[General Accessories] vectron:
This is a review of Bolse 12W Smart NFC Bluetooth wireless speaker. http://mybolse.com/product/detail_B00L4IDA04.html - the speaker is already available on Amazon UK, and soon will be available on Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Portable-Bluetooth-Speaker-Function-Playtime/dp/B00L4IDA04/

I have reviewed a lot of wireless speakers, and have been impressed with either their design, or sound quality, or controls, or compact form factor. I can always find something positive and negative about each one, but never have I came across a speaker where I can't even think of one negative comment. But all this changed when I received a review sample of the new Bolse 12W wireless speaker. I'm not hyping it up, but honestly telling you that Bolse came up with a perfect combination of every feature you can think of to include in a portable wireless speaker. And to top it off, they still were able to keep it's pricing under $50. Here is what I found.

The speaker arrived in a nice compact package with a clear description of it's VERY impressive spec. With dimensions of about 7"x3"x2" it looked very compact and easy to handle with one hand, but once you pick it up you do realize a nice 15oz weight to it. This extra weight comes from two quality 6W 40mm drivers packed inside of this little monster. Drivers of such caliber are typically found in over-the-ear headphones. Closer examination of BTS-12 revealed a plastic frame surrounded by front and rear metal mesh grills. Both 40mm drivers are front facing, and rear panel has a bass port functionality. The bottom of the speaker has 4 rubber feet for a non-slip grip with a surface. All the controls are located at the top, and all the ports on the back at the top. Among included accessories there was usb to micro-usb cable, 3.5mm male to male audio cable, a nice velor drawstring storage pouch, and a detailed instruction manual.

Starting with ports on the back, you actually get a physical on/off switch which is very refreshing to see when so many other companies cramp up controls under multi-function buttons. Here, you know for sure when speaker is on and when it off. Another great thing, once you turn it on - there is no annoying guidance voice. Next to the power switch is a standard micro-usb charging port. And speaking of charging, this speaker has a whooping 2000 mAh battery that enables up to 15 hours of playback!!! To use this speaker with non-Bluetooth devices, you have Line In port which you can use with included audio cable. If that wasn't enough, Line OUT port is right next to it which allows daisy chaining of this speaker to another wired or wireless speaker or connecting headphones. One thing you have to realize, this Line OUT port can turn ANY other connected speaker into a wireless speaker. You can consider that as a bonus feature!

The control buttons on the top are equally impressive with touch controls. These are not physical buttons, but a backlit touch buttons, each one assigned to a specific functionality except for a lock button. You get a separate touch button to pick up a call, a dedicated volume up/down buttons, a play/pause button, and skip next/prev buttons. Long press of skip prev locks touch controls so you don't bump them accidentally, and double tap releases the lock. So many other speakers include just a volume up/down and phone control, and that becomes very inconvenient because you have to go back to your phone to play/pause or to skip the track. Here, you have a full remote control of the playback. Also when you receive a call, you can use BTS-12 as a speakerphone.

When it comes to a wireless connection, you have two ways to pair it up with your phone or tablet. Either using direct Bluetooth pair up or NFC area on the speaker (labeled with an icon on the top) worked flawlessly to pair up with my Note 2. Once paired up, it gets connected to both phone and media audio so you can enjoy the sound from this powerhouse speaker 20-25ft away from your phone or tablet. I'm sure you all are curious how does it sounds. Thanks to a total of 12W of combined power between each speaker, it filled up our big family room and I was still able to hear the music 2 rooms down the hall. I actually found the music to be more enjoyable and clear once you take a few steps away from the speaker. That's where you appreciate a clear detailed sound with a punchy bass. As expected from such drivers, the bass didn't have powerful enough sub-bass extension, but I still heard a nice bass punch and a warm deeper layer to make music sound full and enjoyable.

Overall, I was VERY impressed with Bolse BTS-12 speaker and think it represents one of the best values currently available on the market. Everything from touch control panel with a complete playback, volume, and phone controls, the convenient of BT and NFC pair up, an impressive 2000 mAh battery which supports 15hrs of playback to physical on/off switch and both Line In and Out, and being able to keep all this under $50 - this speaker definitely gets my high recommendation!!!

Here are the pictures.