By Joey Peng
Manufacturer: Antec Mobile Products (AMP)
Product Name: SP1 Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker & Speakerphone
Model Number: SP-1 BLU
UPC: 0761345730143
Price As Tested: $77.87 (Amazon | Newegg)
Full Disclosure: The product sample used in this article has been provided by Antec
Ever since the inception of smartphones and tablets, demand for mobility products have been exploding. Without mobile speakers, how else can you truly take your music anywhere and everywhere? Many companies have been stepping in to fill this void. Antec Mobile Products (AMP) releases one of their first mobility products, the Antec SP1 wireless Bluetooth speaker & speaker phone.
The Antec SP1 features all the common goodies needed in a mobile speakers. Bluetooth wireless connection allows stable connections up to 30ft away. The SP1 can also be used as a speakerphone and has a built-in mic for you to easily switch between calls and music. To top that off, the Antec SP1 comes in a variety of colors to match your needs. Benchmark Reviews takes a look at the beautifully colored Antec Bluetooth wireless speakers and see show it performs against the competition.
Features
- Be Free: Stream all your digital media from your Bluetooth enabled device and take control wirelessly. The a.m.p SP1 allows up to 30ft (10m) of wireless connectivity, giving you the freedom to roam while sharing your favorite tunes.
- Ready, Set, Go: Move from room to room, beach to park – SP1 is always ready to go! Its convenient size lets you throw it in your backpack, purse or travel bag giving you maximum freedom. With up to 10hrs* playback time, the SP1 is always ready when you are.
- Size Doesn’t Matter: Fill the room with amazing sound. SP1 brings stunning hi-fi audio in a small and portable package. The dBs1™ technology allows the SP1 to bring rich vocals, warm mids, and deep bass in a small and powerful package.
- Let’s Chat: Stay in touch. Never miss a call. A built-in microphone lets you pick up or place calls – seamlessly convert from listening to your favorite jams to a conference call. Pair it with your laptop for even more convenience when using Skype, Google Voice, Viber, and more!
- Limitless: Don’t get trapped in the world of inadequate sound. Remove the bounds of your small tablet, smart phone or laptop speakers and feel your media come to life. Whether it’s listing to your favorite song, watching a movie, or playing games, the SP1 will let your media express its true self.
Specifications
- 158(H) x 41(W) x 62(D) mm
- 0.38 kg
- 10 M (30 ft)
- 10 hrs
- 2.402 ~ 2.480 GHz
- Li-lon Battery 3.7V
- Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
- Supports Enhanced Data Rate (EDR) Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) 1.2, Hands-Free Profile (HFP) 1.5, Headset Profile (HSP) 1.1
The Antec SP1 is one of the smaller speakers on the market. Ever since Jawbone released its Jambox series, numerous manufactures have adopted the rectangular box shape. Antec is no different. To be fair, this design is simple, elegant, and easy to carry and use.
The packaging is very neat, almost apple-esque. Included in the package are the Antec SP1 Bluetooth speaker, a USB charging cable, an 3.5mm audio cable, manuals and instructions.
The Antec SP1 is roughly 158(H) x 41(W) x 62(D) mm, or 6.2″ x 1.6″ x 2.4″, and comes at 0.38 kg or 0.8 lbs. That’s incredibly light and portable. It pretty much fits into any sports jacket pockets. The outer body is surrounded by anti-slip rubber to help protect against damages and falls. There are 2 speakers located inside, however, like all mobile speakers of this size, is designed to be more of a mono speaker rather than stereo. Some competitors market their products as stereo output such as JBL labs but the result is typically not noticeable.
The Antec SP1 needs to face the correct direction for optimal sound. In order to help distinguish the back from the front, they’ve molded it slightly into a speaker phone shape where the front is wider than the back. This helps you intuitively pick the correct direction.
The entire rubber ring is a solid piece with no gaps except for the side ports. There you’ll find a 3.5mm audio jack as well as a port for charging. The on/off switch lights up in different patterns to let user know battery and charging status as well as indicating whether the device is in pairing mode.
The top of the Antec SP1 has 3 buttons, 2 for volume and 1 center button for pairing devices and answer calls. When using the volume controls, they give short beep to let you know the current volume or if the max volume has been hit.
The Antec SP1 looks great on paper and is a beautiful device. The construction is solid and flawless. In the next section Benchmark Reviews will test out the device and see how it performs.
The Antec SP1 was used over a period of 3 weeks in various activities including a week of usage as the main computer speaker, and as a music player paired with iPod and Windows Phone 8.
Every mobile speaker has a few areas to contest in terms of performance. This includes battery life, audio quality, and volume. I’ll go through each of these in this section.
The Antec SP1 needs an initial charge for it to function. A full charge from empty battery took about 2.5-3 hours. This is pretty standard as it only comes with a USB charger. This is slightly annoying as some vacation trips I wouldn’t bother bringing a laptop but I would like to enjoy some music. This probably doesn’t matter for majority of customers. Once charged the LED light will indicate it to you. Using as a regular speaker on average PC speaker volume, I got about 2-3 hours of standby plus 8-10 hours of gaming/TV shows/music. This is indication of a good battery life. Of course regular speaker usage is much lighter than blasting at full volume out in an open field via Bluetooth connection. This will usually last shorter.
