Firstly, it looks dead smart. The front cover is a fine smooth mesh made of material, rather than plastic. The quality of the rest of the speaker is excellent. Can get very loud when using wi-fi, which could obviously be amplified even further if you use the multi-room feature (connecting several units). Love the pre-set internet radio feature, the buttons are intuitive. Comes with an extra piece to enable secure wall-mounting. This is a great looking piece of kit which i feel will still look good in years to come.
Very mixed feelings about this speaker. On it’s merits for sound quality, it’s a solid 5 stars, but for everything else it just lets itself down. First off – what the hell is this thing?. Well, it’s sort of like a bluetooth speaker on steroids. You can set it up to connect directly to any internet radio source you want, and by using multiple all-play speakers you can then stream music, simultaneously, throughout the house. You can also do things like be listening to music on your headphones though your phone while out and about, and then seamlessly continue the music through your allplay speakers as you come home. Or, you can use it as a bluetooth speaker. The big, big problem with this gorgeous sounding device is the app. I’m no neophyte when it comes to internet of things. Things, but this was a complete pain to set up and took me the best part of an hour to get working.
I’ve been a long-time sonos user, having two sonos play 3 and a sonos play 5, but i’d heard that the panasonic all range had improved greatly since its first outing, so was looking forward to seeing how the all9 compares to its sonos equivalent. The speaker is quite large (15′ wide, 8′ high, 4′ deep), but in black it still looks quite nice and sleek. On the back there is the socket for the power cable, a lan ethernet cable socket, and a 3. 5mm jack socket (more on that later). On top there are six buttons that can be assigned to preset internet radio stations, volume up and down buttons, indicators for the connection type (network, bluetooth and aux), and an on/off button. The first important thing to say — and to me this is often not made clear in product descriptions for speakers such as this — is that this is a wireless and a bluetooth speaker, so you can connect via wifi, or bluetooth (or indeed both). Connection to wi-fi is quite easy. You download the panasonic music stream app, and when the speaker is turned on, the speaker generates its own wi-fi network. You connect your device (in this case my first device was an iphone 6s), join the all network, and you’re then prompted to choose the wi-fi network with which you want to work (in my case bt infinity), and enter the wireless key for this. The wi-fi light on the speaker turns solid blue, and you’re good to go.
The panasonic all-9 certainly looks the part, is well made and would fit well in most living rooms without screaming ‘hi-tech gadget’ to anyone who sees it. In use there’s plenty of volume from this relatively compact device, it’s a bit stiff sounding to start with but the speakers settle in quite quickly and the sound becomes more natural sounding. So if you a loud, but unobtrusive wi-fi speak the panasonic all-9 is a good choice, but there are a few irritations…the first one i came across is the power lead is at least a foot too short to reach the plug if i put the all-9 on my average height mantle piece (the plus socket is on the side of the chimney breast). My sonos 1 cable reaches without a problem. In terms of hardware i don’t really have any complaints, but the software is disappointing – not terrible or unusable, just fussy and long winded. Where as the sonos set-up was simple and slick, the panasonic set-up and associated music stream app is lots of text and tiny buttons. And once everything is installed and the hardware is up and running it’s not particularly intuitive – particularly if you want to link to a music library on network computer (in my case a mac with pnp software installed). To be honest using it felt like harder work than it should be. So overall good hardware (cable aside), but the software side of things could/should be improved.
This is a tough one to review. Having tried this speakerbox out in a number of different ways of using it, i can certainly say it is gutsy. Clear top notes and an effective bass with its multiple speakers inside the cabinet. Panasonic is a stablemate of technics in japan so i would expect nothing less. Firstly as an experiment i tried the aux in with a cable to a pc soundcard and was rewarded with exceptional performance using it that way. Bluetooth performance is also quite good. There is a little loss when sending music to it that way from a device or computer, but it is effective and could easily pay its way as a soundbar for a high quality tv. We have a recently purchased panasonic tx-49dx600b tv in the family so a test there also produced good results. Certainly shows the versatility of this product.
The rrp for this is over £300 and it’s certainly not worth that, especially as you can get a decent rig for half that. But if you shop around you may find it reduced in which case it’s worth a go. Despite what some others say, i quite like the way it looks. The controls and inputs/outputs are simple and straightforward to use. The wi-fi is easy to set up after you download the unit app and the instructions are straightforward enough. It copes with bluetooth and internet radio, the sound is good especially on the bass end and you can even hook it up by cable to a hi-fi system to cover all bases. But only at the right price.
