NOCS NS2-107US NS2 Air Monitors V2 Bookshelf Speaker (Industrial Grey)

On paper, these were exactly what I was looking for. Self powered, AirPlay, Bluetooth, stereo separation, compact, good looking.... but I'm disappointed.1. Wi-Fi connection effects Bluetooth performance. If the speaker loses connection to your Wi-Fi network it goes through a reconnect process that will stop Bluetooth playback. I've got the most recent airport extreme so my Wi-Fi is pretty good, but in the city there's always going to be occasional interference. I just don't think that should have anything to do with Bluetooth connectivity so I took it off my Wi-Fi network and Bluetooth streaming became very reliable.2. The speaker cannot handle more than one Bluetooth connection. If one device is connected, you must disconnect FROM THE CONNECTED DEVICE before being able to connect a different one. If you try to connect while a device is already connected, you will get a connection failure error. My UE Boom doesn't have this issue. I can alternate between my iPad and iPhone without issue.3. The speaker must be on a Wi-Fi network in order to enter standby power mode. Because of issue 1. I reset the speaker and did not connect it to my network. I was able to get rocksolid Bluetooth performance this way. However, I am unable to wake the speaker up from standby mode with my phone. I suspect this is because if the speaker isn't properly setup, it never goes into standby paper mode.4. Proprietary speaker connection. The speaker cable that connects the powered speaker to the unpowered speaker is proprietary. The long cable is too short to go between two nightstands on either side of a king size bed without being pulled completely taught.I think much of this could be easily fixed and I'm hoping for a firearm update that does. If that happens I'll happily update my review.

The setup was annoying and it took much too long to get it connected to the point where it would play music and then it would delay. AirPlay might as well not even be advertised, because it doesn't work really and when it does, the iPhone doesn't provide volume controls in its OS for certain apps, so you can't turn it down. Seriously. You can AirPlay it, but you cannot control the volume. How they let that one get past them, I have no idea. But when paired to Bluetooth, it does pair faithfully each time, yet I wonder why the sound quality is all mid and lows, barely any hi's at all. I tried pairing them to my MacBook and I got the same reaction from it, although I could turn it a bit higher (because of different sound cards in different devices.) but still not the quality I expected. Also, they are rather smaller than you think, think of them as just slightly bigger computer speakers. The pictures make them look like they are least a foot tall and they're barely. But they are powerful and loud. If that's what we are basing it on, then okay. But I need all three levels. High/Mid/Low.Back to the setup again, I have no clue if these were ever on the right firmware or not, I tried to update it like 20 times and it never told me if I was successful or not.Upon figuring out they are based here in Chicago, I almost decided to email and ask for them to let me show them what I meant and if they had any different way of tuning or updating them...but I will instead return them and try the Sonos Play:1's & a sub.

¡ALERT! They just arrived today!Wanting to hear music, pianos & violins, in my bedroom I took a chance on the NOC NS2 v2 Air Monitors. My vintage 2007 iMac hardly running OS X 10.10.3 Yosemite might not withstand any more new software so I thought only of using Apple AirPlay compatible speakers. Doing so permitted me to utilize already created iTunes playlists. Because of their free iPhone app, set-up could not have been simpler although for some reason the speakers would only connect to - see - my wireless router's 2.4G band not its 5G. In minutes I was able to stream music from the computer, located in the living room. The air monitors include 2-lengths connector cable wires enabling them to better create stereo ambience by setting the speakers further apart from one another. They sit on Samson MS200 monitor stands. While not having been "played-in," and having no sub woofer, the NOCS NS2 still produce a rich clear sound (compared to a pair of Logitech X-230 wired computer speakers). The speakers are expensive, but so far I'm very pleased with them.UPDATE 07/15:Even more Amazingly Brilliant!!I've been using the speakers everyday since they had arrive and they're SUPER! They seem to sound best with "real" instruments as opposed to electronically created music such as electronic and rap. Vocals sound excellent. Their stereo ambience is room filling. The NOCS can be controlled thru iTunes running on either the computer or by utilizing Apple's Remote iDevice app that controls the computer's iTunes Library including volume control and iTunes "UP NEXT" feature can be utilized as well. Apple just launched their new Apple Music. All of its features can be streamed to the NOCS including BEATS RADIO, and music placed in CONNECT from either the computer or iDevice. Wonderful!