Gadget Review: Stellé Audio Pillar

The Stellé Audio Pillar is a portable Bluetooth speaker and it is a beautifully crafted piece of technology delivering great sound.

Rather than opting for a standard speaker shape, Stellé Audio Couture have instead opted for a 12.5 inch (32cm) tall cylinder wrapped in a lightly brushed steel casing. The design of the Pillar is perfectly suited to fit any home, without being overtly noticeable.

The Pillar is light enough to put in a bag and take to the beach, and yet sturdy enough to cope with the occasional bump and being carried everywhere. Believe us, you'll want to take this with you. Available in seven different styles ranging from the iPhone high gloss white, to the more creative matt black with metallic gold print, it's obvious that Stellé have not scrimped on the design quality; for the price you would expect so.

After the box arrived, looking more like a glamorous perfume set than a speaker, we unpacked and found a the headphone jack cable and the charger, and a variety of different plug adaptors. The Pillar connects wirelessly over Bluetooth to any enabled device acting not only as a speaker for your music, but also as a hands free for calls. Syncing your devices to the Pillar is simply a matter of clicking two buttons, once paired the speaker and device have a range of up to 50 feet (15m).



We were able to pair up our phones, and also used the 3.5mm headphone jack cable to attach the speaker to our standard non Bluetooth TV. The sound from the TV filled the room, and gave much more depth than the TV's own speakers. How does it sound?

Hidden beneath the Pillar's sumptuous body are two 1.5 inch (4cm) acoustic drivers towards the top and a 3 inch (7.5cm) subwoofer at the bottom. They combine to create a beautifully balanced sound that took us totally by surprise. It really does sound fantastic for a device of this size and shape. This is not a speaker you'd use at a party, but for listening even in large rooms, the sound is full and robust. The bass is deep, and we have to apologise to our neighbours for the variety of music we have been blasting through the Pillar since its arrival.

There are a few minor niggles with it - most notably the location of the power button which is located at the rear of the Pillar. It's not difficult to get to; after all - the device is circular - but it feels like awkward placing, and would maybe have been better suited to prime position on the top of the speaker; and perhaps the sync button, which wouldn't get used that often, could get bumped down to the basement.



The other major factor for this device is the cost: the Stellé Audio Pillar starts at £299, and goes up to £349 for the different designs. It is a high entry point, but this is a device that delivers. Often Bluetooth speakers are tiny, and lack the power to produce deep, strong sound. That's not the case with the Pillar, which delivers rich sound. The quality of the build ensures that this is a speaker worth considering.

The Stellé Audio Pillar is available from Apple Stores and Selfridges.

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