NOTE. I received this item for free through Vine. I've had this speaker for about a week now and have been listening to both podcasts and music through it. When it comes to Bluetooth speakers, especially from generic brands, my expectations are rather low. A quick Google search reveals that this speaker is a generic item, only resold at Revain for about twice the price of a wholesaler. While there are some relatively minor annoyances/issues with this speaker, I was surprised to be impressed. It was listed as unavailable at the time of this review, but when I first ordered it, it was listed for sale for around $100. Despite the high price, this price does not seem unreasonable to me. BUILD QUALITY: The build quality of this speaker is superb. It feels very durable and looks great. While it's definitely portable, it's quite hefty. Another reviewer's photos show exactly what the device looks like, so I won't post them here. The keys have a pleasant feel and are backlit. The ports are protected by a very thick rubber insert that can be easily removed to gain access to the ports. Well! The Zealot brand is clearly visible but doesn't look as terrible as the branding on many no-name branded products. The speaker comes with a leather strap that can be used as a handle. That's the only thing that I don't think went right with the rest of the setup. Despite the thickness, it's clearly faux leather and the brown doesn't go with the rest of the black. In my opinion, a black, thicker silicone or rubber-like strap would have looked better. It's thanks to the strap that it feels solid and is held together with bolts/nuts rather than a simple knob - a nice touch considering the weight of this thing. However, the choice of this strap seems strange. Overall this is a very smooth speaker. Everything about it is well designed and apart from the strap, it looks great. It definitely looks like a $100 speaker. FUNCTIONALITY / EASY TO USE: The packaging of the whole set is quite nice - unlike many "no name" brands, the box and packaging are solid. The speaker is raised from the edges of the box with rigid foam, making it less likely to be damaged in transit. A manual is included, but apart from the basic functions it's not very helpful and the English translation is rather poor. Includes USB charging cable and 3.5mm audio cable. The cables are fairly cheap but ready to use right out of the box. Contrary to other reviewers, I find the sound quality of the speaker surprisingly good. Yes, it has heavy bass and an audiophile probably won't be happy, but for the occasional Bluetooth speaker, I'm impressed. I agree that there are no equalizer presets. the best. In the manual, the EQ presets are referred to as "Vocals", "Bass" and "Normal Tone". The Vocal preset is best for vocal tracks like podcasts, while the Bass and Normal Tone presets are for music. I decided to stick with "normal sound" when listening to music. Bass mode is far too much bass for my taste, but those who like it will be happy with this speaker. The bass is definitely more intense than any other Bluetooth speaker I've used thanks to the two side woofers. One of the knobs is the "Stereo" knob, which doesn't significantly affect the sound quality as far as I can tell. As another reviewer mentioned, my only major gripe with this speaker is that it's LOUD. Apparently, when a device is connected via Bluetooth, the volume of the speaker cannot be adjusted independently of the volume of the device - in other words, the volume buttons on the speaker simply adjust the volume of the output device. This is unfortunate as even on the lowest settings the speaker is too loud for comfortable listening in quiet environments. When engaged, these BUMPS things are great for outdoor environments where the audio just dissipates. I never had any issues with the speaker losing connection. As another reviewer mentioned, when a Bluetooth device is connected, the buttons keep blinking for some weird reason. Why? This makes absolutely no sense and when using Bluetooth connections mostly means that either something is wrong or the device is in pairing mode. I've never figured out how to change this and the manual doesn't mention it at all. GENERAL: Is this speaker perfect? No way. But honestly, it's pretty impressive hardware and I imagine the average person would be happy with the sound and overall functionality. If I really want to enjoy the quality of my music, I will not use a Bluetooth speaker. But when I'm washing dishes, doing laundry, or doing other chores and just want to listen to music or a podcast made out of background noise, this speaker is more than enough. In a week of use I haven't had any major issues with it other than the above issues which seem unchanging. To take to the beach, pool or even house party music, this speaker will serve you well if you don't have a more extensive sound system. Despite my problems with it, I will use it anyway. The $100 list price is a little high, but for $60-70 I think it's an easy buy.
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