PSB iQ2 review: Premium sound meets smart-speaker convenience

A great app experience turns this wireless stereo setup into a capable hub for your home audio.

For the past decade, multi-room smart speakers have been dominated by the same companies that sell us our phones , tablets and cloud services . Somewhere along the way, music became a secondary feature rather than the focus of the device playing it. Traditional hi-fi brands have struggled to compete, usually leaning on sound quality alone as their advantage with limited mainstream success.

There's an emerging trend of hi-fi speakers combining the convenience of streaming and multi-room connectivity with their premium audio performance and physical connectivity. The iQ2 from PSB ($1,399) is one such product. It promises the acoustic benefits of bookshelf speakers, packs in almost every input you could need and stirs in many of the everyday conveniences listeners now expect. The emphasis is less on "smart" and more on "speaker," positioning the absence of voice assistants and daily briefings as a feature, not a compromise. At least, that's the idea.

Make no mistake, the iQ2 looks like a pair of conventional shelf speakers, albeit modern, minimalist ones. They have a sleek aesthetic that doesn't call your attention, that adds a gentle stylish detail to a room. At about 9 x 6 inches, they're on the smaller side for speakers and should fit neatly on most TV stands or even desks. The units I tested came in white, but there's a total of seven hues to choose from — ranging from cautious beige to bold red. Personally, I love how they look and I think there's a good balance of grown-up style, without tipping over into serious hi-fi territory.

The design makes it clear that they're "here to play music" rather than the "I might be an air purifier" vibe of some home assistant-style smart speakers. Though it's fair to say that the form-factor isn't suitable for all parts of the home. In smaller rooms, and in practical spaces like a kitchen, these speakers might feel a little out of place.

Never say never, though. The iQ2 speakers don't need a cable to join them together, even though they're a stereo pair. This makes room placement much tidier and easier. Both speakers will, however, need a wall outlet for power. One of the speakers acts as a primary with all the input ports, so it doesn't matter, for example, which side of the TV your HDMI port is on — your speakers can match. The primary also has touch-sensitive buttons on top for basic media and volume controls.

I already gave you a hint, but there's a comprehensive selection of inputs available on the iQ2. There are physical connections for HDMI (with eARC), phono/line, optical and two USB ports (Type-A and Type-C). For wireless connectivity, there's Bluetooth (aptX Adaptive) and AirPlay. You can also configure network sharing, if that's your thing. Wherever your music lives — on disc or as data — there's likely a way to play it through the iQ2 with little effort. I say little, as there's no 3.5mm connection, so you might need an RCA adapter for an old phone or portable CD player. But that's the only friction point for adding music sources.

As Sonos learned at great expense , users won't tolerate a bad app experience for long — no matter how good the hardware or sound. PSB has a quiet strength here, as it's part of the same family of companies that makes the BluOS controller app. The app is compatible with a number of streaming speakers from different brands, but the iQ2 benefits from what feels like near native integration.