Free is a new brand created by SMC (Steve Moore Consultancy) which is a specialist in custom-install or multi-room AV. Their systems are usually totally integrated into the fabric of a house and thus cost a lot of money but offer a lot of convenience. With the idea of creating a speaker that offered the same degree of convenience and lack of cabling but in a product that didn't require cables to be chased into walls, they came up with the concept of the Free speaker, so called because it can be run almost wirelessly when combined with Sonos or Apple music distribution systems. I say almost, this is an active design with onboard amplification and therefore it requires mains power to run and you'll need mains sockets in convenient places to keep the power cables out of the way.
SMC developed the FS1 with the assistance of loudspeaker company PMC, basing it on that company's GB1 model but with some significant changes to the transmission line that is a hallmark of PMC designs. The FS1 differs from a GB1 by having a different shape transmission line and different damping foam and which vents through the base, which is why the Free has relatively long spikes that fit through outrigger brackets to enhance stability.
The amplifier in each speaker is a class D design based on the Hypex module, an analogue controlled design with a linear power supply (a good thing) that produces 50 watts for the tweeter and 100 watts for the mid/bass unit. The incoming signal is converted to digital at 24-bits/96kHz prior to being split by a DSP (digital signal processor) crossover, which is a more precise approach than the analogue crossovers in most active loudspeakers.
The cabinet itself comes in either black or white finish and houses a 95mm doped paper mid/bass driver and a 27mm soft dome tweeter behind a magnetically attached grille, which means there are no ugly lugholes if you take it off.
In the speaker's base is a space for the installation of a Sonos ZP80 wireless distribution unit or an Apple Airport Express box along with all the relevant cables to connect it to the speaker and power supply. With one of these connected to your Wi-Fi router and another one in each speaker you can send music stored on your PC to both speakers, and most of the time it works.
Wireless systems however are not 100 per cent as more and more of us are beginning to appreciate, and with ZP80s costing around £269 a pop this increases the overall price by a fair amount. You can of course take the Airport route which reduces that price by about two thirds but the Sonos controller is a very nice thing to use. It works like an iPod for your PC or NAS drive (network attached storage - a hard drive that can play music with or without a PC) and makes playing the track, genre or artist of your choice so easy that you will have difficulty going back to sticking discs in a CD player.
Sound quality
The FS1 is a lively and hugely entertaining speaker, with a good source and preamp it delivers a revealing and remarkably wide band sound for its size. One doesn't expect this sort of bass welly from something so slim but that's the advantage of active operation, it can boost the bass in the same way that a subwoofer can and thus you get big speaker bass from a compact drive unit.
In this case the amplifier is switching type which is not always a good thing - some varieties have a fragility and thinness to the treble which is a bit short on appeal, but the compact unit in the FS1 delivers an analytical but smooth sound that gives you definition without glare. It also helps the speaker deliver high resolution by keeping the noise floor down further than most and delivering good clean power.
This degree of transparency is fine with a decent hi-fi source and preamp but if you make the mistake of comparing that with an MP3 version of the same thing transmitted wirelessly the result is inevitably a little lacklustre. If you avoid the comparison and use as background listening, then it's fine. Alternatively, bypass the wireless element, connect the Sonos box to a decent DAC and use it as a source and you have rather more impressive results. This may not be totally in keeping with the Free ethos but it does let you reproduce your digitally stored music at surprisingly good quality.
The FS1 has a crisper sound than the average amp/speaker combination but it avoids sounding bright or aggressive unless you give it a really horrible signal. This means that the music it delivers is well timed and highly entertaining, especially if you like to play at highish levels.
 |
|
 |
|
It must be said that the Free FS1 is on the expensive side for an active design of its size but then again you are paying for the wireless potential which is not available to the same extent elsewhere and of course its styling is impeccable. With the right source, it's capable of delivering superb sound quality, making it an option worth considering for less wires, if not exactly wireless sound.
|
 |
