Kickstarter has become an impressive resource for aspiring electronics developers. Hidden Radio ($149.95 direct, for black or silver; $169.95 for the white model)?is one of the many projects that has been successfully funded through the crowdsourced funding site, and now it's available as a retail product. Stunning in its simplistic, clean design, this portable Bluetooth speaker's sound quality isn't the best, and it costs at least $50 more than some other better-performing Bluetooth speakers, like our Editors' Choice, the $100 Logitech UE Mobile Boombox?.
Design
Striking in its Apple-like aesthetic, the Hidden Radio looks like a gently-rounded cylinder. There are no controls on the top or sides of the speaker, and only a small, barely visible light to indicate when it's powered on, connected, or running low on power. The slightly tacky rubber underside holds the speaker in place while you use the only significant control, which entails twisting the body. By pulling it upward and clockwise, the speaker's body rises to reveal a grille wrapped around the base. Exposing the grille turns the speaker on, and the further you twist the body the louder it gets. The rubber bottom doesn't work consistently to keep the speaker in place, however. The colder and drier the room is, the less it will stick, and the more likely it is that you'll have to pick it up and twist it instead of keeping it on the table.
On the underside of the speaker, hidden in a recessed area, there's a single three-way switch lets you choose between Bluetooth, auxiliary audio input, and FM radio, plus two small buttons for tuning the FM radio. A 3.5mm port and a microUSB port also sit in the recessed area, but they're both awkward to access because of their angle and position. This is a small problem when you want to recharge the speaker, because you need to fit the cable into the microUSB port hidden behind the lip of the base. I have large fingers, and it was very awkward plugging the speaker in to charge.
The Hidden Radio automatically goes into pairing mode when you turn it on, and to connect it with supported devices, you first need to disable Bluetooth on the paired device and repeat the process. If you want to use the 3.5mm audio input or the built-in FM radio, the included 3.5mm audio cable and antenna cable (that also plugs into the 3.5mm port) keeps you covered. Everything can be easily stowed in the included cloth bag that matches the color of the speaker.
Performance
Unfortunately, sound quality just isn't very good. It's fine, it's acceptable, it just doesn't excel in clarity or volume. Hidden Radio claims a maximum of 90dB from the speaker, but with its cap turned all the way up to maximize the volume, it barely put out enough sound streamed from my iPad over Bluetooth to fill our modest living room-sized testing room. It's appreciably louder than the iPad's internal speaker, but not by enough to justify its $150 starting price tag.
In my tests, midrange sounded decent, but bass distorted easily and high-end lacked any sort of pop. The speaker failed our bass test track, The Knife's "Silent Shout," crunching all of the synth bass notes. While I could hear both the melodic guitar opening and screaming vocals of Iwrestledabearonce's "Deodorant Can't Fix Ugly" clearly, it didn't have any sense of power behind it. The rough, peppy grindcore sounded flat and one-dimensional.
Unlike most Bluetooth speakers, the Hidden Radio lacks a speakerphone feature. You can pair it with your smartphone for music, but it doesn't have a microphone for making and receiving calls. This isn't a huge deal given the lower quality of the speakerphone functions in many competing products, but it further hurts the argument for paying a higher price.
The Hidden Radio Bluetooth speaker is a cleverly designed speaker, but its sound quality, feature set, and price don't measure up to more flexible speakers, like the Logitech UE Mobile Boombox, and it just doesn't sound good enough to be compelling over paying slightly more on slightly larger, better-sounding speakers like the Jabra Solemate and the Jawbone Jambox?. Its best feature is its creative design, but shouldn't be at the top of your list when shopping for a Bluetooth speaker.
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/CJ_QkNW5gug/0,2817,2410738,00.asp
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