JBL’s next generation Flip 7 and Charge 6 portable bluetooth speakers have launched, with a bold new look and new audio features to deliver bigger sound, deeper bass and better performance.

Built to improve on the listener experience, both speakers feature JBL’s proprietary AI Sound Boost technology to analyse music in real-time and optimise the speaker driver without distortion.

“The Flip and Charge series have always been popular in New Zealand, thanks to their ability to pump out big sound from a compact, ultra-portable and robust speaker design. In this latest iteration, we’ve packed in even more audio technology to give listeners a best-in-class sound experience. There are also some new design and connectivity features, such as Auracast, and new options for straps and carabiners, to make it easier to share and take your tunes with you on the go,” says Michael Sherman, Senior Strategy Manager at JBL New Zealand.

Whether you’re chilling in the garden or meeting up with friends at the park, the new Flip 7 has been redesigned with an interchangeable finger loop and carabiner hook making it easier to take your music anywhere. Equipped with AI Sound Boost for powerful bass without distortion and an upgraded tweeter with a dome design, Flip 7 offers clear and crisp sounds at higher volumes, no matter the setting.

Out and about? The new IP68 waterproof and dustproof rating makes it easier to carry your tunes with you, without worrying about spills or drops. Other new features include increased battery life for up to 16 hours with Playtime Boost, the latest Bluetooth 5.4 capabilities for improved wireless connectivity, and Auracast pairing with other JBL Auracast enabled speakers.

The Charge 6, now equipped with a detachable and versatile handle strap, has evolved to make high-quality audio more accessible than ever. With the introduction of AI Sound Boost and an upgraded woofer for deeper bass, prepare to feel the beat across any room. The introduction of Auracast allows friends to sync their compatible speakers for even more sound. Keep the party going for longer with up to 28 hours of battery when using Playtime Boost. Remaining true to the name, the speaker not only electrifies the dancefloor, but comes equipped with the built-in USB-C powerbank for charging devices at a moment’s notice.

The new JBL Flip 7 and JBL Charge 6 are available now in black, blue and red.

The post JBL Unleashes Next Generation Flip 7 & Charge 6 appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

The party is at yours as you bring the playlist, the lights and the boom with JBL’s Partybox 120 portable speaker.

Pairing up with your smartdecvice via Bluetooth and syncing with the ‘JBL Partybox’ app not only do you transform in to the party master, but also the DJ.

The JBL Partybox 120 is a full sized speaker that you can use at home or out of the house with it’s swappable battery and around 12 hours lifespan.

You can use the Partybox 120 plugged in to the mains outlet, this will also charge the battery too, of course. If you’re caught short a 10 minute charge up will give you about a couple of hours of party time.

Also water resistant, or splash proof – if it rains on your party or that embarrassing Uncle who drinks too much spills his beverage on the speaker, you should be right.

You will need the app if you want to customise not only the EQ for audio, but also the trancy lighting.

From strobing to strip lights to flashing and trailing, optimise, select and change colours as you wish. You’re in full control.

On the top of the JBL Partybox 120 is a series of buttons and knobs. Volume (you can control all of these wirelessly of course), Bluetooth, play controls and three magic buttons that add soundeffects in to your music.

These sound effects can also be modified via the app.

There’s ports too. Wow your friends and family with your musical or vocal talents by plugging in a guitar or mic.

The audio is bassy. Even at a low volume it will rattle the windows of your neighbourhood.

Use the JBL Partybox 120 in a room I doubt you’ll get anywhere near mid volume range. Outside the entire neighbourhood will hear the greatest hits of your playlists.

The JBL Partybox 120 can be parired up to another JBL portable speaker, or you can set it up for Auracast.

Being slated as a portable speaker, which it is, it’s heavy. It’s not going to be your everyday grab-and-go but it is definitely a speaker that you will take to the beach, a mates house or any gathering where there’s to be music. And HQ sounding music too.

