This is a review of JBL FLIP and JBL MICRO Wireless Bluetooth speakers. http://www.jbl.com/estore/jbl/us/pr..._JBL_US?skuId=JBLFLIPBLKAM_JBL_US&searchMode= and http://www.jbl.com/estore/jbl/us/pr..._US?skuId=JBLMICROWIRELESS_JBL_US&searchMode=
"Hear the truth" - is the slogan of JBL products. I don't know if everybody will truly understand this message unless you had a chance to test and to compare dozens of other speakers and headphones. Fortunately I had such opportunity, as you have seen from my previous reviews, and I can tell you with certainty - JBL delivers this message loud and clear, crystal clear! Of course you wouldn't expect anything less from a company that specializes in some of the top audio products under umbrella of Harman. But I was still very surprised how they were able to deliver such high quality from such compact package. Let's take a closer look at what I found.
I'm going to start my review with FLIP. This summer after my review of UE Boom, I got a number of comments and requests to compare these two portable wireless speakers together. Finally I got my chance, but more about comparison a little bit later. I always like to start with a package of the product since it sets a review tone. Once you pick up the box, there is no mistake you are dealing with a premium product, and as a matter of fact the packaging proudly carries an acknowledgment of 2013 International CES Innovations Award. Both FLIP and MICRO have it. Taken out of the box, FLIP looks a little bigger than a can of soda, about 6 1/4" in length and 2 1/2" in diameter. Weighting at 12.5 oz (354g) is not exactly feather light, which is actually a good sign of decent drivers used inside. But overall its very compact, easy to handle with one hand, and also comes with a very neat neoprene zip top traveling pouch. In addition, you also get AC adapter. OK, let me get this out of the way - yes, unfortunately FLIP has to be charged from AC adapter rather than typical micro-usb cable. This is probably the only negative comment you are going to hear from me about this speaker. Once charged up, you get up to 5 hours of playback time, as long as you don't blast it at full max volume.
FLIP is designed to stand upright or to be placed horizontally. For upright position, the end of the speaker without control buttons has a rubber non-slip ring. Due to the design with angled ends, upright position is feasible but will require a flat surface and in general easier to knock the speaker down. Horizontal position makes more sense, and to prevent it from rolling JBL designed two little rubber feet and a small rubber kickstand-stopper. I also found horizontal position better for sound with speakers firing up at an angle. The other side of the speaker has a power button which also used for Bluetooth pairing, Volume up/down control, and Call button. In addition to pairing up as an external speaker, FLIP also works as a speakerphone and I found it to handle calls very good with a crystal clear audio. In the back you have AC adapter plug and AUX Input for the occasions if you want to connect FLIP with 3.5mm audio cable to your source.
Now, here comes the fun part - audio quality. FLIP packs two 40mm drivers with a built in bass port, and let me tell you - it delivers one of the cleanest sound I heard from a portable wireless speaker! Doesn't matter if you have your volume all the way down or cranked up to the max, you will hear undistorted detailed performance with an amazing clarity. Its a relatively balanced sound with emphasis on midrange and treble, while bass adds a nice quality punch. Of course, you have to be realistic that such a small speaker can't deliver significant "quantity" of bass, but the quality is definitely there, balanced very nicely with mids and treble. The sound gets very loud and fills up the room, and can work great outdoors as well. I was honestly amazed by the clarity of the sound. Most of the speakers I reviewed in the past just focus on wireless aspect of delivering the sound and maybe tuning their speakers for extra bass which distorts at higher volumes and overpowers mids and highs. Here you can see that JBL engineers really paid attention to the sound quality, and still were able to deliver it up to 50ft away from your source. Nowhere does it say which BT ver they used, but it really doesn't matter because sound is delivered uncompressed and uncompromised.
Now, back to my original mentioning of FLIP vs BOOM. You have two great companies that have deep roots in audio engineering and technology, so both deliver an outstanding sounding product. But in terms of the final sound quality, I have to give FLIP an edge over BOOM because I felt the sound was more consistent over the whole volume range and was more clear and detailed. The bass sounded very similar in both speakers. Where BOOM has an advantage is longer battery life and micro-usb charging port. BUT, it also cost $100 more. So you really have to think about if if that worth extra $100 for you. Or perhaps, you might want to look into JBL CHARGE which is $150, has enhanced bass response, micro-usb charging, long battery life, and ability to be used as external battery to charge other devices, although it's a little bigger than FLIP.
