Hey.
I'm David Carnoy, Executive Editor for cnet.com and I'm here with the Sound Freak Sound Kick, a wireless Bluetooth speaker that retails for an affordable $100 and that's with nice features and good sound quality for its price point.
As you can see, it's got an attractive clean design and I liked how the back portion retracts into the unit when not in use, making the overall footprint smaller.
To turn the unit on, you do have to extend the back compartment which is rubberized feat and not only forms a stand but is also supposed to enhance the base performance.
It's a cool design element and while your speak stands up on it, it ends up being a little unstable.
And if you bump to it at all, it'll rock a little and may fall over.
Aside from that small group, there is a lot to like your...
it's easy enough to pair a Bluetooth enabled Smart phone or tablet and you get auxiliary input on the back for connecting audio devices that don't offer Bluetooth support.
On top of that, there's also a USB port that allows you to charge your phone or iPod but it only works when the included AC adapter is plugged in or the volume is set at 70% or lower.
That AC adapter is used to recharge the unit with built in battery which is rated at an ample 7 hours of playing time.
And for the other design touches, it's worth noting that the buttons on top of the unit are touch sensitive.
Some people like these types of buttons and some don't.
I thought they were fine and liked how there was a separate pair button that puts the speaker in a pairing mode.
Well, the sound free doesn't include a remote with the unit.
It does offer a free remote app for IOS and Android devices.
It doesn't really do anything but put a skin on your music player but it's free so there's nothing to complain about.
As for sound, I thought the sound kick was quite decent for a compact speaker that's priced at $100.
It can play louder than smaller speakers like the Jawbone JAMBOX and can handle more volume without distorting.
So long as you engage the UQ3 sound specializing mode which is essentially optimized at the performance of the speaker.
You wanna keep it on all the time which makes you wonder why Sound Freak didn't just bake it into the speaker and do away with the button.
Well, the speaker sounds pretty detailed and while it offers some base, it does sound a bit thin and it doesn't (deliver?) anywhere near the base of both that sound like wireless Bluetooth speaker which starts at $300 and produces much better sound.
However, that's not really a fair comparison when you're dealing with a compact $100 Bluetooth speaker, you just can expect the world.
In other words, as long as you keep your expectations in check, you should be fairly impressed.
And if you add everything up, the speaker does offer good value for the money.
It has an attractive design, some nice axis like the USB charging feature and performs well for its size.
I'm David Carnoy and that's the Sound Freak Sound Kick affordable Bluetooth speaker.
