The best and wackiest high-end wireless speakers

In recent years, the "high-end" wireless speaker category has blossomed in response to demand from cashed-up audiophiles craving the convenience of a "hi-fi in a single box".

Taking the lead from the likes of Sonos and the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin these models can cost anywhere from $500 to over half a million. They can support the most up-to-date standards including Apple AirPlay 2, Chromecast built-in, Bluetooth 5.0 and even voice.

The following pages feature some of the best, and also some of the most bizarre, high-end wireless speakers available today.

McIntosh has dipped its toes into wireless speakers before with the RS100 but now it's shouting "cannonball!" with the RS200. This $3,000 speaker offers not one but two VU meters and a pleasing "floating" design. It offers support for AirPlay 2, DTS Play-Fi and Bluetooth and also allows you to connect it to your TV via HDMI.

Klipsch's The Three with Google Assistant might be affordable by high-end standards at $500 but it offers some features the others can't. 

First it comes with a built-in voice assistant and Chromecast. And second... I mean, just look at it. It's got a beautiful mid-century modern look with a real walnut top and bottom and an old-school cloth grill. And it doesn't sound bad either.

At $10,000 or so, the Sonus Faber SF 16 is definitely in the upper stratosphere when it comes to wireless speakers. But what makes it truly special is a unique pair of retractable arms which house the mid-range drivers and tweeters .

The $4,500 (£3,500) Cotodama Lyric Speaker is part karaoke machine, part wireless speaker. The Lyric Speaker offers a transparent front panel which can display lyrics for over 2 million songs. 

A wireless speaker made of concrete? You'd better believe it. Master & Dynamic's $1,600 speaker features both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity and was dreamed up by the designer of the National Museum of African History in Culture.

The Devialet Gold Phantom is a high-end wireless speaker with a somewhat-crazy 4,500 watts of power. True to its name, it features 22-carat rose-gold flourishes and costs a cool $3,000 (£1,690 or about AU$3,050). We ran a brief demo in the CNET office and it sounded better than the previous Phantoms we've tested, including...

This Devialet Silver Phantom, which will set you back a cool $2,350. Like the Gold Phantom and the "vanilla" Phantom, the Silver one features a pressurized design that the makers liken to a bomb. It features a quirky setup routine -- "gently touch the Phantom" -- and streams Spotify Connect, and over Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

The original Naim mu-so is a $1,500 tabletop radio with a drop-dead gorgeous design and high-end performance. While it could act as a sound bar for your TV, you wouldn't want to put anything on top of it due to its distinctive weighted volume-knob-come-control-panel.

The $1,000 Naim mu-so Qb is a is a cut-down version of the original. It features a lucite base, uniquely modern lines and a giant touchscreen with a volume knob on top.

Where the first Zeppelin was an iPod dock, this $700 Zeppelin Wireless has dispensed with proprietary connectors entirely in favor of a more egalitarian option. This high-end speaker comes with Bluetooth, AirPlay and Spotify Connect, and it sounds good to boot.

One of the original credenza-style wireless speakers, the Polk Audio Woodbourne debuted in 2013 for $600. Its Bluetooth-only design places it behind the more advanced Wi-Fi models, but it's comparatively reasonably priced at $300.

The wireless Eclipse TD-M1 is a wireless, desktop stereo speaker system worth $1,000. While it features Wi-Fi and AirPlay, you can also connect anything you like to its 3.5mm input.

The OneClassic2 is a self-contained, fully wireless speaker. It's a stereo speaker pair that features an acrylic construction. While the company suggests the speakers are rugged and portable, at $3,680 you may be more comfortable leaving them on a side table.

At $1,600 the wireless Dynaudio Xeo 2 isn't the craziest speaker here, but it's the performance rather than the price or design that makes the Xeo 2 stand out. CNET's Audiophiliac reckons they're "the sort of speaker a seasoned audiophile could love."

The House of Marley One Foundation features a distinctive thick slab of oak and offers a number of different streaming and connectivity options.

While not as "fancy" as some of the other speakers here, the latest Sonos Play:5 brings with it the heritage that inspired many high-end wireless speakers. It isn't decorated with bits of gold, and it doesn't even have Bluetooth. But its performance is excellent performance and it's amazingly easy to use.

Another entrant in the $1,000 compact hi-fi speaker category, the McIntosh RS100 is based on DTS' Play-Fi standard. This standard makes it more compatible with other manufacturers such as Polk, Definitive Technology and even Rotel.

The McIntosh has a unique look with a typically macho VU meter and silver knobs.

Looking more like a can crusher than a wireless speaker, the $4,600 HiVi MS-2 is truly one of the weirdest designs I've come across. It's a 2.1-channel system, somehow, and includes both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity.

A wireless alternative to the well-received KEF LS50, this pair of $2,200 speakers adds onboard amplification in addition to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The KEF system offers a tightly integrated sound and its ability to serve directly from high-end Roon software makes it a 21st-century jukebox.

The Bluesound family of products is brought to us from the minds behind NAD and PSB and has a number of features Sonos doesn't. First is support for hi-res music. Second is a dedicated CD ripper and server called the Vault 2. 

No high-end wireless speaker roundup would be complete without this tower of ridiculousness: The AeroDream One from Jarre Technologies. 

This gleaming iPhone dock and aptX-Bluetooth speaker -- last valued at $560,000 -- requires a ladder to reach the top. This particular one is pictured with electronic musician and designer Jean Michel Jarre.