REVIEW – I am an audiophile who is favorably biased towards contemporary and smooth jazz as my best appreciated musical genre, followed by classical and easy listening. I do listen to several other genres including reggae, soca, calypso, funk, etc, but I do not consider those genres when I am yearning for an audiophile experience. Apart from my main stereo that can be classified as a piece or pieces of expensive sophisticated furniture, I love smaller components that can provide an audiophile-like experience and are either mobile or can be utilized on-demand in various desired physical locations. The treVolo 2 by BenQ, claims to be an exact fit. Let’s see!!

What is it?

The treVolo 2 by BenQ is a Hi-End Bluetooth audio speaker with built-in electrostatic diaphragm technology. It offers dynamic volume and all-around acoustic clarity. It features optimized acoustic modes all in a very mobile form.

What’s in the box

1 x treVolo 2
1 x AC Power Adapter
1 x Warranty card and Quick Start Guide
1 x treVolo Stand (In separate packaging)

Design and features

Specifications
Frequency Response: 60 Hz – 20 kHz‎
Bluetooth‎: Bluetooth® 4.2
aptX Support‎: Yes‎
NFC‎: No
Input Types‎: 3.5 mm stereo input ; USB audio‎ (DAC)
Duo mode‎: Yes (Stereo / Party mode)‎
Sound Mode: Pure/Warm/Vivid
Playing Time‎: Approx. 12 hours ‎
Key Definition: Power Key, BT Pairing Key‎, Volume Key (+-), Sound Mode Key (End call), Play / Pause (Talk)
LED Indicator‎s: Red LED x 1 ; Blue LED x 1; Green LED x 1‎
Microphone: Yes (For speakerphone function‎)
Battery‎: Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery‎
IO Ports‎: Micro USB x1 ; Line-in x1 ; Line-out x1 , Power Jack x1‎
Input Power Rating‎: DC 12V 2A‎
Temperature Range for Use‎: 0~40º C‎
Dimension‎s: 78.5×174.6×134.6 mm (Closed)‎
Weight: 1.2 kg‎

The treVolo 2 uses the same electrostatic technology that is typically reserved for high-end speaker systems. It was created to reduce harmonic distortion from 10% to less than 1%, to produce a clean, crisp and beautiful sound. “As an improvement over its predecessor the treVolo, the treVolo 2 electrostatic panels have a re-designed grid structure to further reduce the slightest level of vibration, providing a 50% reduction in distortion.” This speaker also features TrueSound technology that is designed to help to improve sound quality on highly compressed legacy audio files. “If the speaker’s DSP chip detects the loss of higher frequency data due to a low bit rate recording or high compression levels, TrueSound will improve the detail in the higher ranges of the audio spectrum.”

Using the Duo Mode, treVolo 2 is equipped to support a pairing of two units to offer flexibility to create different musical experiences.

On top of the treVolo2, there is a cluster of 4 control buttons and a stand-alone power button. As pictured below, the 4 buttons from left to right starting with the top row are, the volume up button, the volume down button, the sound mode/phone hang up button and the play/pause/phone answer button. The large button below them is the power button which has a LED indicator around it that lights blue when the built-in battery power is 81% or more, green when the power is in the range of 80% ~ 31% and red when there is 30% or less power remaining.

At the top of the back of the speaker, there is a relatively large Bluetooth button that allows you reconnect/re-establish your Bluetooth connection.

On the bottom of the back of the speaker, there are 4 ports. From left to right there is the power port, the line out jack, the line in jack and the micro USB port.

The speakers are located on the left and right sides of the treVolo 2, and there is an electrostatic panel on each side that opens outwards to engage the benefits of the electrostatic technology.

The picture below shows how te treVolo2 looks once both electrostatic panels are extended, and the speaker is on the stand.

BenQ also included the stand for the treVolo 2 Speaker. As you can see below, it is an attractive stand. It is well built with a wooden platform base and a nice speaker base with a lip to securely hold the speaker.

