Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This is a great time for bluetooth speakers, there's a ton out there, and that means lots of competitive prices, but also confusion. I'm a nerd who likes doing lots of research before I buy even a cheap item, which frustrates my wife, but especially when it comes to electronics or audio. Audio-wise, I own from cheap bluetooth speakers for the kids (who'll eventually destroy them), to Amazon Echo and Sonos around the house, and from inexpensive wired/bluetooth headphones to professional studio headphones. Like you, I love music, but 80% of the time I'm listening passively, not studying the entire soundstage. And I think this speaker is perfect for that: passive listening, play-and-forget, and portability (more on that in a moment). UNBOXING - comes in very basic box which had me initially concerned. Where's all the money spent on fancy packaging and marketing fluff?! (I work in marketing/brand management). Well, it looks like they decided to put in into the speaker and keep price down, not fancy materials that go in the trash. - When you unwrap the speaker, you're greeted with a pretty solidly built, rubber guy that was much smaller than I expected when I saw side-by-side comparisons versus the previous Angle 3. You can see in my picture its size. Discreet in any room, and easy to carry around. - Comes with your standard micro-USB cable and 3.5mm male to male cable. Nothing fancy, will suit your needs, or you may want to upgrade. PAIRING - Not much to say here. If you've paired with bluetooth before, you'll have no problem. Hold power, it flashes and makes a tone, and paired in seconds with iphone and Android. - NOTE: the one interesting thing while trying to pair is that I was expecting to see a bright flashing light as many of my bluetooth items have, but didn't . I thought I didn't turn it on correctly, but turns out both the power and bluetooth lights are very small, and not bright. To me this is AWESOME! Gone are the days of having to cover up the obscenely bright blue lights with electrical tape. It's subtle enough to see, but not to light up your life (see picture) CONTROLS / RANGE - Very simple and intuitive. A dedicated bluetooth/phone answering button which is separate from the power button (I like this), volume up (+) and volume down (-) which also function to skip tracks back or forward if held 2 seconds, and a play/pause button - All buttons except the power button are on the right side. Some may like that, as it makes the speaker more simple looking from the front, however I find it a little annoying, and think they should have been placed on the top edge. The reason? You PRESS buttons, which means you cannot do this one-handed or the speaker moves, so you have to brace with your other hand. If they were on top, a quick 1 finger press would suffice. Now, if you choose to have this speaker standing upright, it wont be an issue. - The usb and 3.5mm jack are on the back, and are slightly recessed. Please note this if you are thinking of getting an "L" angle 3.5mm jack as I was, since it may not fully plug in. - As for range, I live in a prewar building, very solid walls that are great except when you want wifi or bluetooth to travel. I was able to effectively control the speaker from a phone at least 30 feet away and with 3 corners in between (i.e. around the hallways and through bedrooms). Controls still worked but sound started skipping at about 40 feet. This is really impressive given my stupidly thick walls. SOUND - Yes, the most important thing (I think). The sound, at this price point, and given the features you get, is really pretty amazing, and I'm not usually easily impressed. - Easily fills up a very large room with clarity, and I could hear it very well anywhere in my apartment. If you're having lots of people over, it might be more suitable for 1 large room (if there's lots of talking). - Loudness: I'm not one to play super loud out of speakers, I keep that to my headphones, but I tested it and there seems to be no limiter as some experienced on past speakers. VERY loud for a speaker this size. I was afraid I might blow the little thing up. NOTE: some people forget that for maximum volume this is dual controlled, i.e. you adjust the volume BOTH on your phone/computer AND the speaker itself. - Clarity: this is where its a bit interesting. They definitely favored the bass on the development of this, which is I guess where the average consumer's interest lies (?). I'm maybe of the minority where I like a broad soundstage, but understand that is not a 'relaxing' experience. This speaker is definitely more relaxing as the mid and even upper bass is there, mids are fine, but I found out the box the highs were not as bright as I prefer. BUT, then I remembered the easy solve - use your equalizer!! I was playing through Spotify and used the native equalizer to adjust, and voila! A much better balance of treble mids and bass. Various styles of music I tried now could sound as meant to....I tried country, classical, industrial, synthpop, britpop. - If you don't play for about 15 minutes while using battery, it'll automatically power off to conserve. GREAT feature if you forget or have kids like me. While plugged in though, it wont power down, and yes you can play while plugged in which some speakers dont do. Also, I did not hear any of the static/hiss that some speakers give off while plugged in and playing at the same time, well done Cambridge! USES / IDEAS: - The size of this, and its features make it pretty versatile! - I connect it to my Echo Tap and it's great! Clearly much better quality than I get from my full-size Echo's speaker. Just be sure to keep it a few feet away from your Echo, and away from the wall a bit, or your Echo won't hear you as well. - Battery takes 8hrs to charge from full drain. I haven't been able to fully drain it yet but will update my results. This is ridiculously good battery life especially if you go camping or to the park/beach....and on that note..... - IPX5: what does it mean? Well I think this is really important to understand given the claim made that its rain and shower proof. While true, caution should be taken. The first number is for particles (dust, sand) and the second for water. An X just means it wasn't tested, not that it doesn't have any protection from dust/sand. The 5 means it withstands water jets, or to quote the IP standard: Water projected by a nozzle (6.3 mm) against enclosure from any direction shall have no harmful effects. Test duration: 1 minute per square meter for at least 3 minutes, water volume: 12.5 litres per minute, Pressure: 30 kPa at distance of 3 m. So yes, very great protection from water spashing on it, but do not submerge it! :) TL;DR: THE GOOD - Great sound, but advise to use an EQ to customize to your tastes especially for highs - LOUD! (use both phone and speaker volume adjustments) - Battery for days (I'll update when it runs down) - IPX5 water resistance - Power and bluetooth lights that wont bother everyone within 50 feet. - PRICE PRICE PRICE THE QUESTIONABLE - Only the button placement on the side, but this is personal, and remedied if you stand the unit upright. Happy to answer any questions. *****UPDATE 7/28/17***** Have been using this speaker for a couple hours daily, and still enjoying it. It's taken a few hard drops thanks to the kids, but has survived them all, possibly thanks to the rubberized sides? I've seen some comments I can address: 1) "Not bass heavy enough": This to me is very personal and subjective. I'm not a 'bass head', so to me its got plenty, but I prefer a more flat sound signature (thus liking Audio Technica studio headphones for example rather than Beats) so I can hear the spectrum. I actually felt this had more bass than I wanted, but...... 2) "Doesn't have an equalizer": I didn't know there are speakers out there that have equalizers, I haven't experienced one. Usually the input device, not output, has the EQ. The simple remedy for me is using my phone's equalizer app, or build-in EQs in apps like Spotify. Problem solved. 3) "Loud enough for noisy environments?": Honestly don't know as I listen mainly in places like my home or parks/beaches with not many people around me, so I've never really had to turn it up at full volume. When the environment is super loud, I prefer over-ear headphones. :)