NEW, FUTURE or RETRO: New
PREVIEW or REVIEW: Review
HOW GOOD IT IS: It was a hard sell for me to evaluate yet another portable speaker. First off, there are a whole lot of new Bluetooth portable speakers competing against each other. Some are ultra-tiny, some are way too large to be considered portable. The darling of the market right now seems to be the Bose Mini and well it should deserve recognition. It is flat out beautiful, encased in what seems to be a solid block of aluminum (it's not) and a sound quality that simply knocks you off your butt when you hear what comes out of such a tiny box. Yes, I have heard some better, fuller sound, and some speakers more devoid of that famous Bose over-processed sound, but until now none for less money than the $200 selling point that Bose seems to own.
So how would this humble under $40 Anker speaker sound compared to the big name? This review will not be a side-by-side comparison between the two but rather my personal observations of life with the Anker Cube with some thoughts about how it stacks up against one of the most popular portable Bluetooth speakers being sold today. Please note that this review is based on the just-released (as of April 2014) pure white version of the Cube speaker. A black version has been on the market for several months. I invite you to view the video below, which is an unboxing and brief walk around tour and will give you, within the confines of technology, an idea of its sound quality.
First off, IMHO both the Bose and the Anker are beautiful, the Bose in a more traditional way and the Anker in that knock-your-socks off way that some Apple and Bang & Olufsen products give you. The Bose opts for placing the drivers in a forward facing direction meaning the "sweet spot" is pointed toward the person sitting directly in front of the speaker. The Anker on the other hand points its driver upwards so the sound is omnidirectional and is broadcast equally in all directions. Yes I said "driver" as in one speaker. Frankly, when you are talking about a speaker that can fit in the palm of your hand "stereo separation" is a meaningless concept. Anker has brilliantly maximized their energies on one great driver rather than compromise with two or more miniscule speakers, and the sound quality is there to prove it.
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| The massive driver Anker packed into its tiny cube |
The Bose weighs a hefty 24 oz, making it more suited as a stay-at-home speaker, while the Anker comes in at slightly less than half that, 11.9 oz. It packs quite nicely in the corner of a suitcase or business case.
The two are presented in entirely different form factors, the Bose being of the candy bar shape we have all become accustomed to while the Anker departs from tradition and as previously stated is a pure white cube with a contrasting black grill. Unlike the Bose Mini which is metallic-colored, the Anker is a thick grade of plastic. In terms of size the Bose is roughly 2 x 2 x 7 inches. The Anker is closer to 3 x 3 x 2.5 inches.
The top-mounted and hard-to-read control buttons on the Bose have been the source of numerous complaints and it is surprising they messed up so bad on that. The Anker instead opts for three large easy-to-read buttons on the front and a simple slide switch for power on the side, next to the input/output jacks.
Battery life on the Bose is rated by the manufacturer at 7 hours, while Anker rates the Cube at a whopping 15-20 hours.
At first it seems Bose scores points on their use of a cool charging cradle. The honeymoon is soon over when Mini owners learn that there is no way to charge the speaker without that cradle, the mini-USB connector is only used for updating firmware. If you forget the cradle, forget about charging the speaker! Anker makes no such mistake and charges via a standard mini-USB connector.
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| What comes in the box |
HOW WELL DOES IT WORK: Okay, all that aside, you buy a speaker really for one reason ... how it sounds. The Bose is a $200 speaker and it sounds like it. It is hard not to be wowed by what they manage to pump out of that little box. In fact, it's really hard for Bose to justify their own larger and even less easy-to-carry speaker models because they just don't sound that much better. Yes the Bose does impress a little more than the Anker, at least at first.
As many people who actually own the Mini have learned however, Bose uses a lot of sound processing to achieve that impressive sound and for some it can get tiresome after a while. I and others often comment that the Mini lacks "natural" sound. And of course, by design its sound is very directional.
If the Anker cost the same as the Bose it would still sound good. But it doesn't cost the same. At under $40 it is flat out the best sounding speaker I have ever heard anywhere near its price range, by a wide margin. And to my ears it sounds more natural than any of them, especially the Bose Mini. The laws of Physics can't be suspended for ANY small portable speaker ... none of them are going to fill an auditorium.
SIMILAR TO: Portable Bluetooth speakers are a large an rapidly expanding category so there are too many makes and models to compare the Anker directly to. I chose to make some references to the Bose Mini because it is one of the most recognized brands and it is a very popular model. What makes the Anker stand out from the crowd is its shape, I have yet to see another speaker that shares its clean simple looks.
DO YOU NEED IT: Here's why I think a speaker like this is a "must have". Like many people I spend more time with my smartphone and/or my tablet, which means I often want to watch a video that accompanies an article (like the video I posted below for this product). It makes the experience so much better if I have a decent-sounding amplified speaker sitting next to me to pump up the volume. I may also suddenly get in the mood to watch a music video or just listen to a favorite song, or stream audio from a favorite talk show - all made better using an external speaker. And, of course, how many times have you wanted to share something with a friend or small group of people and they had to listen to it through the tiny (and tinny) speaker built in to your phone? Yes, I think anyone who owns a smartphone or tablet needs a speaker like this.
HOW IT IMPACTS YOU: Since I mentioned Bose several times I can't help but point out that the biggest impact in considering the Anker Cube is to your wallet. Hmmm, $200 or $40 for speakers that sound very similar to each other? I think I would rather save the money and end up with a speaker that is smaller, lighter and, in my opinion, better designed
COMMENTS: So, Anker Cube, winner or not? Yes, winner! This is the speaker I'll grab to travel with because it is small, lightweight, relatively rugged and has awesome battery life. I also like that it automatically connects to the last-connected device when you power it up. I've tested dozens of under-$100 speakers and this is the one to beat. I'm taking it with me to Mayfest in a few weeks. I'll let you know how well it survives.
TECH TOY WIZARD RATING: 5/5
WEBSITE: Anker
BUYING OPTIONS: Buy it at Amazon
SEE IT IN MOTION:
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