A Closer Look
The SPzero is reasonably light in weight for its size and the construction is definitely of high quality materials. The fairly thick rubber bumper serves as a shield from damage and gives an incredible grip to the speaker. The rubber has a very nice feeling to it. The speaker grill has a seemingly random look to it which I think is very modern, artsy, and stylish. The two bars mounted across the top add a nice accent to the overall look as well as a place to attach the included clip when you really need to go portable whilst being mobile.
Antec opted for the clean look here and pasted their logo and certifications on the bottom side of the speaker. This allows the rest of the speaker to be awesome all by itself.
On the right side of the SPzero we find a Mini USB port, an auxiliary input port, and an auxiliary output port. The Mini USB port allows charging via USB cable. The input port allows the speaker to be connected to a device in the event Bluetooth functionality is unavailable. The output port allows additional SPzero speakers to be daisy-chained in order to increase the audio awesomeness!
Centered on the top of the SPzero are three buttons, each with their own unique function. The left button with the (+) symbol is used to control the increasing of the speaker volume. The center button serves as the MFB (multi-function button) and is used to pair a device with the speaker as well as answering a phone call. Pausing the playback of music can also be accomplished via pressing the center button. The right button with the (-) symbol is used to control the decreasing of the speaker volume. There is also a built-in microphone centered between the center and right buttons.
On the left side of the SPzero resides the only marking visible to advertise the product. No matter which way you decide to orient and situate the speaker, rest assured that the rubber bumper will keep it in place securely.
A portable speaker with great aesthetics? Check! Now let us find out how it performs!
Performance
Pairing the device per the user manual is really straight forward; just be sure to enable Bluetooth on your device accordingly. There is a small LED on the front of the speaker towards the top of the grill that will flash and change color according to the function as described in the user manual. Pairing the SPzero worked flawlessly with our Galaxy S III and iPhone 5c phones, as well as our ASUS Nexus 7 tablet. Alternatively, if your device does not support Bluetooth, you may connect the speaker via the audio cable to your device’s headphone jack and use it that manner.
The sound for such a portable speaker was pretty impressive to say the least. Do not let the specifications and size fool you. The single driver delivers much more power than I could have ever anticipated! The clarity of the sound was excellent even with default equalizer settings on our devices. The high-end sounds were crisp and the midrange sounds were solid. The low-end sounds were also surprising for a speaker with such a small stature. I even discovered that if you place the speaker within six or so inches of a wall; the low end sounds became much more prominent and actually impressed me further. The venting design behind the speaker is definitely attributed to this increase in sound depth. This speaker enhances your mobile experience, whether it be with music, gaming, or movies! The thing that surprised me most about the SPzero was the fact that I could max the volume with very little distortion. Everyone here was absolutely astounded by the power of such a portable speaker! I can only imagine how another SPzero daisy-chained would sound!
Range is very good, even through walls, as we had no trouble playing music in a separate office adjacent to the room containing our devices. No glitches or hiccups, such as stuttering or static, were experienced during our testing period. Antec used quality components to assemble this portable speaker as evident of our test findings.
Battery life is also excellent, thanks to the 750mAh Rechargeable lithium-polymer battery. Antec promises up to 8 hours of non-stop playback and delivered a product that actually exceeded that mark in our testing! Recharging the speaker from complete discharge only took a couple of hours, similar to our smart phones.
A really nice feature of this speaker is the ability to use it as a speaker phone, when paired accordingly. When we received a phone call while listening to music, all we had to do to answer the call was press the MFB. It really was that easy! The conversation that took place was loud and clear with no distortion and our other party had no trouble hearing our voice through the internal microphone. This is a wonderful feature that other portable speakers have trouble perfecting.
And there we have it readers, a solid mobile product offering from Antec! Let us go over some points and final thoughts in the conclusion of our review.
