REVIEW: The Wave Outdoor Series II Speaker Is A Rugged Beast Made For Adventure
Wave’s line-up of portable speakers is aimed squarely at music lovers who don’t mind roughing it a little bit.
And 3SixT’s new wireless speaker the $179.95 Wave Outdoor Series II is exactly what it says on the box: destined for the outdoors.
ChannelNews was able to test out the next-generation speaker, an unassuming portable boombox with less frills and a lot more oomph.
Sound and durability are all that matters with a product like the rugged Outdoor Series II. As I found out, it does both perfectly.
Design
There’s nothing fancy about the design or shape of the Outdoor Series II speaker.
It’s quite industrial-looking with a grey colour scheme, two passive radiators on either side and a convenient carrying cord.
Despite weighing just 545g, the ultra-durable speaker has a certified IPX6 rating – meaning it can withstand some pretty high drops and even being submerged in water.
It is super lightweight and could easily be thrown into an eskie or a hiking backpack during an outdoor adventure.
The carry chord makes it perfect to clip onto the side of a bag too. It’s an ideal speaker for use by the pool or around a campfire.
The Wave Series II is deceptively small – it hides passive radiators for immersive bass and full frequency drivers for rich, clear audio.
The buttons are placed on the top of the product, with an ON/-/+/PLAY/EQ control pad. I found the controls a little stiff and you need to press down quite hard to activate them.
The Wave Outdoors Series II also has a dual mode button, which allows you to pair the speaker with another of the same product for maximum sound.
USB-C and USB-A charging ports are located on the side, as well as an AUX port, covered neatly by a rubber flap.
The addition of an AUX port and chord is great, as there’s often times Bluetooth play isn’t available and you still want to connect the speaker to power.
Performance/Audio
I expected the sound from such an inconspicuous little speaker to be brassy or tinny – but the Wave Outdoors Series II has thunderous, room-filling audio.
Connecting it to Bluetooth was a breeze and I was blown away by the impact of the sound at maximum volume.
It punches well above its weight, with similar thumping bass to boomboxes thrice its size.
The radiators on either side of the speaker ensure the sound is truly immersive. I tested it out with a few bass-heavy songs and was amazed at just how loud it got, without compromising the clarity.
The EQ settings allow you to choose between Standard, Extra Bass and Outdoor sound levels and the outdoor is one mode which would be most useful, given the use-cases of this speaker.
I tested the sound outside during busy traffic and I could still hear the music loud and clear. Tradies will rejoice – it’s the perfect speaker for a busy, loud construction site.
The 2200mAh battery is impressive too, with 10 hours of playtime at 50 per cent volume. It takes a while to fully juice it up – a bit longer than I am used to with this size speaker – at around 4-5 hours.
But it will help save battery by automatically switching off after 10 minutes of inactivity.
Verdict
The Wave Outdoor Series II has good sound and the right durability for its targeted demographic.
It has a handsome price-point at under $200 and doesn’t sacrifice rich audio for unnecessary bows and whistles like a lot of major speaker brands.
It’s the ideal speaker for an outdoorsperson or tradie who wants something rugged and loud.
If you want something a little prettier, Wave has other speakers in the Shuffle range which could take your fancy.
8/10
PROS:
Rich, clear audio
Good battery life
Durable
Lightweight
CONS:
Slow charging
