Pioneer - A4 Wi-Fi Speaker for Apple® iPod®, iPhone® and iPad®

I bought the Pioneer A4 a couple days ago and first tried using it with my Android Smartphone (Samsung Galaxy S4) and was frustrated by the experience. Connecting to my home WiFi setup was easy using the push button on my router. I had to update the firmware on the speaker to get the Pioneer Android app to see the speaker. Updating was fairly simple for me but I don't know how easy it would be for a non-techie. I had to log in to my home router from my desktop computer to figure out what IP address the Pioneer had obtained and then opened a browser and logged into the speaker using that address. From there it was simple updating the firmware. Once updated the Pioneer app saw the speaker immediately (your phone and speaker have to be on the same wifi network) and I was able to play Pandora from my phone through the speakers. I have not been able to figure out how to play Rhapsody or Google Music through the speakers. I also tried WiFi direct and had no luck at all with that and in fact then had trouble getting the Pioneer to go back to regular WiFi mode. I was ready to return the unit until I got my iPad out and tried Airplay. That was very simple. It just showed up as one of the output choices from within the Music player in iOS - and I have used it at least ten times since and never once had trouble connecting with my iPad. So why did I keep it? The sound is absolutely fantastic. Pioneer may not know apps but they do know speakers. Great low-end punch with deep, full bass. It is absolutely room filling and will get uncomfortably loud without distortion. These speakers originally retailed for $400 and it's easy to see why. The speakers do have an earphone input jack so you can connect non-Airplay devices that way and hopefully they update the firmware to provide better Android compatibility. If the speaker had Bluetooth as well it would be perfect. For what I paid (way under $200) these are well worth it in spite of a less than perfect interface.

I really hated that it turned it self off all the time so I had to physically go back to it and turn it back on. It's a feature but it DOES have an option to change it. It was hard to find in the manual but you hold down the input "button" for a few seconds if it flashes 4 times you are in quick start non power save mode. If it only flashes a few times you are in power save mode. I have 5 of these throughout my house. It was annoying to say the least to have to turn them on after being gone just the afternoon. I'm happy with that part now. I would turn the volume up all the way on the device and manage volume from my source so you don't have to get the remote or touch the device. I kept thinking the speakers were off but they weren't they were just turned down. LUCKILY one remote works well for any in this series. I have only opened and used one of the remotes so far so I guess I'll never run out of batteries since I have so many remotes to use after one dies. Too much base for very small rooms. NOT a good match for a bathroom for instance. You cannot adjust the levels on the device. This is an oversight since one of the best features is AirPlay and with iTunes you can only set levels for the source out, you cannot adjust the individual levels, volumes yes levels no. I read somewhere you can just put a sock in the base port. This worked well for smaller rooms on the A4 but not on the A3 which has no base port just a handle. If you use anything other than AirPlay and want to switch back to AirPlay you need to turn the unit off and back on. Another oversight. These are a great buy under a hundred dollars. Above that you really need to make sure it fits your needs. The audio can be SO MUCH BETTER than bluetooth but most people don't care enough. My ears get tired if the audio is compressed too much and starting with digital compressed files and compressing it again is way too much for me, that's why I love AirPlay and this set of devices so much. OH...I have an AirPort Express 30 feet away through several walls and the device says low signal. I might buy another AirPort Express or a newer wireless router to fix this since the audio drops out from time to time from low signal. For me this isn't a deal breaker though for some people it might be. I would just test this before your return date passes. I hope the network holds if I'm throwing a party with a lot of people but if it doesn't there are a lot of speakers around my 1200 square foot two level condo.

The Pioneer A4 is a stunningly awesome piece of tech. Built-in AirPlay, DLNA, and HTC Connect...but wait, what if your device has none of those things? No worries - Pioneer has you covered. With their proprietary Wireless Connect feature, it creates its own WiFi hotspot that you can connect to. Your device surely has WiFi, no? The sound is incredible for such a small and inexpensive device. Without EQ adjustment, the sound isn't exactly "balanced". It's quite bass heavy. However, playing everything through AirFoil on my PC, I boosted the treble frequencies a touch and BOOM - balanced, beautiful sound. Does it get loud? Holy God in Heaven, yes. Unless you have a huge, huge room, this thing will not disappoint. But what about setup? If you have an iOS device, it's a cinch. Simply plug in your iOS device to it's USB port in the back after the Pioneer has powered on, hold the Input (on the front of the Pioneer) and the network (on the back) buttons for three or more seconds, and your iOS device will ask if you want to share your network settings. Click "Accept" and BAM, it's connected. Don't have an iOS device? Try using WPS. That's just as easy. However, I'd recommend disabling WPS on your router after as some older versions of WPS are extremely insecure. Overall, this thing is unbelievable for the money. Why more people aren't buying it is beyond me. Get it - you won't be disappointed.

