MusicJay
The days of cheap, flimsy portable speakers with tinny sound quality and puny power outputs are well and truly a thing of the past. Today, there is no shortage of great sounding, high-spec portable Bluetooth units on the market, and they’re increasingly available at a price that won’t break the bank.
Now, into the fray has entered a real beauty from Bayan Audio – the new Soundbook. But how does the offering from this little known British brand compete with the audio giants and leaders of this increasingly competitive market? We take a look at the Bayan Audio Soundbook and some of the other portable wireless speaker systems currently making waves on the market.
Bayan Audio Soundbook (£150)
Trusted review site Techradar recently got its hands on the new Bayan Audio Soundbook, and it won many plaudits for its super-sleek design and exceptional sound quality. The little speaker also won five stars from the serious hifi chaps over at Hi-Fi World, and rave reviews from the Daily Express, London Evening Standard, Macworld and loads more.
For a small British company with little by way of a proven track record in the portable audio market, the Soundbook represents a remarkable entry into this market. It can compete with the very best of the competition in terms of sound quality, while its design and exceptional build quality set it up as the product to beat in this increasingly competitive market.
Bayan Audio has certainly gone all-out to produce a speaker that redefines the portable market, setting new benchmarks for quality in sound and build, and this is something they have pulled off with aplomb.
The competition:
Beats Audio Beats Pill (£169)
From the hugely popular Beats by Dr Dre brands comes this portable speaker in a distinctive pill-shaped shell. Boasting four 1-inch 3w drivers, this unit packs a powerful punch for its compact size, but the the Beats Pill is not going to get any floors shaking with its bass output. Overall, the Beats Pill struggles to justify its price at the upper end of this market.
Bose Soundlink Mini (£170)
Bose has been leading the field in exceptional quality headphones and portable units for many years, and the Soundlink Mini, have produced a fiercely competitive and ultra-portable unit – good looking and with crystal clear sound quality. The Soundlink Mini’s brushed aluminium casing surrounds a truly compact unit of exceptional quality, although like the Beats Pill, it can’t truly compete in the bass stakes.
Cambridge Audio Minx Go (£100)
Cambridge Audio have long offered an alternative to the bigger, more expensive names in hi-fi, and have built a strong reputation for affordable quality. The Minx Go occupies the lower end of the price range for this type of product, but goes shoulder-to-shoulder with its more expensive rivals in terms of build quality, looks and power output.
Jawbone Mini Jambox (£130)
The Jawbone Mini Jambox is a highly portable and great looking unit that breaks the mould in terms of design and styling. Available in a number of colours, the distinctive design and diminutive dimensions of this speaker set this apart as a stylish choice, though limitations in the sound capabilities hold the Jambox back from achieving true greatness.
