Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

**Video warning, I turn the water on at :15, it's loud, especially if you're wearing headphones!** It's June 23, 2017 now. I did a test to see how long the speakers last playing a mix of podcasts and music, mostly music - about 5.5 hours. This was with the volume about 75% or so. Update seven, speakers still work after one year, nothing has changed from my original review: Crackle during some podcasts continues, no better or worse. I don't detect any issues holding a charge. Update six 25 August: It's all good. Update five 13 April: Nothing significant to report, still working well. Update four 17 Feb: I strapped the speakers to the side of a small boat and went on a salt water journey to a beach about 12 nm away. Once I got there, I accidentally dropped the speakers into the water and sand. They still work fine, I rinsed them off right away and don't see any corrosion. Word of warning though, sand is the perfect size to pass through the speaker grate or get stuck in it, took me a long time to get the grains out. Don't drop it in sand or you'll be cleaning for a while. I was able to hear my music with a small outboard engine running at 2/3 throttle in the background. Update three, January 29, 2016: I came across one issue with the speakers. I notice they crackle when listening to speaking podcasts at full or almost full volume. Reproduced with "Stuff You Should Know" and other talk show podcasts. I'll give the benefit of the doubt to the speakers for durability, but will keep them at four stars given this issue. Not a huge drawback, but it's definitely a thing that may bother some more than others. Fours stars still means "I like it". Another update: These continue to impress, They're loud and clear over several genres of music and talk programs. I have yet to charge them again since purchase (today's Jan. 18, 2016). Only use them for about 15 minutes/day. Update: I threw the speaker in a sink full of water for about 30 minutes, it does float, always with the port cover facing up. I had music playing while it was in the water and it was working fine when I pulled it back out. Will update if anything goes awry. I was NOT provided a sample for review. I paid for it and I've had it for a day, here's what I think. It has the build quality I've come to expect from Anker's products, feels solid, black rubber body and metal speaker grates. 3 3/8 x 3 3/8 x 1 5/8" and weighs slightly over 1/2 lb. It doesn't try to produce unrealistic bass for its size, so there's no associated distortion even when turned up all the way. I was listening to "Thrift Shop" at max volume to test it out along with many other songs/podcasts. I also used the speakers in the bathroom, no problem hearing the morning news over the shower and loud fart fan. I had the speakers on the sink, not in the shower with me. The only thing I have to compare these to is an older Soundmatters FoxL. I switched between them several times and honestly couldn't discern any appreciable difference. In conclusion, I find that these speakers perform the task for which they're designed. I'll reserve the fifth star if they prove to be durable, unlike my Sony SRS-X5s which crapped out a few months after the warranty period ended. I just reviewed another Anker speaker that I didn't enjoy as much. As the reviews flow in for this product, pay attention to what they say and who is writing them. Look at their review history. The more reviews I read for products which are supplied for free or discounted prices for reviewers, I can't help but think the following, which I posted on my other review: I think Anker is a good company and I do believe that they stand by their products and take care of dissatisfied customers. I do have a problem with their power user program. In a perfect world, you could supply people with free stuff and they would then write an honest review, but I cringe when I read "I was supplied with this product in exchange for my honest review". I skip those reviews and go straight to the ones that don't say that. I'll never be convinced that reviewers supplied with a free gadget don't shift toward accentuating the positive. I'm sure many are honest, but I can't know which ones. As a result, when it comes to Anker products, it takes thousands vice hundreds of reviews to convince me that the product might be worth buying. I'm no professional when it comes to reviews; I do rely on the honest and TRULY unbiased reviews on Amazon to make purchasing decisions. That's why I become concerned when I see people post reviews that have scores of Anker products reviewed in their history, every last one is five stars. Seems a bit off balance.