- ALL9 Panasonic’s big wireless wonder
- Extra apps needed
- ALL8 with added features (and hopefully added reliability)
The others reviews present have really hit the nail on the head about the contradictions of this pansonic speaker. So a short review to summarize the experience of this user, which appears to resonate with others. Pros* the sound quality is good. It handles bass well, has a great low end and whilst some speakers have a vibration problem it cannot be detected on this product. If your view of a product is conditioned by what you get then there is real substance present. (but see below)* the fact that this is a wireless and a bluetooth speaker is very useful. Connecting with wireless does tend to give it more range around the house and can be more stable than bluetooth. * the presence of an aux connection with a lead also allows you to connect this by cable to older devices. Cons* the software is not fit for purpose. Read the excellent review by emteq (8/10 for hardware, 2/10 for software, 28 jan. 2017) which sets this out in copious detail that does not need repeating here. Suffice it to say that on one occasion this speaker nearly departed through the window because of these problems. * the largeness of this speaker is a strength and weakness. Many people play music through the pc and seek a desk based speaker such as the compact bose soundlink mini that blasts out a great sound without taking over your space.
I underestimated the size of this speaker as what i extracted from the box was quite a beast. Check the dimensions before you order. The all9 has 6 preset digital radio buttons and can connect to various devices using bluetooth or wifi. This includes connecting to spotify if you have spotify premium which i do. I keep mine in the kitchen to listen to music and podcasts when cooking, streaming music and audio from my phone. The speaker works excellently for this task giving a rich and deep sound for me to boogie to while i cook. The main downsides of the speaker are that i had to download two different apps on my phone; one to set up the speaker on the wifi and a second to program the radio stations. Neither apps are going to win awards for ease of use and it knocks a star off an otherwise quality product.
As other reviewers have observed, this speaker is big, so make sure you have room for it by checking dimensions against available space(s) before ordering. It’s not something you will carry around with you. I have no other panasonic devices so i’m comparing it to my little bose soundlink bluetooth units. I wouldn’t say that the sound from it is better than the bose. Bigger, but not better in its detail, if you know what i mean. The music streaming app from panasonic is much improved as long as you are playing music already on your phone. Last time i tried one of these units, if you were playing music via it, then the app didn’t allow me to access the internet simultaneously. So far i have only streamed radio, but no problems so far. And it has 6 preset buttons.
Once the all9 is connected it sounds pretty good, as is quite usual the user’s instructions could be a little clearer – probably a case all the letters are there, but not necessarily in the right order – these instructions actually combine the all9 manual with that of the panasonic all6 speaker, which can for some maybe make things unclear at times.
==getting my rant out the way==i have an existing panasonic allplay speaker network, so this expanded this nicely. However, having been badly burnt in the past by panasonic, and the faults in it’s first generation sc-allx units, and their whitewashing of the problem, it’s really hard to want to have anything to do with panasonic ever again. But hey, i am essentially locked in via existing technology purchases, so have little choice in that matter. ==overview==this is essentially a reworking of the fatally flawed all8 wireless speaker, adding 2nd generation features like the preset buttons, and restreaming from aux-in and bluetooth, and nfc touch. All these features really take this unit to the next level and the preset buttons are a game changer, meaning once setup, you don’t need to use the (still clunky, but much improved) panasonic music streaming app. ==sound quality==the sound quality from this unit is superb, really is top notch and hard to fault. And unlike sonos, allplay supports 24/96 uncompressed flac, means you really can throw hd audio at this and it sounds superb, you really won’t be disappointed by the sound quality. The other area in which allplay excels, is in room-room latency, which is substantially lower, meaning better sync between speakers (and in my experience, much less change of loss of sync). Allplay really is the platform of choice for people that care about music quality. And this speaker delivers a great build off the qualcomm allplay hardware platform.
Features of Panasonic SC-ALL9EB-K 80W Powerfull Multi Room Speaker
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by entering your model number.
