|
|
Product:
Olympia Soundbug |
Company: Wave Industries |
| Web: www.soundbug-us.com |
Phone: 503-736-2570 |
Platform:
Any portable music player |
SRP: US$50
Street Price:$40 ea, $75/pr. |
Cred Rating:Mono: 
Stereo:  | Special Award:
Object Value |
I don't have to tell you that over the last few years, there's been an explosion of portable devices that play music: solid-state MP3 players, hard-drive-based players, CD and MiniDisc players, and handheld PDAs. Hell, there are even cellphones that'll play you a tune! All of these devices work well for listening to music on headphones, but what happens when you want to share some tunage with friends? You obviously can't lug speakers around in your backpack all the time.
Wave Industries attempts to address this problem with a unique and tres geek solution: the Olympia Soundbug. The Soundbug is essentially the business end of a flat panel speaker...er...minus the flat panel. Perhaps it would help if I explain the device in greater detail...
The Soundbug is a modest device, about the size of a computer mouse. On the top is found one switch, which cycles between Off, Normal, and Loud, and an LED power indicator. On the back of the device is a standard "Mini" headphone jack, and on the side is a jack to accept another Soundbug (more on this later). On the bottom of the unit is a suction cup and a teeny tiny speaker. The suction cup rotates a quarter-turn to lock it into place on any flat, smooth surface. And it is along that surface where all the action is.
The Soundbug's cool hack is that, once attached to a flat surface, it turns that surface into a speaker. The sound source doesn't matter. Because the Soundbug is self-powered by three AAA batteries, it can be hooked up to anything from an ewear MP3 player to a laptop.
When I first got the 'Bug, my first impulse was to go around sticking it to everything in sight -- no flat surface in my apartment was safe. I grabbed my portable MiniDisc player, plugged in the Soundbug, and hooked it up to my bedroom window, my living room mirror, my coffee table, even some spare shelf parts left over from an unfortunate IKEA mishap. The sound quality wasn't great from any of these sources though. The music didn't sound clear, or terribly loud, and some music with heavy bass was so muddled as to be unlistenable, especially with the volume turned up on both the MD player and the Soundbug.
After trying every surface in the house, I finally found that the sound wasn't too bad when the Soundbug was stuck to either a mirror or a one-foot-square pieces of IKEA particleboard (finished in "Birch" if you must know). While the sound was acceptable, the volume was not. Rated at 75db, one Soundbug carries insufficient volume for most social situations -- the music is quickly drowned out by conversation and background noise. I found that when using it with my PDA, the sound was even a little quieter from the 'Bug than from the PDA's own speaker (and a lot less clear). For those considering a Soundbug as an accessory to a PDA, don't bother.
But that's where that second jack on the unit comes in. It accepts another 'Bug, daisy-chain style. Doing this, the volume is doubled. Not only is it louder, but it's also true stereo, so some of the distortion of playing a stereo source through mono output is reduced, making the sound much clearer.
With only one Soundbug, the volume is simply not loud enough or clear enough to justify the price. With two Soundbugs, this actually becomes a pretty good super-portable system. Of course, the clarity and volume are affected by the surface that you're sticking them to, so either you have to have something in the area that you can use (windows are usually handy) or you have to carry a couple of pieces of IKEA shelving around with you. We recommend the former.
All in all, a pair of Soundbugs makes for a very portable music system for any sound source, and since they're small enough to fit into the side pocket of a computer bag or the bottom of a backpack, you can always have them handy. We haven't compared other portable speakers in this price range, but I'd guess they're reasonably priced for the sound quality, and probably a lot smaller than any other self-powered systems. And let's face it, you just can't beat the gadget weenie appeal of pulling your PDA out of your pocket, slapping a couple of these suckers onto a window and cranking out your latest MP3 downloads. Instant party!
- Nate Heasley [6/16/02]
Check out our other offerings:
Today's Software
Today's Digital Living
|
