When testing a speaker, there is only one major factor to consider: does it sound good? Obviously connectivity, size, and form are all worth taking into account, but without the first box ticked, the rest quickly become irrelevant.

At best, a bad-sounding speaker is merely a costly piece of visual art. At worst, it’s an expensive paperweight.

Luckily, for those looking at splashing out on the Wave Amped Series, this series of three variously-sized portable speakers packs a hefty sound that belies its compact size. Put simply: this thing sounds amazing – and could easily function as your main Bluetooth home speaker (especially when stereo paired) as well as a trusty road warrior.

We tested both the medium and large speakers and found both boasted hefty volume without disintegrating into a bassy throb, like a lot of smaller speakers that sacrifice clarity for volume in an attempt to cater to the portable outdoor speaker market.

The product this is closest to in usability and design is Ultimate Ears’ UE Boom range – and it even holds up remarkably well against the larger, more cumbersome units from the likes of JBL. Both the medium and the large speakers offer pristine sound definition, giving a three dimensional sound profile often missing from these cylinder speakers where half the speaker often fires into a wall and deadens somewhat. Much like more expensive sound bars, the speaker plays well to its environment, bouncing nicely off walls and filling a space nicely.

The IPX7 waterproof rating means that you don’t need to worry about splashing around the pool, or any drinks-related snafus; you can safely dunk it in up to a metre of water should you wish. While I didn’t test this particular quality, and don’t know when I will next go deep diving with a Coke-bottle-sized speaker in tow, it’s good to know that I don’t have to worry about wear, tear, and rainstorms when taking the Amped speakers on the road.

The larger model gives 30W sound, compared to the medium-sized 16W speaker, but truthfully you’ll only crank either to full volume if using it in the kind of space where you should really upgrade to the larger Wave Party Speaker. In any reasonable listening environment, the medium-sized model will more than suffice – and truth be told the smaller size and price point makes this the preferable of the two for most scenarios you’ll be using such a speaker in.

The LED lights are a standard when it comes to party speakers these days, but feel a touch showy – and are largely redundant. I found myself wishing these weren’t a feature; especially when playing moody folk music that doesn’t really benefit from an accompanying club-ready light show.

Both models offer nine hours of playback, and testing bears this out – although one can’t help feeling that without the LED lights this could have been made even more energy-efficient – but complaining about a harmless, fun bonus feature is a pointless endeavor, so that’s the last I’ll say on the matter.

The only other quibble I have is with the physical controls, which seem needlessly complicated and hard to master – with short presses and long presses triggering different functions for each button. Luckily, this is a minor issue that will no doubt become second nature as time rolls on.

For $169.95 for the medium, or $219.95 for the large, you’ll get a speaker that yells louder than its size suggests, offers a wide range of sonic depth, and offers bass that doesn’t get muddy, a solid, clean mid-range, and high-end sound that never scraps into that tinny area. As I stated in the intro, that’s really all that matters here.

Short of chucking it off a high-rise, it seems pretty unbreakable, too – meaning you’ll have this until Bluetooth is usurped by whatever over-air format comes next – and probably long afterwards, too.

9.5/10

PROS: 

Amazing sound profile for the size and price
Durable and waterproof

CONS:

Those bloody LED lights!
Fiddly controls that aren’t intuitive