image: Parrot Boombox
Parrot Boombox speakers are robust and offer good sound

Review: Parrot Boombox speakers

A self-powered set of Bluetooth speakers

Written by Paul Lester

Larger Image

We’ve seen a mixed bag of Bluetooth products from Parrot recently, often suffering from inconsistent wireless connections or the resulting price hike from having Bluetooth at their hub.

The Boombox is a sequel to last year’s Parrot Sound System Bluetooth Speaker system and works in a similar way in terms of connecting to an audio source.

Advertisement

Provided you have a compatible AD2P Bluetooth device or USB dongle, it’s relatively straightforward to set up. Simply switch the Boombox into pairing mode and search for devices within range from your phone, music player or PC. Once found and paired, any audio played from the device is sent via Bluetooth directly to the Boombox.

A range of around 10m means the speakers can be located in one room, while the PC or other device is elsewhere in the house. This, along with the obvious lack of wires is the Boombox's main advantage but, pleasingly, Parrot has also included a line-in socket for connecting non-Bluetooth devices.

Audio quality is extremely good. We tested it at a range of distances and didn’t encounter much sound degradation until tipping that 10m mark. The sub-woofer and twin mid-range tweeters provide a good combination of thumping bass and balanced sound.

The lack of audio controls beyond volume on the box itself is a moaning point, so treble and bass will have to be adjusted from the audio source. A remote control would have also been nice.

Considering the fact that many Bluetooth products have been a tad overpriced recently, it’s nice to see Parrot offering the powerful Boombox for, in our opinion, a reasonable £150. Taking into account its performance and versatilit y, we think it’s good value for money.

Vista compatible: N/A

Tags:

Product overview

Best prices

Ratings

  • Overall rating: 4
  • Features: n/a
  • Performance rating: n/a
  • Value for money: n/a
  • Average user rating:
Rate this product

Verdict

Good points

  • Wireless speakers
  • Great performance
  • Reasonably priced

Bad points

  • No additional audio controls on the box
  • No remote control

Overall Great sound quality and robust wireless connectivity, Parrot’s Boombox is a classy piece of kit.

See also:

image: Thinkoutside Boomtube H20 speakers

Review: Thinkoutside Boomtube H20 speakers

An impressively powerful set of 2.1 travel speakers   More...

image: Sony SRS-DZ10 speakers

Review: Sony SRS-DZ10 speakers

Style conscious speakers from the technology giant   More...

image: Gear4 Blackbox

Review: Gear4 Blackbox speakers

An attractively designed Bluetooth speaker set   More...

image: Edifier m3300

Review: Edifier M3300 speakers

Bass sounds good but the price is a little steep   More...

Advertisements

Do you agree?

IT white papers

Search vnunet IThound

Top categories

Advertisement

Newsletter signup

Sign up for our range of FREE newsletters:

Existing User

Newsletter user login:

Enter email address to edit your newsletter preferences

Poll

Google Android

Google Android

Are you intending to try out a Google Android mobile phone?

Previous poll results

Spotlight

ISSE 2008

Sharing information key to cracking e-crime

Reluctance to report breaches only adding to the problem   More...

AMD logo

AMD expected to split into two

Separate entities to focus on chip design and manufacturing   More...

CA logo

CA pushes into virtualisation management space

Data Center Automation Manager looks after virtual and physical resources   More...

Hacking

Europeans charged in US hack attacks

British man facing 15 years in prison   More...

Primary Navigation