Reviews

Review: Logitech Mini Boombox Bluetooth Speaker

 

With the growing popularity of smartphones and tablets, Bluetooth speakers are likewise getting more popular. It used to be that Bluetooth speakers needed to be huge in order to deliver decent performance. With the rapid advancement of technology, this is no longer true. Small and compact speakers are now able to deliver solid performance the same way big speaker setups used to deliver. Among the Bluetooth speakers available in the market today is Logitech’s Mini Boombox. It is tiny for a speaker, even smaller than the size of a regular palm and yet, it is surprisingly good, belying the size of the frame.

Design and Features

I have to give it to Logitech for the Mini Boombox’s interesting design. The Mini Boombox is a good balance of flashy and reserved, with just the right amount of curves to make it attractive as a piece of accessory.

 

The Mini Boombox is tiny. I was actually surprised how small it is when I took it out of the box.  I expected something bigger but this one is too small fits in the palm of your hand.  It is just larger than the average computer mouse in terms of width and length.  With a speaker as small as this, you can carry your music or videos wherever and still get a good set of mobile speakers.  It works with the iPhone, iPad, Android devices, and any device that’s Bluetooth enabled.

The front of the Mini Boombox is mainly the grille with the Logitech logo at the bottom which also functions as light indicator.  This light indicator guides the user when pairing a device and also tells the user when the speaker is low on battery.

On the side is a design accent which happens to be red in the unit I reviewed. This red accent with rubber finish gives the speaker character and making its appearance pop. Being of rubber material, it is useful when holding the speaker as it is soft to the hand yet it also adds friction for a better grip.  In other models, the accent can be white, silver or black.

The Mini Boombox is tapered on the edges, giving out a rounded overall shape.  The underside curves upwards toward the edges and the top curves downwards.  There are practically no sharp corners or edges, which is good since this speaker is meant to be carried and moved around.  Under the speaker are a couple of rubber strips that’s supposed to grip the surface and hold the speaker in place.

On the top part is a dark transparent material that hosts the touch controlled buttons. The buttons light up when you power up the Mini Boombox or when you touch a specific area in the surface.  The control buttons are red in color, which complements the red accents on the side of the speaker.

At the back of the Mini Boombox are the power button, the mini USB slot which is used for charging, and a line in port. When viewed from the back, the top part of the speaker reveals a slit that is actually an acoustic chamber that enhances the sound.  This, in my opinion, plays a huge part in amplifying the speaker’s otherwise tiny sound.

The Logitech Mini Boombox is a mainly Bluetooth wireless speaker for smartphones, tablets and laptops. It is therefore ideal to have the Mini Boombox if you have any of these devices since it improves the listening experience, offering a convenient solution to the very limited capability of your devices’ built-in speakers.

Apart from being a speaker for playing music and videos, the Mini Boombox is also a speakerphone.  It can be used to listen to calls and with its built-in microphone, it can also receive audio for answering calls.  A speakerphone is good for group calls or when you simply want a hands-free operation of your phone.

The Logitech Mini Boombox uses a rechargeable battery that charges through a mini USB port for an estimated 10 hours of use on a single charge.

Performance

Pairing the Logitech Mini Boombox with your Bluetooth device is easy and painless.  You just turn on your device’s Bluetooth, search for available devices, and when the Mini Boombox appears, you simply select it.  The devices are immediately paired and they stay paired even when you discontent the devices.  The next time you use your device, you just need to select the Mini Boombox from the available devices.   The Logitech Mini Boombox pairs easily with popular smartphones, tablets and other devices that support Bluetooth Advanced Audio Distribution Profile or A2DP.

When operating the Mini Boombox, you use the touch-controlled buttons on top.  If the lights are off, you need to tap on a specific part of the surface indicated by a small protrusion the size of a dot.  Tapping on just any part of the surface will not work.  This is both good and bad, in my opinion. It’s good because prevents you from accidentally tapping the buttons, which is easy since the surface is tiny.  It’s bad because you have to look for the small protrusion every time you want to use the controls.  What I noticed about the control buttons is there is a very slight delay from tapping the surface until you get the desired reaction.  This is I guess expected since the speaker controls the device and the connection is via Bluetooth.

When it comes to audio performance, small does not always mean tiny.  This is especially true with the Logitech Mini Boombox.   Yes, it is a small package but the sound is surprisingly big.  The power of the Mini Boombox truly belies its size.  I was genuinely surprised at the sound of this speaker the first time I powered it up and paired it with my phone.   The powerful bass immediately catches your attention, and I believe it is what defines the Mini Boombox’s sound signature.  The bass is booming, with a distinct warmth to it.  The feature responsible for this powerful bass could be the acoustic chamber at the back of the speaker.  It sufficiently amplifies the sound, increasing the bass and power along the way.

With the power of this speaker’s bass, it’s obvious that it is good with bass-heavy tracks like R&B and hiphop.  It does not duplicate the bass of full-sized speakers of course but for a mobile speaker, the Mini Boombox is more than sufficient.  If you turn the volume up to around 75%, you get optimal sound with the right mix of details in bass, mids and lows.  It’s worth repeating that for a speaker this size, you will be surprised at the sound it delivers.   The Mini Boombox is loud enough and at 75% of the volume, the power is enough to fill a room.

I noticed, however, that at full volume, the audio quality suffers.  You hear the sound breaking at high frequencies and the power causes the speaker to shake a bit.  But you don’t need to play the Mini Boombox at full volume.  As earlier mentioned, the speaker is loud enough at 75% of the volume.  You would even be satisfied if use it at only half the volume when the speaker is just at arms-length.

The battery life of the Mini Boombox is as advertised.  Under normal use, I was able to get about 10 to 12 hours of playback.    I used the Mini Boombox to play music on my phone and play videos on my tablet.  Right now, it is my default speaker whenever I use my phone or my tablet to play music or video.

As a speakerphone, the Mini Boombox works well.  Calls are clear enough but I noticed that for you to be heard by the person on the other line, you need to get close to the speaker.  It’s certainly not a deal breaker and it is how speakerphones work anyway.  The Mini Boombox works with phones that support Bluetooth Hands-Free Profile (HFP 1.5).

Wrap Up

The Logitech Mini Boombox is a good set of Bluetooth speaker for smartphones, tablets and laptops.  It also doubles as a speakerphone.   For the price of P3,499, it is clearly a solid investment.   As a speaker, the small frame of the Mini Boombox does not tell you how loud this speaker can get and how good it sounds.  It is something that can only be judged when you listen to it.  I have been using the Mini Boombox for a couple of weeks now and I must say it’s one of the best Bluetooth speakers in the market today.

Rating: 8.9/10

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