Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Raves:
I have purchased at least a dozen small speaker systems over the years, spending anywhere from $20 to $150 each. The Soundmatters Foxl V2 speakers are by far the best of the lot. The sound is nicely balanced and has nice bass tones for a speaker system this small. I gave it a 4 stars for Sound quality because it certainly will distort at high volumes.
I am not sure that there any speaker system in this class that is a 5 star on Sound quality. In speakers, size matters, but Soundmatters has done a great job of optimizing the sound in this small package. This is nice, portable audio sound -- not snooty audiophile sound. If you are that much of an audiophile, then you really are not going to be happy outside of your soundproofed living room with your multi-thousand dollar stereo system, so what are you doing looking at these speakers anyway?
On price, I have purchased iPod dock speakers costing well over $100 that had decent sound, but were much larger and less portable. The Foxl V2 has better sound and fits in my jeans back pocket. $200 may seem steep, but the incremental value in sound, portability, and convenience is definitely there for me. Paired with my HTC EVO, it is the ultimate roaming listening device. With the EVO in my pocket, I roam from room to room in my house doing chores and listening to podcasts, audiobooks, or music. I have a small deck on my condo and the sound is fine for party background music. Finally, they sound great plugged in to my laptop.
In addition to an "Anti-Dance Mat" (see below), Soundmatters provides a complete set of cables (USB, 3.5mm audio) and multiple power plugs that fit into the wall charger.Not Quite Negatives:
Note of caution: At high volume, these babies dance. My unit has a dent in the speaker grill where it danced off a table onto a stone floor. Use the rubber mat Soundmatters provides and make sure you keep the unit away from edges. I am not sure if this is a negative or a positive. On one hand, it is a pain. On the other hand, it is cool -- especially when showing the speakers to friends. With the volume a bit lower, this is not a problem.
Both supplying a wall-charger and accepting a mini-USB for charging is great. Although with cell phones standardizing around micro-USB, I think I would prefer a micro-USB port. I have micro-USB cables everywhere now (car, home, office), and have to search for the mini-USB cable. One cable for all would really have been nice.Negatives:
First, the Bluetooth speaker phone capability is horrible. I hear callers perfectly. However, I have yet to talk to someone who did not complain that they could not hear me very well. I did not buy this product as a speaker phone, so I am affected less. In my book, if they could not get a better microphone (dual mics?) in the unit, they should have left this feature out.
My second negative is the battery. I get 5 or 6 hours on a 4-hour charge, and that is as advertised. I just wish it could be more in the 8 to 10 hour range. Finally, the battery is not user-changeable/replaceable. I would be happier if I could keep a second battery charging, or in my pack if I am out on the lake for a day. I also worried that the rechargeable battery would start to decline in a year or so. Soundmatters assured me that they expect the lifetime for the battery to be more on the order of 5 years. We'll see. I like the product enough that I hope to be using it in 5 years. All in all, I would prefer that the battery be user-replaceable, both to compensate for playtime-per-charge and eventual battery degradation.Conclusion:
Overall, I recommend the Foxl V2. It's not perfect, but it is certainly the best portable speaker system current technology offers in this size.
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