Review: The Rose Gold BoomBar 2 from Kitsound
Kitsound have made some great sounding and great looking speakers. Their latest speaker is the BoomBar 2, a portable, dual driver bluetooth speaker. The variation they sent was in rose gold, which having looked around seems to be the colour of choice for a lot of tech releases.This quite heavy portable speaker, sounds amazing, but looks out of this world. Though having used it for over a month it has now found a place in front of my TV.
I have reviewed a lot of bluetooth speakers over the year, but I may have found my favourite in the BoomBar 2. The shape is hard to explain, it’s a oblong speaker, but one corner has been sliced in half. So the speaker almost has 5 sides, and its natural position is on the 5th side. This gives the speaker that unique look that Kitsound are renowned for, and what always makes me come back for it.
The rose gold is on the speaker grill, which spans two sides of the speaker. Which gives it an amazing contrast between that metallic rose gold and the matte black sides of the speaker. On on end are the buttons and connections. There are two volume buttons, a pairing button and a power switch. The power switch has an LED behind it, so you can see it charging (flashing orange) and when it’s on (static green). There is also the AUX connection, the mic and the micro-usb charging port.
The rest of the speaker is completely clean except for a small KS logo on the corner. The speaker also came with a hard case that the speaker sits in, which also has a pocket for any manuals, and cables.
As with most (if not all) bluetooth speakers, pairing is an absolute breeze. Turn on BT on your phone, hold the pairing button and then let the two connect. There is also the AUX connection if you want to go old school.
Inside the BoomBar 2 are two 50mm drivers with a passive bass radiator in the middle. The BoomBar 2 produces stuffy and decadent mids and a great sounding bass without it being too distorted. The bluetooth calling function is great, and works with no issues. I could be quite far away and it would still pick me up. One slight issue I had, which is very minor, is that when turning it on the speaker produces a very loud beep, so when turning it on in the mornings, I have to throw a pillow on it, to not wake the wife.
After using the speaker for a month, I tested the AUX function on my TV, as the speaker pump sound at the back which can be muffled. I was blown away by how much it helped, it works really well as a budget sound bar. It also looks great at the front of my TV. So it has become a staple soundbar in my house, the bluetooth function isn’t used anymore and simply kicks out the screams of people on the Walking Dead.
Stats for nerds:
- S/N: 65 dB
- Bluetooth range: up to 10 m
- Frequency response: 60 Hz – 20 kHz
- Drivers: 2 x 50 mm
- Output RMS: 2 x 5 W @ 2 ohm
For £70, there are a lot of speakers you could get for a lot cheaper. But this is a treat on the eyes as well as the ears, and hugely recommend in the house, as it has the potential to be part of the furniture as opposed to being hidden away.