16 Dec
Blog

OnePlus Buds Z2 Review: Too Much Bass, Not Enough Grace

OnePlus Buds Z2 open case.

OnePlus Buds Z2 in the test: Too much bass, too little grace

RRP $ 99.00

"Active noise cancellation is a welcome addition to the lightweight OnePlus Buds Z2, but the heavy bass of the 11mm drivers can be overwhelming and they don't really stand out enough to beat the competition."

benefits

  • Light and comfortable to wear

  • Simple, reliable touch controls

  • Choice of noise cancellation modes

  • IP55 and IPX4 water and dust resistance

disadvantage

  • Bass-heavy sound profile

  • No wireless charging

  • No alternative sound modes

True wireless earbuds, almost regardless of the price, have to attract attention today due to the large selection. OnePlus is no stranger to its smartphones, which usually come up with good design, desirable features, and a tempting price.

But what about the OnePlus Buds Z2? They follow the OnePlus Buds Z for $ 49, but the price has now doubled as Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and a pair of updated drivers have been added. Is that enough to separate them from everyone else – and separate you with $ 99 to get them?

draft

The housing of the OnePlus Buds Z2 is made of glossy plastic – my test model is black, but there is also a white model – with the brand name in simple letters on the lid, which is held securely closed by a magnet. Open it up and the top feels pretty cheap and thin, with a scratchy, matte plastic lining that keeps the Buds Z2 in place. It's a simple and nondescript case.

OnePlus Buds Z2 closed case.Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

OnePlus has also chosen a simple design for the Buds Z2. A short, tube-like shaft protrudes from the inoperative speaker cabinet, with visual interest only provided by a sunburst-style CD-like endplate. That's it. They are certainly not ugly, but neither are they inspiring. OnePlus definitely relies on subtlety here, but the case and design of the Bud Z2 border on boring.

The box contains three sets of earplugs in the sizes small, medium and large. I liked the medium best and, according to the MyMelody app, makes for a good end to my ears. There is also a short USB Type-C cable in the case for charging the battery. A button on the back of the case puts the Buds Z2 into pairing mode, and there is a single LED on the front to indicate status.

OnePlus Buds Z2 open case.Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Although I'm not particularly impressed by the look of the OnePlus Buds Z2, I can't fault the comfort and durability. The Buds Z2 are very light at 4.5 grams each and do not cause ear fatigue. I wore them for four hours straight and had no problems. Each bud has an IP55 water resistance rating, so you can even clean it with a single flush. It's just a shame that they look rather generic.

sound

Inside every ordinary-looking Buds Z2 earbud, you'll find an 11mm driver and three microphones, plus a tiny 40mAh battery. The driver is the same as in the OnePlus Buds Pro, plus there is Dolby Atmos and AAC and SBC codec support. The design may be subtle, but there's no doubt that OnePlus tuned the Buds Z2 for bass because it can be, damn it, overwhelming.

OnePlus Buds Z2 earbuds.Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

The scientist at Twice has a strong bass line undoubtedly, but the finesse of the song has been removed with the OnePlus Buds Z2. It booms and booms all the time, but due to the tight soundstage and amplified highs, it doesn't seem to overwhelm the vocals, instead wrapping the song's sweet and addicting melody in a thick bass blanket. Listen to the Apple AirPods Pro, and the nice balance and controls make it sound like a different song.

This bombastic approach can also be heard in Ive & # 39; s Eleven, where the harsh treatment of the vocals and the heavy bass boom of the Buds Z2 don't encourage you to turn up the volume. There's also noticeable distortion as you approach even the three-quarter mark on the iPhone 13 Pro. That said, there's a ton of volume on offer if you want it. Two of my regular test tracks – Tokyo Towers Mix from What Time is Love by The KLF and Inner Peace by CloZee – both have deep bass throughout and are not particularly pleasant to listen to. Unfortunately, there's no equalizer in the app or some way to tweak the sound profile to fix this overzealous approach.

Compared to other headphones that I use plugged into my TV, the OnePlus Buds Z2 were very loud and still pretty harsh, with some laughter being especially deafening during comedy shows. However, on the spoken word, performance was good, helped by a focus on treble and vocals. I've used the OnePlus Buds Z2 for video calls and while the audio quality was okay for me, listeners described it as average.

Dolby Atmos support is offered. but only if you are using a current OnePlus phone. On the OnePlus 9 Pro, I used the Disney + and Tidal apps to try it out, but the results were mixed, not least because it's quite difficult to tell if you're listening to Dolby Atmos content. Seeing Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings didn't really sound any different, while the Atmos mixes on Tidal's Atmos playlists were better, with some interesting spatial effects, but overall, it was never as effective as listening to Atmos tracks over Apple Music and the AirPods Pro.

OnePlus Buds Z2 in the ear.Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

The OnePlus Buds Z2 is all about bass and treble and it lacks a fine balance, which means that the mids tend to be lost and some details are hidden. This harshness didn't suit my tastes or my choice of music, but I can see bass and volume junkies enjoying the sound more – just be aware that listening to music with the OnePlus Buds Z2 isn't anything relaxing. These are loud and very proud of the bass they can deliver.

Controls and noise cancellation

The OnePlus Buds Z2's touch controls are responsive and the sensor is easy to find with your finger, which makes them better than many other earbuds. All you have to do is tap the flat endplate to pause or play the music, or touch and hold to change the noise canceling setting. There's no messing around with holding the stem or trying to find the touch sensor, everything is built in sensibly and the sensor seems big enough that you don't have to tap over and over to find the right spot.

There are two settings for noise cancellation, a standard and a maximum mode and a transparency mode. You long press the earbud to switch between them. By default, this goes from transparency to maximum noise cancellation, but you can customize this in the app. In the end I set it to the standard ANC mode instead of the maximum due to the excessive hiss created by the maximum setting.

These are loud and very proud of the bass they can deliver.

While the +/- 25db standard mode creates some pressure in your ears, I prefer that initial discomfort to the louder background noise created by the +/- 40db max mode. I didn't notice much of a difference between them in terms of isolation either, although I suspect that has something to do with the environment. The default mode was fine for home and general outdoor use, but I wasn't on an airplane or in an overly noisy environment to fully try the maximum setting.

App and connectivity

The OnePlus Buds Z2 connect via Bluetooth 5.2 and support Android Fast Pair, which worked fine on my OnePlus 9 Pro and Google Pixel 6 Pro, although I had to manually establish a connection on the iPhone 13 Pro. I also connected it to my Sony TV. I was able to move around my one-story apartment without losing connectivity, and the range was similar to other wireless headphones I use.

MyMelody app with OnePlus Buds Z2.Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

I found the connection time to be very fast and extremely reliable. During the test, I kept switching between devices and headphones, and the Buds Z2 had no problems with this at all. If you tap and hold an earbud for a few seconds, the Buds Z2 will also quickly switch between previously connected and available devices. Take the headphones out of your ears and the content will pause automatically, and this worked even while streaming an app from my phone to my TV.

If you have a OnePlus phone, the Buds Z2 doesn't need to install an app as all functions and firmware updates are handled by the phone. For other Android phones and the iPhone, you should download the My Melody app, but the OnePlus Buds Z2 will work perfectly without using the accompanying app if you prefer.

For my music choices, the OnePlus Buds Z2's bass response is ridiculously exaggerated.

My Melody allows you to customize the touch controls, update the firmware, change the noise canceling mode, perform a seat test, and check the battery level for the case and headphones. It was reliable on my iPhone 13 Pro, although I don't use it very often other than applying a firmware update.

battery

In a listening session in which the OnePlus Buds Z2 switched between my iPhone 13 Pro, my Sony TV and my Mac Mini, the low battery warning came after four hours. You should get near the estimated five hours of OnePlus usage with ANC active, but don't expect to exceed this. OnePlus estimates 27 hours of total ANC usage, or 38 hours without it. It takes 90 minutes to fully charge the case and a 10 minute charge adds five hours to its useful life via the included cable and standard adapter. The OnePlus Buds Z2 do not have wireless charging.

Price and availability

The OnePlus Buds Z2 cost US $ 99 in the US and will be available from the OnePlus and Amazon online stores from December 18. However, if you join OnePlus' "Red Cable Club", you will be able to buy them from December 17th. Joining the club is free and comes with certain benefits, including free shipping. The white version will initially be available, the black version will be available in early 2022. In the UK, the OnePlus Buds Z2 will cost £ 99 and are now available in the OnePlus online shop.

Our opinion

The original OnePlus Buds Z were $ 49, but the addition of ANC and Buds Pro drivers means the Buds Z2 has doubled in price, and at $ 99, they have serious competition. We found that you don't have to spend more than $ 100 these days to get a pair of true feature-packed wireless headphones, and while the OnePlus Buds Z2s tick most of the boxes, the sound is going to split opinions.

For my music choices, the bass reproduction of the OnePlus Buds Z2 is ridiculously exaggerated and robs most of the songs of any subtleties. I understand, however, that a lot of people seriously want loud and bassy headphones, and while the Buds Z2 definitely are, the mega bass darkens details and overwhelms the midrange, which isn't ideal no matter how much you want.

On the positive side, the touch controls are good, the noise cancellation is effective in standard mode, and the waterproof rating is IP55. It's a shame the battery life doesn't go beyond four to five hours with ANC, and the design isn't a bit more inspired. The OnePlus Buds Z2 are inconspicuous unless you crave thundering bass.

Is there a better alternative?

Unfortunately for OnePlus, and luckily for you, there are so many alternatives to choose from that you can get exactly what you want, for the same price or less. I used the OnePlus Buds Z2 along with the $ 99 Nothing Ear 1, and I prefer the latter's natural sound profile and overall design, and I really appreciate the addition of wireless charging.

If the Nothing Ear 1 isn't for you, here are eight alternative options, all under $ 100. There is so much to choose from that you can pretty much find a pair to suit your exact needs. This diversity poses a problem for the OnePlus Buds Z2, which are difficult to stand out from the crowd.

How long will they last?

The IP55-rated earphones and the IPX4-rated housing offer the OnePlus Buds Z2 sufficient protection against water and dust, making them suitable for use in the gym or in the rain. The plastic construction should be resistant to damage. The HeyMelody app enables firmware updates if OnePlus releases them in the future. Battery life can degrade over time, but there's no reason why it doesn't last two or three years before it becomes noticeable.

Should you buy it?

No, there are better sounding and equally, if not more, feature rich options for the same or less money.

Editor's recommendations



01 Jul
Blog

Bowers & Wilkins PI5 Review: Elegant Style, Big Bass Sound

Bowers & Wilkins PI5 true wireless earbuds in their charging case.

"The PI5 is sleek and stylish and offers an alternative to white plastic earphones."

  • Simple, elegant design

  • Comfortable

  • Wireless charging

  • Effective ANC

  • Wear sensors

  • Full, rich sound

  • Cumbersome transparency controls

  • No EQ settings

  • No adjustment of the control

  • Some bluetooth connection problems

It took Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) longer than expected to launch its first true wireless earbuds, but they're finally here: the $ 400 flagship PI7 and the downward model PI5, which costs $ 250. The sleek looking earbuds came out at a crucial time when most brands are already working on their second, third, or even fourth generation products after years of learning and making improvements. Can B&W get in with a first-gen product at a great price and compete with established companies like Sony, Bose, Jabra and JBL?

I put the B&W PI5 through its paces.

What's in the box?

Bowers & Wilkins PI5 True Wireless Earphones and Accessories.Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Not only is B&W a little late for the real wireless party, but it also seems to have missed the memo on sustainable packaging. Although the box is relatively small, it has embedded magnets, foam pads, and fully coated surfaces that make recycling difficult, if not impossible.

Inside you will find the PI5 already in its charging case, two additional sizes of earplugs, some paper documents and a generously long USB-C to USB-C charging cable. Unfortunately, B&W failed to add a USB-A to USB-C adapter for those of us who don't have a readily available USB-C port or charger.

