Real Hi-End rarely makes it onto our pages. He is too big, uninteresting, obsessed with little things. Otherwise it is very rare.
But it’s precisely this magnificent specimen that we’ll be talking about today: the Naim Mu-so 2nd soundbar combines all the best from the world of home acoustics, combining it with solutions for avid audiophiles.
Beautiful, accurate, unprecedentedly powerful ( 450 W! ), understandable even to grandmothers and equipped with all modern technologies. Neither we nor you have ever seen anything like this. And they didn’t hear.
Naim. Honored Knight of the World of Acoustics
The previous generation of Naim Mu-so received top marks.
Naim Mu-so 2nd just got better In audio technology, a brand means a lot. Especially when it comes to the highest legion. Or when you talk about the British Naim, created back in 1973 in Salisbury. The times of famous musicians, pirate stations, dance and rock and roll gave the world Naim.
From the first days, the company set itself the task of implementing live sound in an ordinary living space. Install it and listen - no modifications. Competitors have not yet solved it, but Naim has succeeded.
This is the key to success: power circuits with a huge power reserve, careful shielding and wiring of elements (this cannot be found in the mass market) and precise selection of components (the military industry would envy this).
One of Naim's patents: the Mu-so control knob
And hundreds of our own patents, unique ideas. Who would have thought that the idea of repeatedly bending wires to minimize interference gave the Naim engineering team a Royal Prize, not the first. It’s not for nothing that the brand is the most awarded in Britain.
But times are changing. To remain relevant in the streaming era, Naim has had to take its approach to today's more popular 'genres'.
This is how Naim Mu-so appeared, which has already received its second revision (we’ll talk about it): a huge top-class Hi-Fi system with the appearance of a simple home soundbar.
Impressions from the sound. Surprise and approval
The Mu-so Qb is loud enough. The audio system can easily fill any room in an ordinary city apartment with sound, and if you add more sound, it can also fill an office open-space. At any, even maximum volume level, the sound quality remains clear, without extraneous noise or rattling.
The overall sound of the system is smooth, fast and energetic. This is especially audible on albums like We Don't Need to Whisper by Angels & Airwaves or To the Stars... Demos, Odds and Ends, which gain the necessary attack and drive.
Enthusiasm is the exact word that characterizes the sound of the Mu-so Qb acoustic system. The depth of the musical panorama is transmitted as if through a wideband speaker, and not through five active and two passive radiators.
You can feel the painstaking engineering work in this: thanks to the design and placement, all elements are coordinated with each other, and even on complex compositions the Mu-so Qb sounds harmonious.
The mid frequencies suffer from a slight roughness, and at any volume. This is not critical, does not spoil the positive listening experience and can be attributed to my personal nit-picking.
The main feature of acoustics is bass reproduction. With bated breath, I turned on Paradise from Tiеsto, and I was right.
Club bass sounds collected and dynamic , just as it should be. This is thanks to the low-frequency driver that controls a pair of passive radiators. Thanks to this, the acoustics produce bass that is deep enough for such a small source.
Audio system as a work of art
Blued metal and nothing extra
Mu-so can be presented in a royal palace or presidential residence. But do they match the modest chic of Naim? Strict elegance, high-tech and no decorations. Fabulous!
The body of the soundbar is made of one piece of aluminum, so it is incredibly durable. There is no coating, just polished metal. It is not afraid of scratches and is easy to clean. This is high-tech that we don’t deserve.
Life hack: metal is used only for external decoration and strength. The internal space (acoustic chamber) is made of wood with pre-calculated properties that improve the sound.
Instead of the usual plastic/rubber/cone feet, Naim proposed a thick acrylic plate that dampens external and internal vibrations of the equipment.
The plate allows you to place the system on any surface and anywhere in the house
Not only the appearance is thought out: the almost 12-kilogram device has a pair of hidden carrying handles, one of which suddenly turns into... a bass reflex.
The front side with a bunch of speakers is covered with a removable mesh. There are 4 colors to choose from, and for good reason - it noticeably enlivens the appearance of the device.
Like the previous generation, the Naim Mu-so 2nd is equipped with a huge radiator on the rear panel, which arouses genuine curiosity: passive external cooling is not often seen these days.
The fact is that it is to it that all electronic filling is attached, including elements of power circuits. Therefore, you should not touch it during operation - the power is high, the radiator is hot.
Concentrated sound
If you remove the decorative grille, you will see two pairs of inch dome tweeters and 2.5-inch midrange speakers, each of which works in conjunction with a separate 50-watt amplifier.
The bass section is built on a low-frequency driver with 100-watt amplification, loaded on two passive radiators measuring 14.8 x 8.6 cm. The manufacturer claims that the total output power of the system is almost 300 watts and, judging by personal tests, this figure is definitely not taken out of thin air.
