Kmart Anko Bluetooth Portable Pro Speaker

Surprisingly impressed..didn't break the bank – I was attracted to the look of this speaker and after having misplaced my sony, i didnt want to neither could afford to spend big , in the event of finding the $300 sony. I must say volume is impressive, and its sound, though no where at the level of sony , is far better than other speakers my children or i have owned in this price range. It has decent base and not the tinny twang some have with certain genres of music. Balance is decent, but a certain tonal richness and musical nuance is missing when compared to higher end units. I find it very easy to use, playtime is only 3 hours so not so impressed with that and I find placing it higher in the room , gives a better acoustic sound, so experiment with this. Overall, i knew it looked good but expected sound to be a few increments below what it is based on previous units at this price , so I was pleasantly surprised when I first heard it blast out my fave playlist via spotify. It connected instantly to bluetooth which was a huge bonus. I play all kinds of music from rap to classical so this gets me singing and enjoying while i clean, cook, ponder or just dance like nobodys watching

A blatant copy of a very good speaker with surprising results – We all know it's true: Kmart is only cementing its dominance. This product is an example of that. It really looks the business. Down to the woven casing reminiscent of another shall we say "ultimate" brand product. Surprising to me was the soft-touch plastic and IPX7 water resistance. SOUND QUALITY: [6/10] It's really not too bad. It's pretty average and particularly muffled at low volume but it works pretty well. It goes plenty loud which is <i>noice</i>. I was hoping for more but the Portable Pro speaker just doesn't sound as good as it looks. I would without a doubt pay an extra $10-20 to get a step up in sound quality. The audio prompts for turning on the speaker are a bit cheesy which is also a bit of a shame. + Good volume ~ Average clarity - Poor low volume playback - lowest volume setting is not very low

DESIGN: [9/10] This speaker is sophisticated in a way none of Kmart's Bluetooth speakers could even touch. It would not look out of place on a desk next to a high-end computer or at a picnic or workout session. A plus certainly goes to the white indicator light matching the white buttons and keeping it classy. No branding was the right move. + classy + did I say classy?

BUILD QUALITY: [7/10] While it is light, the speaker feels fantastic. The combination of soft-touch plastic and rugged mesh really sets it off. This could easily be a premium speaker. It's probably less durable than the bigger players due to the use of plastic casing. Rubber feet are welcome and work well. + mesh is tough + soft-touch plastic feels like nice smooth rubber - soft-touch plastic isn't rubber

ERGONOMICS: [9/10] Here is something interesting. This speaker is very easy to use. Compared to the Ultimate Ears speaker which has oversized plus and minus making them a little harder to locate volume up and down. + smaller easier to use clicky buttons than its doppelganger. + long press "+" and "-" buttons to skip forward and back a track (just like basically every Bluetooth headset ever). - play-pause & power buttons are hiding out the back and a little hard to press (not a big deal)

FEATURES & CONNECTIVITY:</b> [7/10] + Simple and good + Connects easily over Bluetooth + aux input (hear that UE?! I guess not...) - micro USB instead of USB Type-C is a livable compromise -- 3 hours battery is underwhelming & the cheapest part of this product ? USB A connection - which I can't work out what is for.

VERDICT: [7/10] The Portable Pro speaker is a great little speaker that packs a punch but its battery life and sound quality need some attention. I would say it's closer to a $49 speaker, not $59. Improving both issues would make this a $69 speaker. But that would be well worth it.