JBL most definitely has a signature sound for it’s speakers, and it’s something that only JBL seems to have got right in the portable speaker market.

For your next event there’s no need to hire a DJ, get yourself a JBL Partybox 120 for an instant party zone.

The post JBL Partybox 120 Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

JBL is unveiling exciting changes to its popular portable audio lineup with the launch of the JBL Xtreme 4, JBL Clip 5 and JBL Go 4.

For the first time, Kiwi music fans can experience Auracast with JBL portables, unlocking unlimited connectivity options for stereo or multi-speaker pairing across different speakers.

Auracast is a new way to broadcast audio, which allows any audio transmitter, such as your smartphones, laptops, and televisions, to connect to an unlimited amount of receivers, such as earbuds, speakers, and more.

“We’re very excited to be one of the first brands to bring Auracast enabled portable speakers to market here in New Zealand. This technology will be a step change in the way we experience and share audio content. Incorporating this innovation into JBL speakers gives end users more flexibility and options to enjoy their music and audio, especially as Auracast enabled devices become more widespread,” says Michael Sherman, Senior Strategy Manager at JBL New Zealand.

JBL Xtreme 4

Take sound to the next level anywhere and anytime with the JBL Xtreme 4. The latest of the popular Xtreme series is enhanced with AI Sound Boost which analyses audio in real time with an AI algorithm to optimise the acoustic output level, leading to more powerful and less distorted sound.

Two woofers, two powerful drivers and dual-pumping JBL Bass Radiators effortlessly deliver dynamic, immersive sound with deeper bass and plenty of detail. You’ll get lost in the music wherever you are.

As per previous generations, the JBL Xtreme 4 has a large battery capacity providing up to 24 hours of playtime and a power bank to charge your phone on the go. The battery is replaceable, to extend the lifespan of the speaker. The Xtreme 4, and the other two newly launched speakers, will all feature Bluetooth v5.3 with LE audio capabilities, IP67 waterproof and dustproof rating and multi-speaker connection via Auracast.

JBL Clip 5

It’s now easier than ever to take you music on the road. The JBL Clip 5 features a redesigned carabiner with a bigger and more accessible opening, making it easier to clip on.

The stylish travel accessory continues to bring the sound with an increase in driver power that allows for more streamlined sound and consistent bass at every volume. With up to 12 hours of playtime, the JBL Clip 5 is the perfect adventure companion.

JBL Go 4

With a more robust sound and punchier bass than its predecessor, JBL’s smallest portable, the JBL Go 4, continues to surprise with its sound capabilities.

Made to bring anywhere, the new mini speaker has an updated silhouette and wider and more durable strap, making it more hand-friendly. Boasting up to 7 hours of playtime and available in six colourways, the JBL Go 4 has everything needed to grab and go.

JBL Xtreme 4 and JBL Clip 5 now incorporate post-consumer recycled (PCR) materials for 70% of their plastic, and 80% PCR materials are used for the plastic in the JBL Go 4. All speakers use 100% PCR fabric for the speaker grille.

“JBL has been working towards producing more sustainable product designs and packaging and by using recycled materials in our portable speakers we’re able to reduce our environmental footprint,” says Sherman.

“We have always been proud of our portable audio lineup at JBL and by increasingly doing our part to reuse materials that would otherwise go to waste, we’re able to help our end users make more sustainable purchasing choices without compromising on style or sound.”

All portable speakers are available now.

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JBL goes boom once again with their mega sounding, larger than life yet portable Boombox 3.

Ready to belt out your fav playlists at any party or outing the Boombox 3 is loud enough to rattle the windows at your neighbours place.

Having a builtin sub and two tweeters all of this power is driven by mid-range drivers.

JBL’s Boombox 3 allows you link up to other JBL speakers and as you guessed it, it will sync to your smart device via bluetooth.

I do recommend getting the free JBL app. With this you can control party play, EQ and more.

