Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Plug it in for the Outlet Speaker review

Bem has provided me with my latest product review. In the form of a Bluetooth speaker with no wires to power. The Outlet Speaker is just that, a small box that plugs directly into the wall to stream from your personal Bluetooth enabled device. This of course means no charging and no worry of losing charge along with providing the security of knowing it can be always on, it is quick and easy to connect and start streaming. The size is slightly larger that a juice box, so it does not take up a lot of space and depending on the outlet you choose to plug into, it does not stick out like a sore thumb, so lets get to it.
 
While convenience is always a plus, the size and folding plug on the speaker is nice, but not portable enough for anything more outdoors. Though having it always connected to a power source that is scattered around most houses is pretty convenient because walking into my office, and just hitting play on my phone to start a room filling audio experience is about as convenient as it gets. Performance is best in smaller rooms as the Outlet Speaker does not have to try too hard to fill it with my playlist. That being said, the sound quality is as loud as it is clear, however it does lack depth in in its sound, works well for rock fans, not so much for the hip hopper. Lastly, and this was my biggest issue, but the connectivity got choppy at about ten feet for me and when trying to play from my MacBook Pro, but that is likely due to the handful of Bluetooth connects, feedback was expected.
Bem’s Outlet Speaker was pretty innovative and simple, dubbing it the perfect bathroom, den, or kitchen speaker. It is great for small spaces and provides crisp and clear sound while also being inconspicuous. There is only one button, the power button, and the rest is controlled from your phone, tablet, or Bluetooth device. It works best for casual listening, but in terms of entertainment to a roomful of people or on my patio with background noise, the Outlet Speaker would not be my first decision. Luckily, it looks like Bem has other speakers for those situations, and that would be the Boom Box and Speaker Trio. The outlet speaker is available now for $99.99.