Sonodyne Antara review

Like its aesthetic, black or white options keep the colour palette neutral. It’s a non-offensive design with a black metal grille spanning the face of the speaker with an ABS body keeping it all safe with an IP65 rating. A rubberized top panel hides all the playback controls in a black-on-black fashion that isn’t the easiest to navigate through in a dimly lit room. There’s no backlighting either so you’ll have to rely on muscle memory or just use your phone whenever you want to control volume or skip track. Overall build quality is rugged and monolithic, but certain trim edges around the cut-out for the passive radiator or the connectors and ports seem to be lacking in refinement.

When it comes to charging, Sonodyne has opted for a rudimentary LED indicator to show charge status instead of a progress bar that would be a handy visual indicator of the amount of charge (or charging) left. Since there is no accompanying app to monitor the exact battery percentage, it becomes all the more imperative.

Around the back, a bevy of connectivity options highlight the brand’s expertise in making home audio components so you get not only a USB and aux input but even a subwoofer pre-out! Yes, it might be a bit of an overkill to add a subwoofer to a sub-15k BT speaker, but if you want to make it your everyday primary listening source, it’s worth considering. Sonodyne allows you to add another dimension to your listening experience by letting you connect another Antara unit in Duet mode to create a louder and more immersive experience.

Once again, Sonodyne flexes its loudspeaker manufacturing DNA and infuses the Antara with a solid complement of drivers. A pair of 2.5-inch midbass drivers mated to a pair of 0.5-inch tweeters that are mounted towards the extremities of the front baffle give it a wide stereo image. Well, as wide as possible given the modest dimensions of the Antara. On either side of the cabinet are 2.5-inch passive radiators to augment the bass-reflex design. Power output is rated at 40W for the four active drivers and the 3350mAh battery should make the Antara last for up to 12 hours, depending on how much of the The Black Keys catalogue you groove to.

Sonodyne insists you use the supplied charging cable and adapter for maximum efficiency and speed. 4.5 hours is what it takes to juice up completely but thanks to the universal USB-C standard, you could get away with using any standard cable if you find yourself in a pinch. Through our testing period of around a week, we only had to charge it once though and indicated a playtime of roughly 10 hours using different sources, volume levels and genres of music.

Relying solely on BT5.4 will be the way most people will be using the Antara and so we started with this. This newest protocol for the most common form of wireless audio transmission does offer benefits like longer battery life, extended range, better audio quality and wider compatibility with IoT devices. First impressions playing Boz Scaggs’s Thanks to You are underwhelming with a sharply curtailed bass response that doesn’t seem to extend below 80Hz and dynamics that sound restricted.

Sure enough, Sonodyne has added preset EQ and DSP parameters to ensure that there is no distortion and that we can verify. Even at the loudest setting and playing Sad But True by Metallica, the supergroup’s trademark double kickdrum sound never upset the balance of the Antara. At the same time, it has a sound that doesn’t excite you or make your feet tap. This is where the pre-out will come in handy if you have a spare subwoofer lying around, or want to experiment with a budget 8in or 6in specimen by Edifier, Yamaha, JBL or the like.

Instead, it aims to deliver natural vocals and a laid-back midrange, making it more suited for vocal jazz, Hindustani classical or acoustic music than overproduced hip-hop or singalong stadium rock. Put on some Diana Krall or Harry Belafonte and it expresses its intentions with clarity and sobriety. Going for a more sedate presentation rather than an exciting one, Sonodyne may limit the appeal of the Antara to a younger audience, but if you prefer neutrality and accuracy over showboating, then you may attach yourself to it. Much depends on your musical preferences though.

A new revised and lower price does make the Sonodyne Antara an attractive choice for anyone looking for a refined and mature sounding speaker. The competition does cater to a certain sound that modern listeners and modern music alike demand, but the Antara feels charmingly old-world in its approach. From its boxy but functional design to its array of drivers and solid build, it’s not for everyone but for those who don’t live by trends.