When it comes to speakers, the saying goes: the louder the better. But sometimes loud isn’t good enough. Sometimes you want that bass to hit, or better yet, feel the rumbling lows that we don’t typically get from ordinary speakers. Of course, our typical everyday speakers can achieve the high tones in the music but most Bluetooth speakers can’t produce those punchy mids or thumping low bass. With the Cambond X-Bass Adjustable Bass Bluetooth speaker, getting that hard hitting and rumbling bass might be easier than you think.

The Cambond X-Bass Adjustable Bass speaker is a portable Bluetooth 4.0 stereo speaker that boasts a 15-watt subwoofer combined with dual 5-watt drivers which equal to 25 watts of powerful driving sound for your ears. This speaker has 4 bass levels that you can adjust accordingly. The Bass button is located on the left top side of the speaker. On the same top portion of this speaker unit are the buttons for the Previous/Next Track, Play/Pause, Talk button, Volume Up/Down, and Power.

Phone calls on these speakers are what you would expect. It sounds like a hands-free conversation. If you had the bass up prior to the phone call, the person’s voice will sound deep and bassy. If that bothers you then you will just have to turn down the bass level to bring their voice to a more normal tone. On the other end of the line, calls sounded like you were talking from a speaker. There was a slight delay but nothing bad and definitely not a deal breaker. 9 times out of 10, when talking on a speaker, you will sound like you are on a speaker anyways and this is no different. But this speaker really isn’t for phone calls, it’s for listening to music.

The X-Bass feels solid in its construction all around. It has a metal grill on the front and back, plastic top, rubber base, and the top buttons felt tight and responsive. These rectangular speakers have a dimension of 3.94″ x 9.06″ x 3.1″ inches.  The X-Bass weighs in at 2.32 lbs. so this speaker has some weight to it as compared to other similar sized Bluetooth speakers. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not super heavy but once you pick it up you will notice its weight. However, the X-Bass is still light enough and portable to throw in your backpack, messenger bag, beach bag, purse, or any other bag you want to stuff the speaker in. I like that it has small rubber feet on the bottom of the speaker to help protect the speaker from sliding around and scratching any surface you put it on.

The Cambond X-Bass speaker is powered by 6700mAh Lithium-ion batteries and according to Cambond’s website, the batteries can last 8 hours at 50% volume. I have to confess, I never really kept the volume halfway. I had the volume high.  I listened to these speakers with the volume cranked up. When you use these speakers, you will be inclined to use them the way they were intended to be; and that’s to be loud. At least that’s the way I used these speakers.

There is a 9V DC port on the bottom left side of the speaker to charge the battery or and can provide constant power to the speaker while in use. Above the DC port is a MicroUSB port which you can use as well to charge the speaker’s batteries so you have a couple of options on charging the batteries which is nice. Just in case you don’t have the 9V plug adapter with you at the time, you would be able to charge the battery via the MicroUSB port. A great thing about having the MicroUSB port is that you can plug in a portable charger just in case you are somewhere that doesn’t have a wall outlet such as at a beach, at a picnic, or sitting poolside.

When the Cambond X-Bass runs out of battery, the X-Bass will constantly beep twice every 5 minutes to remind you that the batteries need recharging. And once the battery is full, the red charging light will turn off to let you know that charging is done. It takes up to 3 hours for the battery to reach full capacity.

Although this is a Bluetooth speaker, there is an AUX IN port available. This is useful for when your music device is non-Bluetooth or isn’t Bluetooth enabled. Just connect the included 3.5 audio cable into the device’s headphone jack and the other end of the audio cable into the AUX In port on the Cambond speaker. NFC, or Near Field Communication, is also available as another form of connection to the Cambond X-Bass. Along with the 3.5 audio cable, the X-Bass comes with a MicroUSB cable, a 1A/9V adapter plug, a warranty card, and a manual.

I found the sound of X-Bass Bluetooth speakers to be loud and produced great overall sound. I really enjoyed the bass that it pumped through its speakers. Trust me, I cranked these speakers up and they really hit for the size that they are. Keep in mind that to get the best sound out of these speakers, or any other speaker, the music you are playing is the best quality recording so that the frequencies are right in order to get the full effect of hearing and feeling the bass from the speakers.