Here are the pictures of FLIP.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Next, I'm going to look at MICRO. This little guy is simply outstanding! With a hockey pock dimensions of 3.5" in diameter and 1.5" in thickness and weighting only 4.8 oz (134g) - it doesn't get any more portable than that. It's small enough to go into your pocket or being clipped to your backpack. With a same 40mm driver and a bass port - the sound is as clear and detailed as I found it with FLIP, except in this case you have a single driver instead of two which also results in MICRO being not as loud at the max. Also, this is audio only speaker, not speakerphone connection. It has a very impressive Bluetooth range, tested up to 50ft in open space. But to distinguish it further from FLIP, it comes with a few tricks of its own.
First of all, you get your wish with micro-usb charging port that will provide you up to 5 hours of wireless performance (based on moderate volume level). Next, you get analog wheel volume control. Some people might think, what is a big deal? Most of the wireless speakers have digital volume control and as soon as you turn them on volume goes to default high level with a few loud beeps to indicate pairing. In this case, volume will be as high as you set it to be, so there is no loud pair up beeps. Those who have little kids in the house and want to enjoy listening to your wireless speakers after kids go to bed - you will know what I'm talking about and will really appreciate that feature. But we are not done yet. If you want to use your MICRO wired, it has a built in cable with 3.5mm plug neatly wrapped and stored inside of the module. That is fantastic if you are listening to a device which doesn't have bluetooth or if you don't want to go through a hassle of pairing it up. Last but not least, there is a mystery 3.5mm port on the MICRO. Since you already have built-in cable, this is definitely not AUX in port. I actually had to read instructions to figure out what it's for - to daisy chain more MICRO or other speakers to MICRO. Now, this is simply brilliant because it turns MICRO into wireless transmitter!!! This way you can turn ANY speaker into wireless speaker just by plugging it into MICRO daisy chain port.
Overall, I was VERY impressed with sound quality and design of both FLIP and MICRO. In my opinion, MICRO is perfect in every aspect, while FLIP has only one negative of AC adapter. Also, one might argue about 5hr battery life where some of the other speakers might deliver more. But the Sound Quality and wireless performance of both makes up for any shortcomings. Just think about it, would you rather take 10-12hr of mediocre distorted sound or 5hr of eye candy design with crystal clear sound with a nice bass punch? Also, both of the products are priced very reasonably. Definitely gets my high recommendation!
Here are the pictures of MICRO.
this post is good
I also have a jbl speaker and found this post was so good. love jbl
Related
This is a review of Braven 855s wireless speaker. http://www.braven.com/braven-855s.html
2013 is not over yet, but I can tell you with certainty that portable wireless speakers and external battery supplies were among the top popular gadgets of this year. A smartphone is a heart of today's portable entertainment system that holds our music, our pictures, connects to our TV, plays popular video games, and does so much more including actually making calls Such entertainment system needs a way to deliver the sound where using built-in speaker just doesn't cut it. Furthermore, it consumes a lot of juice which drains your battery fast. The solution? Braven 855s which combines these two functionalities plus much more, and does it in STYLE!!!
Before starting with my review, let me get something off my chest. Yes, this speaker is on a pricey side with a tag of $300, and No, it's not intended for audiophiles. So let's take a look at what you are actually getting for this premium price, and why you should seriously consider 855s if you are looking for a high quality portable wireless speaker and considering either Big Jambox (I'm making a very bold statement here) or any other wireless speaker with famous rapper name attached to it.
Even before you open the box, you can already get your first impression by noticing the weight of this speaker. At almost 4 pounds this is not your average light-weight speaker with wimpy drivers to make it sound just a bit louder than a speaker on your smartphone. This is heavy duty wireless speaker crafted on a front and a back with perforated aircraft aluminum grade material and wrapped around with a quality rubber bumper that will let you withstand a serious outdoor activities while also attracting considerable amount of lint With a dimensions of 9.75" in length, 4.25" in height, and 3" in depth - it's still very portable, although the weight going to be very noticeable when you carry it around. It would have been great to see some kind of a collapsible handle that stores/hides into the bumper, but the non-slip grip was adequate to hold it with one hand for me. The speaker itself is IPX3 rated which means it's water resistant, but not recommended to be submerged under the water. So in a situation where you are by the pool, or someone spills a drink, or you outdoors and light rain starts to drip - you will have a piece of mind knowing it shouldn't damage your speaker. In general it's optimized to work both outdoors and indoors.
