Sandeep Acharya reviews the Bose SoundLink Mini
THE REVOLUTION of portable high fidelity sound was marked with the innovation of ‘Walkman’ series in 1980s by Sony Corporation Ltd of Japan. For almost two decades Sony Walkman ruled the market in personal music entertainment space, although other major brands such as Panasonic, Hitachi, Sanyo, Marantz etc too came out with similar products later.
Then were the portable compact disc players such as Sony’s Discman which could play both WAV as well as MP3 audio files. And finally, now in the digital age, the iPod of Apple Inc – capable of playing both audio and video files, has been ruling the global market what Sony Walkman was once upon a time. Today, the market is flooded with several genres of iPod- type players rolled out by various brands.
In general, to experience a hi-fi sound from these devices, one has to plug in-ear phones, head phones or noise cancellation in-ear/head phones to enjoy music from your iPod, smart phone, tablet or other mobile device.
Using the headphones at times could be quite tiring and one would prefer to have a similar sound quality belting out from speakers which can be carried easily on-the-go.
Portable speaker technology has advanced dramatically in recent years as evidenced by the ready availability of features like Bluetooth connectivity and amazing audio output. Over the past couple of months I had visited several retail outlets, shopping malls and tested various portable speakers of many brands. I had loaded few good as well as low quality audio tracks in my cell phone to make an honest comparison.
Some of the outlets had a small auditioning room but it did not hamper for those which did not have. Winter had something special – listen to any of your favourite audio track and discover incredible sense of soothing magic to the ears… Mozart would have loved most songs, as each chord and note on the harp sounds so clear and perfect since there is less of ambient noise associated with coolers, fans, air conditioners etc that affects audio experience dramatically.
I tried the Bose SoundLink Mini at Croma – the electronics mega store. For the size, the sound quality is incredible. There were a number of other speakers including JBL Flip, JBL Charge, Jambox mini, Jambox Party, Logitech Boom Box, even Bose SoundLink Bluetooth mobile II.
Seriously, the SoundLink Mini blew them all away! I think it is a revolution in portable music – astounding bass, mids and high. I was hearing things in songs which I never noticed before. The Mini is not intended for outdoor party screaming-volume, but listen to it at normal level – quality is really outstanding with deep and powerful bass and pretty smooth mids. Only treble could sparkle a bit more!
At 0.6kg, it is small enough to fit in your palm or tuck it inside your bag. The speaker has a range of about 30 feet which pairs easily with smartphones, iPad or any Bluetooth devices without wires. The speaker features power and volume buttons—you control all other functions from your Bluetooth device. And it remembers the most recent six devices you’ve used, so reconnecting is even simpler. The speaker circuitry is built on Bose proprietary innovative transducer and dual passive radiator technology which enhances the sound quality. I had watched Casino Royale movie by connecting the speakers to the laptop which was simply amazing.
The SoundLink Mini strives to reproduce the musical sounds as closely as possible to those of the original performance. And Bose strive to avoid flashy sounds such as those associated with accentuated bass and /or treble frequencies. While those sounds may be initially attractive to the novice, but they are not real and are not enduring.
Its single-piece aluminum casing is both attractive, durable and some critics have commented that if the big Bose logo was not mentioned in front of its grill, people would have thought it may have been another product rolled out from Apple Inc!
The SoundLink Mini comes along with a charging cradle where the unit can be docked on top of it when indoors. However, the charger adapter can be also directly connected to the unit while on travel. A full charge would give seven hours of playback time. It has also an aux input for devises which does not have Bluetooth.
Unlike other speakers, this unit cannot be charged from the laptop via a USB cable – probably it may be due to a higher input (12 volt) voltage requirement. At the bottom of the unit there is a mini USB socket which is only meant for Bluetooth firmware upgrades.
The charging adapter deserves a special mention. Bose has thoughtfully made prongs of the charger foldable for convenience of travelling. Besides, it has also included five conversion plugs for global usage as per the country specific AC mains.
Additionally, leather covers in black and magenta and soft covers in blue, green and orange are available separately. A trendy travel bag too is available at some of the stores.
To top it, you might not expect sound this rich from a speaker this small and don’t have to sacrifice performance for portability. After all it is premium product rolled out from Bose Corporation, USA – a company founded by India-born US citizen, Late Dr. Amar Gopal Bose who was also a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was an electrical and sound engineer who devoted his life to investigating our psychological and physiological responses to sound.
Bose charges a premium for quality and workmanship. They are worth every penny to me over all the tiny plastic speakers flooding the market these days. It costs Rs 16, 200/- which is very pricy indeed!