[section_title title=”Set up & Audio Quality”] Set up &Â Audio Quality
Set up
Upon pressing the power button the speaker comes to life with a brief jingle, press it again and a different jingle tells you the device has been turned off.
Pairing the device with my Motorola Moto G could not have been easier, I simply powered the speaker on, turned the phone’s Bluetooth on, scanned for devices, and my phone was paired to the speaker in seconds.
An issue I encountered was that my music player of choice (Spotify) lacked Bluetooth support. Happily, with the help of a free third party app on the Google Play store, the aptly named Bluetooth Connect and Play, I was able to set up Spotify over Bluetooth in minutes.
In contrast to the above, Google play music (the default android music player) did not need any third party software to work, as you would hope/expect.
I also managed to get my hands on a Samsung Galaxy S3 to test the pairing and it was just as easy, I observed too that the Soundcloud app on that device played over Bluetooth without the need for the third party app, so with the options available fellow streamers need not be worried about compatibility.
Audio QualityÂ
Immediately upon starting to listen to the speaker I was impressed with the amount of sound coming from such a small device, turning the volume to maximum produced an impressive amount of sound that exceeded my expectations.
Volume is not everything, though, as after all there is such a thing as too loud when it comes to low output speakers such as this. However, the little black box produces a pleasantly rich sound with clear mids and crisp highs that should please the discerning on-the-go listener. The bass response is also impressive for the form factor thanks to the ported enclosure the two drivers sit in.
I tested the speaker with a range of music, from the technically pristine …Like Clockwork by Queens of the Stone Age to the jarring yet sublime collection of sounds that is Kanye West’s Yeezus.Â
In the former the neutral balance of the drivers made for clean vocals and the smooth bass response made an admirable reproduction of the bass guitar and drums.
In the latter I did find the limit of the bass response in the device, with it not quite being able to reproduce the signature low frequency hip hop basslines, leaving some holes in an otherwise pleasing listening experience.
Overall, considering the form factor, the sound quality is very good, exceeding my expectations of something of this size and price comfortably.
Next up I see if the claimed range is all its cracked up to be…