The connection to your phone or tablet is a typical bluetooth procedure, pair up within seconds and you ready to go. If your source doesn't have Bluetooth connection, you can use auxiliary input with an included 3.5mm cable. Or if you have a friend with another 855s or 850 speaker, you can wirelessly pair them up to double the power of the sound. At $300 a pop I personally consider it to be too much to get a pair just for this purpose. The speaker is rated at 20W of RMS, this is serious power! The sound is delivered by 2 front facing speakers hidden behind the grill, with a passive bass ports firing from the rear mesh grill of the enclosure. The sound has a signature heavy bass profile which is very popular with a lot of the today's headphones and speakers. To bring up more high frequency content, you can easily activate SRS WOW HD mode which widens the sound and bring up more mids/highs up front. I would personally only use it with SRS setup. Also, support of Apt-X codec helps to deliver sound context with minimal loses typical for Bluetooth connection. I'm still standing by my statement - this is not a speaker for audiophiles because it does color the sound, and you need to crank up the volume while taking a few physical steps back to really enjoy it. But don't crank it up too high because you start noticing the distortion. The sound is very powerful and loud, enough to fill in a big party room or to take your party room outside and still enjoy the sound in the open area.
Here is where it gets more interesting. I have noticed with a number of wireless speakers a trend of not including playback controls. You have a gadget that streams music 30+ feet away from your "entertainment system" and you have no way to play/pause or skip the track? With Braven 855s - you have full control of playback and volume! Buttons are at the top of the unit, rubberized and sealed to go along with it's rugged functionality and IPX3 water resistance. The speaker pairs up with both the audio output and the phone, and works great as a speakerphone. You play music, get a call - seamlessly switch between both, and once the call it done it fades back into the music. With noise canceling speakerphone people had no problem hearing me on the other end, and commented it was loud and clear. Also, you get about 20 hours of wireless play time which is above and beyond any other wireless speaker I have seen or tested. So, where do you get all this juice? From a built-in 8800 mAh rechargeable battery. Oh, and to take it to the next level - the output of this battery is made available as an external battery source to charge any of your phone or tablet or other gadget. There are no guess work here, you get 5-led indicators which partition battery reading into increments of 20% so you know exactly how much power is left when you discharging or the progress of charging the speaker. The actual charging is very fast thanks to AC/DC adapter which is rated at 12V/3A output. True, it's not your standard micro-usb connector, but you have to keep in mind we are dealing with 8,800 mAh battery that you want to charge fast rather than waiting half a day before its up.
Overall, I was very impressed with a high quality of it's built and the amount of technology packed into this compact speaker. One can argue about it's weight which is not exactly portable, but overall footprint is portable. It does come at a premium price, but I found it to be aligned with other premium speakers in this category. Considering all the additional features including ability to charge external devices, SRS WOW HD and Apt-X support, rugged design, and IPX3 water resistance - it actually makes Braven 855s a bargain if you were already planning to spend this amount on competitive speakers.
Here are the pictures.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
This is a review of Monster SuperStar wireless speaker. http://www.monsterproducts.com/speakers/superstar/
It takes a lot of confidence to label your product "The world's smallest audiophile speaker". That's exactly how Monster refers to their latest wireless speaker. I do have to agree, it's among the smallest speakers I have tested, considering a unique flat rectangular footprint with rounded corners resembling a smartphone shape. I also have to agree that it has a very detailed clear sound, not typical for wireless speakers. Here is more about this little SuperStar!
Following their flashy tradition, you don't expect anything less from Monster product packaging where SuperStar doesn't disappoint with a high quality box, detailed graphics, plenty of description, and traditional magnetic flap cover revealing a gift box setting of the product inside of it. In addition to a speaker, a usb to micro usb cable and storage drawstring mesh pouch was included. There is no exaggeration, but the speaker is small!!! Weighting only 230g and 140mm x 75mm x 22mm it had a footprint smaller than my Note 2, and about double in thickness. It was small enough to fit in the palm of my hand, and soft rubbery texture felt very good to the touch which also should help to absorb a shock if dropped. Furthermore, the speaker has IPX-4 rating for water splash protection, so you will be safe around the pool or at the beach as long as you don't submerge it into the water. Also, the speaker itself was designed to work placed flat on the surface or in a sturdy upright position.
