If you are a regular reader at Smart Home Geeks you will remember we reviewed Lithe Audios ceiling speakers.

They have now released a new WiFi ceiling speaker, so we were eager to see how it compares to their impressive Bluetooth ceiling speaker.

What does the Lithe Audio WiFi Speaker do?

These speakers sit in your ceiling, hidden out of sight. You connect to them wirelessly with the Lithe Audio app, using 2.4 GHz WiFi.

Up to 30 speakers or zones can be connected giving an impressive multi-room experience.

LITHE AUDIO Wireless WiFi Multroom Audio Ceiling Speaker

The speakers pack a punch with 60W RMS and inbuilt Apple AirPlay – the only certified AirPlay Ceiling speaker on the market.

They don’t stop there also having in built dlna and UPnP for direct streaming from a media server.

How easy are they to setup?

Setup was simple, as you would expect from Lithe Audio.

First cut the hole, using the supplied template. Then work out how you plan on powering them. They can either be wired into a lighting circuit or can be plugged in, a plug is supplied.

Once powered up you need to install the free Lithe Audio app. Connecting the app is easy, press the reset button for 5 seconds and connect to the speaker via WiFi. The app is simple and intuitive to use.

You can then connect it to your home network and give the speaker a name. To setup AirPlay you use the apple setting and it automatically finds the speaker.

Next the fun part of connecting to a source and playing music!

How much do they cost?

£329.99 for a single speaker
£399 for a pair with a master and a slave

This is very comparable with market leader pricing although at the top end.

What’s it like living with it?

Wow! We are big Sonos fans at Smart Home Geeks, with one in every room. However we can happily say the sound quality and connectivity of Lithe audio surpasses Sonos.

AirPlay is great and ’just works’ – the app never dropped or had frustrating connectivity issues or lag.

Sound quality is superb, both treble and bass sound exceptional.

They however do not support Apple Music – for us no issue but for some it might be a deal breaker.

What are our final thoughts?

If we were looking for a whole home audio solution this is the one we would now choose. The speakers can be easily fitting in the ceiling , out of the way and effortlessly controlled and used.

Watch out Sonos – Lithe is here!!

What do the Lithe Audio garden rock speakers do?

They are cleverly designed Bluetooth garden speakers that blend into your garden. Allowing you to listen to your favourite music outside.

They are waterproof, IP 56 – if you don’t understand what that means read our guide here, so you do not need to bring them in during the in the rain.

They can also handle temperatures from -20°C – +85°C so no need to worry about extreme temperatures either.

Lithe Audio LGS1P All-in-one Passive Outdoor Garden Rock Speaker

How easy are they to setup?

Setup is very quick!

The master, active, speaker plugs into the mains, one great feature is the transformer and connectors are all IP68 so can be left outside.

Once plugged in, to a waterproof outside plug, search for the Bluetooth device, enter the pin, written in the manual, and then play the music!

The speakers work 10 meters from the Bluetooth source – we tested it with a range of phones and a laptop with no problems at all.

They come as either single speaker or as a pair with a passive speaker. To connect the speakers as a pair is equally as simple and done using the provided cable and screwing the connector together.

It comes with a 5M cable allowing it to be placed where you want it rather than where the power is. In the box is also a mounting screw so it can be fixed to where you want it.

How much do the Lithe Audio gardens rock speaker’s cost?

Single speaker – £269.99
Pair of rock speakers – £349.99

Not the cheapest but you get what you pay for, hassle free setup and build quality.

What’s it like living with them?

These speakers feel like quality are well designed and perfectly moulded.   The sound quality is impressive not only powerful but clear and crisp, they have a built in 60W RMS Amplifier.

Having a pin is a good feature as prevents anyone changing the music or connecting by mistake.

What are our final thoughts?

These rock!

Puns aside we are very impressed, such a simple and well designed solution. The only one thing we could comment negatively is that a 3.5M audio line in would be a nice addition to connect additional sources. However this can easily be fixed by a cheap 3.5M to Bluetooth sender, so not really an issue.