I played several type and styles of music and had different recordings from many of the songs, and they each sounded full thanks to the punchy mids and rumbling low bass. What a difference it makes listening to the full range of music coming out of portable speakers. It makes you really enjoy a song a whole lot more when the music is boosted up. And since these are portable speakers, you can enjoy the X-Bass speakers from Cambond anywhere you can bring them.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by Cambond. Please visit their site for more info and Amazon to order.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: Bluetooth speaker

Cambond X-Bass Adjustable Bass Bluetooth speaker review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 15, 2017 at 8:03 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

After reviewing a handful of portable Bluetooth speakers, I’ve found that some really appeal to me like the UE Megaboom because of its great sound quality (it has some bass!) and long battery life among other things, but others like the Logitech x300 do not. The Logitech x300 tends to dampen mid and upper frequencies when bass frequencies are playing. When the Gadgeteer was offered the Douni A5 Bluetooth speaker, I volunteered to review it to see how it compares to other portable speakers I’ve tried. After testing it, I’d say it competes rather well in the audio quality department, but not so much in the Bluetooth range department.

Contents

• Bluetooth speaker
• Power adapter
• 3.5 mm Aux audio cable
• Owners Manual

Technical Specifications

• Battery Voltage: 11.1V
• Charging Voltage: 15V
• Output Power: 2*12.5W
• Speaker Spec: 58mm, 12.5W (and has two passive radiators)
• Frequency Response: 50HZ~18KHZ
• Lithium Battery Capacity: 6600mAh
• THD<0.5%
• SNR:>90dB
• Dimensions: 8.6″ long x 2.9″ wide x 3.5″ high (218 mm long x 74 mm wide x 88 mm high)

Design & Build Quality

The Douni A5 Bluetooth speaker feels like a durable speaker. It is a rectangular speaker that is black on the top and bottom and has a gray metal grill. It is the size of many other portable speakers (not the super small ones…). Its dimensions are 8.6″ long x 2.9″ wide x 3.5″ high and it weighs 2 lbs. 9 oz.All of the controls are located at the top of the speaker. The entire top of the speaker is covered in a rubbery material except for the plastic silver ring around the buttons.
The back of the speaker contains the ports. The ports are (from left to right): Aux Audio In (to physically connect a mobile device to the speaker), Aux Audio Out, 15V DC In (to charge the speaker), 5V Out (to charge your devices), and a Reset button (resets the speaker to its factory default settings).The bottom of the speaker is also covered in rubbery material to prevent the speaker from moving around while on furniture.

Use

Powering On/Off: When turning on the speaker, you must press the Power button for two full seconds. To turn it off, you must press it for one full second. If you have a device plugged in via the Aux audio cable, the speaker will not turn off.

Auto shut-off: After about 40 minutes of inactivity, the speaker is supposed to automatically shut off according to the Douni A5 product description on the Amazon. However, I was not able to replicate that – the speaker remained on until I turned it off.

Bluetooth Pairing: After powering the speaker on for the first time, it immediately went into pairing mode in which the Bluetooth symbol on the speaker flashed alternately blue and red. At this time, I needed to go into my device’s Bluetooth settings (first I made sure Bluetooth was turned on) and look for the newly discovered device listed as A5. After tapping on the A5, my speaker was connected and a voice prompt on the speaker said, “Connected”. It is possible to pair up to eight devices to the speaker (which means that the speaker will remember that it has been paired to eight of your devices). When the speaker is powered up the next time, it will connect to the device it was connected to last. To change to one of the other seven paired devices, you can press the Bluetooth button on the speaker for one full second to disconnect the speaker from the current device (a voice prompt will say, “Disconnected”) which will then put the speaker into pairing mode (the voice prompt then says, “Pairing”), after which you can go into your other mobile device’s Bluetooth settings to tap on the A5 in the list of paired devices to connect it to the speaker. Even though the speaker remembers up to eight devices that it has been paired with, this speaker apparently cannot be connected to more than one device at a time, unlike the UE Megaboom which can be connected to two devices at the same time and thus can play music from both devices without having to stop and disconnect from one device to connect to another.

