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SOL Republic’s new Bluetooth speaker is a portable, stylish option: the $69.99 Punk Wireless Speaker. Its striking design has modest dimensions for easy toting, as well as a somewhat ruggedized contour that will withstand poolside splashes and rainstorms. At top volumes, this small speaker can’t quite handle tracks with intense sub-bass content, but at moderate volumes, the Punk delivers a rich, crisp, midrange-focused sound. And for its size, this little guy gets quite loud.
Design
Highly portable and attractive in bright red, blue, or black (with more vibrant colors available soon), the rounded square contour of the Punk measures roughly 1.6 by 3.5 by 3.5 inches (HWD) and weighs 7.5 ounces. The top panel has a stylized grille covering the upward-firing drivers, emblazoned with the SOL logo, while the side panels are covered in a rubberized material that helps make the speaker water-, dust-, and shock-resistant. While the speaker is stylish, the rubberized material seems to attract pet hair and dust as if that’s what it were made for—this isn’t always the case with rubberized surfaces.
The left-hand side panel houses a snap-shut covered connection area for the micro USB-to-USB charging cable (which is very short) and two 3.5mm connections—one an Aux Input and the other an Aux Output. (Another short Aux cable is included.) Along the top panel are rubberized controls for Power, Volume Up/Down, Play/Pause, and a Bluetooth pairing button. The volume controls work with your device’s volume control, rather than independently of it. Underneath these controls, a tiny status LED tells you what mode you’re in. The bottom panel houses a standard ¼-inch mount for tethering to backpacks, tripods, and other third party accessories. None of these accessories are included, and there’s no included carrying pouch or case. 
It’s a bit disappointing that the Punk lacks a built-in speakerphone, a feature that has become pretty standard, even in budget speaker models, over the last couple years.
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Pairing the Punk with an iPhone 5s was a quick, simple process in my tests. SOL Republic estimates the Punk’s battery life to be roughly 8 hours, but your results will depend on how loudly you play your music.
Performance
On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the small Punk struggles a bit with the deep low-end at high volumes, but this is more or less to be expected from a speaker this size and price. It doesn’t distort wildly, but the Punk does start to vibrate and get a little fuzzy at top volumes. That said, this speaker gets quite loud for its size, and at more moderate levels, the bass doesn’t wreak havoc and things sound cleaner, albeit thinner. This speaker is not larger enough to output much in the way of lows, so the focus is on the mids and high frequencies. On tracks that lack big bass, the Punk can go to max volume without any issues whatsoever.
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Bill Callahan’s “Drover” shows us what the Punk can do with low-mid content—Callahan’s baritone voice sounds both crisp in the high-mids and rich in the low-mids—the result is a robust vocal sound that dominates the mix. The drums on this track, which on bass-boosted speakers can sound unnaturally heavy, take a backseat through the Punk. This track is all about midrange focus, and the vocals and guitar strumming take the spotlight.
On Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “No Church in the Wild,” the Punk once again flirts with distortion at top volumes. But at moderate volumes, it does a good job of pushing the vocals out in front of the dense mix, and of conveying—if not outright delivering—the sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the kick drum loop. The most prominent sound, consistently, is the high-mid attack of the kick drum loop, while the occasional sub-bass synth hits provide a decent sense of depth. If it’s big bass you’re looking for, however, this speaker is simply too small to deliver—you’ll need to spend a bit more money on a more powerful model.
Classical tracks, like the opening scene in John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary, get a little extra muscle in the low-mids that helps bring out the lower register instruments, but the main focus is once again mids and high-mids. Concert hall recordings can be robbed a bit of their spacious sound on the Punk, but the speaker does a decent job of balancing out the entire frequency range—you can actually hear the lowest notes clearly, and the higher register instruments and vocal parts have no issues with clarity, nor do they ever sound brittle or harsh. This is not an audiophile-focused speaker, but an affordable, very small speaker that decently conveys most of the frequency range.
Still, if it’s a bigger bass sound you’re after, you’ll need to look into models like the Jabra Solemate Mini ($60.02 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) or the Logitech X300 Mobile Wireless Speaker ($49.95 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) , recognizing that even these devices don’t exactly pack a subwoofer-like punch. If bigger bass isn’t what you’re after, but you want a portable speaker with no distortion, the more expensive Panasonic SC-NT10 ($26.99 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) is a solid option. And if you’re looking to spend less money, the 808 Audio Canz Wireless Speaker ($27.92 at Walmart)(Opens in a new window) isn’t as powerful or ruggedized as the Punk, but it’s very affordable. For $70, the Punk is a stylish, decent option for anyone who wants portable tunes in a water-resistant package. At moderate volumes, it delivers a solid, clean focus on the mid-range that will suit most musical tastes—just not bass fiends (or those looking for a built-in speakerphone).
3.5
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The rugged, water-resistant SOL Republic Punk Wireless Speaker is an attractively designed portable Bluetooth speaker that can get quite loud for its very modest frame.
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Source link : https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/sol-republic-punk-wireless-speaker