Libratone Live Review | 130 Data compared

The Verge's review of the Libratone Live highlights the premium, cashmere-covered wireless speaker as a significant upgrade over its predecessor, offering seamless Apple AirPlay support and robust, room-filling 360-degree sound via its 150-watt, five-amplifier system. While the reviewer praises the device for its rich, reflective audio performance and a useful companion iOS app for speaker placement optimization, the high price point serves as a key limiting factor for consumers.

The Sound & Vision review of the triangle-shaped Libratone Live highlights an AirPlay-enabled speaker that delivers big, room-filling sound via a unique "FullRoom" acoustic design, producing rich vocals and tight, tuneful bass. While praised for its performance, the unit has minor cons, including high-frequency elements that can sound directional and a lack of a physical remote, requiring users to rely on an iOS device or computer.

The Trusted Reviews evaluation of the Libratone Live AirPlay speaker highlights its beautiful styling and "FullRoom" technology, which delivers loud, clear audio, alongside an intuitive wireless setup and functional app. However, the review notes significant drawbacks, specifically the steep price tag of £599-£699 and a lack of extra features, making it overpriced compared to rivals like the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Air.

The TechWalls review of the Libratone Live AirPlay speaker highlights a premium, design-focused audio system featuring a Scandinavian wood frame, Italian cashmere cover, and 150-watt 360-degree sound via an iOS app. While the speaker offers impressive, loud, and undistorted sound, pros include its aesthetic design and easy, app-driven acoustic adjustments. Key cons identified include the steep $700 price point, the lack of a built-in battery requiring a constant wall connection, and limited, Apple-centric connectivity options.

The Libratone Live is a high-priced, $699.95 AirPlay speaker that prioritizes aesthetic, cashmere-wrapped design over functionality. While offering striking visuals and good audio, it lacks onboard controls and a remote, and exhibits DSP-related distortion on deep bass at high volumes. Ultimately, the review suggests the premium cost is driven by fashion rather than superior audio performance.

The What Hi-Fi? review of the Libratone Live highlights its unique triangular driver configuration—comprising a front-firing 5-inch bass driver, a 3-inch midrange driver, and ribbon tweeters on the sides—wrapped in an elegant Italian cashmere wool shroud. The main pros include a hefty 150W of power that allows it to easily go loud and fill larger rooms, an exceptionally open and natural-sounding midrange that makes vocals float beautifully, and a wide audio dispersion that creates an involving soundstage without requiring you to sit directly in front of the speaker. Conversely, the core cons center on its frequency extremes, suffering from a notable lack of precision, note definition, and solidity when playing bass-heavy tracks, resulting in a sound that feels woollier than its premium exterior. Additionally, due to its sideways and backward-firing driver arrangement, the unit is highly sensitive to room placement, explicitly prompting a recommendation in the manual against placing it in a corner.

The Slinky Studio review praises the Libratone Live as a premium, 150-watt wireless speaker featuring a stylish Scandinavian design wrapped in cashmere, delivering 360-degree sound with excellent AirPlay/DLNA connectivity. While the speaker offers robust audio performance, the review notes its high price point as a significant drawback, along with a slight lack of ultra-fine acoustic detail compared to some competitors.

The PCMag UK review of the Libratone Live highlights a premium £699.95 ($699.95) AirPlay speaker that prioritizes a distinct design aesthetic, featuring a unique, Italian cashmere wool speaker grille, over physical utility. While praised for its 150-watt, high-quality audio performance and clear midrange, the speaker suffers from limited physical controls and noticeable distortion on deep bass tracks at maximum volumes.

The iLounge review highlights the Libratone Live AirPlay Speaker as a premium-designed, visually striking audio device with a unique wool-wrapped look and convenient carrying handle. However, it faces a significant price-to-performance gap, featuring a high price point while lacking a rechargeable battery, a remote, or a USB port. Despite its, at times, polarizing mix of materials, the speaker offers an intuitive control scheme and quality presentation.

The GeekDad review praises the Libratone Live audio system for its exceptional sound quality, small footprint, integrated handle, and seamless AirPlay/Wi-Fi wireless streaming, making it suitable for both music and home theater setups. While the system offers convenience through its television line-in priority feature, the reviewer notes that the device is "pretty pricey" and positioned as a premium, luxury item.

The Libratone Live wireless speaker delivers an impressively large, ambient, and full sound for its compact size, highlighted by tight, deep bass and a satisfying, spacious midrange that enhances vocals and instruments. While offering excellent acoustic performance for its footprint, the speaker suffers from a narrow, mono soundstage in higher frequencies and lacks true stereo separation.

The Tech Guide review praises the Libratone Live AirPlay speaker for its stylish, minimalist Scandinavian design, portability via an integrated handle, and high-quality 150-watt wireless audio performance. While offering excellent room-filling sound, the speaker’s limitations include a lack of diverse input options and stereo performance that falls short of dedicated setups.