Review on 🔊 JVC SPSX2BT Portable Wireless Speaker - Waterproof IPX7, Bluetooth 4.2, Surround Sound, 8-Hour Battery Life by Karen Montanez

PEDIGREE This is essentially a 'homage' to the JBL Flip speaker line which has been hugely successful over the last few years and motivated many imitators. I have an original JBL Flip 4 and a duplicate fake, both of which I think are fair comparisons to this new JVC speaker. PHYSICAL: 3/5 This speaker has the same dimensions as the Flip4 but is 25% lighter. It only has three buttons (vs. six) and they're a little less accessible. There is no battery indicator on the device (but it is displayed on your phone). The tip rotates easily. Both the Flip4 and Dual produce their best sound when laid flat, so you get their stereo effect and don't block the side bass drivers either. Not like JVC: In order for the stereo effect to be perceptible, this speaker must be vertical! You'd think this would block the bass block, but the thing is, I can't feel anything coming out of the sides. I mean I don't think it has bass actuators. PAIRING: 2/5 This JVC has an NFC function that the manual doesn't even mention: just touch it with your phone, confirm that you want it to be paired, and that's it! Also, the battery power is transferred to your phone in 10% increments. But there's also a serious flaw, and it weighs a lot more heavily: the volume control is only local. When I press the + or - buttons on other speakers, my phone reflects and displays it. That's not the case with this JVC, meaning you have two independent volume controls, which is more cumbersome than I thought. I often try to turn up the speaker volume only to find it's at the limit and have to hobble to my phone to do it. SOUND: 3/5 The sound itself seems quite decent for a speaker of this size. . It's certainly good for podcasts - my most common use case - and it's fine for listening to music occasionally. However, this impression is quickly destroyed in a direct comparison. The JBL and Dual just sound a lot fuller and deeper thanks to their bass drivers (which I suspect JVC doesn't have). I'm not saying the difference is huge, but it definitely sounds insignificant in direct comparison. VERDICT: 3/5 I think this isn't such a bad device to bring back to the store. This is normal, especially with podcasts. But compared to others in its class, it has flaws and sounds inferior. Still available for about the same price (!) as this, the Flip4 is far better in almost every way. While the Dual doesn't quite match the quality of the Flip 4, it's at least a little cheaper.