A closer examination of the speaker revealed some very unique design details. First of all, it has 2 top firing drivers placed in the corners under the perforated grill. In the center on the top and the bottom of the speaker you have a pair of cleverly designed passive bass radiators to enhance low frequency performance of SuperStar. One of the main problems with small speaker enclosures is not being able to fit enough of regular active drivers to cover a low frequency sound. Some speakers use bass ports to direct the sound outside through some clever filtering, while in here you get a pair of passive radiator cones pumping the air out. Don't expect an earth shattering bass you can feel, but you will be surprised to hear a decent bass punch with injection of sub-bass to make sound feel solid. With a lot of the smaller speakers, you typically get a thin high frequency sound or muddy bass distortion, but with SuperStar you get a well rounded detailed clear sound. As a matter of fact, I pumped it up to a max volume and experienced minimal distortion, only noticeable in low frequency range due to exaggerated pumping of radiator ports.
For sure, this speaker sounds VERY good for its size and has clarity surpassing a lot of other speakers I have tested before. Beside sound quality itself, you also get an impressive volume level where I compared it to another 12 Watt wireless speaker I recently tested and found SuperStar to be louder. Another big advantage is the use of Apt-X codec which helps transmit audio wirelessly without too much of bandwidth compression. It really felt like listening to a wired speaker. Speaking of that, there is 3.5mm Input port if you want to connect this speaker to your mp3 player or devices that don't support bluetooth. The port is located on the side and has a rubber flap to keep it's IPX-4 certification. On the other side of the speaker, there is micro USB port with a flap cover for battery charging and also for audio-over-usb connection. The battery should last about 5-6hr at moderate volume use, and micro-usb port also doubles in functionality to be connected to compatible devices where you can send audio through usb port.
Now, let's talk about the actual wireless performance. It wasn't very clear to me if it supports BT3.0 or 4.0, but regardless of that pair up with my smartphone was flawless, and it easily covered 30ft of operating distance. You have 4 dedicated sealed buttons on the top for power, volume up/down, and bluetooth, two led lights for power and bluetooth indication, and mic opening. Pushing Power turns the speaker on and pushing Bluetooth either puts it in a pair up mode for the first time or starts pair up if there was some issue with disconnect. Once paired up, it shows up connected to your phone and media audio, so it can be used to play audio from the phone as well as functioning as a speakerphone with a build-in mic. Volume adjustment is self explanatory. There is also one hidden control which is not obvious and you can only learn about it from manual. Bluetooth button actually functions as Play/Pause button where during a playback a short press will pause and resume playing the song.
Overall, I was a little skeptical when I approached this review thinking it's going to be another "small" speaker claiming to have "big" sound. But as soon as I paired it up and start playing music, I realized it wasn't just an empty promise. This speaker truly does sound great, it looks very cool, has unique design elements with passive bass radiators, hidden playback control (only play/pause, though I would have liked to see track skip next/prev as well), and audio over usb playback. The negative comment I have, which could be a matter of a personal preference, I don't like voice guidance announcing "power on", "paired up", "power off/goodbye". It provides a clear feedback of functionality, but I wish it could be disabled. Price tag is a bit steep, currently on sale for $129.95 where $99.99 would have been a more reasonable price in my opinion. At the same time, you are paying a premium for its unique features packed into a very small footprint. Personally, I was very impressed with this wireless speaker and would definitely recommend it if you want a loud detailed sound and a design to make you stand out from a crowd!
Here are the pictures.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
This is a review of B&W T7 HiFi wireless Bluetooth portable speaker. http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/Wireless-Speakers/Bluetooth-Speakers/T7 , also available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Bowers-Wilkins-T7-Portable-Bluetooth/dp/B00OLE9606/
Everywhere you look you see wireless speakers. A number of them are budget BT speakers intended to enhance functionality of your smartphone with a louder external speakerphone and general sound boost in comparison to built in speaker. Then you have a handful of mid-fi speakers with an improved sound quality, but still lacking a full body sound or loudness in comparison to wired speakers. When it comes to a quality hi-fi wireless Bluetooth speakers - the choices narrow down significantly while the prices go up in the opposite direction. For the last week I was fortunate to get a chance to test B&W new entry into Bluetooth portable speakers pool, their HiFi T7 model. Here is what I found.
B&W doesn't need any special introduction, this legendary UK company has been around for many decades and made their name known designing and manufacturing some of the best HiFi loudspeakers. Their venture into headphone world was equally successful with likes of P- and C-series models that feature both excellent sound performance and exquisite design. They also scaled down their design to portable speaker models, but limited to Apple users due to a support of AirPlay only protocol. Finally, they decided to expand their product portfolio with universal Bluetooth wireless support, featured in their latest T7 model.
