Samsung’s Level series of audio gear features a variety of headphones and earphones and a single wireless speaker, the Samsung Level Box. At $169.99 (direct), the Level Box sits in the middle of a crowded field of portable Bluetooth speaker options. It delivers clear audio with a focus on the low-mids, mids, and high mids, but it didn’t get quite as loud as we expected in testing, nor does its design stand out much against more visually intriguing models from Jabra and Bose. The Level Box sounds good for its size and is quite portable, but it’s worth considering all your options before pulling the trigger on this one.

Design
There’s nothing visually stunning nor offensive about the simple design of the Level Box, which is available in a dark gray or a white-and-metallic design. Weighing in at 1.3 pounds and measuring approximately 2.7 by 6.5 by 2.5 inches (HWD), the portable rectangular aluminum speaker has rounded edges and a stainless steel grille wrapping around its entire body. The grille covers the two 56mm stereo drivers and the built-in microphone for phone calls. There’s also a passive radiator for enhanced bass response. A status LED flashes behind the front grille depending on what mode you’re in, and sound cues let you know when you’re paired—the pairing process with an iPhone 5s was simple and quick in my tests.

There are buttons across the top panel for Play/Pause, Volume Up, Volume Down, and Answering/Ending Calls. Rubber feet on the base of the speaker keep it from dancing across tabletops, and there’s an NFC zone on the right hand panel. Across the rear panel are the Power button, Bluetooth pairing button, a 3.5mm Aux input, and a micro USB port for charging. The included charging cable can charge via your computer’s juice, or snap into the included adapter for power from outlets. A 3.5mm Aux cable is also included.

Samsung estimates the Level Box has a battery life of about 15 hours for regular usage, and up to 2,000 hours of standby life. Your results will vary depending on how loudly you play tracks back. The Level Box takes about 2.5 hours to fully charge.

Similar Products

4.5

Outstanding

Harman Kardon Aura

$299.95

See It

at Amazon

(Opens in a new window)

Read Our Harman Kardon Aura Review

4.0

Excellent

Jabra Solemate Mini

$60.02

Check Stock

at Amazon

(Opens in a new window)

Read Our Jabra Solemate Mini Review

4.0

Excellent

Bose SoundLink Mini

$169.99

Check Stock

at Amazon

(Opens in a new window)

Read Our Bose SoundLink Mini Review

4.0

Excellent

Panasonic SC-NT10

$26.99

See It

at Amazon

(Opens in a new window)

Read Our Panasonic SC-NT10 Review

Performance
Samsung claims there is a “3D Effect” for audio played through the Level Box. I saw no way to turn this off, and initially feared this would be an awful digital signal processing experience, until I realized that the 3D Samsung refers to is simply the audio projection—the speakers fire forward through the front panel, but also out through the back panel for a more room-filling, less directional sound.

On tracks with intense sub-bass, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the Level Box delivers decent response for its size. At maximum volumes on both the sound source and the speaker, something like distortion starts to creep in, though it actually sounds as if the speaker’s enclosure is rattling a bit instead. At slightly lower levels, this is not an issue, and the rubber feet at least keep the Level Box from dancing across your desktop. On genres with less intense sub-bass content, the drivers don’t run into any trouble. The speaker doesn’t get quite as loud as we might have expected—this is definitely not a unit if you’re looking for a booming, deep bass experience, but few offerings in the portable Bluetooth speaker realm are.

On Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” his voice receives a healthy dose of low-mid boosting, bringing out the deepness of his baritone delivery—but the vocals also get enough treble edge to remain clear and crisp. The drums here take a backseat to the vocals and guitar strumming—there’s no wild bass boosting to make them sound thunderous, as some bass-heavy systems do.

On Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “No Church in the Wild,” the attack of the kick drum gets plenty of high-mid definition so that it remains sharp enough to slice trough the dense mix. Its sustain has a little less low-mid punch that bass lovers will want, and though the sub-bass synth hits are not ignored, it’s more of the raspy high-end we hear through the Level Box, less of the booming lows. Vocals on this track come through bright and clear, however—this is basically a speaker that focuses on the midrange and does its best to convey some of the deeper notes.

Classical tracks, like the opening scene in John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary, allow a certain amount of the lower register instruments’ presence to be heard. But again, the dominant ranges through the Level Box are the mids and high-mids, so the vocal parts and the higher register strings and brass steal the spotlight here. It’s a pleasant sound—not too crisp, never harsh. And the low-mids do exist; they just don’t compete for your attention.

If it’s massive bass you seek from a Bluetooth speaker system, you’re going to have to look at larger, more expensive options like the Harmon Kardon Aura ($299.95 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) , which more or less takes portability off the table. If portability is a priority, but you want a slightly fuller sound, the Bose SoundLink Mini ($169.99 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) is an excellent, more powerful Bluetooth speaker. For less money, you can still find great portable options, but the audio performance won’t be quite on the same tier as the aforementioned options—the Panasonic SC-NT10 ($26.99 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) and the Jabra Solemate Mini ($60.02 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) are both solid budget models worth considering. For $170, the Samsung Level Box offers a full sound in a portable body, but it does little to separate itself form the crowded field of competition.