EcoXGear EcoBoulder+ - Review 2022

Is it possible to take likewise many features? We've reviewed enough of Bluetooth speakers from EcoXGear that are portable and outdoor friendly, but about tend to be small enough to stow in a haversack or purse. The $249.99 EcoXGear EcoBoulder+ is a dissimilar kind of animate being—and we practice mean beast. This thing is portable, yep, but also massive. The speaker has a built-in retractable handle like y'all run into on roller suitcases, as well as wheels—which makes sense, since it's the size of a suitcase.

The EcoBoulder+ delivers 100 watts of sonic fury and some unique, borderline-ridiculous extra features like a congenital-in bottle opener, an input for guitars and microphones, and cup holders. From a characteristic standpoint, it'southward a little disappointing that the speaker is mono—there wasn't room for a second tweeter with all that real manor? From an audio standpoint, the EcoBoulder+ delivers boilerplate performance—you might look a speaker this size to have more solid bass depth. All the same, anyone sold on the kitchen sink design will be pretty happy.

Pattern

The EcoBoulder+ will never exist defendant of lacking features. The nineteen.8-by-fifteen.five-by-xi.3-inch speaker (HWD), as mentioned, has a telescoping luggage-fashion handle and wheels, so its 27-pound weight shouldn't be also much of a problem. Information technology also has two very sturdily built handles for carrying it around, almost similar a cooler (the Coolest Libation comes to heed). As mentioned, it has ii congenital-in cup holders on its top console. And, to really go the extra mile, the right side panel features not only a velcro-on carrying pouch (for housing cables or whatsoever else will fit inside its relatively generous proportions), but besides a canteen opener. I've reviewed many speakers, but I believe this is the first that can open up a beer.

Since in that location are cup holders and bottle openers, it's a good matter the EcoBoulder+ is rated IP67. That means it'southward not only protected from dust ingress, but also fully waterproof (and can float). In that location's an included waterproof purse for your smartphone, which conveniently fits inside the velcro-fastened pouch (the pouch itself, however, is not waterproof).

Up top, near the cup holders, the EcoBoulder+ has a crowded control console. In addition to the traditional power, volume (which works independently of your mobile device'due south principal book), play/interruption, Bluetooth pairing, sound source, and rail navigation buttons, at that place are 5 retentivity storage buttons (P1 to P5, for AM/FM radio stations). There'southward also an EQ push button (you can adjust betwixt multiple presets like Jazz, Pop, and Normal, or you tin can accommodate the bass and treble individually), a dedicated button for your telephone's voice control, a backlit on/off button, an EcoConnect button for pairing multiple EcoXGear speakers, and a mic volume control for adjusting levels while using an external mic or guitar, which tin can connect to the side panel. The jack is 0.25-inch, and then technically this is also a PA system or guitar amp. Well-nigh all of these controls, a display tells yous what listening fashion you're in, likewise as EQ settings, battery life status, and other relevant info.

As mentioned, the EcoBoulder+ features a born AM/FM radio. However, its antenna is internal, so if reception is poor, to quote the manual, you lot must "motion the entire product." You can too stream audio wirelessly via Bluetooth. The side console houses connections for the same mic (non included), a 3.5mm aux input, and a USB charging port for powering your devices using the speaker's bombardment. Below this panel, there's a connectedness for the included power cablevision. Both of these panels accept snap-close covers that are vital to keep closed when not in use—the speaker is not waterproof when they're open.

The forepart panel is all speaker grille—behind its tough exterior, at that place'southward a 3-inch tweeter and an viii-inch full-range commuter, while the back panel houses another grille covering, which protects the viii-inch passive radiator. So yes, despite its massive size and price, the EcoBoulder+ is bafflingly a mono speaker. For true stereo, you demand to pair a 2d unit of measurement. Few speakers we test take actual built-in fuses, but the EcoBoulder+ has a slow-blow fuse built in, so yous're less likely to harm the drivers with insanely loud volume levels.

EcoXGear estimates battery life to be roughly 50 hours on a total charge, or 10 hours at maximum volume—and then your results volition vary based on your volume levels and mix of wired and wireless playback. It takes a whopping eight hours to fully charge, only also has 100 hours of standby time.

Performance

First, a disclaimer. This speaker tin can get insanely loud, and since its book is independent of your telephone'due south, you lot could as well really pump your phone's volume all the style up—that's why at that place's a fuse. I'd encourage you to slowly adjust volume levels, and ever start out low. Regardless, the EcoBoulder+ is amidst the top 3 loudest Bluetooth speakers we've tested. And at moderate volumes, it delivers solid audio quality. While we tested in Normal EQ mode, information technology is certainly possible to increment or decrease both bass and treble, though nosotros found these adjustments unnecessary, and likewise to be on the more subtle side.

On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the EcoBoulder+ delivers a solid low frequency response, even in Normal style. With the bass boosted, it gets a little stronger, just non insanely so. More often than not speaking, this is a nicely balanced audio—not terribly accurate, really, but at that place's plenty of high frequency presence to lucifer the bass boosting.

Bill Callahan's "Drover," a runway with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better sense of the general sound signature. The drums on this track can ofttimes sound overly thunderous on bass-frontward systems, but here, they sound fairly natural. We hear far more than bass depth from Callahan's baritone vocals, which tells us that almost of the boosting on this system is done in the lows and low-mids and not and then much in the sub-bass department. The clarity of the higher frequencies is a definite forcefulness—from the definition of the vocals to the assail of the guitar strums.

On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," the kick drum loop gets enough of high-mid presence, accentuating its sharp attack and assuasive information technology to slice through the layers of the mix. The sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the vanquish are more implied than delivered—despite its bulky size, the EcoBoulder+ doesn't evangelize subwoofer-like thunder. It's much more of a mids-and highs-focused speaker. The drum loop gets a little added bass heft, but nothing like we hear on many competing large speakers. The vocals on this track are delivered with solid clarity, and possibly a little added sibilance.

For orchestral tracks, like the opening scene in John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, the lower annals instrumentation gets a slight push frontwards in the mix, mainly because much of its presence exists in the lows and low-mids, but more often than not speaking, this is a brilliant sound signature. The college register brass, strings, and vocals are delivered with a crisp brightness that few listeners will discover accurate, only about will find clear and balanced.

Ane annoyance: We oft heard high-frequency hiss, like tape hiss, when the volume levels on our paired iPhone 6s and the speaker were both at moderate-to-high levels. It's interference, and notably aural, especially when music is paused. It'south non a deal breaker, but we expect more from a $250 speaker.

Conclusions

If the EcoBoulder+ were just a speaker, it would get a slightly lower score for its sonic quality. Simply put, we've heard ameliorate for this price, like the JLab Block Party and the JBL Charge 3. The outdoor-friendly, but much smaller, EcoXGear EcoSlate is a also a solid, if less powerful, option. Meanwhile, the Soundcast Tune remains ane of the better-sounding outdoor speakers we've tested in the massive-but-portable department.

Merely the EcoBoulder+ is also a bottle opener. And a radio. And a loving cup holder. And information technology'due south fully waterproof and floats. So it'south more similar an outdoor party banana or camping mate than simply a speaker. If $250 sounds like a off-white price for all those actress features, you're bound to have a good time.

Source: https://sea.pcmag.com/speakers/18469/ecoxgear-ecoboulder

Posted by: richmonddombef.blogspot.com

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