The earbuds manage to look smaller in your ear than other earbuds thanks to their terraced shape.

design

Bowers & Wilkins PI5 true wireless earbuds in their charging case.Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

B&W has a flair for sophisticated designs. Whether it's the company's PX7 full-size headphones or the Formation wireless speakers, it's all about sleek elegance. The PI5 shares this design language with smooth lines and subtle accents such as the spiral texture on the outer touch control surface and an aluminum ring with the B&W brand.

Thanks to their terraced shape, the earbuds look smaller in your ear than on the Sony WF-1000XM4, Jabra Elite 85t and JBL Tour Pro +.

They can be easily removed from their wireless charging case and the case's magnets are just the right strength to hold the earphones precisely in place – don't worry about incorrectly aligned charging contacts.

The lid of the case can be opened and closed easily and easily and the large LED display on the front allows you to quickly check the charging status as well as the status of the buds when docked.

The case is just small enough to put in your pocket. The only catch with the otherwise beautiful design is the plastic selection chosen by B&W for the case: Even after unpacking the case, the case was covered with fingerprints and the factory condition could not be restored even by careful polishing with a soft cloth.

They don't look like that, but the PI5 are IP54 certified for good dust resistance and moderate water resistance. However, the case is not protected against dust or water, so you should clean the earbuds before replacing them.

Comfort, controls and connections

Bowers & Wilkins PI5 True Wireless Earphones.Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

The PI5's sleek lines don't suggest a lot of comfort, but I found them very comfortable. The inner part of the earplugs is gently curved, while the outer part sits in the concha, where it, together with the silicone earplugs, holds the earplugs in position.

You want to move quickly from hearing nothing to hearing as much as possible. But there is simply no way to do that.

They may not be entirely safe for high energy workouts, but I think most people will find them suitable for their daily treadmill or treadmill routine.

As with most touch controls, there are times when typing on the PI5 has not been registered, but B&W includes a feedback tone so you know when you typed correctly. There's no way to change the gestures – you get play / pause, answer / end call, skip forward / back tracks, and access to the voice assistant. The volume control needs to be done on the phone (or you can ask Siri / Google Assistant to do it).

There's also the option to toggle active noise cancellation with a tap-and-hold gesture on the left earbud, but I'm not crazy about it. In my opinion, the opposite of ANC on is not ANC off, but transparency mode on. You want to move quickly from not hearing the outside world to hearing as much as possible. But there is simply no way to do that. To switch from ANC (on or off) to transparency you need to use a control buried in the B&W Headphones app.

Bowers & Wilkins headphone app with ANC control.

Bowers & Wilkins headphone app with advanced settings.

Oddly enough, it is possible to have both ANC and Transparency mode enabled at the same time, which makes no sense at all. This is a major oversight that the company will hopefully fix with a firmware update as soon as possible.

The PI5 are equipped with wear sensors (which can be disabled in the app) and they are very accurate, pausing and resuming the music almost immediately when you remove or replace an earbud.

When testing the B&W PI7, we noticed some pretty flaky Bluetooth connections, but the PI5 were mostly reliable. Your wireless range is perfectly acceptable when you have your phone with you: 35 feet outside and 6 feet or so inside, but if you need to roam more, you're likely to experience dropouts.

I had a couple of glitches getting the PI5 to reconnect after putting it back in its case. It often took a few moments for the earbuds to turn on and then another five to 10 seconds to reconnect to my phone.

Once the earphones switched off the microphone part of the connection without warning. About halfway through a recording, they just stopped working and I had no idea until I played the recording.

On some tracks, the lower mid-range may sound a little distorted.

On the plus side, the PI5 can remember the last four paired devices, and the app lets you choose which of them to try first when you pull the earbuds out of their cases (or you can choose "last paired" as the default). You can also use each earbud independently.

Sound quality

Bowers & Wilkins PI5 true wireless earbuds are worn.Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

The PI5 has a very forward-looking sound signature that gives the music a warm, rich, and full reproduction. That bass really lets you feel the dark sounds of a track like Hans Zimmer's Time, but it lacks the subtlety of Sony's WF-1000XM4 that can better bring out the little nuances.

The challenge here is that B&W does not offer any EQ adjustments within the app. On some tracks, like Dominique Fils-Aimés Home, where deep acoustic bass and drums are accompanied by sultry vocals, the lower mids can sound a bit distorted. This becomes more noticeable as you turn up the volume. It's not a deal breaker, and despite the lack of low-end precision, there is excellent clarity in the upper mids and highs, which makes the vocal performance really enjoyable.

The PI5 are equipped with Qualcomm's aptX Bluetooth codec, which is said to offer slightly better performance than AAC, but I couldn't make out any difference when switching back and forth between an iPhone 11 (AAC) and a Google Pixel 5 (aptX). .

For less expensive earbuds, I'd probably overlook this, but at $ 250, the PI5 stands up against great audio performers like the $ 200 Sennheiser CX 400BT, $ 230 Jabra Elite 85t, and $ 230 KEF MU3, the all have excellent frequency separation.

Noise cancellation and transparency

Bowers & Wilkins PI5 True Wireless Earphones.Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

The PI5's active noise cancellation is very good. It was able to completely block the noise from my loud bathroom fan from six feet away, and it also adapted well to traffic and construction site noise as I walked through my neighborhood. It's actually a remarkable feat considering the earbuds only have two microphones. Most of the ANC earbuds that do this good require three microphones.

When melodies are not playing you can only make out a tiny hiss, but it's insignificant and easily ignored.

The transparency mode, which you can fine-tune to let in more or less sound, is very good too, but doesn't quite match the AirPods Pro's creepy ability to make it seem like you're not wearing any earbuds at all.

As I said above, the big problem is not being able to switch between ANC and transparency quickly and easily.

Battery life

Bowers & Wilkins PI5 True Wireless Earbud Charging Case.

Bowers & Wilkins PI5 True Wireless Earbud Charging Case.

B&W states a battery life of 4.5 hours per charge for the earphones with the ANC switched on, which can be extended by another 20 hours with the charging case for about 24.5 hours of use before a cord or wireless charger is required. The PI5 is on par with the AirPods Pro, but is still at the lower end of the range of current true wireless earbuds.

In testing, I found these numbers a bit optimistic. With the ANC switched on and the volume set to 50%, I only have a little more than four hours of playing time.

However, there is a quick charge function that could help with range anxiety: 15 minutes in the sockets gives two hours of additional gaming time.

Call quality

Bowers & Wilkins PI5 true wireless earbuds are worn.Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

I found the PI5 did a good job of canceling out background noise during a call. Some wind noise wasn't a problem either. But B&W may need to increase the gain on the microphones – my voice sometimes sounded a bit far away.

You can switch to transparency mode (from within the app) during a call, which really helps you hear your own voice more clearly.

I'm just not sure what to make of the microphone dropout issue mentioned above. If that happened all the time during phone calls, it would become a major nuisance.

Extras

In the B&W Headphones app you will find a number of six “soundscapes” such as waves or forest noises, all of which can be set with a timer to help you fall asleep. These might be helpful for getting 40 winks while flying, but I doubt most people will want to wear these earbuds to bed.

Our opinion

The PI5 brings B & W's famous elegance and sophistication to the true world of wireless earbuds, but a few weaknesses keep them from usurping the ruling brands at this price point.

Is there a better alternative?

At the same price as the PI5, Apple's AirPods Pro provide a better overall experience for everything but sound quality. They are smaller, more comfortable, and have better ANC and transparency modes.

For a non-Apple alternative, that's $ 230 Jabra Elite 85t are superb, with better sound quality, better battery life, lots of customization options, and more useful and effective ANC and transparency modes.

For even more savings, try the $ 199 JBL Tour Pro + – their bass isn't as powerful, but just as good or better than the PI5 in every other way.

How long will they last?

B&W backs the PI5 with a two-year warranty that's twice the average for true wireless earbuds. They look very well made and with their IP54 protection class should withstand most activities unscathed. My only concern is the battery. All batteries lose capacity over time, so it's not ideal for your earbuds to last for 4.5 hours or less – this can easily drop to just two hours after a year or two of regular use.

Should you buy it?

Yes. If you can overcome your cumbersome ANC / transparency controls, the B&W PI5 offers a very stylish and sonorous alternative to the current noise-canceling true wireless earbuds.

Editor's recommendations



04 Feb
Blog

JBL Reflect Mini NC Review: Workout Earbuds With Big Bass

JBL Reflect Mini NC

"With a throbbing bass and a huge list of functions, the JBL Reflect Mini NC chooses every workout."

  • Big, powerful bass

  • Excellent call quality

  • Either Alexa or Google Assistant

  • Good noise cancellation

  • Cumbersome adjustment of the controls

  • No wireless charging

JBL sells a wide variety of true wireless earbuds aimed at fitness enthusiasts. Between the company's own JBL branded products and its partnerships with Under Armor and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, you can choose from eight different models, priced between $ 100 and $ 200. Announced at CES 2021, the latest in the range are the $ 150 Reflect Mini NC, JBL's first Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) training buds.

With an impressive list of features, excellent water resistance, and a surprisingly affordable price point, one wonders: what's the catch? Let's take a look.

What's in the box?

JBL Reflect Mini NCSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

The Reflect Mini NC, like most JBL headphones, comes in a box that is beautifully designed but a nightmare to recycle, with lots of plastic, foam, and magnets embedded. Inside you will find the earphones, their charging case, a USB-C charging cable, a total of three sizes of silicone earplugs and wing tips, as well as paper documentation with a quick guide.

design

JBL Reflect Mini NCSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

Most of the other loading cases feel weak in comparison.

The Reflect Mini NC and its compact charging case are available in black, white, green or blue and radiate robustness. Despite its low weight, the charging case is very solid thanks to a robust plastic shell and an impressively robust hinge. The lid is easy to open and stays in the open position until you close it, which comes with a very satisfactory magnetic clasp. Most of the other loading cases, even JBL's own Reflect Flow, feel weak in comparison. A built-in lanyard loop is handy for taking the headphones with you when you don't have a pocket, or attaching them to a gym bag or backpack.

I'm also a bit obsessed with the charge indicator on the front of the case. In most cases there will be a small LED dot or a series of dots if you're lucky. With the Reflect Mini NC, however, you get a large, fat LED bar that shows the charging status of each earbud and the case itself. The only thing missing here is wireless charging.

The earphones are also solidly built and, as the name suggests, slightly smaller than the Reflect Flows – albeit not by much. As an advantage for night runners and hikers, reflective paint was applied to the JBL logos on the contact surfaces.

No workout buds would be complete without some sort of water resistance, and the Reflect Mini NC doesn't disappoint with an IPX7 rating, which means they're effectively waterproof. They won't work if you go swimming with them, but they won't be damaged either.

Convenience, control and connections

JBL Reflect Mini NCSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

True workout wireless earbuds often use an ear hook design to ensure a secure fit. The Powerbeats Pro are the flagship for this function. But if you can achieve the same level of security without the earhook, that's a plus in my opinion, and the Reflect Mini NC definitely delivers. The tradeoff – if you consider it a compromise – is that these earbuds really make your ears feel full.

You have no concerns about an accidentally detached bud.

The silicone earbuds and wing tips are denser than the ones JBL uses for the Reflect Flow, presumably to improve stability, but that means they're not quite as comfortable. You have no concerns about an accidentally detached bud, but you'll never forget you're wearing it either. As a result, they are likely not the best choice for long periods of wear in an office or on an airplane.

The touch controls respond quickly as long as you touch the surface of the logo and not just the edges. Each earbud is factory-equipped with preset functions. With the left bud you can switch between the ANC modes or activate the talk-thru mode (more on this later). The right earbud controls play / pause and skip forward / backward. Both earbuds can access your phone's built-in assistant and both can be used to answer / end calls and mute / unmute the microphones. So far, so good. There is no volume control by default, but that's not uncommon – many true wireless earbuds lack this feature.

The problem occurs when you use the free JBL headphones app to customize the controls. Instead of letting you choose which features go with which gestures, you have to choose from the presets. For example, the left earbud can control noise cancellation or playback functions, but not a mix of these functions. If volume control is important to you, you can set either earbud to control it. But then you just have to choose another function to control with the other earbud. What will it be? And if you don't like the gesture assigned to a particular function (e.g. a single tap to toggle ANC mode), you can't change it.