If it rains on your party, the JBL Boombox 3 can still keep the bass rumbling. It’s both dustproof and waterproof with a rating of IP67.

But it doesn’t stop there.

JBL also built in a power bank. You can charge your smartdevice while tuning in and zoning out.

Charging a device will of course affect the overall battery life.

This mentioned you’ll get a whopping 24 hours from a full charge at mid volume.

And even at mid level – this mega bluetooth speaker ‘booms’.

On one full charge and streaming music from low to mid volume the JBL Boombox 3 has not needed a recharge. II got a total of two and a half days of juice before it was red-lining.

If you’re looking to have an all-weekender, you’ll need one these.

JBL’s Boombox 3 is heavy. Not so much that it isn’t portable, but I don’t imagine you’d want to be carrying this with you everywhere you go. Or maybe you do, on the shoulder like an 80s Ghetto Blaster.

The JBL Boombox 3 is a bluetooth speaker that means business.

Easy to use, a volume that out weighs the speakers size and will party hard with you all day and night.

The post JBL Boombox 3 Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Bose bring it home, and to anywhere you go with their Bose Portable Home Speaker.

Connecting via Bluetooth to your smart device and pairing with the Bose app for optimal experience Bose Portable Home Speaker is just big enough for prominent placement, just small enough to pick up and go and just loud enough to rock out with.

The Bose Portable Home Speaker has the smarts too.

Connect up to WiFi in your home and via Alexa or Google Assistant you can control your booming audio.

And it is booming, crystal clear and everything that is synonymous with the superior audio quality Bose is known for.

It also has 360 degree spatial sound. Belting out the best of your playlists it doesn’t matter where you are situated you’ll get the full-frontal audio.

The Bose Portable Home Speaker is not water proof but it is water resistant. It can handle a splash or two and if it rains on your party, you’ll be right. Let yourself go in the drizzle.

One of the core features of the Bose Portable Home Speaker is its 12 hour battery.

When I first received the review unit it was dead flat. Charging time was painful to a full charge, took close to three hours.

However as for the 12 hour life length on mid to louder than ludicrous volume during my play with the speaker I was indeed able to get the said 12 hours. A bit more actually, it was closer to 14 hours.

But there are some annoyances.

The Bose Portable Home Speaker would drop connection via the app. I noticed that this tended to happen if you didn’t use the app for a few hours. And it was iffy to connect back again.

It didn’t drop connection to the smart device though (iPad Mini 6 and Android phone used).

A slight annoyance, but an annoyance nonetheless and I place this down to the app needing a bit of dev love to stop this from reoccurring.

Overall the Bose Portable Home Speaker will rock a room, get the party started outdoors and providing you’re all charged up is good to go and party longer than perhaps you will. But it is pricey.

The post Bose Portable Home Speaker Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

JBL has launched the PartyBox Encore Essential in New Zealand – a compact, powerful and portable new addition to the best selling PartyBox series.

The PartyBox Encore Essential boasts 100W of output and features the signature JBL PartyBox lightshow that syncs to music, in a smaller and portable design that is guaranteed to be the life of the party.

“Our PartyBox series has been extremely popular in New Zealand, delivering a true entertainment experience in your home. With the Encore Essential, you get all the great features you’d expect from a PartyBox – such as the rugged splashproof design, lightshow feature and big, bold audio – packed into a compact speaker that can fit into almost any space,” says Michael Sherman, Senior Strategy Manager at JBL New Zealand.

With its ultra-portable handle and rugged design, the JBL PartyBox Encore Essential can easily be transported to wherever the party is. With up to 6 hours of battery life and its IPX4 splashproof design, music lovers won’t have to worry about poolside splashes or dancing in the rain for long listening sessions.

The newly designed interface enables users to easily control the lightshow and volume at the next dance party, or access these features through the dedicated JBL PartyBox app. The dynamic lightshow delivers a cool strobe effect that syncs to any music beat. With Bluetooth, USB and AUX connectivity, partygoers have a fair share of connection choices to their favourite tunes.

