Two stay-at-home Bluetooth speakers, one bold and one conventional: Which deserves a place on your desktop, end table or bookshelf?
ClearView Clio
Haven’t I seen you someplace before? Clio, ClearView Audio’s first product, a convex acrylic panel over a 13-inch base, looks like an NXT loudspeaker (see-through) and sounds like an NXT loudspeaker (anemic low frequencies). But, says ClearView, it is not like NXT, a flat-panel technology that showed up everywhere — including in a Toyota SUV roof liner — about a decade ago before disappearing, like clear acrylic.
ClearView’s Edge-Motion design uses two piezo actuators welded to the acrylic panel at the speaker’s base that transfers energy as it contacts the panel. The actuators bend as they receive the audio signal.
“The panel then moves coherently in pistonic fashion,” said ClearView vice president Allan Evelyn, a former general manager at Bose Corp., “similar to the legacy speaker cone-coil-magnet type transducer, sending a panoramic acoustic into the listening area from both the front and back of the clear panel.”
An NXT speaker, meanwhile, made sound through random vibrations across the panel surface. Clio weighs less than 2 pounds and, if not for the base — available in silver, dark bronze or charcoal — would make a scary contestant in a game of hide-and-seek. The base houses the piezoelectric motors and a 2-inch driver for low frequencies.
The flat panel performs better than the conventional driver. At 2 inches, or an inch smaller than the low-frequency drivers in Logitech’s UE Boom ($199.99) portable Bluetooth speaker, it’s incapable of reproducing significant lows.
Clio, the minimalist, has no associated app, rechargeable battery, speakerphone or onboard track navigation or playback controls. It’s an eye-catcher, no doubt, but similar or better sound quality is available for much less.
What: ClearView Clio Bluetooth speaker.
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Price: $349
The Good: Distinctive see-through design, lightweight, small footprint, plays fairly loud for its size.
The Not So Good: Expensive, no track navigation or other playback controls, no app, difficulty reproducing low frequencies.
Information: http://www.clearviewaudio.com
Audioengine B2
A decade ago, the foot-wide B2 might have been the center-channel speaker in a compact surround-sound system. With wireless now ruling the home, the B2 is a modern-styled Bluetooth speaker built like an old-style workhorse.
The B2 essentially fuses two of Audioengine’s A2+ powered desktop speakers into a single, horizontal box. Inside, two 2.75-inch Kevlar woofers sit side by side at the speaker’s midsection, with a .75-inch silk-dome tweeter for each.
Kevlar, the bulletproof-vest material, shows toughness and quality. A silk-dome tweeter almost always ensures smooth, non-irritating highs. The B2 also has a 24-bit digital-to-analog converter and compatibility with high-quality aptX Bluetooth streaming. (A feature lost, unfortunately, with all iOS devices, which must use standard Bluetooth streaming. Apple is still an aptX holdout.)
Does it matter that, for a stay-at-home wireless speaker, I’ve always preferred Wi-Fi? Improvements in range and sound quality, however, have made Bluetooth the go-to wireless technology for indoor and portable speakers.
“Wi-Fi and Bluetooth both have their pros and cons,” said Brady Bargenquast, Audioengine’s co-founder, “but we’re much more satisfied with Bluetooth due to the setup, ease-of-use, sound and range we’ve been able to get.”
The cabinet, a hand-finished medium-density fiberboard available in ash, walnut or zebrawood, pushes it further into premium Bluetooth-speaker territory, as does its heft (10 pounds). This is a substantial speaker even though it’s only 4 inches tall and 5.3 inches deep.
The B2’s back panel reveals only a master volume control — fine-tuning via Bluetooth-connected smartphone — a pairing button, an input for a direct-wired audio connection (3.5 mm cable included), a power button and Bluetooth antenna.
The B2’s sound, restrained and refine, ranks among the best under-$400 Bluetooth speakers. Because of the closeness of the two speakers built into a single cabinet, however, it struggles to create an identifiable stereo image. It also emphasizes the midrange frequencies, a wise choice with such a small speaker, while sacrificing bass output and some high-end glow. This speaker is a Bluetooth dynamo.
Verdict: I’d rather look at the Clio, listen to the B2.
What: Audioengine B2 Bluetooth Speaker
Price: $299
The Good: Superb sound for its size, excellent build quality. Available for 30-day in-home trial.
The Not So Good: Tapered sound might not appeal to lovers of heavy bass.
Information: http://www.audioengineusa.com