Soundbot SB510 Bathe Speaker assessment

Confession: I actually wish to take heed to music in the shower. It helps me get energized for the day after I bathe within the morning and is only a good temper booster any time. Just a little dance party whereas I wash my hair is simply plain good vibes. However shopping for a devoted speaker for the bathe has at all times felt a bit foolish, since it isn’t a spot I spend a ton of time.

Enter the Soundbot SB510. This compact speaker is available in at $15, making it a way more affordable worth for an occasional-use sort of factor. Sadly, with the low worth comes compromises.

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Worth, specs, and availability

The Soundbot SB510 is out there in black, blue, inexperienced, pink, yellow, or white for $15.

Design, playback controls, and measurement

Easy design results in easy use

The Soundbot SB510 is sort of easy by way of design. Its spherical form is roughly the scale of my palm, so it does not take up a lot room on the bathe wall. It connects by way of Bluetooth and could be very easy and quick to pair. 5 rubberized buttons on the entrance management the speaker. It’s a must to press the buttons with intention. That is very true of the facility button, which you have to carry for 3 seconds to show it on or off. However, the speaker will play a noise because it powers up or down, and there is a blue gentle to suggest if it is on, so not less than it is simple to know the standing.

The middle button merely performs or pauses music. In the event you simply activate the speaker, it can play no matter was final taking part in in your cellphone. The remainder of the buttons are multifunctional. In the event you maintain and press the left and proper buttons, they function the quantity management, whereas a faucet will skip to the subsequent track or return a monitor.

There’s a fairly large leap between quantity ranges, so you do not get a ton of management there. Lastly, the decision button lets you choose up or hand up a name. Urgent and holding it can name redial the final quantity, and urgent it twice will activate Siri or Google Assistant.

The again of the speaker makes use of a big suction cup to connect to your bathe partitions. I’ve had loads of horrible bathe suction cups earlier than, so I used to be totally anticipating listening to this crash in the course of the night time. However, to my shock, it stayed put for weeks. It even did nice on the tile wall with grout strains.

The connection between the speaker and the suction cup is a bit unhappy, although, and the speaker droops ahead when connected. It does not influence any performance aside from shifting round while you push the buttons, however it will be good if it sat extra flush with the bathe wall.

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The principle draw back to the speaker’s design is that it is just IPX4 rated, which means it may possibly solely stand up to splashes of water. Due to that decrease IP ranking, you will wish to put it in a comparatively dry nook of your bathe.

One other disappointment is that it prices by way of MicroUSB. That format is much much less frequent than USB-C lately, so do not lose the charging cable that it comes with. When it comes to battery life, Soundbot guarantees six hours of playtime. I’ve been utilizing it for just a few weeks (although I have never used it day-after-day), and as of but, I have never wanted to cost it. I did not even cost it earlier than the primary use, as Soundbot recommends. So, whereas I have never discovered the restrict but, I’ve been impressed by the battery life to date.

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Sound high quality and name options

A little bit of a letdown truthfully

The largest challenge with the Soundbot SB510 is the sound high quality. Now, I wasn’t anticipating a lot from a $15 speaker, however I used to be nonetheless upset by what I heard. The sound could be very hole, with primarily no bass in anyway. It is very tinny sounding, with no element or heat.

The decision high quality, which is way much less nuanced, was simply nice, although. I may clearly hear the individual on the opposite finish of the road, even with the speaker set to a decrease quantity. The mic appeared to work very well, too, and so they may hear me with no issues. In fact, they might additionally hear the bathe noise. I undoubtedly would not suggest taking any necessary calls with it. There’s additionally no show, so you will not know who is looking, which may make answering calls a dangerous transfer.

Past calls, the built-in mic lets you use Siri or Google Assistant. As talked about, you’ll be able to press the decision button twice to make use of that. I additionally was in a position to say “Hey Google” with out urgent a button, permitting for totally hands-free utilization. Arms-free use is certainly ideally suited when a horrible track comes up mid-shampoo lather.

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Verdict: is that this bathe speaker the correct alternative, or simply stylish?

Reasonably priced, however for a worth on high quality

The SB510 is certainly an reasonably priced speaker, however that low worth comes at a value. To place it merely, if you’re an audio snob and wish high quality sound, keep away. However, for those who simply need an inexpensive system to take heed to music within the bathe and do not thoughts if the sound is not world-class (or shut), then the Soundbot SB510 will get the job performed.