I always find unboxing of any B&W product to be a very satisfying experience where you know from a get-go this is a premium product. Except in this case the first thing I noticed was a WEIGHT!!! Being used to lightweight speakers, T7 was quite noticeable in your hand at 2 pounds, yet still very compact with dimensions of about 8.5" x 4.5" x 2". Though some might find extra weight as a negative impression, I was pleased about it knowing it got hefty driver guts! The next impression was about a unique combination of its premium design with metal grills and honeycomb dampening frame and... rugged rubber material covering its top/bottom and sides. Such design combo works quite well together considering this is an upright standing speaker where you get a chance to enjoy artwork of front and rear panel presentation, while rubber seal around it prevents speaker from sliding around, leaves all the control buttons covered for protection, and also makes these buttons shaped and easy to identify by a touch without actually looking at it.
Starting with a top, you have a dedicated -/+ volume buttons where you can adjust the volume with a single click at a time or hold it down for a faster change. Next, you have Play/Pause button to control the playback with a single click, and a hidden gem of double clicking it to skip to the next track. Also you have a bluetooth pair up button with an adjacent blue status LED. Every button requires a little bit of force to push it so there is no accidental tapping. Pair up was effortless, and it connected to media audio right away. I tested wireless connection to operate without a problem at a distance of 45 feet in open space. When you turn the speaker on you get a very pleasant audio chime tone, and you also have a specific tone once pair up is complete. Since this speaker doesn't support speakerphone protocol, you can't pick up your calls from it. Also, if your phone supports aptX codec, T7 will take a full advantage of its reduced audio compression to preserve quality of the original audio source.
On a side you have a power button with 5-led indicator of battery status. Once you turn T7 on by long pressing power button, the corresponding amount of LEDs will lit up for a few seconds, and later you can check the battery status by a short single press on this power button. And speaking of power, the only included accessory was a proprietary AC wall power adapter which came bundled with different international tips. Proprietary connector is not very convenient, especially when you are traveling and can't rely on universal micro-usb cable. But considering T7 battery endurance of a whooping 18 hours, in this case a wall adapter means a faster charging time and battery longevity to keep you unplugged for a very long time. Besides, in my opinion this is not exactly an outdoor rugged speaker you would take with you on a camping trip expecting to be away from a power supply for an extended period. The power plug connector goes in the back of T7 and has a tight fitting to keep it from being accidentally unplugged while charging. Next to the power connector you have 3.5mm AUX input to connect an external wired source, a micro usb port for Service (assuming future firmware updates), and a reboot pinhole to reset BT connection and clear everything to defaults. I was a bit surprised 3.5mm male to male audio cable and micro-usb cable was not provided with accessories. Though micro usb cable is very common and every household probably has a dozen of these already, not everybody has 3.5mm audio cable.
Looking at the design from an audio perspective, T7 features two 50mm front facing speakers and dual force-canceling bass radiators. When you look closer at the grill, you can clearly see the outline of forward firing drivers on each side of a front bass radiator and another bass radiator on the back. A close attention was paid to housing of each driver, mounted in a rigid steel basket to make sure vibration is kept down to a minimum. That was also a main principle behind honeycomb frame which provides extra dampening while suspending heavy drivers in the enclosure. Even at the max volume, there was zero vibration on the surface where I had T7 sitting on. According to B&W, there is also a built in DSP and audio quality D/A converter. I assume Service port access is for any future firmware updates related to optimization and improvement of DSP performance. Overall the construction felt very solid and well build with a quality which can justify premium price. But it will only remain a 2 lb eyecandy brick if there is no sound quality to back it up!
So how does it sounds? It has a sound signature you would expect from a wired speaker designed by B&W! The sound has full warm body, deep rich bass, and slightly recessed mids. Low end has a deep extension with a powerful sub-bass and rounded mid-bass with a bit of spillage into lower mids. Other than that, bass was well controlled and even at the max volume level didn't distort or sounded muddy. Mids are detailed and smooth, warm, though do lack some clarity. Treble is also very smooth and non-fatigue with a bit of roll off. For some people who will jump in with premature conclusions, you have to realize these are warm tuned speakers with a very unique sound signature. As a matter of fact, I compared it playing the same tracks both wireless from my Note 4 and wired (through AUX port) from FiiO X5 - and found the sound to be literally unchanged which is quite remarkable. I do have to admit this sound sig had a big contrast to a lot of other thin bright one dimensional sounding speakers I tested in the past. Also, I noticed that position of the speaker will play a significant role in perception of the sound. When I placed it down on the floor, I wasn't able to hear details of upper mids/treble content. Not until I placed it up on the table or higher on a bookshelf, I was able to really appreciate the rich content of the full sound spectrum. It was very interesting to see how these were designed and tuned similar to a regular wired speaker that requires a proper positioning in order to get full benefit of its potentials!