For more information visit Lithe Audio’s website.

This is a We Own it review of the Lithe Audio Bluetooth Ceiling Speaker specifically the IP44 rated speaker.

There are many different types of Bluetooth speakers on the market however Lithe Audio seem to have found a gap in the market! Wireless Bluetooth speaker that are ceiling mounted and can come IP44 rated. All other examples we found require separate amplifiers or multiple units for the Bluetooth controller and speaker – with these everything is contained in one compact unit.

Lithe Audio was founded in 2014 manufacturing these speakers as well as TV mounts.

The team are tech experts having designed and created the successful Retrotouch brand since 2008. This is also good to know as a lot of the companies in this space just import the ‘latest tech’ cheaply from overseas and sell via their website or partner (eBay/Amazon) with no actual interest in product development or customers.

What does Lithe Audio Bluetooth ceiling speaker do?

The speaker sits in the ceiling, connecting to any Bluetooth 4.0 device or via the RCA line in.
You can choose either pin protected or pin free. Pin free works with Amazon Echo Dot and other tech – however will allow anyone to connect to the speaker and play from it so if in a flat or somewhere ‘high traffic’ we advise going for Pin.

We connected it to our iPhone and then Spotify – however it will play anything playing on the device.

As we chose the pin free option the phone connects then disconnects to the speaker it does not pair, meaning it will not auto connect and you must select it to connect to it.

Not an issue for us but if you are looking for a totally seamless option your better choosing the pin configuration.

The sound quality is impressive! We have 4 Sonos in our house and this little beauty gives them a run for their money.

The speakers come in a few different versions, we choose the IP44 rated model so we could install it in the bathroom.  Unlike our friend Sonos where currently the best solution for a bathroom Sonos requires an expensive Amp, separate IP rated speaker as well as cable and space to install the separate tech.

How does it work and What is the tech?

The speaker connects to Bluetooth it has 2 power solutions:

• Power Cable with plug
• Wire into lighting circuit (by an electrician)

This is a great feature and allows flexibility on install, we went for the hard-wired option as fitted it into our ceiling.

The speaker also has an RCA input for connecting to a TV, as well as a connecting point to allow you to connect it to another speaker to create a pair.

It has a built in Woofer and Tweeter – as we said it really is a all in one unit.

Our speaker only worked in mono however Lithe Audio informed us a feature enhancement is coming in the next edition of the IP44  speaker that makes them stereo.  Another great feature coming it is the ability to hard limit sound, great for kids bedrooms or preventing accidentally blasting music in the bathroom.

How easy is it to set up?

Ridiculously easy! From opening the box to playing music was under 3 minutes, using the plug provided.

Once turned on you search for the Bluetooth device, Lithe Audio BT, or for a small programming fee they can rename them – useful if installing more than one or just want it named, we choose Bathroom. Note this must be requested when ordering as is done at firmware level.

Once connected it plays whatever the device is playing – simple as that.

Our electrician also commented how easy it was to install – there is a helpful template for cutting the hole in the ceiling.

What’s the connectivity?

The speaker connects via Bluetooth 4.0 – the range is impressive, the spec states up to 10 meters, and covers nearly the entire upstairs of our house.

How much does it cost?

The IP44 rated Bluetooth ceiling Speaker model costs – £229
Standard Bluetooth ceiling speaker costs – £199

Lithe Audio Bluetooth Ceiling Speaker

What’s it like living with it?

Brilliant, this is one of our favourite bits of kit. We left our phone connected to it for a full 8 hours and didn’t experience any drops, lag or issues. One nice touch is the removable, magnetic, grill that you can paint to make it match you ceiling.

What are our final thoughts?

This is an impressive bit of kit – you can really tell they have thought about the features and developed it accordingly. The only thing we can think of as a negative is it is quite deep, so make sure their is space to install it.

To find out more have a look at http://www.litheaudio.com/