Inateck BTSP-10 Bluetooth speaker review
My last review on an Inateck Bluetooth speaker was on a budget model, and that speaker really excelled for its price. The audio was surprisingly high quality and clear, and the build quality was pretty decent, especially considering it was one of the cheapest Bluetooth speakers I’ve ever had. But can a brand that mainly sells cheap accessories produce a higher-end speaker? The BTSP-10 aims for just that.
Details
Price: $79.99
Battery life: 20 hours via 3.5mm, 10 hours via Bluetooth
Connectivity: Bluetooth, 3.5mm
Charging port: microUSB
Speakerphone: Yes
Dimensions: 165 x 60 x 45 mm
Weight: 375g
Where to buy: Amazon
Overview
The Inateck BTSP-10 features a rubberized construction. It’s not a soft rubber, but more of a soft touch rubber coating with a semi-grippy finish. If you couldn’t tell, the theme of the speaker is honeycombs, and it’s used extensively throughout the design.
The front of the speaker features the most honeycombs with a mesh grill behind it. The mesh grill is soft and a bit flimsy-feeling, though you’d have to reach through the body to actually touch it. There is a status LED to the very right.
The top has three buttons, including the standard volume up and down buttons and the all-encompassing square button. This is your play/pause button and is also used to pair the speaker with a Bluetooth device by holding it down.
The right side has the power switch, 3.5mm aux jack, and microUSB port for charging.
Build quality
This device is built exceptionally well. It’s all plastic with a soft touch rubbery coating, but the plastic feels very solid. There are no creaks to speak of and it just feels high-quality. As I said before, the grill behind the front design is a little flimsy feeling, but it’s not something you’d ever push on if you’re not trying.
All the buttons have a nice and satisfying click to them, and they don’t feel cheap. The color change in the grill around the Inateck logo is a nice touch, and the integrated LED on the front looks particularly nice.
The only serious complaint I have with build quality is the material the feet are made out of. They’re rubber, but they’re way too slick. This causes the speaker to move significantly while playing loud, so you might want to replace them with something grippier. Or else you’ll have your speaker sliding off a table in no time. Seriously, it moves quite a bit at full volume.
Audio quality
The previous Inateck speaker I reviewed really surprised me in terms of audio quality. While there were some sacrifices made to achieve such a low price, the audio quality definitely didn’t suffer. But this speaker seems to have made no serious compromises. So how does the audio sound?
Once again, Inateck has surpassed my expectations. The audio is very clear and gets very loud. Seriously, this little speaker does a better job of filling a room than many larger speakers. It’s the loudest compact speaker I’ve reviewed so far! And even at full volume, it stays pretty clear and distortion-free. Two clicks down on the volume and it’s perfectly clear.
The highs are crystal clear and the bass is pretty strong and rumbly, but the sound isn’t quite balanced. It sounds like it’s been through an equalizer, which is a downside to this speaker. If you’re big on your audio sounding natural and flat, this may not be the speaker for you. But it’s by no means bad, as the audio isn’t seriously altered. Emphasis seems to be on the highs and the bass.
Battery life
Battery life is a claimed 10 hours using Bluetooth, but Inateck decided to make a distinction between Bluetooth and 3.5mm aux. When using a wired connection, they claim a doubled battery life of 20 hours! 20 hours sounds absolutely amazing to me, but claims are claims. How does the battery hold up?
Well, the estimates are actually pretty accurate. Using the speaker extensively with a 3.5mm cable and an iPod, the speaker refused to die. A few days of use passed before it finally gave up. The estimate for Bluetooth playback is about right as well. The battery life is fantastic on this speaker and I love not having to constantly charge it.
Other features
There is a speakerphone function built in, as with many modern Bluetooth speakers. You can use it to answer calls and speak into the built in microphone without having to touch your phone. The big square button answers and ends calls for this. The incoming audio is nice and clear, though the mic seems to pick up buzzing when there is no buzzing present. It works, but the outgoing quality isn’t all that good.
Combining really loud audio and amazing battery life, the Inateck BTSP-10 gets high marks from me. The sound is the most important part of any Bluetooth speaker, and this one puts out some serious sound. The audio is clear and really loud, despite being somewhat balanced.
And of course, with 10 hours of battery life on Bluetooth and 20 using an aux cable, it lasts for a very long time. For the price, I’m very impressed. However, the poor quality feet is a big problem that cause the speaker to slide around on most surfaces when the volume is turned up. It’s simply a hazard to the speaker itself, and some stickier feet are definitely recommended.
For $80, though, this is a fantastic buy!
source: androidandme
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