Jabra Solemate Mini
In some situations (festivals)
going smaller and cheaper is a wise move, and that’s where this little Jabra
comes in. In its colour guises, it’s bright enough to be found in the mud and
solid enough that it should still work once you’ve dug it out; you can use NFC
for Bluetooth pairing, and it’ll run for eight hours on a charge. It’s even got
a mic for hands- free calls. No, we’re not sure why either.
For those who need something
with more portability, the company is back with a new offering, the Jabra
Solemate Mini, which it hails as an ultra-portable design with surprisingly big
sound.
You can’t pick up a speaker this
small and this cheap and expect hi-fi quality. Got that? Good, because in that
context the Jabra is very good. Most speakers this size sound like two wasps
fighting in a tin, but the Solemate Mini sounds bigger and bassier, with vocals
that actually sound like someone singing. It gets flustered at high volumes and
a little digital fizz creeps in at times, but if that’s a problem you need to
spend more.
The cheapest on test, the
Solemate Mini performs better than expected and is just the thing to provide
the tunes in the gadget-punishing great outdoors.
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Specifications:
·
Power: n/a
·
Bluetooth 3.0, 3.5mm
·
Battery: 8 hrs
·
Remote: no
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60x53x125mm
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$134
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Dali Kubik Free
Trust Dali to bring
sophistication to the Bluetooth party. The (swappable) gauze wrap hides a
column made from a single piece of extruded aluminium, making it mighty strong.
The glossy metal top is a nice touch, and the myriad connections are neatly
hidden under a flap on the bottom. Want to take it to the next level? The Kubik
Xtra package ($1,500) adds a second speaker for stereo.
This elegantly designed active
speaker enables you to enjoy music from a wide variety of sources and can be
connected via Bluetooth, USB, Optical or Analog inputs.
The Kubik sounds as classy as it
looks. Oodles of tight, punchy bass underpins party-rocking rhythm and more
detail than you can comprehend in one listen. More than the others here the
Dali will reward you for playing high-quality tunes, but it’s not stroppy when
you slum it with Spotify (use the ‘Extreme’ setting). Excellent all round, and
unless you want a very posh TV-flanking system, the second speaker isn’t really
necessary.
The Dali’s sharp choice of
outfit and beautiful finish give a taste of what’s lurking inside. Any track
you play spills over with the precision of its hi-fi heritage, even polishing
Spotify tunes.
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Specifications:
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100W
·
Bluetooth 3.0 (aptX), USB,
optical, RCA, 3.5mm
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Subwoofer out
·
Remote: yes
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305x145x145mm
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$1,088
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