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Olixar BoomBrick Bluetooth Speaker from GearZap.com
The context of reviews is always something which intrigues me. Does the reviewer have a vested interest in the product or service? Are they in any way biased by peer’s, friend’s or family’s comments about the products and services? But the one that really makes me inquisitive is, ‘Does the reviewer own something better’?
I was recently sent the Olixar BoomBrick Bluetooth Speaker by GearZap.com to review and on opening it, I felt a pang of guilt, how could I even begin to be impressed when I own the Bose Soundlink Bluetooth Speaker III, which has an amazing sound quality and a real depth & power that is jaw-dropping. Anything else was always going to be judged against this and at the price and size, I thought that the Olixar wouldn’t stand a chance…I was wrong.
The size of the BoomBrick is perfect for mobility. At 180mm x 65mm x 48mm it fits into a ruck sack or laptop bag really easily and the weight is very light so you won’t feel like you’re carrying around the usual ‘heavy brick’ that some of these units can be.
Power
The BoomBrick is excellent for power. Firstly, its a rechargeable unit so, no necessity on carrying a PSU around and on top of that, it charges from a standard micro USB which means that setting it up next to a laptop at a course or in a hotel room and keeping the power on is dead easy (you get a charging lead in the deal as well). The Battery is 1200mAh and whilst it takes an age to charge (3 hours) it doesn’t discharge too quickly. The blurb says that it will give 8 hours playback time which in my tests, I never got close to. I’m guessing that this is with the sound down in a lab but I got 6.5hrs at best which is still very respectable and probably a lot more than many people would need essentially.
Sound
This is where your jaws will drop. If you sit this next to something of the power and quality of the Bose then you’re going to see the deficiencies of the little 3Watt output speakers and also if your a sound aficionado then you’ll probably turn your nose up but then remember that this unit isn’t £250 its £24.99 ( http://www.gearzap.com/boombrick-wireless-bluetooth-speaker-black.html )
Reading the customer reviews of this item after purchase, the selling point is the Bass tones which are regularly commented on as ‘Incredible’ and yes, they are, but at times when listening to some classical music the deeper tones can distort and the Bass is simply too much and was occasionally clipping. If you’re device has a decent EQ within it, then finding the right tones is very easy and running it this week from my Macbook Pro meant that that I got great sound quality and filled the space nicely.
In terms of ‘filling a space with sound’, the Bose Soundlink III will sound great and provide enough volume for a small auditorium or certainly a loud house party. The BoomBrick won’t but a training room audience will be highly impressed and as a social family radio experience or even a pseudo soundbar for a aTV its extremely good. The Audio on my TV is excellent at home but I’d consider using one of these instead for depth in movies. This would be incredible for a teenagers bedroom who was playing Youtube Music/videos and wanted more than their phone.
You also have a Line In to allow connection of other devices without bluetooth capability.
Usability
The acid test for me was this week. I managed to get a couple of days away with the family and traditionally, I’d pack the Bose for listening to music and watching movies from the laptop. This week, I looked at the size, weight and bulk of the Bose and immediately realised that the BoomBrick was more than enough for how we used it with excellent sound quality and super light to carry it around. A no brainer, the BoomBrick came away with us.
Verdict
Well worth the money and then some. High quality audio for personal use or small gatherings with a durability of battery that is great. A great purchase which stands up to minor abuse well and will keep many people very happy.
Pros
Price…at £25 its a steal. Better than many units which are many more times its price
Sound quality is very good for average use
Weight is easily the lightest and longest I’ve come across
Micro USB Charging capability
Cons
Too much Bass by default which makes it clip unfairly at times. But its not the end of the world
Ewen
Author
Ewen Rankin