You can configure the Reflect Mini NC to access the Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa instead of your phone's built-in assistant. However, if you use this very cool feature it will take a whole earbud. This leaves you with Alexa and volume (for example). Or Alexa and ANC. You get the picture. I asked JBL why the controls seem to be set up like a bunch of channels on cable TV, but I have never received a satisfactory answer.

Like more and more earbuds these days, the Reflect Mini NC has an auto play / pause function that pauses your music when you remove an earbud. It reacts very quickly and can be deactivated in the app if desired.

You can use the earbuds individually (both can answer / end calls) and their wireless range is excellent. Pairing is very quick and easy for both iPhone and Android phones.

There's a bass-forward sound signature that you can feel all over your body.

In the JBL app, you can choose from three different Smart Audio modes that supposedly change the parameters of the wireless connection: Normal for the most stable connection, audio for the best sound quality, and video for the lowest latency (also great for gaming). I didn't notice much of a difference between these modes, but I love that they are included if you need them.

JBL also includes a Find My Earbuds feature that makes each earbud emit a high-pitched beep. It's loud enough that you will hear it even if a bud gets wedged between sofa cushions.

Sound quality

JBL Reflect Mini NCSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

When it comes to a set of workout earphones, the big, powerful bass is arguably one of the most important elements. After all, it's the beat that keeps most of us going, whether we're serious about taking a walk or trying to hit a new personal best at the gym. Thanks in part to its super-tight seal, the Reflect Mini NC fulfills this requirement with a bass-forward sound signature that you can feel through your whole body.

Turn up Post Malone's wow. or Ariana Grande's 7 rings and wait for those extremely deep basses to hit – it's powerful stuff. That same low-end rumble is perfect for action films too.

You can customize the EQ to your heart's content in the JBL app, with a few presets, but also your own collection of custom settings. These are well worth exploring – you can drastically change the signature of the Reflect Mini NC.

They aren't the most nuanced earbuds I've ever heard. The mids can be a bit overwhelmed by the heavy lows and highs, and their soundstage isn't as wide or open as on models like this Jabra Elite Active 75t. As a training companion, however, they couldn't be more precise in terms of sound.

Noise cancellation and transparency

JBL Reflect Mini NCSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

After a lukewarm experience with JBL's ANC technology on the Club One wireless headphones, I was also prepared for an overwhelming performance from the Reflect Mini NC. Surprisingly, the opposite was true. Once again, their tight ear canal seal is key: these earbuds do such a good job of passive noise isolation that the ANC circuit doesn't have much to put out, and they do a very effective job.

It's so good, in fact, that even without music, family members could sneak up on me completely undetected while I had the earphones with me.

You can select the specific frequencies you want to cancel using a slider in the JBL app. It's not quite as convenient as the Sony, Jabra, or Soundcore presets, but it's very handy nonetheless. Customize ANC performance for your specific environment.

The Reflect Mini NC have excellent call quality.

Transparency mode is good too, but it has two minor drawbacks: unlike ANC, you can't adjust how much sound transparency mode is allowed, and there's no way to toggle between ANC and transparency mode without an ANC off Mode to cycle through. Two more adjustments that JBL should add.

Talk-thru mode, a handy way to temporarily turn on transparency while lowering the volume of your music, works very well too.

Battery life

JBL claims six hours of use between charges for the Reflect Mini NC when the ANC is on and seven hours when it is off. It's similar to the Jabra Elite 75t and Elite Active 75t, but not quite as impressive as the Powerbeats Pro's nine hours. The charging case contains two full charges that take an additional 12 or 14 hours. As far as I can tell, these numbers are pretty accurate.

A 10-minute quick charge gives you an extra hour of playback time, although that's on the low end for true wireless earbuds.

Call quality

JBL managed to surprise me once again – the Reflect Mini NC have excellent call quality. To put it in perspective, if you are using them outside or around traffic, you just can't tell I wasn't inside. There was an occasional jiggle when noise cancellation tackled car and wind noise, but overall these earbuds are impressively clear.

During a call you can still switch the ANC to ambient mode, which is perfect for hearing your own voice without the attenuation effects of the earbuds.

Our opinion

The JBL Reflect Mini NC with massive basses are also inexpensive and feature-rich, which makes them an ideal set of training companions. If JBL could fix the cumbersome and restrictive control schemes, they would be nearly perfect.

Is there a better alternative?

I think JBL found the sweet spot for workout earbuds with the price, sound, and features of the Reflect Mini NC, but here are three alternatives worth considering:

Sony's $ 200 WF-SP800N is one of our most popular workout earbuds. It offers better sound quality and a better ANC, as well as an enormous battery life of nine hours.

The $ 200 Jabra Elite Active 75t offers better sound quality (though not as much bass) and controls, plus longer battery life, while providing great water and dust resistance. I think they're more comfortable too, but without ear hooks or wing tips, they're not as safe.

The $ 150 JLab Epic Air Sport is one of our favorite Powerbeats Pro competitors. They don't have an ANC and their ear hook design makes them less versatile, but they have great sound and tremendous battery life.

How long will they last?

With a one-year guarantee from JBL, the Reflect Mini NC are very robustly built and I expect a long service life. The silicone earbuds and wing tips will likely need to be replaced after a year of continuous use, but this is normal for these parts.

Should you buy it?

Absolutely. As long as you're okay with a very custom-fit in-ear design and you don't mind spending some time figuring out which controls to use, this is it JBL Reflect Mini NC are great workout earbuds.

Editor's recommendations




20 Oct
Blog

Beats Flex Review: Bigger Bass, Bigger Battery, Tiny Price

Beats Flex

Beats Flex Review: More Bass, More Battery, Half the Price

"12 hours of battery life, great sound, and a mind-boggling price make it hard to beat."

  • Good price

  • Cozy

  • Very good sound quality

  • Very good call quality

  • Easy pairing with Apple products

  • Fast charging is slower than BeatsX

  • Using controls can be a little tricky

  • The USB-C charging cable does not fit normal USB ports

  • No official IPX rating

Previously, the cheapest BeatsX headphones for $ 100 were the BeatsX for $ 100. With their balanced sound, easy pairing with iPhones, and great call quality, they were a great choice for Beats fans who wanted something smaller and cheaper than the brand's classic foldable wireless headphones.

But the BeatsX was released in 2017 and the wireless headphone market has changed a ton since then. True wireless earbuds have become very affordable, and the connectivity issues that once plagued these devices have largely been eliminated. As a result, the BeatsX looked unnecessarily expensive due to its bulkier design behind the neck.

Answer from Apple: The $ 50 Beats Flex. They have all the features like the BeatsX that the Flex replaces, but at a dramatically lower price point that keeps them going when people are thinking of a new set of earbuds.

Did Apple have to cut too many corners to bring the Beats Flex to their remarkably low price, or are these the beats to beat?

Let's find out.

What's in the box?

Beats FlexSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

The BeatsX was already one of the most responsible headphones I've come across, and the Flex goes even further. The plain black cardboard box isn't much bigger than a deck of cards, there is practically no plastic inside or outside, and everything is easy to recycle. This is how all of our technology should arrive.

Inside the box you'll find the Beats Flex, a USB-C to USB-C charging cable, three sizes of silicone earbuds (in addition to the factory-installed ones) and some paper documentation, including the de rigueur Beats sticker.

design

Beats Flex "class =" m-Karussell - Bild dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn2.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/beats-flex-00006-640x640.jpg "srcset =" https: / /www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Beats Flex "class =" m-Karussell - Bild dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn3.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/beats-flex-00007-640x640.jpg "srcset =" https: / /www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Beats Flex "class =" m-Karussell - Bild dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn4.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/beats-flex-00008-640x640.jpg "srcset =" https: / /www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Beats Flex "class =" m-Karussell - Bild dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn5.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/beats-flex-00005-640x640.jpg "srcset =" https: / /www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

The Beats Flex is available in four colors: Beats Black, Flame Blue, Smoke Gray and Yuzu Yellow.

They use the same hybrid cable design as the BeatsX, which combines a flat, tangle-free wire and a thicker, rubberized neck section that springs back into its U-shape no matter how hard you twist and turn it. The flex is a bit thinner, but just as robust.

You never have to worry about losing an earbud. There's no such thing as a bulky charging case to stash in your pocket or purse.

At both ends of the U there are elongated plastic housings that house the battery, electronics (including the W1 Bluetooth chip developed by Apple) as well as the USB-C charging port and power / pairing button. Apple has concentrated most of its redesign (cost reduction?) Efforts in these plastic cases. Instead of placing the microphone and controls in an inline pod on the cable of the left earbud, they are now in the left housing.

The earbuds themselves are the same size as the BeatsX, although Apple claims there is a new proprietary layer driver inside.

They can really take a full day before needing to be plugged in.

It may seem a bit strange that the Beats brand is still making behind-the-neck wireless headphones while a new set of true wireless earbuds hit the shelves every day, but there is still a market for this style. You never have to worry about losing an earbud, there is no bulky charging case to tuck in your pocket or purse. When you want to have a conversation, just pull the buds out of your ears and let them dangle. For people who routinely have to switch back and forth between listening to music and listening to the world around them, it's a much more convenient design.

Battery life

With just eight hours of battery life, the BeatsX has been ruined not only by other wired wireless earbuds but also by some of the new true wireless earbuds. For example, JLab's Epic Air ANC can live for eight hours with the ANC on and 12 hours with the ANC off. And that's before you consider the extra juice in their charging case.

The Beats Flex may not have a charging case, but with 12 hours of continuous use, they can really last a full day before needing to be plugged in.

The strange thing about the Flex is that overall battery life is better than its predecessor, but fast charging is worse. You now need 10 minutes to get a 1.5 hour boost, while the BeatsX can give you two hours of extension after a five minute charge.

Maybe this is somehow related to the switch from the Apple Lightning connector on the BeatsX to the USB-C connector on the Flex.

Switching to USB-C makes a lot of sense when chasing the Android community like Apple seems to be doing with the Flex, but choosing how to do it is confusing.

The included USB-C to USB-C charging cable is an immediate problem for anyone who doesn't own another USB-C device. There's just no way to plug the cable into anything other than a USB-C charging port, and Apple didn't include a USB-C charger in the box. If you have a current MacBook Air or MacBook Pro, this is not a problem. Both computers have connectors that can be used for this purpose. However, if you're still rocking an older computer, or literally an iPhone, there's a good chance you can't top up (or buy) the Flex without an Amazon order Apple's USB-C charger for $ 20).

Convenience, control and connections

Beats FlexSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

The sound of an earphone depends a lot on how it seals against your ear canal. With four sizes of silicone tips to choose from, most people should be able to get a secure and comfortable fit with the Beats Flex. The standard set of tips is the medium size, and these turned out to be very convenient for me.

The behind-the-neck design is also very comfortable. You barely notice its presence and the rubberized texture prevents it from sliding around while you move.

As long as you properly grip the earbuds, their flat cables will stay away from your face. Twist them and the opposite will happen.

The placement of the controls in the plastic housing (compared to the inline controls on the BeatsX) makes it a bit more difficult to use. The volume rocker is easy to operate with precisely defined clicks. The multi-function button used to control play / pause, skip forward / backward, answer / end of calls and access Siri (or Google Assistant) has only a small travel and practically no click.

This can make it difficult to know if you pressed it exactly. Since it's attached to the inside of the case, you have to squeeze it with your index finger – unless you're reaching across your neck with your right hand – something that was harder for me to do accurately than my thumb. You will get used to this arrangement quickly enough and you never risk accidentally pulling out the left earbud when using them.

Beats Flex Audio SharingAs with all Apple wireless headphones that use the company's W1 or H1 wireless chips, pairing the Flex with an iOS device is a breeze. Just turn them on and wait for your iPhone to show you the one-tap pairing animation. If you own more than one Apple device, switching the Flex from one to the other is also a breeze.

