In terms of music formats supported, the SoundMate WM201 was able to play back the most common formats and even some more specialised ones, such as 96kHz 24-bit lossless FLAC tracks which the MUZO Cobblestone couldn’t handle.
That’s a pretty comprehensive set of connectivity options so most users should be covered. Music played after a short delay and range is only limited by your WiFi network. I was able to play back music from my Dropbox, connected USB devices, my server via DLNA and even from my iPhone using AirPlay. Thankfully, I can say that the the Soundmate WM201 performed well. So the most important question is how does it handle music playback?
#SOUNDMATE WM201 ANDROID#
That’s not to say the iOS version is flawless, with USB/micro SD card playback working fine on Android but displaying nothing but a placeholder “Now Playing” screen on iOS. It’s nowhere near as responsive but you can use your Android device as a remote microphone which isn’t present on the iOS version. The Android app is not as polished as its iOS equivalent. Thankfully, the SoundMate WM201 broadcasts as a DLNA server so I was able to use BubbleUPnP to push music from my server to it. It farms DLNA playback out to external apps, providing a list of recommended apps rather than offering a way to push music from a DLNA server to the Soundmate itself inside the app. However, the app’s main issue is its DLNA support, or lack thereof. You had to stay on the apps screen to keep the tunes playing. Although I didn’t like that music wouldn’t play in the background whilst I navigated the app. Navigating around and playing music was fine. However, popular streaming apps like Spotify or Pandora don’t make the cut and will need to be streamed using alternative methods like AirPlay. The EZCast app is fairly intuitive and has plenty of options for media playback, from Dropbox to Internet Radio. The Air Setup option is also used to select equalizers, trigger OTA updates and select which audio output you want to use. Jump across to the app to complete the setup, connecting the device to your wireless network.
To set up the device, open your smartphone’s wifi menu and connect to the Soundmate’s wifi hotspot. The device is entirely controlled via the EZMusic app which is available on both iOS and Android. Plug in your audio cable of choice (either optical or 3.5mm) and the power. Plugging in the causes it to boot, with verbal cues indicating booting progress. On the side of the device is a micro SD card slot.Ĭonnecting up the SoundMate WM201 is a piece of cake. From left to right, we have the micro USB power port, reset button, optical audio output, 3.5mm stereo output and a fullsize USB port. The back of the device houses essentially all of the ports. A small power LED on the front of the unit indicates when its on whilst a lovely brushed metal top plate finishes off the device. The WM201’s design is relatively minimalist. It feels lightweight, but definitely feels well made. Roughly the size of a hockey puck, the WM201 appears to be made entirely made of metal. The SoundMate WM201 is surprisingly small.
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