- ALL Connected Multi-Room Speaker with 80W output power
- Play Music from almost any source all controlled from the Panasonic Music Streaming App
- Precise sound and distortion-free 2 Woofers, 2 Tweeters and Sub
- Bluetooth Wireless Technology
- Send Music from Smartphone / tablet to other ALL connected speakers
From the manufacturer
ALL9
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Tucked inside the ALL9’s timeless design is an innovative, specially engineered five-speaker digital audio system, including an integrated subwoofer, capable of producing up to 80 W of beautiful sounding music. Plus with six preset buttons at your fingertips, it’s never been easier to listen to the music you love. The ALL9 can also be connected to all your other ALL Connected speakers via the easy-to-use Panasonic Music Streaming App, and can stream music from a huge range of music sources.
Listen Without Limits
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Listen Without Limits
The ALL Connected Audio system is a group of devices you can network wirelessly for seamless multi-room playback of almost any audio source, from your smart device, digital music library, CDs or music subscription service. Options include the ALL9, ALL6, ALL05 and ALL2 Speakers, ALL7CD and ALL5CD Micro Hifi systems, PMX100 high-resolution HiFi, ALL70T home cinema Soundbar, ALL30T Soundbase and finally ALL1C Connect Device, which can upgrade your existing audio equipment to make it compatible with any other ALL Connected device.
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Any source, any time, anywhere
Listen to the music you love wherever you are, from the kitchen to the bathroom and even outdoors. The ALL Connected family is flexible enough to play almost any music source you like. Digital music collections on your smart device or NAS drive, DAB, Internet, FM Radio, CDs, AUX and even TV sound are supported. The updated Panasonic Music Streaming App is better than ever before, giving you the flexibility to enjoy the original features and re-streaming functions.
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Sound Quality
The ALL9 produces an incredibly wide soundstage for its size. Inside the chassis there are five speaker drivers: two tweeters for pristine treble, two 3-inch woofers for a dynamic mid-range, and a large subwoofer for extra bass. It’s the perfect speaker to fill larger spaces like living rooms with stunning, immersive sound.
The speakers employ a new suspension structure to reduce distortion too, while unique Panasonic digital amplification further enhances treble. The 80W ALL9 can also play high-resolution FLAC files.
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Bluetooth
It’s never been easier to listen to the music you love, all through your home. Stream your favourite radio station and digital track directly, or use your Bluetooth enabled smart devices to effortlessly stream music from YouTube or your preferred subscription service. Plus the ALL Connected Audio system works seamlessly, putting you in control to easily re-stream music wherever you are in your home.
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Panasonic Music Streaming App
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Panasonic Music Streaming App
Enhanced usability, intuitive control and guidance options – this app offers all you need to finish the initial settings. The clean and simple graphical user interface enables intuitive control over multiple speaker groupings, re-streaming operation and of course access to all your favourite music. The Panasonic Music Streaming App V3. is available to download free from the App Store.
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This is such a difficult review to write. I’m trying desperately not to compare it to the rather disastrous all8 that basically stopped working after a couple of years. This all9 has certainly been improved. The added presets for radio are a good feature as is the addition of blue tooth, however the main problem is that it still needs to function with the incredibly clunky panasonic app. It’s just not slick enough compared to the device. To be honest, i’ve given up trying to stream my music and just use it for radio and spotify. If only there were more competition on the controller front,it’s an attractive enough piece of kit, in a black rectungular sort of way, and the quality of sound is exceptionally good, rich, deeep and fills the room nicely. It was easy to set up and recognised all our software on our devices from the all8. It’s certainly an improvement but i really feel that on the next upgrade panasonic should really overhaul the software to provide an easier user experience.
Been hunting through sonos, sony, chrome cast audio to find something that meets all our family needs. The all9 does it all, great sound, easy to use with 6 internet station presets, an aux to plug anything you like in and an ok app, its easy enough to use, not sure what all the moaning is about on here. Talking of moaning on here, set up was a doddle, press a button on unit 4secs, press wps button on side of router done, took no more than a minute. Very happy boy will be buying more units to build this set up, although you really don’t need to, sounds awesome.
I don’t know where to start with this. If i were basing my review solely on the quality of sound coming out of this speaker, then we’d probably be looking nearer the 4th star rating. As it is, i feel bad giving it 2 stars, but there are just too many problems encountered. Let’s start with the size of this behemoth. It’s big, and it’s heavy, and as something which is designed to sit in your house somewhere, it just looks like it is out of place; a huge chunk of black plastic that won’t fit anywhere. My wife immediately suggested that this does not belong in our house. She also mentions that this needs to bring an end to my speaker addiction, but we all know it probably won’t be. Initial connection to the device is quite easy; you connect your phone to the speaker as a wifi source, and then you get to set it up to connect to your wifi – easy. The app is where most problems occur with these types of speaker in my opinion; i recently tried to set up a b&o speaker, the app for that made it unusable.
