Review on Aiwa Exos-9 Wireless Bluetooth Speaker by Joe Olson

I have owned a ridiculous amount of Bluetooth speakers. After several months since my last Bluetooth speaker purchase (RIVA turbo X) I began getting that nagging itch to continue my seemingly endless search for a product offering me complete satisfaction. I had been impressed with several of my previous speaker purchases, but now the AIWA Exos-9 has significantly elevated my standards.DESIGN: This speaker is clearly designed with the emphasis of maximizing sound, rather than style. This is evident by sharing a similar platform as the highly regarded ac powered Peachtree DEEPBLUE2. As shown by a previous reviewer’s photo of the AIWA next to the Soundlink 3, this is a big speaker. It is roughly 2.5x the size and 2x the weight of the JBL Xtreme, but can easily be moved around one handed using its handle. The build quality is solid and although won’t win any style awards, it has a contemporary design that will flow well with the décor of practically any environment. The chassis is mostly a textured plastic similar to many home speakers with exception of a glossy top strip that also houses the LED display. This may offer some sort of resonance benefit as the body of my Martin guitar is made from a similar material. The handle is rubber adding friction for easier carrying. It would have been nice for the corners to have been protected with a similar material as the size of this speaker will make it prone to knocking obstacles when being moved around. The large old school style volume dial is metal along with the speaker grill. The grill is not removable which may be a bummer to some people, but I prefer to keep the drivers protected. On back is an easily removable battery and on/off power toggle switch common on subwoofers. I would prefer the power control be more accessible being placed on the top or front, but that’s getting a bit nitpicky. On top is the touch capacitive LED control panel. The panel provides a 4-band EQ, play/pause and Link controls. The Link control is to pair with a 2nd Exos-9 for people better off than I who can afford 2 units. Absent are fwd/back track and Bluetooth pairing controls. The absence of the Bluetooth pairing button is actually a benefit I’ll discuss later. The speaker does not have a proximity sensor, only being activated by touch that has a bit of response lag. Once activated, the controls provide easy navigation and response lag is barely noticeable. The Blue LED displays will only remain lit for a few seconds which is good or bad pending your preference. I personally like it as it extends battery life and prevents a bright distraction when listening to while falling asleep.FEATURES: This speaker reasonably lacks features commonly found on the smaller Bluetooth speakers such as speakerphone functionality and water resistance. However, it offers some uncommon features I find more valuable. The inclusion of an on board EQ is something I had truly missed from the boombox days. Sure most music player apps provide an EQ, but if you’re like me and use your phone or tablet to watch video you will be glad to have to ability to tune the audio to your preference. This was a downfall of my previous favorite portable speaker. Unlike most portable speakers, the RIVA Turbo X comes to life at higher volumes sounding fuller as you crank it up, but lacks luster when listening at mid-level or below without offering a means to adjust the frequencies (low-end) that our ears are less sensitive to at low volumes. In contrast, the Soundlinks (including the mini) provide ample sound fullness at low volumes but washes out the mids making it hard to hear dialect during movies. The large knob volume control is a welcome uncommon feature. Adjusting the volume via your media player one tick can make a pronounced volume change, whereas, the knob allows infinite volume control precision. Another notable feature is the swappable battery. Not only does it allow you to keep music playing during extended outings, but AIWA is planning to release an extended battery pack. If you plan on keeping your speaker for a couple years, keep in mind other speakers will increasingly need to be tethered to a wall as charge capacity diminishes and offer no simple way to swap out for a new battery. I have yet to test out the battery life, but coming anywhere near the 8 hours listed will be phenomenal with how loud this thing is and how hard it hits even at mid-level volume. The Bluetooth reception is outstanding with a range notably better than any other speaker I’ve owned. Additionally, pairing is the simplest experience I’ve had. There is no need to enter the speaker in pairing mode as it continuously sends its signal out for other devices to discover. If it’s already paired with a device you can still connect it to a different device without having to disconnect first from the previous device. Sure this can backfire as pranksters or an angry neighbor can hi-jack your speaker, but in reality it is quite convenient if you have multiple devices you connect it to.SOUND: Granted, louder and bigger sound is expected given its size relative to other portable speakers. However, the sound difference seems greater than the proportional size differences. Next to the overall loudness the Exos-9 puts out, the largest improvement over its competitors in the $300.00 range is the bass. Even after experiencing it, I still find it unbelievable a battery operated speaker is able to vibrate the floor on the main level of my home while playing in the basement. The sound level remains steady whether on battery or AC mode. I’m not audiophile by any means, but can describe the bass as "tight” or "clean” not spilling over into the mid frequency range leaving clear mids and highs while simultaneously thumping out lows you can feel. Even with the EQ setting turned off, the bass output is remarkable. The minority out there who don’t care for, or are sensitive to, bass will likely have to dial it back on the EQ, but the rest will be thrilled with it right out of the box. The speaker does not incorporate the digital signal processing as so heavily relied upon by all others (excluding Turbo X), therefore you can encounter distortion if you crank the bass setting all the way up.BONUS:Despite the AIWA name and some styling characteristics true to the original brand, this is made by a startup company that bought the naming rights. Being a startup company, customer service appears to be a priority. Included in my speaker package was a personally signed letter from the CEO thanking for its purchase and offering a full refund or return to include prepaid postage if unsatisfied with the purchase. Very few retailers (Revain being an exemption) even fewer manufacturers pay postage for the return of a non-defective product.OVERALL:There is no louder or better sounding portable speaker within its price range. Honestly, I have not personally heard a portable speaker in any price range that can come close to matching the performance of the Exos-9. I must admit this is not the ideal speaker for everyone. If you only can afford or desire to limit yourself to one all around Bluetooth speaker to listen around the house and serve as a frequent travel companion or beach buddy take a look at the RIVA Turbo X, Soundlink 3, Megaboom, or the recently released JBL Xtreme and Fugoo XL pending your feature and sound preference. All are far easier travel companions being much smaller, more durable, and have better battery life. If you are just looking for a speaker to sit in one place in your home, then buy a surround system or add a Bluetooth connector to your existing one. If you want the uncontested best performing speaker that can easily be moved room to room, outside and to occasional events then the Exos-9 is the obvious choice. Having a Soundlink Mini, or one of the bigger but still excellent travel companion speaker mentioned above, is ideal to optimally meet all your portable speaker needs. Personally, out of all my Bluetooth speakers, this is the one I would absolutely not part ways with. For the record, I am not affiliated with AIWA in anyway. Feel free to take a look at my other reviews, but keep in mind my overall impression will likely be knocked down a notch after the new standard the AIWA Exos-9 just set.VIDEO NOTES:The RIVA Turbo X was the only speaker I've owned that could even come close to holding together at top volume during the bass notes of this song. The audio recording quality of my iPod Touch does neither justice, particularly the bass of the Aiwa is much cleaner in person, but still gives you an idea of how fuller the sound of the Exos-9 is and how its louder at 3/5th the volume level as the Turbo X maxed out. You will need to play through a decent speaker or ideally headphones to distinguish the differences