air 100 wireless speaker for iPad

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