It's almost as seamless on Android devices, too, as long as you download the free Beats app first.

The Flex doesn't have a wear sensor that allows you to automatically pause your music when you pull out an earbud. However, it has the next best thing: a sensor that pauses and plays when the earbuds magnetically snap in and out. It doesn't help if you just remove a single bud, but it's more convenient than stopping manually.

The Beats Flex are also compatible with Apple's audio sharing function, which allows two headphones or earphones equipped with W1 or H1 to listen to content from an iOS device at the same time.

It turned out to be a great way to compare the sound quality of Beats Flex and BeatsX (more on that in a minute).

The BeatsX missed out on being a Class 1 Bluetooth device, but the Flex has this feature too, which means a much greater wireless range – up to 300 feet.

Sound quality

Beats FlexSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

Given that the Beats Flex costs half the price of the BeatsX, I was prepared for a drop in sound quality, but that's not the case: they sound great.

For the price, these things rock.

Not only are they very closely comparable to the BeatsX, with an even stronger bass-forward sound signature, but also very close to the AirPods Pro, which is five times more expensive.

They don't quite match the AirPods Pro in terms of the width and depth of their soundstage – the flex keeps things a little closer to your head – but for the price, too, these things rock. To get a really noticeable improvement in audio quality, you need to spend between $ 200 and $ 300.

I still wish Apple offered at least some basic EQ adjustments for bass and treble. The flex is so tuned that the vocals are not quite as pronounced as I would like them to be. I think some small EQ tweaks could fix this, but that's just not an option.

Some people may prefer the way the flex has been tuned thanks to an even more pronounced lower register than the BeatsX, which is particularly good for rap, hip-hop, and a variety of club and EDM sub-genres.

Call quality

Beats FlexSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

One of the things I loved about BeatsX was the call quality. Crystal clear and ideal for separating voices from background noise. You were the next best thing to actually holding your phone to your face.

The secret was where the microphone was placed. Positioned on the left earbud wire, it was ideal for voice recording. The Beats Flex are almost as good, but the position of the microphone on the flex neckband results in a slightly poorer quality.

Your voice is still very clear under most circumstances, but background noise is not filtered as well. They don't drown you out like real wireless earbuds do, but they're more noticeable than the BeatsX.

The only thing that would make calling on the Flex better (other than moving the microphone) is a listen-through mode so you can better hear your own voice.

Our opinion

If you prefer the back of the headphone design, the Beats Flex has everything you could want, at an amazing price.

Is there a better alternative?

If you need a longer battery life, Sony makes several models with a battery life of 15 to 20 hours, such as: B. the bulkier model C400 and the WI-C310.

However, if you are an iPhone user, the Flex is still a better choice because of its great integration with the Apple ecosystem.

How long will they last?

The Beats Flex are well built with durable materials and connections. They come with an Apple one-year warranty that can be extended with an optional AppleCare purchase.

And although I don't have an IP rating for dust or water protection, a source at Beats tells me that the Flex are actually quite capable of handling a sweaty workout. The USB-C charging port is waterproof and the controls are all sealed against moisture.

Should you buy it?

Absolutely. For the price, the Beats Flex are a killer value that Apple owners in particular should definitely consider when looking for a great alternative to buying a set of true wireless earbuds.

Editor's recommendations




08 Oct
Blog

Bang And Olufsen Beosound Stage Review: Beauty And The Bass

Bang & Olufsen Beosound Stage

Bang & Olufsen Beosound Stage

"If Dolby Atmos had it better, this beautiful soundbar would be worth the price."

  • Beautiful design

  • Deliciously deep and resonant bass

  • Tons of EQ customization options

  • Airplay 2, Bluetooth and Chromecast

  • Simple and flexible wall mounting

  • Expensive

  • Inconspicuous Dolby Atmos

  • Only one HDMI input

  • B&O app needs improvement

There is now an incredible range of excellent sound bars for those who want the ultimate in simplicity in home theater sound.

With prices starting at $ 150, anyone can get much better TV sound for a relatively small investment.

But what if your tastes are more exotic? What if you not only want your soundbar to sound great, but also want to make a visual statement? That's why Bang and Olufsen (B&O), the legendary Danish audio brand, developed the Beosound Stage, a Dolby Atmos-enabled soundbar that starts at $ 1,750 and quickly goes to $ 2,600 if you choose one of the optional wood surfaces can increase.

B&O has never been the brand you buy for sound alone. However, we all agree that a soundbar that costs this much money sounds better and looks amazing. Succeeds?

What's in the box?

The Beosound Stage comes with a power cord, a six-foot HDMI cable, and a remarkably small plastic bag with wall-mounting hardware and a wall-mounting template. The box itself is easy to recycle, but the extensive foam padding inside could prove challenging to dispose of without throwing it into a landfill.

design

Bang & Olufsen Beosound StageSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

B&O's design signatures are all over the Beosound stage. This is evidence of how distinctive these signatures are, given that B&O did not design the exterior of the speaker at all. This contract went to a third party – Norm Architects – who was inspired by the vintage B&O Beogram 4000 turntable.

The Beosound Stage is breathtaking to look at, with perfectly rounded corners and seamlessly integrated controls.

Especially when the soundbar is clad in the optional smoked oak and gray wood ($ 2,600) materials, the similarity is evident.

But even in the cheaper cloakroom made of natural aluminum and black (a relative term for B&O products) of our test device, the Beosound Stage is breathtaking to look at, with perfectly rounded corners and seamlessly integrated controls.

Your other options are Bronze Tone / Warm Taupe or a limited edition Anthracite, both of which are available for $ 2,025.

In my opinion, soundbars should hide from view or at least be inconspicuous when possible. However, B&O takes the opposite approach by making the Beosound Stage an object that requires attention.

To a certain extent, this makes sense. Whether you use it to play audio or not, it will be part of the decor of your room. So why not make it a topic of conversation? On the other hand, I found that when watching TV, even in a darkened room, the wide band of brushed aluminum was an unwanted reflected light source that I had to carefully ignore.

Bang & Olufsen Beosound StageSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

Granted, I used the Beosound Stage in tabletop mode. When you attach it to the wall, that aluminum rim shrinks to a barely visible, gossamer line around the otherwise perfectly black fabric that hides the drivers underneath.

When you sit on a level surface, the Beosound Stage stands a hair over three inches tall. This is shorter than the Sonos Arc and should keep the stage from interfering with even the lowest television image. At 43 inches wide, it's narrower than many top-tier soundbars, but it's also much deeper for hair over 6.5 inches. So you need to make sure you have space in front of your TV.

For wall mounting, lift the soundbar to a vertical position and rotate it 180 degrees counterclockwise. This places the controls on the top edge and maintains the angle of the tweeters almost perfectly. This position has two disadvantages: it hides the two small LED indicator lights, and it takes up extra space: it's just over 6.5 inches tall.

The engineers who designed the lower abdomen of the Beosound Stage must be given props. It has three identical square panels with rubberized surfaces. When seated on a table they act as feet, but when mounted on the wall they act as simple keyhole mounting slots.

Unlike some soundbars that require expensive, optional wall mounts, you only need two small plastic collars to attach the stage to a wall.

Another clever detail: All cable connections can exit from the underside of the soundbar in almost any direction, so that you can route the cables through your wall or through a pipe.

Setup and connections

Bang & Olufsen Beosound Stage "class =" m-Karussell - Bild dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn2.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/bang-and-olufsen-beosound-stage-00017- 640x640 .jpg "srcset =" https://www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAASimon Cohen / Digital Trends

Bang & Olufsen Beosound Stage "class =" m-Karussell - Bild dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn3.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/bang-and-olufsen-beosound-stage-00015- 640x640 .jpg "srcset =" https://www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAASimon Cohen / Digital Trends

Bang & Olufsen Beosound Stage "class =" m-Karussell - Bild dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn4.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/bang-and-olufsen-beosound-stage-00014- 640x640 .jpg "srcset =" https://www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAASimon Cohen / Digital Trends

Physically, the Beosound Stage is a study in elegant simplicity. The setup process is much less straightforward.

Once the soundbar is connected to the power supply and (optionally) to your TV via HDMI ARC (or eARC), the set-up process is controlled by the B&O app on a phone or tablet (both iOS and Android versions are available ). Unfortunately, the B&O app cannot complete the process on its own. During the setup you will be directed to the Google Home app.

If you've used the Google Home app before, there's no need to sign in to Google and configure your home. However, if you've never used Google Home before, we recommend installing it first before attempting to set up Beosound on stage.

Bang & Olufsen appNot a Google fan? You have to get over it. There is no way to skip the Google Home step and use the soundbar without it.

Finally, return to the B&O app to complete the process. The whole thing only takes about 10 minutes, but it's awkward and not what I would expect from a B&O brand.

It's not entirely B&O's fault. With Google now making the Google Home move a requirement for any audio product supposed to include Chromecast functionality, B&O's hands have been tied. Other soundbar companies like Bose and Sonos that offer Apple's AirPlay 2 technology have so far refused to add Chromecast to their products. When the cost of doing this makes it more cumbersome to set up, it's easy to see why it isn't.

The Beosound Stage is supplied without a remote control. However, you can buy a B&O remote control if you want to use one. Instead, as with the Sonos Arc, you adjust the settings of the soundbar via the B&O app on a phone or tablet. When streaming music, the volume is controlled via the app. When you're listening to your TV, use your existing TV remote to control volume through HDMI CEC.

Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

The only problem with this arrangement is that you have to connect the stage to your TV using HDMI ARC (or eARC). If your TV only has an optical output, you will need to purchase an optical to HDMI adapter (B&O does not sell it). You cannot control the volume with your TV remote control, you will only be limited to 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound.

There are also two ethernet ports. Typically, when this is shown on a device (such as a Sonos port), one port acts as an Ethernet input while the other allows you to share the network connection with another device.

On the Beosound stage, the second port is actually used to communicate with a 2019 or newer LG OLED TV, for control of both the TV and soundbar via the intricately designed (and affordable) Beoremote One for $ 375 to enable.

Even though the stage does not have an optical input, it is puzzling that it has an analog 3.5 mm stereo jack. These days I'm not exactly sure what you would use it for, but it's there when you need it.

B&O sees the Beosound Stage as a completely independent sound system. There is no way to add additional components.

The stage only offers you a single HDMI input, which we assume is intended to compensate for the one input on your TV that the soundbar needs. This input lets you pass signals up to 4K @ 60Hz in full Dolby Vision HDR, but it's still only one port. I would have loved if B&O included a few more, but in fairness the rear connector panel is as tight as it is.

A much more worrying omission is the inability to add additional speakers to the capabilities of the Beosound Stage. Most of the sound bars we tested either come with their own wireless subwoofers and satellite surround speakers, or can be added later if you wish.

This is not the case with the stage. B&O sees it as a self-contained sound system and there is no way to add additional components for an even more immersive experience.

We'll discuss in a moment whether or not this is an issue for overall sound quality.

In addition to the cable connections, the Beosound Stage offers you all three major wireless audio standards. Bluetooth, AirPlay 2 and Chromecast are available.

During my testing, I ran into a strange bug where the stage refused to give me TV audio after I turned on my TV. It only happened twice and both times I was able to solve it by unplugging and plugging the power cord. B&O took the speaker back and tried to duplicate the problem, but it didn't recur.

App, streaming and controls

The B&O app works well, but it also feels like work in progress at times. There are four tabs: Home, Multiroom, Music and Radio.

Here you can control all the Beosound Stage settings from EQ to speaker alignment. Multiroom allows you to group multiple B&O speakers together. However, since I only had one speaker, I was unable to test this feature.

The Music tab allows you to choose music from the sources that B&O was able to incorporate. However, the list is limited: tracks on your phone, tracks on your home network if you have a DLNA server or Deezer. Spotify is also listed, but this is just a shortcut to the Spotify app.

A search tool will appear but will only work with Deezer, not your personal music sources.

Thanks to the Beosound Stage's 4-inch woofers, you'll get plenty of thundering bass – no sub needed.

