Why You Can Trust CNET Get an RCA wall-plug Bluetooth speaker for $9.99
If you don't mind blocking both your outlets, this thing is kind of ingenious -- and a great companion for an Echo Dot.
CNET's Cheapskate scours the web for great deals on PCs, phones, gadgets and much more. Questions about the Cheapskate blog? Find the answers on our FAQ page. And find more great buys on the CNET Deals page.
The RCA WPBT1 plug-in speaker (which is lighter and whiter than it appears here) is a hair larger than the two outlets it covers up.
I made a pledge for 2017: No Bluetooth-speaker deals unless they're really unique in some way. And yet I feel like I'm still sharing a ton of speakers, because there are so many interesting ones these days!
Indeed, here's a style I've never encountered before, for a price that's pretty darn amazing: For a limited time, and while supplies last, Universal Goods and Sales via Amazon has the RCA WPBT1 Bluetooth wall-outlet speaker for $9.99 when you apply promo code CHEAPSK9 at checkout. Shipping is free for Prime subscribers. Update: This is now sold out from this seller. You may see the speaker from other sellers on Amazon, but the promo code will not work.
This is actually an older product, but as I said: new to me. It's hard to find elsewhere, but a few places have it for anywhere from $25-45. And while I discovered there are indeed other "outlet speakers" like this, most of them are priced in the $30-50 range.
The RCA has kind of an old-school, Radio Shack look to it. Picture something about the size of a box of Pop-Tarts, but all white, and with wall prongs coming out the back. Alas, because of the centralized placement of those prongs, the speaker blocks both outlets regardless of which one you plug it into. Dumb -- but tolerable.
It's literally the definition of plug-and-play: You plug it in, pair it to something, and start playing. Because it's always on, it's a great match for an Amazon Echo Dot -- and that's precisely what I paired it with in my bedroom.
Make no mistake, this is a small speaker, not something designed to fill a large room. Rather, it's designed to offer bigger, better sound than what comes from the tiny speaker built into your phone, tablet or Echo Dot. And that's exactly how I'd describe the sound quality: a huge improvement over a built-in speaker, but no one will mistake this for Bose.
And did I mention it's 10 bucks? If you're looking for a Father's Day gift, this is the kind of thing I bet your dad would totally dig. And if you just want a simple speaker for the garage, den, bathroom, bedroom, dorm room, etc., it's hard to beat the simplicity -- or price -- of this one.
Your thoughts?
Bonus deal: Quite possibly the polar opposite of the little RCA, Meh has the Onkyo SKS-HT594 5.1.2-channel Dolby Atmos speaker system for $194, plus $5 for shipping. Original MSRP: $599.99. Price elsewhere: more like $329. That is, of course, today only, and while supplies last.
This six-piece package includes a pair of large bookshelf speakers that feature a special "height" top-mounted driver, plus center and surround channel speakers, and a 10-inch, 120-watt powered subwoofer. I stole that description from CNET's review, which wasn't super-positive, but ultimately found this an affordable and efficient way to add Dolby Atmos to your home theater. And that conclusion was based on the $600 price tag.