We all have different taste and different perception of sound. Until now, my favorite BT wireless speaker was UE Boom, but I was never satisfied with its bass. T7 really fulfills that gap and also makes you realize how thinner Boom sounds in comparison. Also, in comparison to a similar models of Braven 855 and Bose SoundLink, I found Braven to have more distortion and sounding dull while SoundLink (also a highly regarded speaker) to have a muddy low end and not being able to reach the same loudness level. Other cheap speakers have more focus on high frequencies while leaving bass sounding hollow and thumping, instead of a meaty deep bass of T7. Another interesting observation, I found T7 to be highly responsive to EQ where you can tame down the bass and boost highs for more clarity. With other speakers, no matter how much you boost low frequencies, they simply can't physically reproduce it or they add sound artifacts with Eq boost.
Overall, the final sound analysis always depends on a type of music you are listening to, the environment where you are listening at (acoustics of the room plays important factor), and your phone source (aptX support helps significantly with a reduction of sound compression affecting low and high frequency extension). So my advice, look at reviews as a guidance to narrow down your choices, and still try to find a time to audition and to compare. I found B&W T7 to satisfy my bass craving and to make me feel like I was listening to a hifi wired speaker, something I haven't experienced with any of my other wireless speakers. My only wish for B&W is to take this portable wireless speaker experience and to extend it into their P7 series of headphones!
Here are the pictures.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Sounds good! Love this post! very informative.:good:
This is a review of Puro Sound Labs BT2200 Kids wireless headphones. Available on http://www.amazon.com/Puro-Sound-Labs-BT2200-Headphones/dp/B00OM3NV3E/ with manufacturer link at http://www.purosound.com/bt2200/
As a father of two pre-teens, my kid’s hearing health and safety is very important to me. Also, my involvement in testing and reviewing of a lot of different headphones spoils them with an easy access to a number of products after reviews are done. Beside the point they both prefer full size over-ear which can never fit them right, I’m also not happy when I walk by with them blasting the music at high volume. When my kids were little, we used to get them cheap walkman-style headphones with built-in volume limiter, but no way would they wear it now because it doesn’t look “cool”. When I came across Puro Sound Labs new set of wireless/wired BT2200 headphones, I knew right away these are going to be a hit in my household, and I was right! Here is what I found.
My review unit of BT2200 arrived in a compact plastic box packed inside of another packaging box with a magnetic flap. I’m not sure if the final product packaging will have that external box since its overkill with the only purpose for PR media distribution, but I decided to include it in my unboxing pictures anyway. The actual compact plastic packaging has a nice presentation of the product and plenty of room for all the accessories. It has a bold display look to catch your attention, and I can easily see it being featured on the shelves of Best Buy or Staples!
Unboxing and some feature highlight pictures.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Out of the box you’ll find a decent set of accessories bundled with BT2200 headphones. First of all you get a set of high quality usb to micro-usb cable AND a wall charger. I already forgot the last time I have seen anybody offering a wall charger in addition to a charging usb cable. I also think it's a great idea to give this compact wall charger to your older kids to teach them responsibility of keeping your headphones charged. Just keep in mind, a fully charged BT2200 will last about 18 hours, and when power off in standby – we are talking about 200 hours! But if they run out of battery and have no patience to wait for a charging, Puro Kids can also work as wired headphones with a removable cable attached to the left earcup. The included removable cable is not just a regular 3.5mm to 3.5mm wire, but has a built in volume limiter to cap the sound output at max 85dB which is considered to be a safety level for kids. The cable is flat and easy to manage for storage. I would actually suggest Puro Sound Labs to offer this cable as a separate accessory so parents can buy it for their kids to use with Beats and other headphones.
Another included accessory was a headphone storage bag - a draw string pouch. It will be useful for protecting headphones from scratches and also to store a cable inside, but might not be enough for safety storage in comparison to a hard shell case. It’s just something to think about in a future or to offer as an add-on accessory since these headphones fold flat for convenient storage. Also included with a package was a detailed Quick Start Guide.
Accessory pictures.