The Radio tab is where you can find streaming terrestrial stations from TuneIn.

In all fairness, compared to the power and control of a system like Sonos, the B&O app isn't a way to find and hear music. You're far better off choosing your favorite music app and then streaming it to the Beosound Stage using AirPlay 2, Bluetooth or Chromecast.

Sound quality

Bang & Olufsen Beosound StageSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

The Beosound Stage doesn't disappoint in terms of sound quality. Whether you're listening to the soundtrack of a Marvel action movie or streaming your favorite music, you'll get a silky smooth performance that allows you to easily capture and reproduce the entire frequency range.

Soundbars generally have problems with deep, low-end bass, which is why so many of them come with a wireless subwoofer. Thanks to the Beosound Stage's four independently operated 4-inch woofers, which have been grouped together in pairs, you get plenty of thunderous bass – no sub needed.

The speaker's remaining seven drivers and amplifiers (four mid-range speakers and three tweeters) do the rest with excellent separation and definition. When you start some Norah Jones tracks, you can hear her voice float effortlessly over the instruments without missing a single piano note or a resonance note from a bass.

The app's equalizer and listening modes give you tremendous control over the sound. Not only can you set bass and treble independently, but you can also choose between four preset modes such as TV (which improves dialogue), Movie (I bet you can guess this one), Music and Night Listening, which reduces large jumps in volume.

Bang & Olufsen appMy favorite area, however, is B&O's mood-based EQ surface, which allows you to move a selection dial between four quadrants: bright, energetic, relaxed and warm. Well worth spending some time here to see if you can find a mix that you like.

But there is one area where the Beosound Stage falls short: Dolby Atmos and 5.1 Surround Sound.

Make no mistake, the Stage is a Dolby Atmos-enabled soundbar and can play that sound back through Dolby's 24-bit TrueHD lossless format when connected to a Blu-ray player.

However, it is not a discrete 5.1.2 channel soundbar. There are no soaring height duct drivers that bounce sound off the ceiling for a dramatic over-your-head effect, and no dedicated surround drivers.

As a three-channel loudspeaker, it relies entirely on virtualization for both Atmos and 5.1 surround sound. Virtualization means that B&O used some very sophisticated psychoacoustic techniques to get your brain to believe that there are extra speakers in your room.

Unfortunately, this doesn't quite work.

If you think of your TV screen as a source of sound, the Beosound Stage convincingly expands that screen into a much larger rectangle, making it look like there are speakers in the top and bottom corners of your room (and also in the middle). But this sound doesn't really extend very far and is barely recognizable for me in the height or surround position.

This isn't the soundbar for those looking to replace a 5.1 surround sound or Dolby Atmos home theater setup.

Here we come to the problem with B&O's decision not to make the Beosound Stage expandable. Typically, when you want to improve the level of immersion in a soundbar, add additional speakers. LG, Samsung, Bose, and Sonos offer this as an option. But the Beosound Stage is a determined soloist – you either appreciate what this speaker has to offer or you choose something else.

What should we do with this situation? Let's put it this way: As a room-filling music speaker, the Beosound Stage is a real joy to hear. And if you want to give your movie and TV soundtracks an exciting boost without cluttering your room with subwoofers and surrounds, this is an unqualified success.

However, this isn't the soundbar for those looking to replace a full 5.1 surround sound or 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos home theater setup. If this is your goal, you can save some money and get a much more haunted sound elsewhere.

Our opinion

The beautiful but very expensive B&O Beosound Stage is a fabulous one-speaker solution for room-filling music or TV audio. But it's not enough to add the immersive properties of Dolby Atmos.

Is there a better alternative?

Since the Beosound Stage doesn't actually deliver Dolby Atmos, you can get the excellent $ 800 Bose Soundbar 700 for less than half the price. I think it looks great and has the advantage of being expandable via wireless subwoofers and surround modules, and it would still cost less than the mid-priced Beosound Stage.

If Atmos is a must, you can't go wrong with the Sonos Arc. It's the same price as the Bose Soundbar 700 and can also be easily expanded with optional wireless speakers.

Both the Bose and Sonos soundbars offer you the choice between voice assistants: Alexa or Google Assistant, which the Beosound Stage lacks.

How long it will take?

Beautifully finished and solidly built, I expect the Beosound Stage to last for years, if not decades. It is backed by a 36 month warranty from B&O, which is one of the longest warranties in the industry.

Should you buy it?

If you care equally about how your audio and video equipment looks and how it sounds – and your pockets are deep enough to support that approach – then definitely buy the B&O Beosound Stage. As long as you are aware of its limitations, you will be very happy with it. Everyone else should consider the many other great (and less expensive) options.

Editor's recommendations




03 Sep
Blog

Skullcandy Crusher Evo Review: Huge Bass And Custom EQ

Skullcandy Crusher Evo

Skullcandy Crusher Evo review: tooth rattling bass

"The bone-shaking bass makes the Crusher Evo a solid choice for bass heads."

  • Crazy powerful bass

  • Great battery life

  • Good sound quality

  • Effective sound personalization

  • Tile tracking

  • Mediocre call quality

  • A little hard

  • No bluetooth multipoint

Skullcandy's original $ 150 Crusher headphones introduced the company's Sensory Bass feature, which places a secondary, dedicated bass driver in each ear cup. With an adjustable slider that lets you adjust how much of that head-rattling bass you want, the feature came up next on the $ 300 Crusher 360 and the $ 320 Crusher ANC.

Hoping to prove that good things come to four, Skullcandy tweaks the Crusher formula again with the $ 200 Crusher Evo. By eliminating Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), improving how Sensory Bass works, and using the Crusher ANC's custom EQ feature, the Crusher Evo seeks to occupy the goldilocks zone in the Crusher range. Here's how they work.

What's in the box?

Skullcandy Crusher Evo "class =" m-Karussell - Bild dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn2.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/skullcandy-crusher-evo-00001-640x640.jpg "srcset =" https://www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP//yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Skullcandy Crusher Evo "class =" m-Karussell - Bild dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn3.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/skullcandy-crusher-evo-00006-640x640.jpg "srcset =" https://www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP//yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Skullcandy Crusher Evo "class =" m-Karussell - Bild dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn4.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/skullcandy-crusher-evo-00005-640x640.jpg "srcset =" https://www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP//yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

In the large product packaging you will find the Crusher Evo, a USB-C charging cable, an analog cable and a carrying case. The box itself is heavily coated with specially printed surfaces and has a front flap with a magnetic closure that makes recycling difficult, if not impossible. The internal black plastic shell is made of polystyrene which may also be difficult to recycle depending on the facilities you live in.

design

If you're a fan of Skullcandy's Crusher line, the Crusher Evo, available in matte black or matte gray, is instantly known. Visually, they look identical to the Crusher ANC, with the same deeply padded faux leather ear cups and the same folding design that allows you to store them flat or simply folded.

The Crusher Evo's bag is the best I've seen.

They also use the same physical controls: large, easily accessible play / call / volume buttons on the right ear cup with an on / off switch and the Sensory Bass slider on the left.

They have the fully integrated wiring of the Crusher ANC which keeps everything super clean, but they also fall back on the original Crusher to grab the model's fabric-covered headband.

I am particularly impressed with the tote bag. Usually these items (if they are included at all) are more of an afterthought – just a thin bag to protect your headphones from scratches.

The Crusher Evo's bag is the best I've seen. The outer shell is made of durable nylon fabric, while the inside has a deep plush lining that leads me to believe that it would not only protect the cans from scratches but probably also from bumps. Inside there are two mesh pockets for the included cables, which is a nice touch, but it's the closure design that deserves special praise. No drawstring here. Instead, you get a snap buckle that is combined with a double flip-over opening to keep these headphones really safe.

The bag specifically says it is not waterproof and that's true. The nylon is not coated with a waterproof layer, so it will absorb moisture when it gets wet. However, if you take it out of the bag as soon as possible, you should have no problem protecting the Crusher Evo from the occasional accidental splash.

Control, convenience and ease of use

Skullcandy Crusher EvoSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

Weighing in at 11 ounces, the Crusher Evo are a bit heavier in terms of wireless headphones – likely due to their amazing battery life (more on that in a moment) – but they remain reasonably comfortable. The headband offers a lot of clamping force and the ear pads find a nice balance between softness and support.

The only thing that keeps them from feeling comfortable for hours is their relatively shallow depth of the ear pad. My ears tend to protrude more than some people, so your mileage may vary, but I found that after about an hour and a half of use, the edges of my ears became tired of being pressed against the inner surface of the ear cups.

The controls are perfect for me.

On the plus side, the Crusher Evo offers a completely smaller minimum size when the headband sliders are fully retracted, so those with larger than average heads are likely to find these headphones fit them when other models don't.

The controls are perfect for me. They're well placed, well spaced, and large enough that you never have trouble finding the button you want quickly. You can access the volume up / down, watch the jump forward / backward, answer / quit, and voice assistant access (Siri or Google Assistant).

The operation is very intuitive, especially if you are working with the Sensory Bass slider on the left auricle. I love that there are endless customization options, from nothing to pounding your skull and everything in between.

One thing that would have been a great convenience – especially for those of us who jump back and forth between phones and computers – is Bluetooth Multipoint, which allows you to pair two devices at the same time. Unfortunately the Crusher Evo doesn't have it.

Battery and charging

Without an ANC function to discharge the battery, the Crusher Evo can last 40 hours on a single charge. It's very impressive. The RB-M700 from Panasonic, which has a similar bass module, only has an operating time of 20 hours – and then the bass reactor function is deactivated.

The quick charge function with a four-hour boost after just 10 minutes of charging is just as impressive.

We've seen on-ear headphones like the excellent Jabra Elite 45h that can last up to 50 hours, but when it comes to over-ear cans, the Crusher Evo are among the best.

Tile tracking

Skullcandy has started adding tile-based tracking to their headphone products, and it's a fun and practical feature. After pairing with the Tile app, you can use it to view the last known location. As long as the battery is not empty, you can trigger a high-pitched, birdsong-like melody played by the Crusher Evo and physically locate it.

Personally, I think this feature makes sense with a smaller product like the Skullcandy Vert that can easily get lost between a set of sofa cushions. I'm just not convinced it's as valuable to something as big and obvious as the Crusher Evo.

But it works and it's free. So if you're the kind of person who misplaces anything that isn't bolted down, it's a good thing.

Call quality

Skullcandy Crusher EvoSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

The calls to the Crusher Evo were very clear, but only when the voices didn't have to compete with background noise. Even light traffic or a brisk breeze presented a challenge with a lot of additional noise. There is no sub-tone feature when calling, so your own voice will sound muffled to you, which is sometimes off-putting.

They are good for occasional phone calls. However, you should find a quiet place if you want your callers to hear you clearly.

Sound quality

Skullcandy Crusher EvoSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

The Crusher Evo's Sensory Bass System is the main reason to consider these headphones over other wireless models in the same price range. However, according to Skullcandy, the personal audio tuning feature is just as important to the headphones' performance. Personalization was developed with Audiodo, a Swedish company with deep roots in digital signal processing, and is done through the Skullcandy app. After a series of tests that register your ability to hear specific frequencies at different volumes, you will be given a custom EQ setting that you can toggle on or off.

According to the app, my hearing is pretty much “optimal”, but the graph that shows this doesn't explain the frequencies on which I need help.

The Crusher Evo sounds really good without interfering with the EQ settings.

Unlike almost every audio personalization feature I've ever tried, turning it on and off while listening to music has significantly improved the clarity of the Evo's base EQ.

To achieve this, the high frequencies were boosted significantly, and I suspect that if Skullcandy had offered a full set of EQ adjustments, I could probably have gotten results similar to this myself, but considering how easy it was to take the test, why bother?

But even if you don't want to use the personal audio setting (or happen to have optimal hearing), the good news is that the Crusher Evo sounds really good without messing around with the EQ settings.

While these headphones aren't as subtle or precise as expensive high-end models like the Sony WH-1000XM4, they offer a really appealing mix of low, mid, and high frequencies. Your sound stage falls into a middle ground that is just wide and deep enough to give you a good sense of space.

