November 04, 2015

JBL Flip 3 Portable Wireless Speaker Review

November 04, 2015/ Nir Schneider

The Xtreme is a great and powerful speaker, but not everyone can afford a $300 Bluetooth speaker. Fortunately, JBL's new Flip 3 is one wireless speaker that's affordable and very portable too. The Flip 3 improves upon its predecessor using two 40mm drivers flanked by dual external passive bass radiators for much better sounding bass, has double the battery life and features a rubberized water-resistant fabric design for greater outdoor durability. And like JBL's Xtreme and Pulse 2 speakers, the Flip 3 can also be used in a multi-speaker setup by wirelessly connecting to multiple JBL Connect-enabled speakers for an amplified audio experience much like UE's Double Up mode. In short, the Flip 3 is JBL's greatest Flip speaker the company has ever made. Could this be the the best new super portable speaker to get for under $100? You'll have to read our full review – complete with a UE Roll and UE Boom 2 speaker comparison – to find out!

June 26, 2015

Ultimate Ears UE Roll Portable Wireless Speaker Review

June 26, 2015/ Nir Schneider

Ultimate Ears has recently introduced a bold new portable wireless speaker to replace its cheeky little $100 UE Mini Boom that is supposedly the company's "most adventure-seeking speaker yet". The UE Roll as it's called is a small, spherically-shaped and ultra-compact portable Bluetooth speaker that blasts beats in a full 360-degrees and is designed to be used in all sorts of tasking environments thanks to its durable, shock/drop-resistant and IPX7-rated waterproof construction – including its ability to attach onto almost anything using a built-in marine-grade bungee cord feature. In other words this is a miniature UE Boom waiting to be tossed around and played with. The UE Roll borrows a lot from its larger and more expensive brother – the UE Boom, but the question is how does it stack up in the real world? More importantly, is the UE Roll an improved UE Mini Boom successor at $100? Let's find out!

November 26, 2014

Bose SoundLink Color Review

November 26, 2014/ Nir Schneider

Bose is back with its second highly portable wireless Bluetooth speaker called the SoundLink Color. Not to be confused with the more premium aluminum-made SoundLink Mini, this isn't quite yet the successor to one of the greatest portable speakers ever made, but instead a more affordably priced and colorful addition to Bose's growing lineup of wireless speakers. Offered in white, black and three other vibrant colors to match your style, the SoundLink Color has a compact form factor and boasts a quirky new original design we haven't yet seen before, and up to 8 hours of battery life. Like the SoundLink Mini, the new SoundLink Color features dual passive bass radiators and dual dynamic drivers that Bose claims produce clear, full-range balanced audio. As always, we're going to put it to the test to see how the SoundLink Color compares to its more expensive metallic brother as well as a few other noteworthy portable Bluetooth speakers. Our full and in-depth review can be found waiting for you just below this bit of text.

August 10, 2014

NudeAudio Super-M Portable Wireless Speaker Review

August 10, 2014/ Nir Schneider

NudeAudio has got a brand new speaker to share with us all, and like many companies these days, NudeAudio is using Kickstarter to fund its new product and create lots of buzz in the process. The Super-M is NudeAudio’s latest portable speaker offering that promises super-high sound performance in a very small and waterproof package that you can slip inside your back pocket. It’s reasonably priced too. Per NudeAudio’s brand philosophy of creating good looking speakers that sound good and not much else without the premium price, the Super-M is the first $100 ultra-portable speaker we’ve come across that is reasonably priced, yet still features a surprisingly promising 6-speaker driver array capable of outputting a compelling 360-degrees worth of audio – all packed into a resilient IPX5-rated waterproof construction that is hardly over an inch thick. This might be NudeAudio’s best speaker yet. If you’re looking for an inconspicuously strapping pocketable Bluetooth speaker this might be your lucky day. Be sure to get filled-in with our full review down below!

May 31, 2014

Fugoo (Style, Sport & Tough) Portable Wireless Speaker Review

May 31, 2014/ Nir Schneider

Fugoo is perhaps the most impressive and intriguing portable wireless speaker system brands to be introduced into the consumer audio market. Not only does the Fugoo Wireless Speaker boast the best battery life ever to grace such a compact and hardware-rich portable speaker with an incredible 40-hours of wireless music streaming, but it also stands out with its ingenious and very much effective interchangeable "Jacket" styling concept, and impressive speaker driver "Core" design that is extremely durable in its waterproof construction, yet packs a massive punch of audio awesomeness which we did not see coming. Did we mention the shockingly good battery life and unbridled hexa (meaning six) speaker driver engineering? How about the fact that the Fugoo speaker can be mounted onto practically anything thanks to modular GoPro-esque accessories and a just do it attitude?

From unsullied chic to all-terrain extreme toughness, Fugoo's swappable exterior Jacket enclosures let you choose which way and how hard to rock out without ever losing sight of audio quality nor inner speaker core durability. Let's find out how it stacks up against the competition, if there's any to begin with. Hit that imaginary button for the full, in-depth review.

November 27, 2013

id America TouchTone Wireless Bluetooth Speaker Review

November 27, 2013/ Nir Schneider

That’s right, id America has brought its own portable speaker to market called the TouchTone. This touch controls-featuring compact speaker is looking to compete up against some incredibly known brands in the audio world. And at $80, the TouchTone is asking for a piece of Ultimate Ears' ultra-compact and nicely balanced Mini Boom speaker, JBL's all-too familiar Flip speaker and many more that plague the shelves of electronic retail giants and the likes of Amazon and other online retailers.

But what does a case company have anything to do with audio gear? We asked the same exact question numerous times before, notably when Incase launched its line of headphones more than a year ago, we questioned the accessory brand's ability to put out decent sounding headphones. Needless to say, we were astounded by how amazing Incase's Sonic headphones actually turned out. So before we doubt another case company's ability to expand its line of products, we are giving id America's first ever speaker an honest shot as we go ears on with the new TouchTone portable Bluetooth wireless speaker. Be sure to head past the break for our full review!

June 27, 2013

JBL Charge Portable Wireless Speaker Review

June 27, 2013/ Nir Schneider

JBL's Charge sells itself as a portable wireless stereo speaker with impressive gadget-charging capabilities all rolled into one attractive and compact device. If there ever was a portable speaker that combined all-day long battery life, an ultra-fast backup battery charger with big sound in a small package - it would definitely have to be the Charge, and the Charge alone. As you might know, JBL gave us the $100 Flip late last year which at the time blew us away with its elite audio performance we called jaw droppingly powerful.

But like any good product, the Flip had its inconveniences and treble-heavy sound signature we pleaded JBL to fix and improve upon. Now that we've got our hands all over the Charge, we're going to find out if JBL did things a little differently this time around. And it also means putting the Charge up against today's leading portable speakers. Want to see who comes out on top? So do we! Our full review is just around the corner.