All this power is controlled by a special digital module hidden inside a composite case. Yes, the device body consists of several layers and anodized aluminum is only the outer covering. The main material is plastic with a 20 percent addition of fiberglass for extra strength.
Naim Audio is responsible for the sound systems of Bentley vehicles. Therefore, both expensive cars and Mu-so Qb acoustics have the same 32-bit signal processor installed. It is capable of processing the vast majority of audio files, including 24-bit FLAC with sampling rates up to 192 kHz and 24-bit ALAC with sampling rates up to 96 kHz.
How does a high-end audio system work?
The grill can be black, olive, terracotta or blue
Mu-so 2nd's appearance attracts even the uninitiated. But the “internals” are what’s truly interesting: the soundbar is a 3-way (!) stereo system with a bass-reflex type acoustic design.
There are no analogues made in such compact cases. But Naim and Focal are behind the development of the acoustic design and speakers. It turned out perfect.
Each speaker is connected to its own 75W , which adds up to 450W of total power! The midrange speakers are placed at the edges to eliminate mutual reflections, the low-frequency drivers, which are huge for a soundbar, are installed in the center, and the silk tweeters are located between them.
It is worth adding that the low-frequency drivers are connected to a huge phase inverter, the pipe of which passes through the entire body, or rather, an acoustic chamber, which ensures the complete absence of reflections or unwanted vibrations.
Layout of the ideal home system. No more floor giants
This arrangement made it possible to equip the Mu-so 2nd with hardware loudness compensation : by turning it on, you can enjoy noticeable bass even at low playback volumes.
To synchronize and control this magnificence, it uses its own 32-bit signal processor, also used in Bentley speaker systems.
With its help, you can adapt the Naim sound to any room, adjust any parameters laid down by the installation location or room. You can put it anywhere - it will sound great.
For audiophiles and housewives
The Mu-so Qb acoustic system is a bright representative of the “unisex” style, both in design and technological terms. Like this? I'll explain now:
The heart of a true music lover will rejoice from the diffusers on long-stroke rubber suspensions and the network capabilities of this “cube”. The ability to control acoustics through a special application on a smartphone allows you to get stuck for a long time, playing with settings and equalizers.
At the same time, for a technically savvy user, Mu-so Qb is just a cool music player that just needs to send music via Bluetooth and adjust the volume with a stylish aluminum ring.
In addition, the decorative grille that surrounds the acoustics on three sides can be not only black, but also defiantly orange, blue or red, which allows Mu-so Qb to fit into any interior, from a harsh bachelor’s den to the pink bedroom of a young fashionista, with fluttering hearts and mi-mi-mi.
Simplicity is the dignity of kings
Smartphone or click wheel? No difference
Managing Naim Mu-so 2nd is a particular source of pride for the company. Patented: control is carried out by a large round knob in a recess on the top panel.
It consists of backlit rotary ring buttons and indicator LEDs . It seems like everything is in one pile. But this is not so: perhaps such a regulator should be called the best solution in audio technology.
Within a couple of minutes, it becomes clear how to turn the system on/off, what manipulations lead to a change in the sound source or output, what needs to be done to change the track and control playback.
Everything - with one hand. Except perhaps for launching a certain track. To do this, you will need to install the Naim App companion app (iOS, Android) on your smartphone or tablet.
It duplicates the dial and remote control of the Mu-so 2nd and adds several important functions.
Naim App control screens are easy to understand for everyone
In addition to the already mentioned track selection (and how to select it without a display - the smartphone plays exactly this role), the application opens the equalizer settings and that same sound optimization. I placed it against the wall and adjusted it. Moved it to the center of the room and adjusted it again.
It is also used to connect to Wi-Fi networks (Naim Mu-so 2nd's own module supports 5 GHz ) and create your own playlists on connected audio file sources.
More power, more life
The power of almost half a kilowatt allows the system to scream in a very controlled manner - it can play loudly and without wild distortion, completely filling a room 20 meters away with sound. The sound itself is very interesting and unusual: the stage is large, wide, dense, but without a precise arrangement of images. It’s just that all the space available to the acoustics is evenly filled with music. Because of this, however, in the first minutes the sound seems similar to broadband, but with further listening, the impressions change.
Ay-ay-ay, Naim, how could you allow this unevenness?! Is Britain's toxic air to blame?
There was more punch - the additional “half a liter” of internal volume made the bass massive. First of all, this benefited the voice acting of action films. I watched half of the season of The Boys with Mu-so 2 - the blows were juicy, and the blood scattered across the walls of the rooms with a tangible gurgle. The dialogue did not sag, and the sound was ultimately breathtaking - befitting the series.