My favorite aspect, however, is the sensory bass slider. With judicious use of the controls, you can bring in just enough extra low end to feel the deep roar of a hand-plucked bass in a jazz quartet.

Slide it on and start your favorite action movie and get ready to let your teeth chatter.

On the high end, it's ridiculous to have the ear cups practically pushing away from your head as they try to absorb the extra air movement from the bass drivers – but why not? You can always dial down if your vision becomes blurry.

Our opinion

With exceptional battery life, a sound personalization feature that isn't just a gimmick, and unholy amounts of bass, the Crusher Evo are great wireless headphones for those who want the chance to loosen up their fills while jamming on their favorite songs .

Is there a better alternative?

For the same price, you get better comfort and sound quality, plus active noise cancellation, from the Sony WH-CH710N, but you certainly won't get the Crusher's crazy bass. Another option for similar boom quantities is the Panasonic RB-M700 for $ 150. However, it cannot keep up with the battery life of the Crusher, the practical folding design or the practical carrying case.

How long will they last?

The Crusher Evo comes with a two-year warranty from Skullcandy – twice as much as what is normally found in this category. They are solid and well built and made from decent materials. If you put them in the included bag when you are not using them, they should last for years.

Should you buy it?

If monstrous bass is your jam, then the Crusher Evo has to be in the running for your next set of headphones.

Editor's recommendations




30 Aug
Blog

Beats Studio 3 Wireless Review: Who Let The Bass Drop?

Beats Studio 3 Wireless

"A great design suffers from mediocre ANC and a lack of low-end oomph."

  • Excellent design and controls

  • Very convenient

  • Excellent battery life without ANC

  • Easy pairing with Apple products

  • Expensive

  • Overwhelming bass

  • Bad quality wireless calls

When the $ 350 Beats Studio 3 Wireless debuted in 2017, we didn't get a chance to review. If we had done that, we might have come to the same conclusion as other reviewers: These are really decent Active Noise Canceling (ANC) headphones.

In the personal audio world – especially in the world of wireless headphones – three years is an eternity. During that time, Sony, Bose, and pretty much every other major brand have launched new top-of-the-line wireless ANC headphones – two new top-of-the-line models in Sony's case – while Beats was content to keep everything running on the Beats Studio to let 3 wireless.

Given the activity of the competition, can Beats justify the Studio 3's high price tag? Or were these beats struck?

Let's take a look.

What's in the box?

Beats Studio 3 Wireless "class =" m-Karussell - Bild dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn2.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/beats-studio-3-wireless-1-640x640.jpg " srcset = "https://www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Beats Studio 3 Wireless "class =" m-Karussell - Bild dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn3.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/beats-studio-3-wireless-2-640x640.jpg " srcset = "https://www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

The Beats Studio 3 Wireless are large headphones and come in a large box. Fortunately, it's 100% cardboard and you won't find any hard-to-recycle materials like foam or plastic inside.

In addition to the Studio 3 headphones, you get a zippered hard case, a micro USB charging cable, and a 3.5mm analog audio cable with an in-line set of remote control buttons and a microphone.

Beats also throws in a small snap hook in case you want to attach the tote to a backpack or purse.

design

I'll be honest: I've never been a huge fan of the earliest designs from Beats, with their shiny white, red, or black headbands. It always seemed to me that they should draw attention to those who wore them – not something I'm looking for.

However, the Studio 3 comes in a variety of colors, including the blue of my review unit – a shade that is only slightly lighter than the navy and has a satin finish. It's tasteful and muted, with little chrome accents on the hinges and earcups to remind you that these aren't $ 80 headphones.

The best thing about the Studio 3 Wireless, however, is the fully integrated headband and earcups. This design is unique to Beats and gives these headphones a sleek and minimalist look. It also creates a very slim profile, reducing the “Princess Leia effect” to a minimum.

This theme of visual simplicity continues into the controls, which are virtually invisible. In the left auricle there is play / pause, call acceptance / end, forward / backward jump and access to the voice assistant via the central "b" logo, while the volume is controlled via the plastic ring that circles the logo.

The only other control is the tiny power switch on the right auricle, which doubles as a power supply, bluetooth pairing and ANC on / off. Directly below this button is a five-LED light strip that serves as a quick reference for the remaining battery life.

Like many full-size headphones, the Studio 3 folds up for storage, but the ear cups don't rotate to lie flat. This makes them a bit bulky and explains why the snap hook is included – the hard travel case is bulbous and easy to slip into a backpack only if you have plenty of extra space. Despite the fact that the ear cups don't lie flat, the Studio 3 is more comfortable when worn around the neck than many over-ear models I've tried – here, too, their minimalist design helps.

The Studio 3 manages the balancing act with a fit that is both very secure and very comfortable.

My only minor criticism of the design of these cans is the padded underside of the headband. It's covered with a grippy silicone rubber surface that prevents the Studio 3 from moving. However, this material is a dust and dirt magnet that needs to be wiped off regularly with a damp cloth to keep it clean.

Convenience, control and connections

Beats Studio 3 WirelessSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

The Studio 3 Wireless aren't the lightest full-size headphones you can buy – that honor goes to the Sony's WH-1000XM4 – but they are certainly among the most comfortable.

The trick for headphone comfort is to manage the delicate balancing act between headband padding, clamping force, ear pads (size, shape and padding) and the materials used.

The Studio 3 manages this balancing act with a fit that is both very secure and very comfortable. You may have seen people exercise or even jog with these doses, and while that's not a choice I would make, the Studio 3 makes it possible – something I say about the majority of full size headphones that I have , can't say I checked.

You may notice some strange dents in the ear pads in the attached photos – ignore them. The headphones had been in her pocket for a long time before I removed them, and about an hour after I took these photos, they had bounced back.

The controls are also very well executed. I'm a fan of physical buttons. In my experience, they just work. Touch controls – even the best – can't respond quickly. Not only are the Studio 3's buttons large and easy to find and use (amazing as they are seamlessly embedded in the auricle pivot), they are also precise. There is no guesswork – press, click, done.

Yes, there's a pretty audible click when you're using them, but I make a quick click when I don't have to repeatedly tap a touch control.

Just two things are missing: a wear sensor that automatically pauses your music when you remove the headphones would be awesome (Apple's AirPods, AirPods Pro, and the WH-1000XM4 already have this), as well as a pass-through mode that allows you to They feed in outside noise for a while.

The Studio 3's wireless range is excellent – much better than most wireless headphones.

As with all Apple-made headphones that use the W1 or H1 wireless chips, Bluetooth is a delight on the Beats Studio 3 Wireless. To pair them, just turn them on a few inches away from an unlocked iOS device with iOS 10 or later and you will be instantly notified that your Studio 3 is ready to use. Just tap once and you're done.

There's no Bluetooth multipoint (which lets you connect to two devices at the same time), but Apple does this almost as well, allowing you to switch between Macs, iPhones, and iPads with just one click.

The Studio 3 is also compatible with Apple's audio sharing feature, which allows two W1 or H1 equipped headphones or earphones to listen to content from an iOS device at the same time. This function will be available for more devices with Bluetooth Audio LE. However, it is currently exclusive to Apple.

Unfortunately, audio sharing, simple pairing, and device switching are not supported on Android devices.

As a Class 1 Bluetooth device, the Studio 3 has excellent wireless range – more than 300 feet outdoors – much better than most wireless headphones. I was able to leave my iPhone in the house and still had a reliable signal when I stood two doors down from a house across the street.

Battery life

The battery life on the Studio 3 Wireless is either mediocre or excellent, depending on how you plan to use it.

With ANC enabled, you get 22 hours of playtime, which is just a bit better than the $ 400 Bose noise canceling headphones 700 after 20 hours, but not as impressive as Sony's $ 350 WH-1000XM4 after 30 hours.

However, if you don't use the ANC feature (which seems to gobble up the battery life), you get an excellent 40 hours, two hours more than the Sony's.

The quick charge function is average and with 10 minutes plug time you get 3 additional hours of playtime.

Speaking of plugs: The Studio 3 uses the Micro-USB format, not the newer and more common USB-C connection. This is hardly a deal breaker, but for most people it means another cord to remember when you hit the streets.

Noise cancellation

Beats Studio 3 WirelessSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

The Studio 3 Wireless has what Beats calls "real" ANC. The company claims to "continuously locate, isolate, and suppress outside noise in real time in order to reproduce the sound as it was intended". That sounds great, but in reality I'd say the ANC is average and certainly not as good as what you'll find with the Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700 or the Sony WH-1000XM4.

When no music is playing, the ANC produces a noticeable hiss, preventing a convenient way to simply find some peace and quiet.

Background noise is definitely reduced when the ANC is on, and Beats is right on one point: there is no noticeable change in audio quality between on and off modes.

However, when there is no music playing, the ANC creates a noticeable hiss that prevents these cans from being a pleasant way to simply find some peace of mind. Why exchange the sound of an airplane's engines for a soft hissing sound?

I also noticed that the ANC mode was struggling to compensate for windy conditions and sometimes accidentally amplified the wind tone instead of erasing it.

The good news: the Studio 3 Wireless does an excellent job of passive noise isolation, which makes ANC a nice but not critical feature.

The bad news? This passive noise isolation is so good that I want a passthrough mode even more – especially when making calls.

Sound quality

Beats Studio 3 WirelessSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

I'd always viewed Beats as a bass-forward company, which definitely goes for other products like the Powerbeats Pro.

So it was a complete surprise that the Studio 3 Wireless doesn't fit this shape at all.

This is the same complaint we had with the Solo3. Not only is the bass not the main part of their sound signature, I'd even say it was forced to return to the mid and high ranges.

On the one hand, there will definitely be a group of people who like the idea of ​​a less booming beats set – maybe fans of the famous “neutral” or flat EQ that audiophiles praise.

But I don't count myself among them. I like tons of frequencies so when I listen to a deep, sad track like Hans Zimmer's Time, I get that hair-raising low-end bass that feels right in your stomach. The Studio 3 just lacks that kind of bass, and since you can't change the EQ, you can't compensate for it by adjusting other frequencies.

Before you take this as a sign that you should add the Studio 3 to your "other" column, you should note that although these cans disappoint the bass heads, they still produce an excellent, detailed sound in the mids and highs.

For music with a powerful voice, especially for music created by the greatest divas of our time such as Beyonce, Lady Gaga or Adele, Studio 3 provides energy and clarity.

And if you like it loud, these cans are happy to be ready, with no hint of distortion or pain-inducing volume bumps.

Despite Beats' roots as a brand adopted (and promoted) by legendary hip-hop and rap artists, these particular Beats headphones are better suited for genres that are a little less lowdown-thumped.

Call quality

Beats Studio 3 WirelessSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

I recently tested the BeatsX, a set of wired bluetooth earbuds, and praised them for their call quality. I believe that their in-line microphone – placed close to their mouth – is the secret of this success.

I'm even more convinced now after making a few calls to Studio 3 Wireless, which can't withhold a candle from the BeatsX.

The Studio 3 doesn't seem to have any gain issues as the voices were perfectly audible in terms of volume, but clarity is another matter.

Most of the time, it sounded like listening to my caller through a few layers of fabric. I could feel what they were saying, but it was very exhausting.

Granted, my chosen location was something of a torture test – a very busy street with lots of truck traffic – but even during the lull in vehicle activity, it was never a great experience.

I suppose the silver lining is that the included analog cable with inline microphone should make it so easy to plug in the cable and press the rotary dial when it comes to better call quality.

Our opinion

With its excellent design, controls, and no-ANC battery life, the Studio 3 Wireless is still a great choice for those who don't prioritize big bass, whisper-quiet ANC, or wireless calling. But at $ 350 you really have to guess what they have to choose over the competition.

Is there a better alternative?

Yes indeed. I mentioned the $ 400 Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700 and the $ 350 Sony WH-1000XM4 in this review, and I think both are arguments for getting out of Beats Town. Choose the Sonys if you value customization, comfort, and sound quality. Choose the Bose if ANC and call quality are high on your list.