This speaker is also NFC capable which means that you can pair it with an NFC equipped device. When NFC is turned on on your mobile device, you’ll only need to pass it over the NFC area on the speaker which is located just above the Volume Down/Up controls as shown in the photo above (Note: you may have to search for the NFC area on your phone). Pairing the speaker to my Nexus 6 phone was very easy using NFC. When passing the lower right quadrant of my phone (where the NFC hardware location is) over the NFC area of the speaker, my phone displayed this message, “Are you sure you want to pair the Bluetooth device A5? Yes or No”. After tapping on “Yes”, I was paired. When paired and connected, the speaker and device volume controls are in sync.

In the photo above, you’ll also notice the microphone next to the NFC area on the speaker that picks up your voice when using the calling features of the speaker.

The above photo also illustrates how the rubber top really attracts dust and lint. This is difficult to keep clean and this was as clean as I could get it!

When powered on, the speaker has LEDs to indicate its status. In addition, when the speaker is moved or it thermally senses your hand near the control panel, the control panel buttons light up for a few seconds so that you can find the correct controls when the speaker is in a low light setting.

LEDs (from left to right): There is an LED battery symbol, three LED dots, an “AUX” LED (not lit up in the above photo), a Bluetooth LED, and control panel backlights.

The three red LED dots indicate the level of battery charge: one dot = 30%, two dots = 60%, and three dots = 100%. When the battery is low on charge the Battery LED symbol will flash red (you will also hear a series of tones indicating low battery charge); otherwise, it will shine green.

When you physically connect your device to the speaker using an audio cable, the “AUX” LED shines green.

When your speaker is paired and connected to a device via Bluetooth, the Bluetooth LED symbol slowly flashes blue (and a voice prompt says, ”Connected”). When the speaker is in pairing mode, the Bluetooth symbol alternately flashes blue and red (and a voice prompt says, ”Pairing”).

As stated earlier, the control panel uses backlighting to illuminate the buttons for a few seconds when the speaker is moved or if it thermally senses your hand near the control panel. Thermal sensors – that’s pretty cool. You don’t have to turn the lights on to control the speaker.

Bluetooth Connectivity and Range: After pairing and connecting the speaker to my devices (Nexus 6 phone and iPod Touch 6G), just after turning it on, periodically I found that the connection would drop for a fraction of a second several times (within about a 15 second timeframe) and my device was only about one to two feet away from the speaker. This happened enough times to make this distracting and frustrating. I also noticed that with only one wall separating my device from the speaker, I frequently lost connectivity. When testing the line-of-sight distance from my Nexus 6 phone, I was only able to go 10 feet away from the speaker when the connection started to drop. When doing the same test with my iPod Touch 6G, I was only able to go 20 feet before the connection started to drop. Oy! This is exceedingly disappointing especially when the Bluetooth range is supposed to go up to 66 feet according to the A5 product description on Amazon.

Charging Time: The User Manual states that the recommended charging time is four hours. When charging it with the provided power cord, the LED dots would flash in sequence until a certain level of charge was attained (upon reaching 30% charge, the first LED dot remained on, and when reaching 60% charge the second LED dot also remained on, then when reaching 100% charge, the third dot also remained on). Even though the manual says the speaker should charge for four hours, I noticed that it took only about 1.5 hours to fully charge the speaker. When I charged beyond the 1.5 hours, there were no differences in the status lights.

Using the A5 as a Charger: If you should need to charge your mobile device in a pinch, you can do so using this speaker. However, it only provides 5V/1A so the charging will be slow.

Playback Time: When the speaker is set at a moderate volume level, my test revealed that the speaker would run for about nine hours. The User Manual states that the speaker should run about 12 hours. Of course, the playback time depends on the volume you play it at, but I expected that when the speaker is set at a moderate level, it would last nearly 12 hours.

Controls: I noticed that when using any of the control panel buttons, I needed to press each for one full second (except for the Power button which needed two full seconds when turning the speaker on). A simple split-second tap was insufficient to get the buttons to work properly. Once I learned the proper way to operate the controls, all of them worked well. I could play/pause, skip forward/back a track, or increase/decrease the volume levels. Holding the volume buttons down would increase or decrease the levels more quickly.

Calling Features: When you are connected to the speaker via Bluetooth and you receive a phone call, you must press the Call button for a full second to answer the call and press again for one full second to hang up. Call clarity on both sides was adequate. When I answered the call on the speaker and spoke within about eight inches from the microphone on the speaker, there were no issues. If I was a foot away or more, the caller indicated that my voice started to echo and was less clear.

