Anker Soundcore Icon Mini Review - Big Sound in a Mini Speaker

Anker Soundcore Icon Mini Speaker - https://amzn.to/2ND4215 --- Affiliate Link Specs: - Connected wrist strap adds an extra level of portability - 8hrs of playback time – varies by type of music and volume level - Bluetooth 5.0 - Fully waterproof with IP67 dust and water resistance! - Stereo pairing capability with other Soundcore Icon/Icon Mini speakers - Listening range up to 33ft - Lightweight – weighs in at 6.4oz - Still has a 3.55mm aux-cord jack if you’re feeling froggy Performance: Overall, the sound quality is quite good for a compact speaker that’s waterproof and only costs $35.99. However, I found most of sound experience to be only slightly better than average. I think the best way I can describe the speaker performance is by referring to it as the speaker that tried to do too much, with too little. Volume is adequate for most things that you would want a speaker like this for, whether that’s listening to it by the poolside, playing some tunes while you BBQ, or for listening to some music while you’re sitting at your workbench in the garage. It’s not anything to write home about in any of the three spectrum areas: bass, mids, or treble. However, it is more than adequate and probably better than most of the competition in the $30 department. I may have gone into it with expectations a little higher than most because Anker has been doing so many good things with so much less than the competition, but this time I think the money was spent more on the hardware and the protection than the performance. The sound really isn’t completely clear, and only gets more muddied as you increase the volume. I don’t want to paint a picture of negativity, but overall, I would rate the sound experience at a 6 out of a 10. The bass is a bit overwhelming when it’s present, and highs are fairly muddied up when the volume is cranked up. Volume-wise the speaker performs well, but as the volume goes up, the clarity drops marginally. The sweet spot for this speaker is really around the 65% volume level, which is probably when you can hear everything the best. Of course, clarity will also be dictated by type of music, as well as the sampling rate. The higher sampling rate and the less “busy” the music is, the more clear it will be. Where this guy picks up extra points is in the IP67 waterproof and dust resistance, the 8 hours of playtime, and the portability. It is a complete package of sound and an outdoor enabler. It’s perfect for camping, hiking, biking, BBQing, swimming (fill in the blanks); it’s a complimentary piece of tech that I would have killed for when I used to be a much more “outdoorsy” person. If you want a versatile, all-around speaker, it’s a solid audio accessory that will take a beating and allow you to listen to music where most speakers won’t dare to go, and it will never skip a beat. Ease of Use: The Icon Mini is very easy to pair, and even easier to use. The speaker has the standard compliment of buttons on top, etched into the rubbery surface: power, volume up/volume down, Soundcore, pairing button, and the multifunction button to play/pause, or answer calls. Additionally, if you feel so inclined you can pick up two of these guys and pair them together for a stereo sound experience, which is an extra feature that the competition surely doesn’t offer. Anker has really doubled down on the stereo connectivity feature with their speakers this past year, and it’s really been nice! I used this feature with the Flare series speakers, and it worked really great. I can only imagine that it works juts as well with the Icon Mini speakers as well. And last but not least, the built-in microphone is convenient for taking calls on-the-fly. Ocean by KV https://soundcloud.com/kvmusicprod Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b... Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/a8ctDtA7OK8 Adventures by A Himitsu https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgFw... Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b... Music released by Argofox https://youtu.be/8BXNwnxaVQE Music provided by Audio Library https://youtu.be/MkNeIUgNPQ8 With You by Declan DP https://soundcloud.com/declandp Licensing Agreement 2.0 (READ) http://www.declandp.info/music-licensing Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/43JXx8JaBnA #TechOdyssey #Anker #AnkerIconMini #AnkerSoundcoreMini #SoundcoreMini #Review #SpeakerReview #AnkerSoundcoreIconMini Contact Me At: E-Mail: [email protected] Website: https://techodysseyvenue.com/ Twitter - @AdamJMatlock Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tech_odyssey/ Twitch - https://www.twitch.tv/decawayios