Beats unveiled its diminutive Pill wireless speaker in a bid to steal the Jambox's thunder. Since then, its main rival hasn't exactly been standing still: Jawbone has released two more Bluetooth speakers, including the well-received Big Jambox. Not to be outdone, Dr. Dre & co. recently began selling a super-sized version of their own: the $300 Beats Pill XL. As the name suggests, it is indeed a larger version of the original and it packs a much larger punch in the sound department as well. The list of features is nearly identical too, with NFC, dual 3.5mm jacks, a heavy dose of bass and more than a day's worth of battery life.
Hardware
The device measures 13 x 3.75 x 3.75 inches and comes in at 3.3 pounds. That's 5.5 inches wider and nearly two inches deeper/taller than the standard model, not to mention more than two pounds heavier.
Power, volume controls and battery indicator LEDs are on the right, with the power jack, a pair of 3.5mm input/output sockets, a USB socket and a Bluetooth LED light over on the left.
There are two glossy, smudge-prone panels surrounding the handle, along with a small speaker grille underneath. During our time with the speaker, we didn't make much use of the handle as we preferred to rest the unit on a desk or bookshelf. Speaking of resting, a set of four tiny rubber feet keeps the unit from rolling over and points the speakers slightly upward for improved audio. This allows the XL to project its sound outward a bit better than the Big Jambox does. On both ends, there are two circular receptacles that appear to be buttons, but aren't. These are built-in to accommodate a shoulder strap that can be purchased separately for $30. Inside the box, a power adapter and 3.5mm aux cable are included, but there's no carrying case this time around.
Setup and general use
Pairing the Beats Pill XL with a phone, tablet or laptop is a breeze. Once Bluetooth is switched on, all you have to do is select the speaker from the device list and start streaming music from the source or service of your choice. If you have an NFC-enabled mobile device, you can tap it against the speaker to pair the two a bit quicker. If you splurge for two XLs, or happen to invite over a friend who also has one, you can tap two of the speakers together to pair them up. Tap them twice to enable stereo mode. All in all, this two-speaker tapping is a bit tougher to pull off, and I was never able to get it right on my first try. Perhaps I just need to practice my technique. Beats lists a range of 30 feet for the wireless speaker, which seems pretty accurate. I was even able to venture into the next room without any interference, but once I put multiple walls between my phone and the device, I began to lose signal.
Sound quality
I expected Beats would be pretty heavy-handed with the bass. If you've tried its headphones, you know what I'm talking about. Indeed, there's quite a bit of low end here, but the mids and highs stay clear, so the sound thankfully isn't muffled. All told, the XL seemed to be at its best when playing hip-hop (again, no surprise), with bass on Kendrick Lamar's "m.A.A.d city" hitting harder than on any other portable wireless speaker I've tested.
When I tested the 3.5mm aux jack, the sound got doused with even more bass. I listened to Phantogram's "Celebrating Nothing" on one unit wirelessly and the other with a cable at the same time, flipping back and forth. The added bass was enough to rattle items on the same shelf as the XL, whereas the Bluetooth option did not. Because of the added low end, the overall sound quality takes a hit when connecting directly. Anything other than hip-hop sounded too boomy for my taste.
View A Photo Review
Source:WantNewSoft
VIA:engadget
0 comments:
Post a Comment