How long will they last?

The Beats Studio 3 Wireless comes with a one-year warranty from Apple, which can be extended with an optional AppleCare purchase. I think they will last for many years with normal use, although you can expect the battery capacity to decrease over time. Overall, they are very well built, with first class materials and durable metal parts for heavily used areas such as hinges and slides.

Should you buy it?

Yes, but I think you should wait to find them on sale for $ 250 or less. If you're an Apple believer, some of Apple's wireless features may be worth the Studio 3's high price tag. But make sure you understand the weak points and are in good working order – especially call quality and lack of low-end bass – before you put your money on it.

Editor's recommendations




09 Apr
Blog

Amazon Echo Studio review: Gorgeous Bass Meets 3D Sound

"The best Amazon speaker you can buy literally takes music to a whole new level."

  • Class leading bass

  • Chic and simple setup

  • Support for Dolby Atmos and 360 Reality Audio

  • Large, spacious sound stage

  • All Alexa smart

  • Occasionally subdued middle class

  • Brittle note for lighter instruments

  • 3D music is still limited

Amazon's new Echo Studio Smart Speaker is not only good – sometimes it's fantastic. It is also one of the few smart speakers that you can buy that actually compete with the Sonos One. This is partly due to impressive functions that you won't find in any other intelligent loudspeaker on the market, not least thanks to the surprising support from Dolby Atmos.

Even putting the Echo Studio in the same sentence as the One is proof of how far Amazon has come in recent years. With products like the studio and the new Echo Buds, Amazon has proven that it can no longer be left out of the audio conversation.

Related articles

With the studio's 3D sound stage and a burgeoning new Amazon ecosystem that feeds it, Amazon is starting its own conversation, in which other loudspeaker manufacturers will certainly participate.

Roll out the barrel

With a large, rounded housing and an oversized CD feed cut through the base, the Echo Studio offers a unique profile. It is by no means repulsive and the exterior of the acoustic fabric offers a certain seal of approval, but is many times larger than the Sonos One and Apple's HomePod. The well-known Echo LED atrium on the top of the studio is wide enough to actually fit on an angel's head.

There are good reasons for the size of the studio. It is equipped with hardware, including two 2-inch drivers on the sides, a 1-inch tweeter on the front and a full 5.25-inch woofer for firing basses. There is another 2-inch driver on board, pointing up towards the ceiling to enable the hemispherical immersion, for which 3D sound formats such as Dolby Atmos and the new 360 Reality Audio System from Sony are valued. More on that later.

On the round top of the studio are control buttons, including the action button to manually call Alexa (if you don't want to call the speaker using the "Alexa" command), volume buttons, and my personal favorite, a mute button that rotates this rainbow-blue Alexa LED Darth Vader red, which ensures that the speaker doesn't listen to you.

As someone with a natural reluctance to allow listening devices in my house, the red hoop is a comforting reminder that my conversations are safe. It is also part of Amazon's ongoing efforts to restore confidence in its discretion.

As with all Echo loudspeakers, a microphone array in the housing enables voice activation via the “Alexa” voice command (or some other information) and acoustic calibration to adapt the sound signature of the loudspeaker at any location.

Ready, hired, streamed

Sonos, the undisputed king of simple speaker configuration for a long time, has real competition. Setting up the studio couldn't be easier. Sorry Sonos. You learned it by watching you.

After installing the Alexa app on your phone, follow the on-screen instructions and you can start streaming in no time. You can quickly add your favorite streaming service, including Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, Tidal, and of course Amazon Music (among others).

It's not just the setup that's intuitive. Amazon's Alexa app makes it easy to customize basic audio settings, control playback, and connect to other devices, from an echo subwoofer to other echo speakers for a multi-room speaker system.

Again, the Sonos app feels very similar, which makes it user-friendly and, in my experience, much more stable and intuitive than Google Home. I also like the fact that unlike Sonos products, you can easily connect to the studio through other apps, including Spotify Connect.

There are more ways to connect than just Wi-Fi. The Echo Studio offers a Bluetooth connection if necessary. There is a dual-use 3.5mm optical / Toslink connection on the back of the speaker for connection to a TV or other device.

Unfortunately, you cannot decode Dolby Atmos movies over an optical link, but there is a workaround. If you have a newer Fire TV device, you can pair the studio with it to stream Dolby Atmos content from selected apps.

This is a fairly specific use case, and it means that you can't get Atmos from the biggest source to the speaker right now. 4K Blu-rays. Although you can certainly set up the Echo Studio as a soundbar replacement, this isn't the best way to use it for your money. Amazon also has other plans for its new 3D speaker.

Alexa stuff

Before we get to the audio extras for those new to the world of smart speakers, let's talk about how much the Amazon Echo line, including the studio, can do. There is a lot to discover, from connecting and controlling a smart home system to checking the weather, shopping and numerous other smart home skills. In fact, the Alexa app offers a whole range of new and old abilities to try out.

This includes controlling the playback of the speaker with your voice. This is easy and works better now than it did a year or two ago. The speaker had few stumbling blocks when he was put through his paces, even with music. With Spotify, the studio seemed to know what I wanted to hear more often than not.

Amazon Echo Studio

As part of the Echo family, the studio can also do things that most third-party Alexa speakers can't. B. Intercom calls throughout your home through your Echo Collection. However, the Sonos One can speak both Alexa and Google.

Amazon Music is growing

You can't talk about Echo Studio without mentioning Amazon Music, as both parts are important to Amazon's plans to lead Spotify and Apple Music.

In early fall, Amazon announced that it would add high-definition music to its subscription music service for just $ 5 more. This undercuts the price of all these competing services and adds something that Apple and Spotify don't have at all.

Just as important for our purposes are "millions" of tracks with a resolution of up to 24 bit / 192 kHz selected songs mixed in Dolby Atmos and 360 Reality Audio (or newly mixed). Dolby and Sony also appear to be realizing their new plans and adding important studio partnerships.

Chills at 360 degrees

The biggest question I had after Amazon unveiled Echo Studio in its latest Alexa product extravagance was simple. What does Dolby Atmos actually mean in an intelligent speaker?

Most Atmos systems surround you with a barrage of speakers to get the 360-degree audio effect, including at least two uploaded speakers to bounce the sound off the ceiling. Even mentioning Atmos for a humble intelligent speaker seems bold. After tracking down the few tracks on Amazon Music (which thankfully have a 360 audio playlist), I was impressed with what this speaker can do.

It gave me something that I've never had from a $ 200 piece of plastic. Chills.

The first song I wrote was Elton John's Rocket Man. At first it was just a few slide effects that spread like a sound aura over the speaker. But as the song started up, the piece's expansive synthesizers stretched from the top of the speaker to the walls and finally blossomed into a cloud of swirling sounds at the front of the room.

The studio couldn't completely submerge me, but it gave me something I never got from a $ 200 piece of plastic: chills.

Stage against signature

While the side and up firing drivers are paramount to the studio's 360 tricks, the powerful, authoritative bass must be the speaker's best asset for everyday listening. Any great speaker can boom, with Google's Max being one of the best examples. But the studio's bass isn't just great. It's clean, tight, and well controlled.

The second song on Amazon's 360 playlist was Ariana Grandes 7 Rings, and although I'm not a Grande super fan, I was impressed by the tight jackhammer bass that the studio reproduced as a chorus beat hit. This powerful bass in combination with the bubbling 360-degree stage ensures a brilliant ride through the entire playlist.

Amazon Echo Studio

However, the studio is not perfect. Because of the only tweeter in the front, the speaker has a little bit of a problem when it comes to delivering detail and clarity in the midrange, especially when singing. It can also become thin at heights when lighter mixtures are fed.

In this regard, the Sonos One and also the Apple HomePod are clear of the ground. This becomes clear when you move away from 360 and high resolution tracks. And let's face it, most of us are stuck listening to compressed music every day.

You can get more clarity in the mid-range by disabling the studio's Stereo Spatial Enhancer, which may choke the mid-range on some tracks, but which also brightens the upper registers, which is sometimes uncomfortable. I found it helpful to reset the highs in the settings.

Regardless of this, the studio's sound signature takes a back seat to the soft, rich and detailed sound of the Sonos One. In addition, the 3D effects of the studio depend on the interior of your living room (especially on the walls and ceiling). 3D blends are currently limited. On the other hand, the sound stage and bass of the Sonos One are more reserved and compact compared to the spacious studio.

guarantee

Amazon's Echo Studio comes with a one-year limited warranty, and you can purchase an additional year.

Our opinion

The best smart speaker Amazon has ever made keeps its promise and offers a new way of listening in combination with Amazon Music. The Echo Studio is one of the most enticing new smart speakers on the market, offering premium bass and solid sound across the board.

Is there a better alternative?

For an Amazon spokesman, no. And if you want to immerse your toes in the world of Atmos Music, this is also your best choice for speakers. If you're looking for a rounded, everyday speaker with the versatility of Google and Alexa (and a more balanced sound signature), the Sonos One is the obvious alternative.

Although the price hasn't dropped since last fall's release, it should be noted that Amazon is currently offering a bundle that includes packages in a free Philips Hue Bulb.

How long it will take?

The speaker seems to be well built and has an expanded decoding for 3D audio formats that are just beginning to take shape. If anything, it's a bit ahead of its time.

Should you buy it

Yes. If you're looking for the best Amazon Alexa smart speaker you can buy – and especially if you're thrilled to dive into the latest musical limits – the Echo Studio is an easy choice.

Editor's recommendations




27 Mar
Blog

Beats PowerBeats 4 Review: Exercise In Bass

PowerBeats Pro Hero

"The new PowerBeats are exceptional wired fitness headphones."

  • Extremely secure fit

  • Water / sweat resistant

  • Excellent 15 hour battery

  • Excellent radio range

  • Cumbersome cord

  • Not suitable for all ear types

It's March 18th, 2020 and I'm in a Best Buy parking lot.

A short line extends from the electronics retailer's entrance. Although no official shelter-in-place order has been placed in Oregon (yet), Best Buy limits the occupancy to 15 customers each. One customer leaves and the next in line has access. A Best Buy representative asks if I know what I want to get. I tell her I'm after the new PowerBeats 4. She checks her iPad and points to the PowerBeats 3. I tell her that I'm after the new version that comes out today. She calls an employee.

It turns out that Best Buy does not have the new PowerBeats 4, although I received a press release stating the release date for March 18. Confused I walk down the street to Target, where I am strolling into the shop. I can see that there are no PowerBeats 4 in the closed display case – only PowerBeats 3 and PowerBeats Pro. An employee calls his manager. Apparently the "street date" for the new PowerBeats is March 19th.

Twenty-four hours later and exposed twice, I went with a brand new set of PowerBeats headphones. The things I'm going to do for a headphone review.

What's in the box

If I hadn't known better, I might have gotten out of Best Buy with the old model. Nothing is printed on the packaging, indicating that PowerBeats 4 is the new version of the PowerBeats series that replaces PowerBeats 3. The two look similar and have very similar packaging. In fact, the official name for these headphones is not PowerBeats 4. It is just PowerBeats.

You can see Beats headphones one mile away.

The Beats brand is an icon and remains so even after the takeover of the company by Apple. You can see a couple of Beats headphones – and their packaging – a mile away. People love the design and I can understand why.

The PowerBeats are positioned in the box as if they were a pair of earrings with jewels. Mine is the classic Beats Red. Under the display there are additional earplugs in three sizes and a ridiculously short USB-C cable (also Sony), which is wrapped in a case that reminds me that I can charge only 5 minutes can play more than an hour. FAST FUEL, it roars.

Inside a hidden pocket is a nifty manual, a pair of briefs that remind me to download the Beats app, and a Beats sticker.

What's new?

Despite the vague name on the box, I was confident that I had gone with the right headphones, based on major design changes illustrated by a product photo on the back of the box.

