Spaced360 review
A genuinely innovative portable speaker that sounds as good as it looks
The Spaced360 has a higher maximum volume when it’s connected to the mains. Even so, we preferred to keep it just below maximum because it became slightly boomy when turned up to full volume. In general, the Spaced360’s sound was among the cleanest and most balanced of any we’ve heard from a portable speaker, whether we were listening to a cappella ballads or hard dance.
The Spaced360 supports NFC, so you can pair it with a compatible mobile device at a touch. The standard Bluetooth pairing process also works well. A symbol on the speaker’s centre button flashes while in pairing mode. Alongside the centre button, which is also your power switch, is a mute key and some volume controls. There is no integrated microphone, so you can’t use it as a speakerphone if you get a call on your mobile while it’s connected via Bluetooth. This might annoy some people, but we found it only a minor inconvenience.
The Spaced360 has a built in battery which lasted just under the advertised eight hours while operating at a reasonable listening volume in our battery test. The speaker comes with a charging dock, to which it connects via a small pin recessed at the base of the speaker. It’s all very neatly designed, but the exposed drivers and the charging pin make the Spaced360 seem rather less rugged than a typical portable speaker. A protective case is available, and it comes in a wide range of bright colours. However, we’d still rather not take this out to a festival or picnic where there’s any threat of mud or rain; it just seems too nice an object to jostle around in a backpack.
The speaker’s slick styling and 360-degree sound makes it perfect to use around the house. It’s pretty enough to show off and sounds so good that your friends will be in a hurry to pair their phones and share their musical taste. The airSOUND technology converts well to this portable speaker and we’d be delighted to have one at home.
Specifications | |
---|---|
Rating | ***** |
Speaker configuration | mono |
RMS power output | 60W |
Power consumption standby | 1W |
Power consumption on | 5W |
Analogue inputs | 3.5mm stereo |
Digital inputs | Bluetooth (SBC, aptX) |
Dock connector | none |
Headphone output | 3.5mm |
Satellite cable lengths | N/A |
Cable type | N/A |
Controls located | main unit |
Digital processing | airSOUND |
Tone controls | none |
Price | £250 |
Supplier | http://www.spaced360.com |
Details | www.spaced360.com |