The JBL PartyBox Encore Essential is available now.

The post Small yet mighty appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Splash it, pocket it and go. JBL have released their JBL Go 3 portable speaker that’s small on size but packs a punch on sound.

The ultra-loud mini-boombox connects to your smartdevice via Bluetooth and transforms any mundane moment in to a literal on-the-go party.

Playout your greatest hits at the beach, when you’re going for a walk, around the house or annoy other folk on public transport.

When the review unit came in to STG’s office, I wasn’t expecting much.

But as I’ve learned through decades of reviewing never judge something on its appearance.

The JBL Go 3’s audio prowess and deep bass knocks the likes of Ultimate Ears’ portables to the side-line on both quality and price. Colour me impressed.

This tiny yet beefy Bluetooth speaker is able to fill a room with super clear audio.

A mix of hard wearing fiber and rubber casing ensures that the JBL Go 3 can take a few knocks and spills. It is rated as IP67 waterproof – so don’t the rain dampen your one-person rock out.

The JBL Go 3 recharges via a USB-C port with up to 5 hours of continuous use. A full charge up will take about 2 to 2.5 hours.

From a full charge when the device first came in I was able to get around 4 hours total at a mid-volume setting.

Then, oddly, after another full charge at same volume level, just over 6 hours.

Volume controls are placed on the side of the JBL Go 3  with power and Bluetooth connect on the underside.

Simple to connect, simplicity in use the JBL Go 3 is for everyone to get in to the mix and go.

The post JBL Go 3 Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Launched just in time for summer, the JBL PartyBox On-The-Go is a new portable speaker that pairs powerful JBL Pro Sound with a light show that syncs to your music, even if your dance moves don’t!

The PartyBox On-The-Go uses rechargeable batteries and is designed for maximum portability, with a shoulder strap making it easy to take the entertainment with you from the BBQ to the bach.

“The PartyBox On-The-Go is the perfect companion for the party season. Kiwis love to entertain outdoors, gathering with friends in the back yard or at the beach as the weather warms up. With the combination of powerful JBL Pro Sound, versatile portability and incredible light shows, the PartyBox On-The-Go is sure be a hit with the crowd this summer,” says Michael Sherman, Brand Activation Manager at JBL New Zealand.

Access your favorite tunes effortlessly with Bluetooth, USB and AUX connectivity. When you’re ready to raise the roof, grab a friend and channel your inner rock star with the included JBL wireless mic’s or use the instrument input to play along. With a bottle opener, padded shoulder strap, six-hour rechargeable battery and IPX4 splashproof protection, the JBL PartyBox On-The-Go has everything you need to get the party started. You can even wirelessly pair two speakers together for a huge stereo party sound.

JBL PartyBox On-The-Go is now available at electronic retailers.

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The post Party @ yours this Xmas w. JBL! appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Ultimate Ears have gone Hyper.

The mega sized, heavy as bluetooth speaker is Ultimate Ears’ newest in their overly powerful portable audio range.

Once makers of the finest ear rumbling inner ear headphones the audio and peripherals company took a step away from those and clasped on to what was the new trend for bluetooth speakers. This ended up being a winner decision.

The Ultimate Ears HyperBoom is larger than what we have seen previously from the Boom range and encompasses a near 360 degree sound.

With a ‘Super Massive Dynamic’ array of speakers and woofers builtin behind the black mesh you’re going to get the ultimate audio experience anywhere.

Boasting a non-stop 24 battery life, the HyperBoom can also be paired with other Ultimate Ears Boom speakers in close proximity to create an environment of endless playlist streaming.

Being bluetooth the HyperBoom will naturally connect to your Android or iOS smartdevice and with the one-tap BOOM app enables you to tweak your audio to your liking and remotely control the HyperBoom – so I do recommend getting the free app.

The HyperBoom is also smart.