The new PowerBeats have an ear hook design similar to the PowerBeats Pro, with the wire coming out from behind one ear and instantly wrapping on the other side. The new model has a tighter, more refined design. The wire no longer dangles over your neck as loosely as before.

This means that the well-known microphone control pod that previously dangled near your mouth is gone. The microphone and its controls are now integrated in the earphones. This is in line with the design of other Apple earphones like the AirPods Pro.

Less noticeable changes include improved battery life, which has increased from 12 hours to 15 hours in this new version of the PowerBeats 3, and a reduced price. These new PowerBeats only cost $ 150. That's $ 50 less than the PowerBeats 3 when it was released, although you can now find it for around $ 80.

At 15 hours, the new PowerBeats has more than doubled the battery life of its next competitor, the Bose SoundSport, and offers a runtime of 6 hours. For comparison: the Jaybird X4 is maximum after 8 to 10 hours and the Jabra Elite Active 45e after 9 hours.

Fit and function

Apple clearly targets athletes with the new PowerBeats. Like the Pro model, they have an IPX4 protection class for sweat and water resistance. The ear hooks are adjustable, although they are so stiff that you may not believe it at first.

The radio range is exceptional

Once you've adjusted them, the earbuds can fit as precisely as you want. Remember that the tighter the fit, the more difficult it is to put on and take off. I am sure that the process will be easier with the repetition, but at the moment I still think it is a pain.

Inside the PowerBeats is Apple's wireless H1 chip, which gives Apple users the same instant connectivity and battery monitoring that other Apple headphones like the AirPods and AirPods Pro do. The wireless range is exceptional. This is ideal for athletes who prefer to store and exercise their phone nearby in the gym without having to carry the phone from station to station.

The new controls on board work for everyone, but athletes also enjoy quick access to play / pause, track tracking, answering / ending calls and – for iPhone users – one-button access to Siri, all about hiding the buttons behind the Beats "B" logo on the right. The volume is controlled by a rocker switch above the right headphone.

Most of Beats' competitors are still stuck on inline control microphones, with the exception of the Jabra 45e, which has a one-touch assistant button.

I'm on the fence when it comes to comfort. I love the feeling of security. These earphones don't go anywhere, no matter how much you move your head. However, the little light bulb behind the silicone earplug is big for my ears and became uncomfortable after an hour. Your mileage will vary.

Virtually all PowerBeats competitors will feel more comfortable, since most of them use a traditional wired earphone design. Again, the exception is the Jabra 45e, which I still find a little more comfortable.

These earphones don't go anywhere, no matter how much you move your head.

Although Powerbeats 4 improves cable placement and because of their presence, the earbuds enjoy superior battery life, I find it awkward. I don't like feeling it all the time and it can't decide whether to stay in a collar shirt or work my way out. The cable still feels longer than it needs to be.

The argument for a wired wireless headphone over a fitness-friendly real wireless earphone is also getting thinner. The battery life and connection stability of the Jabra Elite 75t Active are good enough for most, despite the advanced fitness features the Jabra buds provide for a workout that the PowerBeats does not.

Sound quality and call quality

The whole essence of the beats signature sound is here. It is driving, powerful, exciting and motivating. It relies heavily on the bass and has a special preference for illuminating the heights in certain rooms.

The PowerBeats offer a sufficiently good sound quality and do not pretend to be audiophile headphones. They are not here to sound balanced, to reveal nuances or to bring you closer to music. They are supposed to get you from your butt.

What about the call quality? It is great. With AirPods Pro, thanks to multi-microphone monitoring, it's just right. This will actively mute background noise when speaking. This is an area in which Apple has consistently excelled.

Warranty information

All Beats products are covered by a one-year guarantee against material and processing errors. You can also purchase an extended AppleCare protection plan for $ 29.

Our opinion

The new PowerBeats are a remarkable improvement over their predecessor, with better design and improved battery life, all at $ 50 less. The PowerBeats are clearly aimed at athletes and offer a secure fit, excellent wireless connection, sweat resistance and a long battery life to meet the requirements of the most demanding athletes. If you need wired headphones for your training, the PowerBeats are the right choice.

Is there a better alternative?

For another $ 50, I would suggest considering the truly wireless Jabra Elite Active 75t. They do everything and everything exceptionally well.

How long it will take?

These headphones seem to be built to last. I imagine that these headphones with a rigid ear hook, an impact-resistant plastic housing and silicone-protected wiring should last as long as the battery lasts.

Should you buy them

For sure. If you want the ultimate in secure fit and great battery life with a sound that motivates your workouts, these headphones are for you.

Editor's recommendations




06 Mar
Blog

UE Hyperboom Review: Big Bass in a Bluetooth Speaker

Ultimate ears hyperboom

"The hyperboom will be the life of every party."

  • Easy setup, easy music playback

  • Variety of source options

  • Excellent battery life

  • Impressive low end

  • No Wi-Fi compatibility

  • Less portable than its predecessor

A company needs Moxie to switch from a product that becomes the signature of the brand. In order for such a shift to be justified, the change must be necessary to meet the wishes of the fans. The Ultimate Ears Hyperboom achieves this.

Ultimate Ears & # 39; Hyperboom is a massive Bluetooth speaker and a departure from everything Ultimate Ears has produced so far. The Hyperboom is designed to completely fill your home with music, a contrast to the mantra of its predecessors on the go.

When the $ 399 hyperboom arrives in early March, it will in many ways represent a leap of confidence for the UE and catapult it into a different class of speakers with new competitors and challenges. Fortunately, Ultimate Ears has landed with an impressive new product.

Out of the box

The UE Hyperboom surprised me at first glance. I knew I would have a new UE product to review, but details beyond that were rare. I was expecting a speaker similar to the Megaboom 3, a two-pound, cylindrical unit designed for gripping and walking. But with a whopping 13 pounds, the huge hyperboom was an oversized surprise.

There is a reason for the larger space requirement. During a briefing about the speaker, Doug Ebert, Global Product Manager at Ultimate Ears, said his team had looked closely at how UE speakers are used by customers. Often, he said, they were used in a party setting at home. They worked, but often lacked the level of noise required for a real fiesta.

Ultimate ears hyperboomRiley Young / Digital Trends

"It was a great sound, but not enough to get people off the couch and really dance," said Ebert. "It has to be loud and it has to be quiet."

This gave rise to the UE Hyperboom. The elegantly manufactured device was delivered in its own styrofoam crib with a small cardboard insert with a charging cable and brief instructions. However, you do not need these instructions, because after turning off the speaker and pressing the power button, a clear voice prompts you to download the associated app from UE and follow the setup instructions.

The actual setup was just as it should be. It was to pair my mobile device with the hyperboom via Bluetooth and allow the appropriate permissions. The app also asked me to set up my start music (more on that later) by linking services from Amazon, Deezer or Spotify. Dead easy.

Design and connectivity

The Hyperboom is technically portable, but you won't get far. Ebert said it was designed as "home and next door home" and my experience confirmed this. The hyperboom is powerful, but can be moved from room to room or in the back yard to deliver grill music. However, I do not recommend hiking with it.

Most of the weight comes from the drivers packed into the 14-inch rectangular cabinet. The Hyperboom features a pair of 4.5-inch woofers, a pair of 1-inch tweeters, and two passive radiators, each larger than one of UE's earlier products, the Boom.

Ultimate ears hyperboomRiley Young / Digital Trends

There is a lot going on on the loudspeaker: an on / off switch, a microphone for the adaptive equalizer of the UE, the standard UE volume keys, a series of keys for switching between sources and what UE calls the “magic button”, one One-touch music controls that let you start playlists, play, pause, and skip tracks. There are several inputs on the back of the speaker, including a 3.5 mm jack, an optical audio input, a USB port for charging mobile devices and a charging port for the speaker.

In addition to the auxiliary and optical inputs, the Hyperboom also offers the option of switching between two connected Bluetooth devices.

portability

I enjoyed the ease of use as I was able to get out of the house, come back and continue the playlist I was listening to without picking up my phone.

My biggest problem, as is the case with most Bluetooth speakers, occurred when my music was interrupted by phone calls all day long. To be honest, it's okay if I'm alone because the music has to wane so I can still take the call. But in a livelier atmosphere with other people, it's annoying.

Ultimate ears hyperboomRiley Young / Digital Trends

That brings me to the one missing feature. The Hyperboom does not have WiFi. Granted, none of the previous boom speakers had WiFi (but UE's blast models did), but for a $ 400 speaker intended for home listening, the lack of WiFi is an enigmatic omission. Wi-Fi provides better sound quality and eliminates the problem of phone calls interrupting a jam session.

The Hyperboom offers 24 hours of battery life depending on how loud you play (I've seen a full day of moderate to loud playback without charging). It also has an IPX4 protection class that protects against spills and splashes, and the ability to connect to other speakers in the boom family. All of this corresponds to the mission of semi-portable music. It's easy to place the hyperboom in a room and not worry about it all day.

Audio performance

The hyperboom sounds good. Really good. Songs like Jolene from the Zac Brown Band or Wish You Were Here from Pink Floyd let the Hyperboom demonstrate its ability to glide elegantly through different frequencies and tones. It is by no means an audiophile quality, but it made for an entertaining listening experience.

The hyperboom was brightest when playing titles with a significantly low end. According to UE, the hyperboom can reach up to 45 Hz, and I was pleasantly surprised to hear that it constantly reaches that deep in tracks like Rodeo by Lil Nas X. I also felt it after moving the speaker from my open living room to a closer office. Logics Everyday and Collboy Greens from Schoolboy Q gave me a familiar flutter in my chest. This speaker can rock you. Literally.

Ultimate ears hyperboomRiley Young / Digital Trends

UE uses the speaker's microphone to measure the room it is in and adjusts its EQ to the environment. Probably for this reason, I have not noticed any significant loss of quality when moving from different rooms in my house to the backyard, apart from an expected slump in the lower area outdoors.

The app also has a customizable EQ that allows you to customize the sound to your liking, as well as presets that specialize in cinema, podcasts, and bass boosting. The podcast setting drowned out low frequencies, which was a good help when you heard voices like Dax Shepard's low growl at Armchair Experts.

I haven't spent much time with the hyper boom connected to my TV. It was good. Just don't expect it to produce what a soundbar or home theater system could do. This speaker focuses on music.

Ultimate Ears Hyperboom vs. Sonos Move

In a showdown, I put the UE Hyperboom against a Sonos Move that I had on hand. Despite the obvious size differences (the Move is lighter at 6.61 pounds and just under 10 inches tall), the pair is priced at $ 399.

The hyperboom exceeded the move in bass-heavy songs; The Move just couldn't breathe as much air as the bigger hyperboom. Apart from the lower end, the move turned out to be a clear winner, with a more detailed, refined sound in my ears.

What you prefer depends on what you need. The Sonos Move is more sophisticated, but the UE Hyperboom is more suitable for larger rooms and parties.

Ultimate Hyperboom EarsRiley Young / Digital Trends

Warranty information

The Ultimate Ears Hyperboom comes with a two-year limited hardware warranty.

Our opinion

The UE Hyperboom is a big speaker and an even bigger step for the brand. Almost everything about this speaker, from its selection of functions to its roof noise, is designed to take the Bluetooth landscape of the home by storm. Even without Wi-Fi, competitors may want to close the hatches.

Is there a better alternative?

Although they may not have been direct competitors before, UE and Sonos seem to be shooting with Hyperboom and Move for the same corner of the market. For those who are looking for Wi-Fi functions, multi-room functions and smart home control, the Move is an appealing alternative.

At $ 285, the Riva Festival is currently another solid speaker that hovers in the same price range as the Hyperboom. But don't make a mistake. For the money, UE offers premium performance with the Hyperboom.

How long it will take?

The UE Booms family has proven to be one of the most durable Bluetooth speakers available. Although the hyperboom isn't quite as eco-friendly, I'm confident that this will be another speaker that's built to last.

Should you buy it

Yes. Despite its Wi-Fi shortcomings, the Hyperboom delivers the most dynamic sound we've heard from a Bluetooth speaker, and it's sure to be the life force behind every party.

Editor's recommendations




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