Stylish Technology For Living With Urbanears
There was a time when huge sound systems were the thing to have, stacked up with the cassette deck, CD, radio and turntable. I can remember my mother's and I can certainly remember the not-so multifunctional surround sound system I invested in at uni. They were awkward things to fit into a space and a nightmare to move and set up somewhere else too.Technology has since chosen to simplify, with new models released as an all in one design. This, the new Baggen speaker from Scandinavian headphone brand Urbanears has moved in with us and has quickly become an indispensable part of our household. Intended for larger rooms and open plan spaces, this 'loud and mighty' speaker packs a punch. And I'm a sucker for the bass, so, sorry neighbours! Designed as Connected Speakers (there's the smaller Stammen model too) you're able to link them up all over your home to play either the same playlist simultaneously or separate channels depending on what you fancy.
An aesthetically delightful piece of kit, I love the modern-retro look and feel of the fabric wrapped speaker. The control plate is the same colour as the rest of the speaker which makes it feel like a well considered object in its own right; it can blend in with its surroundings or work as a stand alone piece. The fact that it comes in Indigo Blue is a complete bonus - it's a colour I love to wear a lot. That said, it was a toughy to choose between the Plant Green and Concrete Grey, but I could see it working well in both the bright white and moodier areas of our home.The functionality is brilliant. Urbanears have a nifty little app which allows you to control the speaker from your phone, connecting to wi-fi, Bluetooth and Spotify as well as the option to store up to seven favourite playlists or radio stations. If you have an ever increasing vinyl collection like us, you can also hook it up to your turntable.I use it in the kitchen mostly, when there's breakfast and dinner to prepare - for reasons unknown to me, I also need noise to work in, I think it concentrates my thoughts (?!) In the evenings it comes into the sunroom where we hook it up to Netflix via the iPad and watch a movie in the glow of the string lights.I'll take one in every room, please...
* This post was written in collaboration with Urbanears.