Wireless speakers became a nice gadget to add on to a gadgeteer’s arsenal ever since it was popularized. Divoom is just one of many manufacturers out there and the entry level brick-looking speaker that they have is called the Onbeat-200.
Design
The Onbeat-200 has a slightly ruggedized look and feel with the rubber walls that cover most of the device. The specifications do not indicate any shock resistance, so do not be fooled by its rugged looks. The front and the back are covered with a metal grille that’s designed with wavy creases to provide some depth and styling to an otherwise flat surface.
The buttons up top allows us to control our mobile device. The raised plus and minus buttons allows us to adjust the volume, go forward, or backward a playlist. The square button in the middle allows us to stop or resume the music or answer a phone call. Generally the controls are pretty similar to an iRemote or that controller on the Ear Pods.
Underneath the unit we have two raised sections that serve as stands for the Onbeat-200. Though these should be pretty flat and stable, I noticed that it was not perfectly flat and bulged in the middle. This made the speakers rock a bit. If this is a defect for the unit I have, then something this obvious should not have passed quality control. Despite the slight rocking, the rubbery material did compensate by providing good grip to prevent it from sliding easily to ensure that the Onbeat-200 stays put.
On the side, the Onbeat-200 has a power toggle switch, a micro USB port, LED battery indicator, and the auxiliary 3.5mm audio port, and a hand strap slot. The micro USB is there to charge the speakers but the Onbeat-200 does not include a charger in the package.
In the box, we have a micro USB cable, a 3.5mm audio cable for a wired connection, a hand strap, and a user manual. I am mentioning the user manual here because the user manual is not available online, so better keep it for future reference.
Pairing
Like most wireless speakers, the Divoom Onbeat-200 can play songs from our devices via Bluetooth and offers ways of controlling the playlist and answering calls on the device itself and use it as a speaker phone. There’s a 3.5mm auxiliary input is available if Bluetooth is not available, so no worries there.
Pairing the device via Bluetooth is a straight forward affair; I just turned on my device’s Bluetooth and turn on the Onbeat-200 and connected to the Onbeat-200. The Onbeat-200 sounded bad out of the box, but generally produced a better sound profile after some breathing time.
Performance
The sound quality is not bad but not so good either. Divoom put “œbass radiators” inside the Onbeat-200 which work well to make the bass a little deeper but at the expense of muffling the treble and midrange. What we get is a megaphone-like sound profile which reminded me of school assemblies we had. It does manage to amplify the audio quite well though. In a conference room for 12, the speakers can fill the room with sound at close to full volume”¦ but the sound does start to crack at these high levels.
According to the specs, the Onbeat-200 lasts 8 hours with its 1200mAh rechargeable battery and recharges in 3 hours. However, I would think that the recharge speed will vary depending on the charger used. And the speakers are not pocketable”¦unless you have huge pockets, it would be better to but this in a backpack.
Verdict
In conclusion, I feel that the Onbeat-200 is a little pricey for Php3,950 because of its sound profile, the 8hr battery life, and well, the missing USB adapter. But that’s just me, it still has its appeal being a two-in-one device as a speaker and a portable charger. Divoom’s Onbeat-200 is available at authorized Apple resellers and it comes in 4 colors: black, blue, red, and gray.