Performance

The treVolo 2 Speaker arrived fully assembled, with the battery fully charged and ready to go. I turned it on and it showed up in the Bluetooth device list on my phone and once I selected it, it was ready to go. To be quite honest, there is not much more to it. The speaker is well built with a nice weight to it, and for audiophile listening does quite a good job. The built-in battery lasted almost 10 hours before I noticed that the LED indicator had turned to green and therefore the battery would need charging after a couple more hours of use. In my opinion, this speaker is designed for listening to genres like Jazz, and Classical and easy listening. It provides and really nice balance and separation of the lows, mids, and highs, and the electrostatic panels have a really nice effect that is somewhat hard to put into words. The music reproduction is detailed and clean. Since I wanted to test this speaker with more genres, I connected a powered subwoofer via the line out jack and tested some reggae which sounded ok but not similar to how a boombox would sound, which I think is the preferred way to listen to a genre like Reggae. Again, this is just my personal opinion.

Like most of the Bluetooth speakers that I have tested, the phone function works well and calls are clear for both parties on each end of the line.

What I like

• The sleek and attractive look
• The build quality
• The connectivity options
• The sound reproduction
• The clear phone call capability
• The built-in rechargeable battery
• The basic EQ options

What can be improved

• The use of drivers that can handle a bit more of the low frequency and with very little distortion

Final thoughts

The BenQ TreVolo 2 speaker is well designed, well built, sleek, sexy and attractive, and pairs easily and works wonderfully right out of the box for genres like smooth jazz and classical music, as well as easy listening. If the need is to use it to listen to music that inherently includes deep and pronounced bass, then I would suggest using the line out jack to a subwoofer and then tweaking the subwoofer to match. I love the way this speaker sounds and it just oozes BenQ quality. While much of my perspective is based on personal taste and perspective, I do believe that many others will enjoy it immensely if they use it in the way it is designed to be used. I give BenQ another well done and two thumbs up!!

Price: $299 (The optional stand can be purchased from BenQ for $49.99)
Where to buy: BenQ
Sample: The sample for this review was provided by BenQ.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: Bluetooth speaker

BenQ treVolo 2 Bluetooth speaker review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on February 9, 2019 at 10:00 am.

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REVIEW – Last year, I reviewed the Aiwa Arc-1 headphones and liked them. They’re comfortable and easy to listen to for hours. However, before the Arc-1, Aiwa made a wireless speaker that helped raise them from the ashes of forgotten electronic companies. Since its release, the powerful Aiwa Exos-9 Portable Bluetooth Speaker has garnered a lot of positive press and reviews. The wonderful thing about reviews is that reviewers can disagree completely, which is why you should always read many reviews before spending hard-earned money on a product. Am I going to agree or disagree with the overwhelmingly positive reviews of the Aiwa Exos-9 speaker?

What is it?

The Aiwa Exos-9 is a large and loud 200-watt portable wireless Bluetooth speaker known for its ability to play loudly, both indoors and out. 

Specs

• Onboard Volume
• EQ control: 5-band with 4 equalizer presets
• Bluetooth with a radius of 50ftA2DP support, aptX, AAC, SBC codec support
• Wireless NFC pairing
• Two-speaker pairing for wireless left/right stereo
• 2600 mAH lithium-ion rechargeable battery with 9+ hours play time before recharging
• USB charging
• Frequency response: 40Hz-20KHz
• Power: 200W 
• 2 x 1 in. silk dome tweeter
• 2 x 3 in. neodymium midrange speaker driver
• 1 x 6.5 in. dual voice coil subwoofer
• Class-D bi-amplification
• Active and passive crossovers
• Bass reflex port
• 3.5mm aux. input

In the box

• Exos-9
• Mini plug cable
• power cable

Design and features

To start, the Exos-9 is big, heavy and loud, which makes it perfect for kid’s basement parties and both indoor and outdoor get-togethers. Even though the Exos-9 can be used outdoors, it is neither waterproof nor water resistant. Aiwa does offer an optional carrying case which gives the speaker an IPX4 splash and dustproof rating.

The design (like Aiwa’s excellent Arc-1 headphones) is rather bland and generic-looking. The Exos-9 speaker housing is made of plastic, which doesn’t instill much confidence if accidentally dropped—and I didn’t want to test it. However, the speaker does come with a built-in carrying handle—a good thing since it weighs 13 lbs. Moving it to the backyard is easy but if the speaker needs to be carried over a longer distance, the handle’s design may cause you to have to grip tighter, putting undo strain on hand muscles.