Functionality-wise, the Bluetooth pairing works great. If you have a device paired, even if both are turned off, when resumed it’ll automatically connect. If you want to switch between devices however, you’ll need to re-pair by pressing the top center button on the Antec SP1.
The audio quality on the SP1 is very impressive. It doesn’t overly amplify the bass, delivering a balanced audio even at high volumes. Even at top volume there’s not much degradation of quality or static. It is louder the competing products like the Jambox, roughly equivalent to JBL flip. Bass is another popular “feature” that’s looked for. This is a grey area as the Jambox delivers a BOOMING bass. Standing next to a Jambox at max volume, you’ll feel your heart pounding like you’re at a club. The Antec SP1 is noticeably louder but it doesn’t crank up the bass. The SP1 is a much better indoor speaker (if you want to use it as a dock), as for outdoors, it is purely personal preference. This comparison is the same as comparing the Bose QC15 vs. Beats Studio.
The next part is the phone capabilities. When a call comes through, you’ll hear a custom Antec ringtone that gets played. A single tap to the top center button picks up the phone. You’ll be able to use the built-in mic to respond to calls. The mic is able to pick up sound pretty clearly from about 2 feet away, starting at 3 feet the quality/volume start going downhill. The voice came through pretty clear. It’s actually quite nice as a speaker phone.
Overall the Antec SP1 Bluetooth mobile speaker performs great. I was impressed as I didn’t find any real issues with it, and for its price-point, it has a solid competitive selling points.
The Antec SP1 is not a rapid departure from the visual designs of the popular Jawbone Jambox. It comes in a variety of colors. However picking a mobile speaker today is quite difficult as there are a huge array of items now and as a consumer, finding accurate ratings for products are hard. You can easily find some additional products like the Urge Basics SoundBrick that look the same and seem to offer the same features.
Then there’s a wide variety of true stereo speakers like the Chill Pill or Razer Ferox that offer varying levels of portability and speaker quality.
I suggest that to pick a mobile speaker, consider these first, because most mobile speakers can be bucketed similarly:
- Portability: There are everything from pocket sized speakers that have some “assembly required” for use, to a solid brick like the Antec SP1, to simply small speakers easy to carry but not as easy to be portable. Wireless “brick” speakers tend to be the easiest to carry around. Pocket sized stereo speakers that require wires are good for travel, save space, but wires may be a turn off. Think carefully what type of portability you need.
- Want Bass?: Name brand devices will charge a huge premium for, often, not particularly preferable performance. However the Jawbone and Beats will probably deliver the strongest bass. I don’t feel that’s favorable for indoor usage like LAN parties, but may be pretty nice depending on what types of music you listen to on the go. Strong bass doesn’t equal better sound quality and volume.
- Volume: If you want something loud, do NOT go with a tiny speaker. Brick-shaped speakers will often outperform their tiny counterparts.
The Antec SP1 has solid all-around performance. Its battery life is similar to competing products, can last around 10 hours at normal volume (65-70% of max). Charging time is reasonable as well, roughly around 2.5-3 hours. The audio quality is great, even at max volume. There is very little distortion or static and the SP1 delivers very balanced audio. Unlike competing products that crank up the bass, the Antec SP1 is suitable for all sorts of environments and usages.
I would group the Antec SP1 as one of the speakers that took inspiration from the Jawbone Jambox, but I feel they did better in some areas. Purely judging aesthetics, I would say it lacks some of the visual impact that the Jambox’s texture has. I recieved the blue version, The rubberized outer shell with a glittery speaker surface works well for me.
The Antec SP1 has a very solid construction. The entire outer shell is coated in a rubber surface that protects the speaker from damages. This allows us to easily carry, store, use, and even throw around the device without worrying about it being damaged from impact. The top buttons are all hidden underneath the same piece of texturized rubber.
Functionality wise, the Antec SP1 delivers the basic functionality of a mobile speaker, including Bluetooth connectivity, 3.5mm audio jack altnerative input, and speakerphone with built-in mic. At this price point, that’s all I’m really expecting to see. What’s key is that the Antec SP1 performs fantastically. Of course altnerative products have a much wider range of functionality, like voice narration, mobile app integration, among other things. However those will set you back an extra $50-$100.
Officially, the Antec SP1 is listed as $99.99, however you can find them for sale online for under $78 (Amazon | Newegg). If we ignore name brands like Bose and Jawbone, which are typically overpriced, this puts them in the middle of the pack.
You may want to check out speakers from other manufacturers before making a purchase decision. The Antec SP1 is perfect for those looking in a easily portable mobile speaker that can be used indoors as a cellphone dock as well as taken out of the house for LAN parties and picnics. If you’re looking for a booming club-style speaker, this is not for you, otherwise the Antec SP1 is a great buy.
Pros:
+ One of the loudest mobile speakers
+ Extremely portable. Light and durable. Rubberized surface
+ Speakerphone and built-in mic
+ Looks fantastic
+ Bluetooth connectivity
– USB charge only
– Low bass may not be optimal for outdoor settings
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Performance: 9.25
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Appearance: 9.25
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Construction: 9.50
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Functionality: 8.50
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Value: 9.00
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