In music, the character seems rather relaxed, but at the same time involving. “Mushi” favors the upper frequencies rather than the mids and lows - in the same “Heavyweight” from Infected Mushroom, she highlights iridescent, ringing samples, rather than a distorted guitar playing out the rhythm. She also loves whistling-crispy effects and gladly brings them a little closer to the listener, which is why some tracks take on a lo-fi touch. But, for example, BadBadNotGood was benefited by such garage-ness - although the sound contained dense bass, under a layer of these effects the usual noir sound was somewhat smoothed out. And the early DJ Krush with such a sound seemed somehow more summery and lighter. Let me mention that you should not feed Mu-so 2 tracks in less than maximum quality - it will not miss all compression artifacts either.
Air flies here
And here are the connectors
The acoustics can easily keep up with fast melodies - both the drums in Hidden Orchestra and Combichrist, and the explosions and blows in action films. Her micro- and macrodynamics are at a decent, high-end level. The grill, by the way, has a noticeable effect on the presentation—without it, the music feels more varied and rich.
But at the same time, the system is doing well with calm, minimalist tracks. The voices may be a little lacking in volume and integrity, but Mu-so 2 plays neat string or keyboard arrangements against their background carefully and airily, which adds liveliness to the melodies.
Yes, it’s worth adding that neither in the application nor anywhere else does Mu-so 2 have an equalizer or any sound presets for movies or music, so you won’t be able to adjust its character. Everything is in the high-fi tradition.
Connects to everything, plays - everything
Sound sources are easily switched and configured
The soundbar itself can play almost any audio format (WAV, FLAC, AIFF, ALAC, MP3, AAC, OGG, WMA) in quality up to 32 bit/384 kHz .
Since the device is positioned as a soundbar and as a network player, out of the box the user receives support for streaming from Tidal and Spotify, as well as Internet radio stations (search is carried out from the application).
The list of supported wireless protocols includes everything you need: Mu-so 2nd can work with any broadcast sources via Chromecast , AirPlay 2 , and in the absence of these, you can directly broadcast the audio stream via Bluetooth ( BLE , aptX ).
If all this does not work, you can use a direct UPnP connection via Wi-Fi. And here the source platform no longer plays any role - even a Linux server will do. Routers also have a direct connection.
For wired connections you will have to raise the soundbar
There are no fewer wired interfaces - all so that the user does not have to change the surrounding equipment: optical digital input and S/PDIF , HDMI with ARC support, LAN (100 Mbit/s), USB input and linear input.
The source is connected automatically, and you can play files from it directly without a smartphone. If you don’t need to search through folders, then you’ll have to pick up a smartphone.
Let's talk separately about the multiroom : Mu-so connects to any Naim audio systems via the Naim App . To create systems based on AirPlay 2, you will need AppleHome; for similar systems based on ChromeCast, you will need Google Home.
What's outside
The Mu-so Qb speaker system is assembled in an almost perfectly cubic body. The rear wall is made in the form of a massive aluminum radiator, in the lower part of which there are various ports and connectors.
Here you can find audio inputs - analog and digital, Ethernet and USB ports, as well as a hole for a full reset and LAN connection status indicator
A transparent acrylic block with a pleasant backlight is used as a stand for the system. At the top of the cube there is a rotary vernier with a built-in screen and touch controls.
The backlight can be adjusted from your smartphone, or it can be turned off completely. This is for the case of installing acoustics, for example, in the bedroom, so that Mu-so Qb does not shine directly into the eye.
The weight of the acoustics is 5.6 kilograms, and its dimensions are about 22 cm in width, depth and height.
What does the most advanced soundbar sound like?
Modest but very tasty
The Mu-so's audio performance remains an unconquered peak: even without listening, we know that Naim creates the best soundbars, many steps ahead of the competition.
Testing using high-quality streaming audio (FLAC at maximum settings) showed that the system can play out even the most complex combinations of sounds in detail, preserving the author’s original idea.
There is not a single genre that Mu-so 2nd can fall short of. Bassheads will be especially happy - the “bottoms” pump, but do not hit the ears . You can feel them even at minimum volume.
In the application you can create playlists and organize your library
The frequency range is perfectly balanced and, without equalizer presets, is sounded smoothly, without dips or peaks: the uppers are neat and without sibilants, the mids are legible and detailed, the lows are clear and well-developed.
Mu-so copes just as well as a home theater audio system. Surprisingly, the compact body does not interfere with the positioning of sound sources during viewing. And even correctly distributes the voice, background and effects.
Interestingly, the soundbar can be used as a transport: the sound is very decent even when broadcast to other Bluetooth devices.
Balanced music
The Niam Mu-so audio system showed a mature, well-designed sound. Almost the entire frequency range is delivered smoothly and balanced. The upper case is clean and neat. The bass is quite low and intelligible. Of course, there are limitations on its depth, but they are expressed implicitly and do not interfere with the holistic perception of the musical image.
High detail allows you to see sound matter to a considerable depth. The timbres of the instruments sound natural, easy, delighting the ear with the absence of any noticeable distortion. The slightest intonations and accents of a musical work are clearly visible. Listening to Mu-so is interesting and enjoyable, regardless of the musical content.