A rechargeable battery pack is included with the Exos-9. It’s large but installs easily into the bottom of the speaker at the back. The battery is rated at 10 hours. I haven’t tested it for that long, but I was able to use the Exos-9 for 8 hours at moderate volume with no issues. If that’s not enough battery life for you, Aiwa offers an optional extended battery for longer play time. Note that battery life shortens as volume increases. To deal with this, Aiwa has incorporated what they call “Battery Save Mode EQ (equalizer) Setting.” This determines which frequencies use the most power and adjusts them increasing the life of the battery by up to 100%. Note that this will affect the audio as certain frequencies are reduced. Speaking of EQ …

The top of the Exos-9 speaker has a control panel that looks removable but isn’t. The touch-sensitive buttons handle Play/Pause and equalizer (EQ) controls. The EQ uses directional arrows for adjusting frequencies. The left/right arrows let you choose between four non-adjustable EQ presets and one customizable EQ setting. The up/down arrows allow you to increase or decrease gain across five EQ bands. You have to use the Left/Right arrows to move among the customized bands in order to press the Up/Down arrows for gain control. Even though the manual shows how the EQ arrows work, it’s still complicated so I just leave the EQ set to off.

The remaining control button is LINK. This allows two Exos-9 speakers to be wirelessly connected for audio mirroring or true L/R stereo—with the added benefit of even more volume.

Pairing Bluetooth was easy. Once powered on, the Exos-9 showed up in my iPhone’s Bluetooth settings. Why can’t all Bluetooth speakers be this simple? If you have NFC (meaning almost everybody except Apple), there is a labeled touch spot on the top of the speaker.

Audio connections are limited to one mini plug AUX Line-In port at the back of the speaker. This port will accept headphones, digital audio players (DAP), laptops and anything that uses a mini plug for audio. Once any device is plugged into the AUX port, it automatically takes over. There are two USB ports: One is dedicated to charging mobile devices. This means that a smartphone can be charged while streaming music to the Exos-9. Unfortunately, it is not a USB digital-in port. The other is a micro-USB port that’s for firmware updates only. A mini plug cable is included. USB cables are not. There is also a large, circular bass port that allows significant air movement for increased bass.

The front of the Exos-9 has two slots at the bottom that look like more bass ports but are decorative only. Near the top is a monochrome LED panel that shows EQ settings that are controlled from the top panel mentioned earlier.

The Exos-9 comes with 5 speakers: Two 1 in. tweeters, two 3 in. mid-range drivers and one 6.5 in. subwoofer. They are powered by a 200 watt amplifier. This combination packs a wallop when volume is cranked up. It’s immediately clear that the Exos-9 can match many speakers—some costing much more—in volume. 

However, volume alone does not a good speaker make. Aiwa has done an excellent job of matching the amp to the speakers producing excellent audio at all volumes. Example: I set the speaker on my back yard deck railing and walked 50-60 feet away from the speaker. I then cranked the volume to max on my iPhone. Not only did the Bluetooth signal hold with zero dropouts, but the sound quality was also excellent and distortion free. I was shocked by how much bass it produced because bass tends to dissipate when outdoors. This is definitely a potent party speaker.

One thing missing from the Exos-9 is a dedicated app. I would have loved an app that could control the EQ without having to go to the speaker and fiddle with those non-intuitive EQ arrows. Smart speaker technology would also be welcome. Yet, even though it’s missing some of these extras, you can’t argue about the Exos-9’s audio quality. There is an optional remote available, but at the Exos-9’s price, should have been included in the box.

I played different genre’s of music on the Exos-9, from 80s new wave, 60s psychedelia and modern over-processed music to bass-monster songs (for testing bass of course), folk and classical. The speaker handled it all with ease but rock and party music is what makes the Exos-9 shine. The louder the music, the happier the Exos-9 appears to be.

What I like

• Loud, distortion-free audio, perfect for outdoor parties
• Decent battery life (at moderate volume)
• Great bass—even outdoors
• Extended Bluetooth distance
• Built-in carrying handle

What needs to be improved

• A smartphone app would be welcome
• No water resistance if played outdoors
• Bland design

Final Thoughts

Since the Exos-9 is the product that pulled Aiwa from the ashes, maybe they should have named it “The Phoenix” instead. Either way, the Exos-9 is a dynamite speaker that sounds great, especially outdoors. If Aiwa can add some built-in water protection and some additional smart connection options like Alexa, AirPlay or Google Play, the Exos-9 could come close to that perfect all-in-one speaker.

Price: $329.99 US
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample for this product was provided by Aiwa.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: Bluetooth speaker

Aiwa Exos-9 Portable Bluetooth speaker review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on February 4, 2019 at 9:00 am.

