Why do I need a Bluetooth Speaker? I have asked myself. In fact, portable music devices are the bane of my existence. I cringe greatly each time someone is blasting embarrassingly bad music from their phone in public. With that in mind, I have been tasked to review the iClever Dual 10W Driver Portable Bluetooth Speaker.
The speaker has been kindly provided to me for the purpose of this review, otherwise, I don’t believe I would ever persuade myself into having one. Armed with this prejudice, and an array of other speakers and audio devices at home I’m taking a look at iClever Dual 10W Driver Portable Bluetooth Speaker.
Physical Overview
The iClever Dual 10W Driver Portable Bluetooth Speaker is nicely made and does not make the creaking noise when squeezed, which often comes with plastic products. Construction looks like it could take some beating. The IPX6 rating assures me that the device will withstand an accidental plant watering.
I was pleasantly surprised with the fact that the iClever Bluetooth Speaker has a hands free Bluetooth protocol and you could use the device as a conference call solution. Initially, I have tested this during a skype call and I was not impressed. The answer button failed to pick up the call, and I got a complaint that the microphone feels muffled despite picking up my voice ok.
The following day I made some standard calls over the speaker and I was able to answer the call, and actually enjoy it. The mic was able to pick up my voice even from 2m away. There were no complaints about the quality of my voice. After switching the sides I can confirm that the microphone quality is decent enough to have a conversation without any issues, and there is no loop feedback from my voice.
If you ever used the Bluetooth device, you should know that iClever Bluetooth Speaker comes with all standard features and shortcomings of that technology. There are audio controls to start/stop/skip the tracks, change the volume or input source and pair/answer the call.
The caveats include awkward source changes if you have multiple devices paired. Pretty standard annoyance for anyone using Bluetooth gadgets.
Sound of iClever Dual 10W Driver Portable Bluetooth Speaker
The stereo sound is clean, with the ‘enhanced bass’ making sure that the audio won’t fall flat. It is hard to speak of crystal clear highs and rich mid-tones on a device this size, especially streaming over A2DP. I would class the speaker among all typical DAB kitchen radios and similar devices.
You can see that despite my earlier prejudice I write this review in a positive fashion, even if I have better ways of listening to the music. The reason behind this is the battery. I will be very honest here and say that I have stopped the battery test after 14h of constant playback. My phone reported that speaker still has about 60% left and iClever rates it at 10+h. The battery life will depend also on how loud will you play the music, and I could easily run a party outdoor with this thing.
Conclusion
There are few things to address:
- Overly enthusiastic male voice will let you know each time that you are connected scary the first time, annoying later feature
- Flimsy side cover seems out of place on a well built otherwise product
- I’d like to see a dedicated app to increase compatibility and to monitor the battery status would be much appreciated
If you are looking for a portable source of sound I have no problems recommending you the iClever Dual 10W Driver Portable Bluetooth Speaker. Please don’t turn in one of these public transport amateur DJs and try to spend your picnics enjoying the sounds of nature instead. I will enjoy a pocket size sound source next time I’m in the garage!
iClever Bluetooth speaker on Amazon.com($35.99)