Aux audio-in: When you connect your device using a 3.5 mm audio cable, this device supersedes Bluetooth devices. I also noticed that the volume on the speaker and device are not in sync when connected this way, thus, you’ll need to find your preferred volume level by adjusting it on both devices.

Frequency Range: Using my Audio Test Tone Generator Android app, I was able to comfortably hear 50-17,000 Hz frequencies (well, my kids heard them) when the speaker was set at moderate volume.

Audio Quality: This speaker can truly fill a room with music – it’s loud – at least it is to me. This speaker’s audio quality was quite impressive. It sounds just about the same as our UE Megaboom and it didn’t dampen the upper/mid frequencies like the Logitech x300 when playing bass-heavy music like Silent Shout by The Knife. Other music genres like classic rock (the Famous Final Scene by Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band), Celtic/new age (The Highwayman by Loreena McKennitt), and classical music (Clair de Lune) sounded crisp and clear. The vocals and the guitar on The Highwayman were beautiful to listen to. It is my perception that the speaker tends to slightly favor the mid to upper frequencies but I am not an audiophile so take that with a grain of salt – or several grains of salt.

Final thoughts

The Douni A5 Bluetooth speaker is quite wonderful to listen to until you get more than 10 feet away from it at which t_me th_ ___nection _tarts to _rop (“…time the connection starts to drop”). Yep. My studies have shown conclusively that this speaker suffers from separation anxiety. In addition, the controls need to be pressed one full second to work properly. The call features work well and the speaker does charge quickly (1.5 hours) but a full charge will only give you about nine hours of playback time when the speaker is set at a moderate volume level (as opposed to the 12 hours that the User Manual states). Even though the speaker sounds great, the Bluetooth range problems drive me crazy, thus I would personally pass on this speaker.

Source: The sample used in this review was provided by Douni. Please visit their website for more information or Amazon to purchase one.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: Bluetooth speaker

Douni A5 Bluetooth speaker review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 13, 2017 at 9:27 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

Bluetooth speakers come in all shapes and sizes these days. Finding one to meet your particular set of requirements is a tough job. Aukey has recently entered this market with a tough nicely sized unit that integrates speakerphone functions as well as weatherproofing and long battery life – the SK-M12 SoundTank. I was sent one to test.

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

The Aukey website lists the specs as:

Model Number: SK-M12
Technology: Bluetooth 4.1
Profiles: A2DP, AVRCP, HSP, HFP
Input: DC 5V
Driver: 2 x 5W
Charging Time: ~6 hours
Play Time: 30 hours
Standby Time: Up to 100 hours
Battery Type: Rechargeable Li-Polymer (2600mAh)
Range: Up to 10m / 33ft

The unit measures about 8” x 3” x 3”. The front and rear faces are covered by perforated aluminum pieces, while the other four surfaces are rubberized. The five control buttons are all on the top (+ and – for volume, phone answer/disconnect, power, and a Mode button), nicely covered but clearly marked. (I base my designations of “top, bottom, right, etc.” by orienting the face with the logo upright.) On the right small side is a red hard plastic carry loop. On the opposite small side is a red soft silicone door that covers the charging port and an AUX input jack. The cover is very tight but swings out of the way once you’ve opened it. I was not able to open it without a key or nail file since my fingernails are pretty short. Your mileage may vary, but you won’t have to worry about it popping open by accident!

On the bottom panel, there is a 1/4” 20 socket that fits a tripod screw. You can use this to place the unit on any stand, bicycle handlebar mount, or lamp shade harp that has this same thread size. You can also hang it from the red plastic loop to a pack, tent pole, or tree branch while you’re out camping or hiking. With 30 hours of playtime and 100 hours standby, you should easily make it through a long camping weekend. I found that with the power off, the charge degraded very little over a week or two.

The 2 5W drivers push through a lot of sound, so you can disturb the neighbors from a good distance away. Sitting and working beside the unit, you can’t turn it up more than 20-30%. It puts out some real volume. The sound is clear and full, too, not just loud.

While “rugged” and “outdoor” are tossed around in marketing materials, there is no documentation of any weather or dust resistance. The official seller account on Amazon said it is “splash proof” but not waterproof. So, dewy grass on a camping trip, misty rain on the deck, but maybe keep it high and dry at the pool.