Firstly the sound is quite amazing, this is very much a plus but it is also rather a big speaker, so i’d have been disappointed had it not have been. Now the annoying bits – while bluetooth connectivity is rather straightforward and works very well to play iplayer, youtube, other media servers etc although the sound quality is reduced a little. But if you want to use this speaker to the best of its (apparent) ability you need other apps. The panasonic app starts out intuitive enough, it picks out the speaker and lets it connect to your wireless network easily enough, but to actually play music through it is dire. It makes itunes look good, that’s how bad it is. If you have music on your device then it isn’t too bad, it can find it easily enough and plays it, but to find music stored remotely on connected servers is slow, unintuitive and frankly painful. It’s frustrating to have this amazing powerful speaker and i feel i can only really use it as a common or garden bluetooth speaker as that’s the easiest and most intuitive way – however you lose something for sound qualitythe spotify integration works well but only if you have premium which we do, otherwise it’s a wasted feature. Basically the speakers system is good, great sound, and when it works it’s wonderful 5*but the apps needed to use it to its full capacity are annoying and shouldn’t be necessary 2*(this was based on apple mobile devices, i can’t speak for android users).
This panasonic multi room speaker is an impressive bit of kit. Straight out of the box this was easy to set up and once i had my streaming app open on my phone this sync-ed up and i was playing music in no time at all. The sound is very bassy and it is definitely aimed at more modern music, but the sound overall was very good and handled a mixture of blues, rock and metal that i normally listen to. It was compact enough to be unobtrusive and yet big enough to provide an adequate sound spread.
This large panasonic speaker gives out a fantastic sound, better then smaller bluetooth speaks i have around the house, however i would expect this given the size comparison to the bose ones i have and the 80w output. The bluetooth connected up straight away, and seems reliable. I did download the app, however having different branded speaks in my house i have too many apps on my phone. To get the most from this speak you do need the app i have so far had it playing from an iphone, samsung tablet and via youtube. I haven’t tried adding more speakers to the system so can’t comment on that. Overall really good sound, just a little lareg.
ALL Connected Multi-Room Speaker with 80W output power
This speaker looks fantastic – it’s fairly bulky but looks great on the shelf, very minimalistic with subtle buttons along the top of the device. You can connect via bluetooth or wifi and run spotify through it – if you’ve got premium you can also use your phone/laptop as a remote, which i really liked. Connecting to wi-fi is quite easy, just need to download the panasonic music stream app. Similarly, connecting via bluetooth is quick and painless. I also liked that you can set it up as an internet radio, with six presets. The only thing for me is the sound quality which lets it down (and is fairly crucial when it comes to a speaker). I found it to be a bit muffled unless you were sat directly in front of it – not much use if it’s in the corner of the room. It does go quite impressively loud though. Other reviews haven’t mentioned the sound issue, so perhaps i’m missing a setting or have a defective unit.
I have an all8 as well, which like another reviewer here also stopped working but luckily it was within warranty. The service centre told me they had some issues with the processor chip in the first generation of the all speakers but this is now resolved in these second gen units. My all 8 now has one of these chips in :o)i love the sound out of the all9 which is the same as the all8. This being the biggest speaker in the range it easily fills a large room with clear detailed sound and a great low end. With the app you can connect the two as stereo and that takes it up another leveli now have 5 speakers around the house including an all30 tv sound base and love the easy of using them all on spotify and the panasonic app is now really rather good, it was poor. The new range with the internet radio presets are great as you don’t need to grab a device to get some sound going. Re-stream is also cool to send anything from one speaker, be that a bluetooth source or a connected aux input, to any or all of you other speakers. Don’t use it to often mind as mostly spotify. I really do not understand spending hundreds more on sonos per speaker but hey, if you’ve got money to burn and prefer the look.
Play Music from almost any source all controlled from the Panasonic Music Streaming App
Precise sound and distortion-free 2 Woofers, 2 Tweeters and Sub
Bluetooth Wireless Technology
