Samsung AKG VL551 Wireles Smart Speaker - White

I had been looking for a wireless/bluetooth home speaker for some time, but was uncertain which one to go for. The front runners were the Naim Audio Mu-so Qb, the B&O Beoplay M5 and the Samsung VL551, all of which were well reviewed and priced from £500 upwards.All the reviews I read for the Samsung praised it's sound & quality, and ease of use, but for some there remained a question over the price point, it just seemed a little too expensive to get unequivocal endorsements.I continued to watch price trends and whilst the Naim and the B&O remained 'firm' the Samsung began to drop and when I found Amazon were offering it at less than half the price of the competition my mind was made up.Ordered, and delivered 24 hours later courtesy of 'Prime', I couldn't be more pleased, albeit this is 'day one'.The design is minimalist, with a simple white metal case with light grain wood effect at either end, (the VL 550 has a black metal case with a dark grain wood effect at the ends). There are no knobs, buttons or switches, just simple 'touch' controls, plus a magnetic remote control, which can be placed anywhere.The audio quality is in simple terms 'brilliant', even when the volume is turned up, with no noticeable distortion.Set-up was simple enough and within minutes it was connected to my iPhone and 'banging out' my favourite tracks. I've yet to try out the Wi-Fi connection, but as I understand it you will benefit from being a Samsung mobile 'phone user, (better compatibility). That said it works just fine with a Bluetooth connection.The remote control unit has an internal battery, which will need to be charged when you first get your VL 551 (or VL 550) and periodically thereafter, for which you will require a Micro USB lead, which surprisingly doesn't come supplied with the unit? This wasn't an issue for me (I already had one), but it maybe for some. If I could have given four and a half stars I would have, simply for the absence of a Micro USB lead, but as I can't do half stars I'll go with the full 5.Given this is day one I can't comment upon reliability or support, but thus far I'm very pleased indeed and would happily recommend this speaker to prospective buyers. If things change I'll update this review...

Before I review the actual speaker let me just say that there are no dimensions given on this page. I expected this to be maybe the size of an ipad, but it's a sizeable brick the size of 3-4 ipads next to each other! However it looks like it might be the best speaker you can buy for this money so I'm keeping it.Like one of the other reviewers, I arrived at this speaker via a Which? review. The sound is indeed wonderful, for everything from rock to classical that I've tried. The wifi connection with equipment only works for Samsung phones so it's a bit pointless, but the bluetooth connection is great.Given that in this sort of price category some of the other wireless speakers seem to be simple small things that don't even have stereo output, this seems like excellent value for money (I bought it in 2020 for £140).

AMAZING. This is one of the best bluetooth speakers on the market, and such good value for money. Best buy in WHICH Magazine and rightly so. I can understand another reviewer finding it really hard to connect speaker and remote to wifi and bluetooth, because the wee manual is unclear, but it's simple once you work it out. I love this new speaker and I'm going to buy another for the sitting room.

I'm unable to play anything on it. It can't connect to another device via bluetooth in bluetooth mode (no device can find it), and the wifi mode is just useless. The wireless remote control can't connect to the speaker. Asking for a full refund.