When it comes to the actual design, BT2200 strikes a perfect balance between the comfort (with a room to grow through height adjustment) and stylish looks so your kids will not complain about “wearing baby headphones”. I found the build quality and the materials to be very impressive. These headphones use a durable lightweight aluminum for headband and earcups housing, and a soft pleather material wrapped around headband foam filling. Headband height adjustment was actually able to accommodate even my head, though it felt a bit tight. A combination of aluminum and other light materials made these headphones very lightweight and comfortable to wear for extended period (clamping force doesn’t count in my case since these are intended for kids). Earpads are also marshmallow soft and contribute to great noise isolation, something you will have to keep in mind to make sure your kids are not wearing these headphones when riding a bike. Also, don’t be surprised if they use it as an excuse about not hearing you when you asked them to clean up their room lol!!! One interesting detail, in addition to subtle labeling of L/R inside of headband, you can also see a large L/R letters inside of the earcup so there is no confusion about the sides.
With BT controls, everything is located in Left earcup. You have micro-usb port for charging of internal battery. You also have 3.5mm port to connect audio cable for wired operation. For wireless controls you have volume up/down buttons, Bluetooth/playback button (for a pair up and a single click to Play/Pause, and double click to skip next), and a physical on/off slider. The aluminum silver material used for the cup and the buttons did resemble a lot iPhone design. In addition to silver/white model, the one I received for review, Puro Sound Labs also offer gold/brown model with gold-champagne finish of aluminum and brown pleather earpads and headband cushion. Also, I was very pleased with a dedicated on/off slider switch because I’m not fond of multi-function buttons that you have to press and hold to turn power on/off. Plus, you have a small LED to indicate either charging or operation function.
Wireless pair up was very simple by holding Bluetooth button to put headphones in pair-up mode (everything is described in details in manual). Once paired up, it was connected to a phone and media audio. Obviously, my kids are too young for a phone, but using a tablet or other audio/video devices supporting Bluetooth will be very convenient with a wireless connection. I think majority of kids will end up using these headphones with tablets for wireless listening to music or when playing games. Plus, it’s very convenient during a long ride in the car where some prefer to attach a tablet to the back of the seat and let your kids watch/listen without worrying about tangled cables. And in a worst case if battery runs out of juice, you always have a convenience of wired connection.
Design pictures.
Now, let’s talk about the audio performance. Puro Sound Labs refer to BT2200 as “studio grade” headphones. From my personal experience, my kids are not too picky about the sound quality, at least not yet though my daughter already starting to complain about some headphones lacking bass. Maybe they don’t care as much about it yet, but I do and was happy to be able to fit these on my head for testing.
I did put them through 30 hours of free air burn in since these are dynamic drivers after all. One surprising thing I found was a better sound quality of wireless connection over wired. The sound difference wasn’t too drastic, but definitely noticeable with wireless connection having a more articulate and less muddy bass, a clear and more detailed mids, and more sparkle in treble. Surprisingly, the Bluetooth connection of BT2200 doesn’t support aptX which usually enhances the sound. Also, keep in mind, Bluetooth wireless connection of BT2200 also offers internal volume limiter not to exceed 85dB threshold. I guess combination of the cable with a built in limiter and higher impedance played some role in making sound a bit dull when connected wired, but this is only from my “audiophile” perspective which is probably not fair since we are talking about wireless headphones for kids. Another interesting observation I noticed was related to the Puro Balanced Response implemented with these headphones to equally balance the bass, the mids/vocals, and the highs without any excessive volume peaks. To my ears it sounded like a dynamic multi-band compressor with sound being adjusted in real time of playback. I know I'm nitpicking here and for kids as well as majority of adults this is a hardly noticeable effect, but I still wanted to bring it up to everyone’s attention. I’m not sure if Puro Balanced Response refers to FR tuning or some active control, but it does works keeping the sound on the same level.
Overall, I think these are great headphones for young ones, pre-teens, and teens. Considering how many of us spoil our kids with Beats or Skullcandy or other expensive headphones, something like Puro BT2200 for Kids represent a great value with top quality build and material selection, very appealing design, convenience of wireless or wired connection, great battery life, and being able to expand (in headband adjustment) as your kids grow. But the most important benefit of these headphones is to be able to protect hearing of your kids starting from an early age and to be able to provide “parental control” of 85dB sound level limiting without your kids even knowing about it As a matter of fact, Puro Sound Labs is making a commitment to donate portion of every BT2200 sale through 2015 to the Hearing Health Foundation – a very noble cause!
