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Monitor Audio Airstream10 Review
| Author | Hugo Jobling |
| Published | 12th Sep 2009 |
| Manufacturer | Monitor Audio |
| Price | £195.65 (Exc VAT) |
| as reviewed | £225.00 (Inc VAT) |
| Latest Price | Click here |
| Design & Features |  |
| Sound Quality |  |
| Value |  |
| Overall | |
9 comments
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TrustedReviews NewslettersDue to circumstances best left unmentioned, ‘gorgeous' has become something of a taboo word in the TrustedReviews office. And that's annoying, because it is perhaps the best word I can think of to describe the Monitor Audio AirStream10. At the risk of sounding cliche; photographs really don't do it justice.
For a start there's the unusual ‘lightning bolt' shape. Stood upright it looks pretty neat, but as the majority of the AirStream10's weight is in the left section, the system can also be laid flat (so to speak) putting the controls at the front, rather than the top. I think that the controls-at-the-front orientation looks notably better; and on, say, a bedside table it's clearly preferable. Unless you like the idea of sitting up every time you want to use the controls, of course.
The system is built from aluminium, although only on the front (or top) is this left exposed. The majority of the rest of the AirStream10 has a rubberised coating - ThinkPad style - which I'm a big fan of and the wood veneer on the far left finishes everything off nicely. It's a much more ‘grown up' aesthetic than that of the Pure Evoke Flow, for example, and it's not like you could call that system unattractive.
Best of all, unlike a certain other slightly controversial product I looked at recently (hello, MacBook Air), you'd be hard pushed to accuse the AirStream10 of lacking in substance to match its style. The oh-so-stylish device will happily play radio of the FM, DAB and Internet variety, audio files from any UPnP network source and its speaker can be used for anything you care to hook up via its 3.5mm jack.
While the right edge houses an Ethernet port (alongside the 3.5mm input, line-out and headphone jacks) for hooking up the AirStream10 to a router, using a cable rather spoils the aesthetic appeal. Built-in wireless means that shouldn't become an issue, though. If I was Monitor Audio, however, I would have put all the inputs at the back, sacrificing the choice of an upright orientation in the process.
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nanite2000 said on 12th September 2009
Martin Daler said on 12th September 2009
I'm with nanite here - having to read halfway through the third paragraph near the end of the first page before we are graced with the subject of the review might be some off-the w... more
Kanu said on 12th September 2009
Well I am glad somebody else pointed it out. When I complain about low standards of journalism on this website they claim I have a beef or something.
JonWill said on 14th September 2009
You say tht it does not support lossless formats, but that it does support WMA - does it support WMA lossless? I can't work it out from Monitor Audio's site!
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Ah, fair enough. I must have read over that part. Sorry.
Even so (and I don't want to dictate how you guys do your job), is there any reason why this information was... more