I’ve dabbled with the idea of being an Audio Guy — spending my days obsessing over my hi-fi setup, picking out the perfect pre-amps, or meticulously situating monitors for the optimal listening experience. Most of the speakers we tested must be plugged into a power outlet, but some include a rechargeable battery, which is an advantage if you occasionally want to lug your speaker into a different room without having to plug it in. stereo system bi-amplified for audiophile resolution and features two 2 1/4” full-range drivers and a 4. We were curious about the Tribit BTS50, which combines a Bluetooth speaker with alarm-clock functions.

Also, its volume control works in sync with the volume control of the connected Bluetooth device, which means you don’t have to worry about both volume controls being turned up to a usable level. For such a compact speaker, it produces a room-filling sound and a surprisingly satisfying amount of bass. Unfortunately, it also lacks low-bass, so you can't feel the deep thump and rumble in bass-heavy music, and there aren't any sound customization features like a graphic EQ or presets to tweak its sound to your liking.Pressing and holding the Source knob for 3 seconds puts the speaker in pairing mode; holding it for 10 seconds clears the history and resets the speaker. It follows on from the equally strangely-named The Three | Google Assistant speaker which launched at the tail end of last year. However, it has disappointing directivity, so your audio may not sound as clear from all angles, and its soundstage can be perceived as narrow and directional.

That said, like most speakers its size, it lacks the thump and rumble in the low-bass range that fans of bass-heavy music like hip-hop and EDM tend to enjoy. However, we sometimes found that the bass was too pumped-up for our taste—not necessarily too loud, but unnaturally punchy. Marshall also has new versions of two of its home Bluetooth speakers, the Acton III and Stanmore III, which we hope to test for the next update. If you’re looking for a speaker that’s battery-powered and weather-resistant, check out our guide to portable Bluetooth speakers.However, to hear that degradation, you’d probably need a good set of stereo speakers or headphones, and even then you might not notice it.