Bluetooth speakers aren’t going to render your nice shiny floor
standers redundant any time soon, but they are making serious inroads into the
budget arena, where performance is outweighed by the ability to stream from
compatible devices. Enter Nevada’s Kaos.
Nevado Kaos
Bluetooth speaker
It’s not hi-fi, and doesn’t pretend to be. But the reason
we’re including it is that it’s actually really rather good for what it is.
Every audiophile has a kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom or shed where they still
want music, and this is a great way to get it.
The Kaos is
surprisingly clean and open sounding, and projects well into the room
Set in a sturdy 55 x 55 x 50mm, 227g circular aluminum
enclosure is a 3W rated ‘splash-proof’ drive of around 4cm diameter, loaded in
an infinite baffle configuration. Connected to this is a small Class D
amplifier with built-in loudness compensation, which automatically boosts low
frequencies slightly at lower levels. This is powered from a 450mAH built-in
Lithium-ion battery, and a Bluetooth receiver chip. There’s even a built-in
microphone for hands free use and conference calls, and SD/TF card slot that
takes up to 8GB. Another alternative is the 3.5mm maniac; a free patch chord is
supplied for this.
Easy hook up
The unit easily hooks up to my iPad and dutifully never
loses its pairing; switching it on after a long period of non-use, it
immediately finds the iPad again and starts working. You will need to charge it
via the supplied USB lead, of course. This takes an hour or so and gives a good
five hours use as a result. If you don’t use it for a short while, the Kaos
turns itself off automatically. Side-mounted buttons control the volume, plus
track and pause mode.
This is powered
from a 450mAH built-in Lithium-ion battery, and a Bluetooth receiver chip
The Kaos is surprisingly clean and open sounding, and
projects well into the room. You’d never confuse it for a hi-fi speaker, but it
is surprisingly good as a general audio product, when so many disappoint. It is
very listenable and doesn’t fatigue, unlike so many rivals, which are crude and
shrill. Well built, with a rubber anti-slip mat on the base and
bathroom-friendly water resistance, this is a fine little moveable music making
device, that’s worth the asking price.
Details
·
Price: $79.77
·
Website: www.nevadaradio.com
·
Our verdict: 4/5
