MusicRadar Verdict
At this price, it makes getting a Sonos system look increasingly crazy.
Pros
- +
Connects easily. Decent sound quality. Affordable.
Cons
- -
Mains powered and no battery option.
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Digital music streamers can be expensive and complicated. In this age of Spotify and capacious mobile devices, they're also increasingly irrelevant. Step up the Aves Mercury. It's the size of a well-worn bar of soap and acts as the perfect go-between for your clever mobile device and your dumb stereo.
"Our iPhone 5 picked up the Mercury every time without a hitch"
The phone sees the Mercury via Bluetooth and streams audio from your choice of app, be it the onboard music player, Spotify, radio... whatever. Meanwhile, the Mercury connects via a 3.5mm stereo line-out to RCA jack and your amp and speakers treat it like a CD player.
Our iPhone 5 picked up the Mercury every time without a hitch and Bluetooth range is great (we even streamed tunes through walls from adjoining rooms).
Sound quality is loud and proud and certainly good enough for Spotify's 'high quality' streams and 256 AAC on-board audio.
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