A review of the NAD VISO 1 wireless digital music system part 2
Continued from A review of the NAD VISO 1 wireless digital music system
Part 2. The front-side 30-pin mount, rotates 90 degrees from portrait to landscape and accepts an iPod Touch or iPhone for easy viewing while amplifying your Hi-Fi sound. Operation is quick and easy and you are supplied with a 10 step quick-start guide to get you going. The minimalistic design is fashioned with three buttons, volume up, volume down and source. On the rear of the unit is an optical audio-in standard TOSLink connector which you can use to connect your AppleTV to the NAD VISO 1. We would have loved to seen both a Wi-Fi option to support Apple’s Airplay as well as a Bluetooth aptX but chaining up the NAD VISO 1 to your Apple TV allows you to receive wirelessly and transmit over digital cable to your NAD for lossless translation of your audio files. We were able to hook up our Apple TV to output to the VISO 1 and works brilliantly to broadcast your music over Airplay to the NAD VISO 1.
The rear connection ports provided are an optical digital input that supports 24/96k audio files, a mini-usb for firmware updates and software upgrades and a component video output so you can hook up your iPhone or iPod to play videos to your HDTV while outputting audio through the NAD VISO 1 digital wireless music system. As with any audiophile hardware, it will super amplify your audio files very closely and accurately. So if your audio files are 128kbps, expect to hear a really loud version of your less than optimal audio file. Try out some 128kbps at 44khz, then 192kbps, then at 320kbps and then do yourself a favor and grab some Apple lossless or Flac lossess audio files and you will be floored at the difference.
The NAD VISO 1 is compatible with virtually any handheld device like an iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad, any Android and Windows-based smartphones and tablets. Different from the Zeppelin Air iPod speaker dock from Bowers & Wilkins that uses Apple’s Airplay, the NAD VISO 1 utilizes Bluetooth aptX wireless high fidelity reception to allow any Bluetooth enabled device to hook up to the VISO 1. Setup and playback from our iPhone and Android devices was quick and simple. Turn on bluetooth, turn on the VISO 1, pair them and hit play, it was as easy as that.
When compared to the Zeppelin Air, we experienced much more frequent disconnects. Resetting the connection is as quick as turning off your bluetooth and powering off the unit and turning them both back on and pairing them again. We did notice some disconnects from the Zeppelin Air as well over time, and the reset process is a bit longer but much less frequent. You can connect directly to a HDTV with a TOS Link fiber optic audio cable. If you already own an Apple TV and a NAD VISO 1, you essentially have the best of both wireless protocols at your disposal.
You can also connect your VISO 1 to the Apple TV, allowing you the ability to use Airplay as an added convenience. I personally prefer Airplay as it gives you the range of your wireless router and the versatility to keep your device close to you, independent control for volume and not necessarily have to be near the music system.
Range on the NAD VISO 1 wireless digital music system over Bluetooth seemed to be an issue for us using an iPhone 4s, fairly consistent signal with about 14 feet was great, beyond that we experienced quite a bit of choppiness. Unlike the Zeppelin Air iPod speaker dock, you are not able to control volume from your bluetooth enabled device and must use the supplied remote or the volume control from the base unit. Opposite, you are only able to control tracks over the bluetooth enabled device your playing from. Our recommendation is to dock your iPod or iPhone, or connect it to an Apple TV for Airplay use over wi-fi unless you ONLY have bluetooth readily available.
We did not expect to hear as robust a sound as we did over a bluetooth connection was our initial thought, but we were pleasantly surprised. The Bi-amplified system with digital crossovers is tuned and balanced for the lowest possible distortion ratio and the widest frequency response producing clean, vibrant sound. If you have the space on your iOS or bluetooth enabled device, you can play your Apple’s lossess audio files or Flac audio files using 3rd party software on iOS devices to get rich beautiful sound that will be sure to impress.
Audio quality was excellent on the NAD VISO 1. If you require a wireless music system for your bluetooth enabled device, the NAD VISO 1 is the one to look for.
You can pick up the NAD VISO 1 for $699 $599,
Available from nadelectronics.com
