Why review a wireless speaker aimed at audiophiles? Well, because we record, produce, and mix music that people will ultimately listen to. More and more, what they are listening on are not the traditional home hi-fi rigs of the past, but rather Bluetooth earbuds, headphones, and speakers (as well as wi- fi connected devices). I have a little Bose speaker for travel and portable use; my kids have similar models from JBL. They sound pretty good. However, some wireless options, regardless of connection protocol, just sound terrible. So, when presented with the opportunity to review what is an audiophile version of a wireless speaker, I was intrigued.
The Syng Cell Alpha is among the top of the most interesting-looking speakers I have ever seen. It is a single, roughly one-foot round orb that sits on a tabletop or floor stand, and its looks remind me of an older Apple product. Around the middle section is what Syng calls a Triphone: Three wide-dispersion horns with a midrange and a tweeter concentric in each of the horns. The idea here is that they can create cardioid patterns out of each of these and “steer” sound around the product. The wide-dispersion horns also solve the problem of a sweet spot and loss of high frequencies when the listening position is off-axis. At the top and bottom of the Cell are 6.5-inch woofers that are “force-balancing.” These woofers move in and out in conjunction with each other. The concept is to get maximum low end even at low volumes – claimed low-frequency response is down to 30 Hz. There are three (almost invisible) microphones on the Cell for its’ built-in calibration process. Below the stem on the tabletop stand, there is a volume control ring which will also pause and play the audio. Similar to coaxial designs from Tannoy and other companies, the Cell Alpha aims to deliver time-aligned audio to the ears in a wide listening area. They call the technology Triphonic.
I asked the folks at Syng what that means and they replied, “Triphonic is really just encompassing these mechanical signal processing and acoustic technologies that we’re using. When people see it, they think Triphone. They think Triphonic. Oh, that must mean three. Yeah, there are three horns. Of course, that’s true. But it’s not like we turned it into three-channel audio or something like that. That’s where people tend to go immediately. This is a format with three channels? No, it’s not that. Signal processing technologies, acoustic technologies, perceptual technologies, all of that encompassed into one thing. The idea is that we’re really trying to make the sound feel like it’s happening in the room with you. I think most speakers are trying to do that. We have a better shot at it because of how we’re processing the sounds.”
Is the unit actually playing back stereo? Well, the answer is sort of. The folks at Syng told me, “A lot of people think that they’re going to get the super-wide stereo experience out of a single Cell, and there are just physical limitations to that. Realistically, you’ll get a much more spacious experience than from a single traditional wireless speaker. However, it will not be as wide as having the Focals that you’re listening to in the studio. What we’re doing is taking in the stereo content and actually chopping out spatial slices of that and then we’re positioning those around the Cell to virtualize these positions. That’s basically what the main part of signal processing on a single Cell is. It’s not summing it to mono, like many competitor products would do.”
One of the coolest features – and something I believe would be incredible if monitors designed for the studio could encompass – is the calibration process of the Syng Cell Alpha. With the downloadable app, you can place your Cell in any spot in the room, and the unit self-calibrates using their version of a sine wave sweep and reflection capture to make adjustments. Is it close to a wall? In the middle of a room, etc. It does an impressive job of looking at the low end and unavoidable nodes in all but the most tuned of rooms, then correcting for a balanced playback.
The unit does a fascinating job of producing spatiality that does not happen in more traditional small listening systems. The DSP takes the audio, slicing it up and placing it around the speaker for that extra dimension. As you add more Cell Alphas, each unit takes on different responsibilities and can provide left, right, and center info as well as some surround characteristics. There is also a bass setting preference in the app: Standard has a slight bass boost and is for large or more open spaces, and the Reduced bass setting preference is EQ’d flat – intended for smaller rooms. I can confirm that the Syng Cell Alpha produces incredible amounts of tight, clear, chest- rattling low end. And, as you turn the unit’s level down, it equalizes the bass and high frequencies to compensate for how humans perceive these volumes and gives a perceptually balanced audio experience at any volume. If you have more than one Cell Alpha, the frequencies below 80 Hz will distribute to all the Cells in the room, giving you a smooth and consistent bass experience throughout the room.
A visualizer displays where the Cell Alpha is in your space when you set the unit up. It may be up against a wall or more central in the room. If you have it against a wall, sound will emanate from that space, but less so into the wall. If it’s not against a wall, you have more of an omni experience with sound projecting from all directions, thereby providing a “center channel” experience everywhere in the room.
Currently, there are three different sources a user can have in the app. I had Spotify Connect, Apple AirPlay 2, and USB- C. There are two USB-C ports: One on the stand stem and one on the bottom of the unit. An Apple MacBook, for example, will see the Cell Alpha as an audio interface, and can play out stereo to it that way. Syng has a version of this that will be going out to studios shortly, whereby the user can get a multi- channel input. When using the Cell Alpha as a class-compliant USB device, you can control consumer playback conveniently. Currently, there are some latency issues when used in conjunction with an audio interface during tracking and real- time monitoring, so for recording purposes, we may be a ways off yet. Another use for the Cell Alpha is in home theatre applications by using a Syng Link cable or an HDMI eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel) cable to USB-C.
I loved listening to mixes and productions I had done on the Cell Alpha, and it was beneficial to reference mixes I am currently working on. At $2399 per unit with the table stand, the Cell Alpha will not be within everyone’s reach. However, with an iPhone/iPad and the Cell Alpha, consumers will have a very high-end listening experience that goes well beyond the quality offered by common wi-fi or Bluetooth speakers (such as a Google Home or Amazon Echo) that are currently on the market. Beyond consumer listening, there is a unique opportunity in pro audio for the DSP tech that powers the Cell Alpha’s listening experience. I have high hopes that Syng will license their calibration algorithms to pro audio monitor manufacturers, which would be an extremely valuable solution for self-calibrating monitors – especially those that mix in challenging spaces.
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