Loewe, the small brand with a great tradition, has experienced severe crises.

The company is one of the last manufacturers of entertainment electronics in Germany.

In the meantime there are also interesting things to report about new products.

For example, via a whole family of wireless streaming speakers.

Their naming follows tried-and-tested company conventions: in Loewe's nomenclature, everything that has a screen is called a picture, and everything that makes a sound has the family name of sound.

The new loudspeakers have an additional abbreviation to indicate their multi-room function.

We ordered two models from the series, the compact floorstanding speaker Klang Mr5 and the smaller shelf version Mr3, for the preview.

Both come in cone-shaped cases, covered all around with a gray, coarsely woven fabric that goes well with modern furniture.

A glass plate on the top serves as a touch panel.

Swipes can change volume or go to the next piece of music, tap to stop or restart playback or access program memory.

Inside the Mr5, three tweeters, three broadband chassis, two passive radiators and a woofer share the work, the Mr3 does not need a tweeter trio.

Loewe chose the DTS Play-Fi system as the technical streaming platform, a solution that is already being used by 30 other hi-fi and TV brands.

In this way, streaming components from different manufacturers can be combined into a multi-room system, which is an attractive aspect.

Installation is difficult

Up to 32 loudspeakers can play music in the network, which should be enough even for spacious properties.

The Loewe loudspeakers can also be combined with a soundbar from the manufacturer to form a latency-free surround system.

And, as is usual in this class of device, they make music both as soloists and in a stereo combination.

To prepare for their performance, we first installed the Play-Fi app on an iPhone and set up the WiFi connection in the first step.

This procedure was a bit tedious.

The WPS pairing with the router only worked after several attempts.

Unfortunately, the overly Spartan user manual does little to solve the problem.

The app can call up a small info video, but instead of a real tutorial, it shows advertising messages.

So be it: When the network connection was finally established, the app found our test loudspeakers automatically and the first listening sessions could start.

The Play-Fi control software does not create its own music database, but creates connections to all conceivable streaming sources, such as Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, Quobuz or Tidal apps.

Music servers in the home network that support the UPnP protocol can also be addressed.

The Play-Fi repertoire also includes radio transmissions based on the Airplay 2 and Google Chromecast standards, and even Bluetooth connections are possible.

On the Loewe loudspeakers, the button for establishing the connection is located under a cover in the loudspeaker base.

Analogue players can also be docked via a jack socket that is also hidden, as is customary in the old days.

Mr3 makes music less spacious

In concert use, we particularly liked the larger Mr5 loudspeaker.

Its rather brilliant tuning gives it a fresh, transparent sound that conveys a remarkable sense of space even in a solo performance.

The tweeters, which radiate diagonally to the sides, make it possible.

And the bass volume of the slim standing cone is powerful enough to survive without subwoofer support.

The Mr3 does not make music as spacious as its larger counterpart, it simply lacks the three tweeters.

We therefore recommend a stereo partner.

Of course, the little one doesn't produce such powerful basses either, but it has one decisive strength.

Its balanced tonal balance gives it a natural, unobtrusive timbre.

So the price is right in both cases.

The Mr5 sound costs around 650 euros, the Mr3 around 550 euros.