Among the two mid range, single tweeter and two sub speakers is a builtin microphone. This is used so that the HyperBoom can gauge it’s surroundings and adapt it’s EQ accordingly.

Wanting a quiet night in listening to slow jams, rocking out with a group of friends who are getting rowdy, or just pumping up the jam to some headbanging classics, the HyperBoom will detect any background noise or interference and ensure it is not being drowned out – the HyperBoom is the ultimate extrovert at any social gathering.

There are manual controls on the device for audio playback control – you can also customise this for a one touch playlist stream via Amazon Music or Spotify.

Ultimate Ears know that parties can get messy. If you get yourself one of these bad boys and your friends get a little sloshy, you needn’t worry. The HyperBoom is splash proof.

While touted as a portable bluetooth speaker, and it is, it is not as pick up and run with as the Ultimate Ears Boom’s. It’s big, it’s bold and likely the only party based speaker you’ll ever need to get your friends’ booties shaking.

Aptly named, the HyperBoom goes beyond loud. I tried this at home, in a closed room and in my lounge which is open plan.

While the lounge certainly was more spacious the effect was almost the same, once I got up to just over quarter volume I could hear the tinkering of plates and cups in the kitchen, two rooms away, as they vibrated. In a closed room the windows rattled.

You can also share the love. The Ultimate Ears Hyperboom allows you connect up to 4 devices, wirelessly or cabled and it also features as a charge station for your smartdevice. This does of course have impact on the speakers battery life.

HyperBoom is a beast but with a higher than usual price tag. It’s the center of any party or social gathering and successfully delivers audio in every direction.

Center it at yours and have the best of your own music, whether local playlist or streaming to have your party started right.

The post Ultimate Ears Hyper Boom Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Bang & Olufsen is honouring one of the world’s greatest cities with the release of the Beosound 1 New York Edition, a portable wireless speaker that combines precision craftsmanship and minimalist design. This limited-edition speaker features a unique and beautiful graduation in colour—from piano black to natural aluminium—which is intended to capture the ascendant energy of the iconic New York City skyline.

The patent-pending process used to create this colour gradient is unique to the Beosound 1 New York Edition, and demonstrates the unparalleled capabilities of Bang & Olufsen’s aluminium factory, which has sat at the forefront of aluminium technology for more than half a century. The extruded aluminium parts are milled, polished, and anodised—an electrochemical treatment that forms a durable oxide on the surface of the material. The parts then undergo a second round of mechanical processing, during which Bang & Olufsen’s surface specialists carefully create a smooth gradient effect on the aluminium.

Due to the labour-intensive nature of this process of creating the gradient surface, only 1,200 pieces of the Beosound 1 New York Edition will be produced.

Beosound 1 is a portable wireless speaker system featuring a sophisticated 360-degree dispersion of sound. Its distinctive design is characterised by a conical aluminium body, which hovers slightly above the surface allowing the bass notes to emanate from beneath. The opening at the top of the speaker houses an acoustic lens—a hallmark of Bang & Olufsen—which creates an evenly distributed spherical sound profile. It comes with the Google Assistant built in, and to make sure that the speaker can hear commands through the wall of sound coming from the drivers, Bang & Olufsen’s sound engineers have built advanced acoustic echo-cancelling technology and five microphones into the aluminium structure, which constantly analyse which sounds are coming from the speaker and which are commands from the user.

Beosound 1 is compatible with the leading wireless streaming technologies—including Google Chromecast, Apple Airplay 2, and Bluetooth—and it can function as a stand-alone speaker or be integrated into a multiroom system. It contains a built-in rechargeable battery with up to 12 hours of playback time.   

Beosound 1 New York Edition (RRP $2,750 AUD) will be available in limited quantities at Bang & Olufsen stores and online from September 2019.  A docking station that allows you to pick up and move the product around with greater ease is available as an accessory to Beosound 1 New York Edition, and we will advise you when pricing comes available.

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