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REVIEW – Music in a cylinder. Ten years ago, no one thought of having a complete music system in a handheld unit about the size of a 24-ounce can of malt liquor or a sleeve of tennis balls. Yet, on sites like ours, there are dozens of these cylinders that vie for the attention of the masses of music-needing folks. Last Summer, I brought you the little brother to the unit under review today. The one we’re looking at today is slimmer, taller, and has a few more features, along with an upgraded moniker. Meet the Sbode M400 Multi-Function Bluetooth Speaker.

Note: Photos may be tapped or clicked for a larger image.

What is it?

The Sbode M400 is a music playing cylinder that offers IPX-6 weather resistance, networking with another device of the same model for stereo pairing, just about any source for sound, and 8 hours of non-stop music from the 2200mAh battery.

Hardware specs

• Superior Bass Sound
• True Wireless Stereo (requires two units)
• Lightweight Design
• Bluetooth 4.2
• Waterproof (IPX6)
• FM radio
• Built-In Mic for speakerphone functionality

What’s in the box?

The box contains the cylinder, with a nylon cord attached, a charging cable (USB A/3 to microUSB), and an eighth-inch stereo plug that will work with your headphones or any device you still have around that connects with this method.

Design and features

As with the Sbode 350 reviewed earlier, the overall design is a cylinder with speakers top and bottom, a cloth-covered body that protects and hides higher-frequency speakers, and a band of buttons and power ports down the side. The fabric looks coarse but is actually soft, but tough. The rubberized areas along both rims and down the side with the buttons is matte-finished silicon or rubber, which provides sureness of touch, but doesn’t show fingerprints, unless you’re on a picnic having fried chicken. In that case, a damp cloth will clean it right up. Speaking of damp, this speaker is IPX6, which means even a huge splash or a drenching shower that spoils that picnic won’t ruin it. The videos show it in the surf or in a mountain brook, but that’s not how the specs read. (Please record the tech support call if you do that and it makes the unit fail. We need the entertainment.)

The buttons provide control over power/speakerphone access, playback mode (more on this later), play/pause for TFF-card playback, and volume up/down buttons. The final button is for syncing two devices together. According to the instructions, this is almost instantaneous, but I was not able to test, having only one unit.

Performance

The Sbode m400 is a very affordable, good-sounding music player. It’s not one of those top-of-the-line, blow-off-the-ceiling-with-no-distortion systems that will make your block parties invite police visits, but it’s perfect for a dozen friends at the beach, on a deck, or camping. If you want even better stereo, apparently you can sync it with another identical system, but this was not tested. (This feature was not tested, as I was only sent one unit.) At $80 ($40 each), it’s way cheaper than $350 for an Apple HomePod or even $200 for a Sonos One.
I tested mine mainly with my iPhone 8 Plus around my house. I could easily clear a room with Joe Cocker’s She Came In Through the Bathroom Window or even something like Crazy Train from Ozzy. I never had the volume up fully, either.

The various input modes, accessed via a semi-long press of the power button (a long press turns the unit off) rotate through Bluetooth, FM Radio, AUX-in, and TF card playback. The FM mode is supposed to automatically tune into a station, but there is no volume control. So, you get this loud static, and the plus-minus keys just cycle through other pre-set stations. It’s horrid. I think there is firmware out there that could automatically sense which device is actively playing, rather than having to manually hold the button in just a touch less than what will turn it off. I wound up using it exclusively with Bluetooth and never missed the other input modes.

Once I entered the initial full charge, I rarely paid attention to the four LEDs that indicate power when you power it on. Once it got down to only one LED, I noticed the Bluetooth connection with my iPhone would seem weaker, but it seemed to last forever.

What I Like

• Good coverage in virtually any placement area
• Decent sound, exceptional at the price point.

What needs to be improved

• The FM mode is useless.
• Having to switch input modes is kinda fiddly.

Final thoughts

Speakers of this type are everywhere. This unit sounds very good, but there are those that cost more that sound a bit better. If you want something to toss in your camping gear or just to sit on your screen porch, this could be the one. No reason not to recommend it, but I don’t see any reason not to use the one you have, or to buy a better brand if you want audiophile sound. For background and on-the-go, however, this is fine. And for the price, getting two and using linked may be a huge boon to your listening experience.

Price: $39.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Sbode.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: Bluetooth speaker

Sbode M400 Multi-Function Bluetooth speaker review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 29, 2019 at 11:00 am.

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