Adding Audio to Your Smart Home

A smart house does not become a smart home until certain creature comforts have been incorporated into the domicile.

Whether it’s waking to music on a weekend morning, listening to podcasts while preparing dinner or that universal staple, singing in the shower, a top-notch audio system is essential in bringing life to our living spaces.

Below, we present some high-end sound equipment that caught our ear.

Speakers that speak to you

Behold the last speaker you may ever need, the Sonos Play: 5 ($499).

Sonos, the name synonymous with stellar sound, has married elegant design with state-of-the-art features in its latest home audio entry.

A powerful performer, the Play: 5 is wifi enabled and offers control across a variety of operating systems and devices (iOS, Android, tablet, computer, smart watches), making set-up and, more importantly, playback a breeze. Furthermore, the Play: 5 can be controlled by any device on your home network with the app installed, turning celebrations into crowd-sourced dance parties (or possible Russian roulettes of rock-n-roll).

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For those with expansive estates, Sonos offers Boost ($99), a signal-amping device to mitigate any playback issues with weak wifi signals caused by network strength or distance.

Perhaps the most intriguing feature of the Play: 5 is its desire to offer you ideal sound for your unique living situation. Equipped with an auto-tuning technology called TruePlay, the Play: 5 will “listen" to the design of your room and configure its output accordingly.

For those who require more cutting-edge capabilities from their speaker system, there is the Amazon Echo ($179.99).

A solid speaker in its own right, the Echo provides omnidirectional audio and can be paired with virtually any streaming audio service, or your own music library. But what separates the Echo from the competition are its sci-fi sensibilities. The smart speaker is voice-controlled and can parse out voice commands while playing audio. And that’s just scraping the surface of the Echo’s abilitiesˆimagine being able to ask Echo to order an Uber while listening to “99 Luftballons.”

Raising the sound bar

Any cinephile worth his or her salt recognizes that sound is an essential element of the modern film experience. For that discerning viewer/listener, there is the LG Electronics LAS855SM ($699).

This gracefully designed sound bar is not just a pretty face. Offering 4.1 channel audio, the curved creation brings the theater experience home. Paired with a wireless woofer and packing 360 watts, the sound set-up should ensure that action films retain their requisite rumble.

Like the woofer, the sound bar features wireless connectivity and can be paired with other speakers on your network to construct the most immersive audio-video experience possible.

Cool food, hot tunes

LG doesn’t just have good taste in sound bars. Meet the LFXS30786S ($3,999), an essential appliance for the audio lover.

While featuring all the fine temperature-control capabilities of a high-end home refrigerator, the LFXS30786S offers just a bit more, in the way of a built-in Bluetooth speaker. Pair your fridge with your phone (or tablet or computer) with the push of a button and enjoy music as you make moussaka.

Singing in the rain

The most affordable audio device listed here also happens to be the most essential: the Omaker M4 Portable Bluetooth 4.0 Wireless speaker for shower or outdoors ($26.99).

This waterproof wonder offers 12 hours of playtime (at 80% volume) and takes just three hours to fully recharge, via USB plug-in, essentially ensuring that you are never stranded without songs while covered in suds.

With connectivity up to 33 feet, owners can leave their paired devices in another room, far from potential water damage, with the only threat coming from family members weary of water-based warbling.