This is a review of Anker BT wireless (A7909) speaker. http://www.ianker.com/product/A7909011 , also available on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RMYQU06/
It has been awhile since I reviewed a new product from Anker, and I was getting a bit worried thinking they slowed down with their new releases. Just as soon as this thought crossed my mind, I had a new BT speaker from Anker waiting for my review! I don’t have to tell you how saturated smartphone accessories market is with wireless speakers, so I was curious was Anker came up with to stand out from competition "crowd". Let’s take a closer look.
It’s no longer a surprise all Anker products arrive in environmentally safe carton packaging. As a matter of fact, they were the originators of that trend, quickly followed by most other accessory manufacturers. The cover sleeve has a nice clean image of the speaker, and after you slide it out and open the box, you will find A7909 model with included accessories.
Unboxing.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Accessories include a sturdy USB to micro-usb charging cable, 3.5mm to 3.5mm connector (for direct wired connection of the speaker), and a soft storage bag/pouch. Charging and audio cable is typically something you will find with many other wireless speakers, but not too many others offer a storage bag. Obviously, a pouch not going to protect your speaker from a high drop, but it could cushion it and provide some level of protection. Plus, if you leave fingerprints on the plastic surface of the speaker – a soft material of the pouch could be used to wipe them down.
Accessories.
Out of the box, you will find a relatively compact brick shaped speaker with a dimensions of about 6.4” x 2.6” x 2.6” and weighting aproximately280g. The speaker has a sturdy plastic enclosure with a metal grill on the front covering the drivers and on one side covering the bass port. On the top you have 2 recessed large volume -/+ buttons to decrease/increase the volume level, and the area for NFC pairing. Opposite of the bass port on the other side you will find a multi-function Power/Pair-up/Play-Pause button which also has a blue led backlight to indicate when power is on. The back has charging led indicator, micro-usb charging port, and AUX 3.5mm audio input port. It’s a very simple design with a clear layout of large easy to use controls. The bottom has a non-slip rubbery pad for secure placement on any surface.
Design.
Considering its slightly higher than expected pricing, yeah – Anker spoiled us with premium products at discounted prices, I was curious to explorer its spec and performance to figure out the value of this BT wireless speaker. First of all, it comes with a large 6200 mAh battery (that explains the weight) which can support almost 24 hours of playback at 60% volume setting or 18hr playback at a more realistic 70% volume setting. It sure is impressive for a small compact speaker that isn’t longer than my Note 4.
Inside, it has a dual 5W drivers and a dedicated bass port. Obviously, it could function both wired and wireless. Wireless pair up with a phone was seamless and I tested it to work 60’ away (!!!) from my phone in open space. That’s very impressive for a supported wireless distance. One important thing to keep in mind – it ONLY pairs up with a phone Media, not with a phone to work as a speakerphone. In my own personal experience with at a least a dozen of BT wireless speakers I have tested, I never ever used any of them as a speakerphone. Thus, I found a lack of speakerphone support is not a big deal. The only comment I have here, during pair up speaker produces a loud and a bit annoying beep, which I wish would have been a little quieter.
Pair up and performance with a phone.
Of course, the most important aspect of this review is to find out how it sounds.
Thanks to its 5W speakers, Anker A7909 BT wireless speaker can get very loud and at the max speaker and phone volume level – I sensed NO distortion what so ever. Obviously you have to be realistic that small drivers can produce a loud sound but it’s not a powerful room filling type of sound. The sound is very clean and accurate, not too boomy or too thin, but the further you step away the less bass you hear. Basically, this is not a type of speaker to entertain a big outdoor party or to fill in a big hall with a loud sound, it's intended for a smaller room listening where louder sound will fill in the room and where you will be able to enjoy better low end (bass) response.
Conclusion.
Anker usually doesn't disappoint with their new releases, and this new BT wireless speaker is no exception. It is not necessary the top performer or the best value in "small portable" speaker category, but it definitely offers some unique features to be very competitive. Battery life which can go up to 24hr is a big bonus. 5W dual speaker is loud and clean, and most important you can raise the volume all the way to the max without clipping or distortion. And unlike so many other portable speakers with only Volume control, I like the integrated Play/Pause which is SO important. The whole purpose of wireless speaker is to be away from the phone, and some manufacturers forget about it, making you go back to the phone to pause the song. I'm glad Anker implemented this feature. Backed up by their 18-month warranty, this is definitely a good product. Priced at $69.99, I think it's a bit steep and it would be more realistic to have it priced closer to $50, but if you are looking for all the features offered by this wireless speaker - it worth the price.