In the last couple of years, there was an invasion of Wi-Fi-connected speakers on the market. Of course, one of the best and most successful companies on this market is Sonos. Samsung has also decided to enter this market by releasing the new Radiant360 R1 WAM1500.
Wi-Fi music is the successor of Bluetooth, allowing people to listen to music by using their phones for control. However, during these years other qualities have been added to Wi-Fi speakers, like a better range, good audio quality and the ability to receive phone calls.
The new Samsung Radiant360 R1 WAM1500 is also the successor of the existing “Shape” and “M” models on the market. The new cylindrical shape R1 is like an upgrade to M3. Samsung R1 can be placed pretty much anywhere, but unfortunately, due to its height, this speaker cannot be suited to serve as a TV speaker.
What are the advantages of Samsung R1 compared with Sonos?
Well, for starters, the Bluetooth support, hi-res playback for the audiophiles and integration with Samsung TVs. Of course, the sound quality also received an update, thanks to the omnidirectional nature of the speaker. This means that the new Samsung Radiant360 R1 comes with some good and new features, even if Sonos remains the leader.
The new Samsung Radiant360 R1 is available at the price of 179 dollars, which is an affordable price, compared to other Wi-Fi Bluetooth speakers on the market. As it was mentioned earlier, this speaker comes with a cylindrical-shape design, just like Amazon’s Echo.
This is a full-range speaker that has a 360-degree sound field. Moreover, Samsung Radiant360 R1 also incorporates a driver pointing upward which has the mission to distribute the sound to all directions. Another interesting thing about this speaker is that it has a touch-sensitive surface that supports some main gestures.
For example, users will be able to tap the speaker to play or to pause, or to swipe in either direction to skip tracks.
Other controls that this speaker features are a mode button which switches between TV, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Samsung Radiant360 R1 is 9 inches tall and 5 inches across which makes it a little bit taller to use as a center speaker. It is covered in black acoustic cloth, which makes it very attractive and offers a good feeling at touch.
At the bottom, users will find the connect buttons and the power cable. Moreover, users will be able to control this device through Multiroom app. It is easy to use, but people who will use this app for the first time will have to do a little bit of research.
To be added that the Samsung Multiroom app also offers a list of 10 streaming services, including Amazon, Pandora, Spotify, TuneIn Internet radio, iHearRadio and Murfle, CD ripping service. One of the biggest lacks of this speaker is the 3.5mm input to connect external devices, a feature that the previous Shape model offered. This feature would have been very helpful, especially for users who have a TV with an analog headphone output and lack Bluetooth.