The sound is INCREDIBLE! Seriously. The lows satisfy this bassophile (my major criteria for purchase of a compact standalone), surprising and tight (it actually vibrates my bed sitting across the room on my desk at 1/3 max volume). Mids and highs satiate and remain balanced with the lows. I listen to almost everything, but Metal and Rap are my staples. Both sound excellent!! Setup is easy, just follow the quick setup guide per your preference: http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/ephox/StaticFiles/PUSA/Files/sma_quickstart.pdf Basically, you plug it in, turn it on, enable its ad hoc wireless network via the instructions, or plug in an ethernet cable, change your network settings, connect, access the web interface, enter your network info so the unit can join it, and enjoy! QUICK START MODE: I totally recommend enabling this. Once set up, touch the input "button" for 3 seconds. This will allow you to turn the unit on over your network by accessing it through the app instead of explicitly via the unit or its remote. I use this all the time - come home from work and as soon as I'm in range of my LAN turn on music. RAD! PANDORA: I have a subscription so the fact that the unit supports an on board app instead of having to stream it is awesome! THE APP: Here's where we get to the temperamental - it sometimes won't find the unit. Just keep trying or actually select the unit again. It should recover, and the connectivity is getting better each time a new app version is released, but it's still not ideal (plus no native iPad app). One more thing, unlike Sonos, the pioneers don't seem to be group aware, but I don't own two and they sound WAY better so I'll deal. Maybe a future feature? Hope this helps some of you. Happy listening!

I absolutely love this product. I have owned several speaker docks for my iPods / iPhones over the years and the quality has always been mediocre regardless of price. For reference, I have owned a Geneva Lab model S, a Bose Sound dock, and various Phillips offerings. I have heard the Bang and Olufsen A8 ($1150), the Bowers and Wilkins offerings, as well as some higher end Geneva Lab offerings. For the money and based on my experience, this product cannot be beat. The sound quality is excellent, the airplay feature is great, the aux cord still allows others to use the system, the subwoofer on this model provides excellent bass, but the other models provide a good amount as well. One thing that always drove me nuts with my Geneva Lab dock is that I couldn't turn it all the way up without the sound getting distorted. This dock sounds great at all volumes and definitely gets loud enough to fill a good sized room. This used to be a $400 product and they dropped the price to $200 so I had to try it. I haven’t been disappointed and bought both the A3 as well as the A1 for use elsewhere in my house. For about $50 in software (Airfoil / Remoteless) you can easily use these and other airplay offerings as a multi-room audio solution. This is probably obvious at this point, but I highly recommend this product to anyone looking for a high quality airplay speaker at an excellent price.

I was looking for a speaker to replace an ancient Cambridge Soundworks. Paddock PD200 that I had been using with a Bluetooth Audio Receiver. When the speaker arrived, I quickly went about setting it up. It took a little bit to go through the directions included with the speaker, but after muddling through them I had the speaker soon on my network. I immediately tried it out with both my iPhone 5S and my iPad Retina Mini. In both cases, the speaker seems to stream fine for music that is stored locally on the device, but when attempting to stream music from Spotify or Pandora for example, it seems that the Airplay interface just can't keep up with all of the networking demands, so the sound cuts out and is not reliable. I eventually gave up on using the speaker wirelessly and went to a wired connection on it. This has been much better, but I really wished that the network reception on the speaker was much better. It's rather weak in its ability to pull in a reliable signal. Please make sure that your network is robust enough to support this speaker if you plan on using it in a wireless configuration. Overall I'm pleased with the speaker for the price, but don't think that you won't have to fiddle with connection issues when using this!

Surprisingly good sound quality from a small unit. It's no replacement for a "real" system, but it's not just a crummy clock radio. Has two tweeters, two midrange, and a woofer. Good clarity and staging. Plenty of volume for a large open living room without sounding overblown. Of course it can't match the depth of the two towers and subwoofer I have now moved into the TV room, but we wanted something that took up less space, and wireless. Bluetooth would be even more convenient than wifi/Apple airplay #i.e., to listen to Pandora you first have to "connect" with it on podcasts or music app#. Not sure how well it would communicate wirelessly with non-Apple products. It does have a USB and aux jack as well. It does not get a great signal when you move it too far from the wireless router #we've got it about 30 feet away, unobstructed. In a bedroom 20 feet and two walls away it goes in and out often, so I would not count on it performing well if carried outside or to the garage as with the A3 rechargeable model#. The remote control has a good range as long as it's not obstructed. All things considered, it is a great value, and sounds better to me than the $600 Samsung and B&W options.

Overall this is a great speaker for the price. Considering the price dropped in half to only $200 when most all wi-fi airplay speakers are considerably more and/or sound very poor at this price range. Sound quality is pretty solid. The built in subwoofer contributes to this, but it lacks the ability to get very loud without sounding a little distorted. I guess you get used to listening to the large home theater speakers long enough that you come to expect more. Listening to the little bluetooth jawbone was the toss up. That little thing sounds awesome for the same price, but it is not wifi compatible. I wanted a speaker I could add to my home network and put out on the porch when company was over and put in the other rooms when working on the home repairs, etc. while the same music plays throughout the other airplay enabled speakers. I wanted to pick up the outdoor portable one, but am happy I didn't and would hesitate since it did not have the built in sub I question how good that one would sound. Overall good sound and perfect addition to my home audio network for the price.