Q Acoustics E300A

The Q Acoustics E300A puts the amplifier in the ceiling. Instead of a box on a shelf feeding in-ceiling speakers through cables in the wall, the amplifier itself is fitted into the ceiling void alongside the speakers, so the room has nothing in it but two speaker grilles.

It delivers 2 × 25 W into 6 ohms, tuned for Q Acoustics’ own in-ceiling and in-wall speakers, and it can drive up to four speakers in one room or across rooms.

What Apple Home actually does with it

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

• It shows up 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.

It is not an accessory you switch on or set the volume of from the Home app. Power, input selection and volume stay with the unit, its remote and its own app.

Amazon Alexa is built in, using three far-field microphones for 360-degree pickup, so the ceiling also becomes the voice control point.

Before you buy

The fire rating is the detail installers care about: it is certified to maintain a 60-minute fire barrier without a separate fire hood, which removes a fiddly and often badly done part of a ceiling speaker installation.

This is fitted during building work or a renovation, not retrofitted on a wet afternoon. It needs ceiling void access, mains power in the ceiling and, realistically, an electrician.

Specifications