Pairing was quick and accurate. Using the AUX connection, you can change between the Bluetooth and hard-wired sources by holding the Mode button. It’s not quick or clean (sometimes it doesn’t switch), and you can’t control the other device from the speaker after you’ve changed it to the other source, but it’s a step toward alleviating that frustration of wanting to watch a movie on an iPad, and having your phone bogart the Bluetooth connection to your speaker.

One strange thing about the metal plates that cover the speaker and the rear cover: they look like outlines of some type of dog treat. Whenever I brought this speaker out to play with a group, it was always the first thing that anyone noticed. “Is that the Scooby Snack speaker?” This speaker is no dog, but it may become a faithful companion.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by Aukey. Please visit their site for more info and Amazon to order one.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: Bluetooth speaker

Aukey SK-M12 SoundTank Bluetooth outdoor speaker review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 10, 2017 at 5:06 pm.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

I have always been a fan of cheap, useful gadgets. Sure, there are Bluetooth speakers on the market that are worth hundreds of dollars, but what about for those who are on a budget? Archeer came out with their A110 slim, portable Bluetooth speaker which has quite a low price for what it offers. Curiously, I had to try it out.

Inside of the box you’ll find:

– A110 speaker
– Micro-USB charging cable
– Auxiliary cable
– Instruction Manual

There are more features to this little speaker than just playing music via Bluetooth. It comes with Bluetooth, an FM radio, TF (microSD) card slot for playback and recording, and an auxiliary port.
Of course, the FM radio I had to try out first. To do so, you press the ‘M’ button on the back of the speaker until you reach the FM mode. I like to jump into things without reading instructions, so of course, I did that at first. I could not get a signal for the life of me. Well, I pressed the play button (via the instruction manual) and it found several signals that it saved to memory. Not only that, the FM broadcasts that were auto-saved came in pretty darn clear, and I could scroll through them easily with the volume buttons.

The volume buttons actually are volume and forward/backward buttons. Holding down the up or down button will change the volume, while a single tap will change your track or radio station. It might take a few tries to get used to how long to press it for the volume.

Pairing the Bluetooth was very simple. I pressed the pairing button on the back of the speaker and it showed up on my device right away and each time I turned on the speaker, it paired quickly to my phone. It will verbally tell you it is paired as well. Pressing play would automatically start whatever was last playing on my phone which was nice since after the initial pairing, I technically didn’t even need to pick up and use my phone to listen to music.

The middle button on the backside of the unit is for the lighting. Holding down the button will turn on or off the lighting, and pressing the button again will cycle through three lighting schemes; solid blue, multiple colors fading into each other, and one that goes along to your music. It doesn’t really go along to the music, but it makes it look like it is.
There is a stand on the back of the speaker to keep the speaker upright but also can double as a phone stand. I thought this was pretty nifty and it worked well to hold the phone. On tabletops, the vibrations from the speaker would make the unit move around, so I had to be extra careful not to let it fall off of an edge. There are rubbery feet on the bottom to prevent it from moving, but they are too far forward when it is angled on the stand, so they do not work.

It is supposed to have a six-hour battery life, and it seems pretty accurate to what is advertised. It will not turn off automatically when it does not detect music, so make sure to turn it off when you are finished. I left it on all day with the lights on accidentally and it still had about a quarter of its battery life left. Charging didn’t take too long either. I plugged it in around lunch time and it was done before my evening meal.

The sound quality of this little thing was surprisingly good. It isn’t going to blow the room away, but for a small room, or something to throw in your pocket and walk around with, it worked pretty well. There is a little bass that comes through, and the mid and high tones are pretty clear. Pop songs without the booming bass, along with classic rock music sounded the best on this speaker. All and all, for how cheap the speaker is, the audio quality was really good.

Overall, for the price of this little thing, I was very happy. If you are looking for something that will blow you out of the water with amazing sound quality and bass, you might want to look somewhere else, but if you are looking for a decent, portable Bluetooth speaker that is easy on the pocketbook, the Archeer A110 Bluetooth speaker might be worth a try.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by Archeer. Please visit their site for more info and Amazon to order.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: Bluetooth speaker

Archeer A110 wireless Bluetooth speaker review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 7, 2017 at 10:00 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.