I’m still quite taken by the Life n Soul wire-free headphones I reviewed last year — while I never really considered the wire running from headphones to jack a major nuisance, it wasn’t until I switched over to a Bluetooth pairing of headphones and iPad (and sometimes my laptop) that I really got spoiled. Let’s just chalk it up to one less cable to get tangled or have to be packed away.
I love listening to my music, and with the mix of streaming music services available these days, I’m never at a loss for tunes when I want them. I especially like to listen to my music when I’m working in my basement workshop. For the last few years, I’ve lugged a portable bluetooth speaker down from my office and paired it with my phone while I work. It’s big and bulky, and I have to also bring down my phone’s charger because I have to use the phone for forwarding through songs as well as volume control and the battery doesn’t hold up well while I’m streaming music. But the speaker’s got good sound, so I just deal. When I’m done… I lug it back upstairs along with my phone’s charger. Such first-world problems, right?
Well, I now have a better solution. The folks at Life n Soul got me test unit of their new water-resistant Power Bank Speaker. It’s very cool looking, as you can see below.
First, the nuts and bolts — a 6,000mAh power bank, with 30 hours of play time, LED flashlight, LED digital display IPX4 water resistance rating. Output power is 2*3W (Double-channel output). Pairs via Bluetooth and has controls on front for On/Off, volume, pause/play, and flashlight. Rubberized outer shell designed to fit in standard cup holder on most bikes. Has a standard AUX IN port when Bluetooth isn’t an option, and USB plug for charging of external devices. It also has a TF card slot and supports TF card play. Dimensions are 77 x 77 x 162mm.
I love this thing. My son and I have a camping trip in two weeks, and this thing is going with me, no doubt. I’ll be able to charge my phone from the device and the built-in LED flashlight is bright enough to help me find my tent in the dark. And there’ll be music, of course.
At home, however, I’ve been really enjoying it in the basement. The controls on the Power Bank let me control the volume and move through songs without needing the phone nearby. I leave my phone plugged in upstairs, and I’ve had no problems with losing the Bluetooth connection.
Note: At first, the Power Bank wasn’t really cranking out my music at a sufficient volume. I’d maxed out the volume slider control on my phone, and I wasn’t satisfied with the output. It took some experimenting to discover that I first had to connect my iPhone to the Power Bank with the AUX IN cable provided — doing this, I could crank the volume up to its MAX volume using the Power Bank controls. After the volume was maxed out, I then unplugged my iPhone and the slider control would then use this adjust min/max range… problem solved.
As for sound quality, there are times when a few songs have a slight tinny sound… it disappears when I raise the volume, but at lower volume levels it’s more noticeable. Given this things small size, it’s an acceptable trade for me. Your mileage may vary.
I’ve not tested the water-resistance yet, but an examination of the rubberized outer shell tells me that this thing could probably hold up to a light rain during a bike ride. It’s not waterproof, so I won’t be dunking it in the river. Still… the rubber is thick and I’m sure this thing would survive a few drops, too.
I have a blue version with red details, but I’ve also seen a black version with red details on the box cover. This thing is new, so there may be some additional colors coming.
As I said… I love this thing. It’s small enough (and light — maybe the weight of a full can of soda?) to toss in my backpack and, fully charged, I know it’s going to get me through a few outlet-free days intact.
