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.

October 21, 2014

JBL Charge 2 Portable Wireless Speaker Review

October 21, 2014/ Nir Schneider

JBL recently updated one of its most sought-after portable speakers with the second generation Charge 2 portable wireless Bluetooth speaker. If you thought the original award-winning Charge speaker sounded good, wait until you hear the Charge 2 in action. It has been outfitted with larger, better dual 45mm drivers and a pair of passive side-firing radiators for that much needed special delivery of bassy low-end goodness to liven up your music experience. With the addition of improved internal hardware, the Charge 2 has been redesigned to look sleeker than its predecessor with a more contemporary design along with a more polished build quality. JBL's Charge 2 still features the same useful added features like the ability to charge external portable devices while you're on the move, and make hands-free speakerphone calls thanks to a built-in microphone with noise and echo-cancelling technology. The Charge 2 sounds like a worthy successor, but is that enough to compete with today's leading portable Bluetooth speakers? Let's find out!

July 26, 2014

NudeAudio Move M Portable Speaker Review

July 26, 2014/ Nir Schneider

NudeAudio is an up-and-coming audio brand, and it's serious about making affordably priced portable Bluetooth speakers look and sound great too. And it does so without spending all of its audio engineering and speaker design budget on marketing. NudeAudio's Bluetooth speaker lineup consists of two very pocket-friendly speakers including the Move S and Move M (above), as well as a larger Move L speaker model which balances indoor and outdoor portability prowess along with the suitable horse power to help it deliver that extra kick some of you are looking for.

One thing NudeAudio's portable speakers all have in common is an 8-hour rechargeable battery and a travel-friendly, contemporary design that utilizes a protective shock-absorbing silicone bumper-like outline and a neat, colorful built-in lanyard cord. NudeAudio sent us two of their greatest wireless speaker offerings to have a look at – the mid-level Move M and the higher-end Move L. We will be reviewing them both in two separate reviews where they'll each have to face a rigorous comparison test. So make sure to check out the Move L review here, or jump past the break for our full review on the Move M!

June 17, 2014

Logitech X300 Mobile Wireless Speaker Review

June 17, 2014/ Nir Schneider

After quietly separating itself from Ultimate Ears, Logitech is finally and once again making portable Bluetooth speakers under its own name. Logitech recently introduced the X300 Mobile Wireless Speaker, the exuberant stereo variant of the company's ultra-small and pocket-friendly X100 offering. Though unlike the X100, the larger X300 is not only a stereo wireless Bluetooth speaker, but has four times as many drivers to help produce richer and more powerful immersive sounding audio whilst still maintaining that highly portable form factor we so very much like. Last week we tested and put JBL's small, albeit very capable $50 pocketable Clip speaker up against Logitech's comparable X100. Although the Clip has narrowly won that battle, we are even more interested to find out if paying an extra $20 is worth overlooking both of these very small speakers in favor of a superior music experience. Better yet, can Logitech's performance-driven X300 Mobile Wireless Speaker beat its Ultimate Ears cousin? Let's find out!

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.

March 20, 2014

Creative Sound BlasterAxx AXX 200 Portable Wireless Speaker Review

March 20, 2014/ Nir Schneider

How do you make a portable wireless speaker that can stand above all else? If you're Creative, you use your sound card audio processing technology pedigree to your advantage while also packing as much features into a small sized portable speaker as you possibly can. That result is the Sound BlasterAxx AXX 200, a feature-packed portable wireless speaker with an unbelievable amount of functionality at a relatively reasonable price. More is always better, right? And if more is what you want, you'll get what you ask for with Creative's AXX 200 including excessive amounts of Xs. Creative is billing the AXX 200 as an intelligent wireless sound system, but we're not so sure 'intiligent' is the right description. One thing certain though, we have never reviewed a wireless speaker quite like this on Gadgetmac. So let’s get started.

February 07, 2014

Grain Audio PWS Packable Wireless Speaker Review

February 07, 2014/ Nir Schneider

Grain Audio is a new name in the audio industry. And like every other newcomer, Grain Audio wants to make it by being different. By standing out from what everyone else is doing. But how does a company achieve this seemingly arduous proclamation? The ambiguous answer is wood. Although you can't tell that from our photo above, we can assure you that wood is in fact the center of attention. Grain Audio wanted to make a portable wireless speaker that united the simplicity of contemporary lines with genuine wood as the speaker's enclosure for not only having excellent acoustic properties that improve audio quality, but obviously for its striking and unique appearance. The result is the Packable Wireless Speaker - or PWS for short. This is a wireless Bluetooth speaker that can very easily be taken outside or placed on a bookshelf where it'll feel like a part of your posh decor. As always, we've got a couple of portable speaker comparisons waiting for you down below where you'll also find the full review of Grain Audio's PWS!