Argon Audio Forte A5 WIFI

The Argon Audio Forte A5 WIFI is the middle model in Argon Audio’s Forte range of active wireless speakers: a stereo pair with the amplification, conversion and network streaming built in, so no separate electronics are needed.

It is the sensible choice for a normal living room, with more bass extension than the A4 and a smaller footprint than the A55.

Argon is a Danish brand competing on value rather than prestige, selling through a small number of retailers and putting the budget into the parts that affect the sound.

What Apple Home actually does with it

This is an AirPlay 2 speaker rather than a HomeKit accessory.

• It appears in the Home app as a speaker you can play to, and as an AirPlay target in Control Centre.
• You can assign it to a room and group it with HomePods for synchronised multi-room audio.
• Siri can send music to it by room name.
• It can be the audio output in a scene or an automation.

You cannot switch it on or set its volume from the Home app the way you would a light. Those stay with the speaker and its own app.

Before you buy

Active speakers are sold as a pair with the electronics in one of the two cabinets, so plan for a mains socket at that speaker and a cable running to the other.

The Forte range takes physical inputs as well as wireless ones, which matters if a turntable or a television is involved.

Argon also makes the SA2 streaming amplifier for use with passive speakers.

Specifications