No matter what kind of music you enjoy the most, it goes without saying that owning your own portable speaker is a real luxury. Contrary to what a lot of people believe, in this day and age, you really don’t need to spend a lot to get decent sound and portability. We’ve reviewed hundreds of personal audio products here at NerdTechy – from true wireless earbuds to full-scale speaker systems. In our experience, we often come across options that surprise us. Typically, speakers that sound nice and carry several promising features, but don’t cost an arm and a leg.
Take the new Mpow R9 Bluetooth Speaker. Nicknamed “SoundHot”, the R9 is built in a compact form-factor with many enticing features. The price is affordable and the specifications look excellent. But what’s the truth behind it? Is this a Bluetooth speaker that’s worth investing in or passing up? Do all the features live up to their expectations or do they fall flat? Today, we’re going to go “hands-on” with the R9 and find out just that. We’ll look closely at the form-factor, sound quality, battery life and more.
This isn’t the first Mpow product we’ve reviewed. In fact, we’ve unboxed, tested and reviewed several offerings from Mpow, including but not limited to theMPOW M12，，，，M30 Plus， 这Mpow R3and many more. They typically produce products that come in at a price-point that’s below average but with quality that typically always exceeds our expectations. Viewed more as a budget-friendly brand, they aren’t priced like top of the line Bose, Sony or Beats, but cater to those who don’t want to shell out over $100 for a set of earbuds or a single speaker.
First Look
Taking theMpow R9out of the box for the first time, we immediately noticed the cylindrical shape. Measuring 7.5 inches tall, and 2.5 inches in diameter, it’s sized well for the palm of your hand. Tipping the scale at just over 17 ounces, it has a hefty yet compact feel to it. You can tell it’s “solid” and not full of a bunch of cheap plastic parts. In fact, almost the entire exterior is encased in a woven cloth mesh that gives it good grip and rugged feel. We like it.
继续前进，您会注意到，每一端都有自己的低音炮，缩进了大约四分之一英寸。这使其为它提供了需要弯曲的空间，而不会在外部曝光太多。沿着长度，您会看到5个集成的按钮 - 配对，音量上/下，播放/暂停和电源。旁边是将其绑起来的鞋带，还有一个覆盖USB-C和辅助输入的小橡胶襟翼。
Inside the box there’s an instruction manual, warranty card and short USB-C charging cable. Basically everything you need and nothing more.
Pairing
Since the Mpow R9 is a Bluetooth speaker, you’ll need to pair it to your smartphone or other device before you put it to use. To do this, simply press and hold the power button for 2 seconds. At this point, you’ll notice a small blue LED that’ll begin blinking, right near the charging port. This means it’s ready to pair with your device (smartphone). Move on over to your Bluetooth settings on your device and you’ll see “Mpow SoundHot R9” come up as an available connection. Select it and within seconds you’ll hear another beep, indicating a successful pair.
The pairing process is very straightforward and best of all, you don’t have to do it every single time you power it on. The speaker and your device will remember the pair for the next time you want to play music.
音质
通常，当我们看到这种尺寸的演讲者时，在音频质量方面，我们不会期望太多。但是，当我们开始播放音乐时，R9确实使我们感到惊讶。首先，我们播放了一些我们最喜欢的Spotify播放列表 - 从现代嘻哈到80年代的岩石。声音的质量确实很清晰，没有任何明显的负面影响，例如失真，crack啪作响或嗡嗡作响。低音有点缺乏，但仍然提供足够的能力使其具有丰富的效果。当然，很高兴看到低音炮级别的某种集成调整，但这并不是我们真正期望的。总体而言，我们对声音质量感到非常满意。人声的清晰度似乎足够了，在大多数方面，三倍/低音水平绝对是可以接受的。
The volume was ridiculous, and we mean that in a good way. For how compact the R9 is, we were literally shocked at how loud it could crank out tunes. Sure, some of the audio quality degrades at high volume, but it really isn’t too noticeable, especially if you’re playing music in an already loud or spacious environment. Since there are two separate speakers built into the design, the total of 24W maximum power seems like a lot for a speaker of this class.
由于R9是一种圆柱设计，因此应该在完整的360度字段中发出声音。虽然这是正确的，但很明显，声音在整个外部身体中都不会均匀。相反，相反的一侧，它比充电端口更强大180度。这可能是实际扬声器以体内为中心的地方。这并不是那么大的交易，但是在R9的这一侧，它比其他任何地方都大声。老实说，我们不会称其为真正的360度声音，但它已经足够接近了。
派对广播模式
One of the coolest features of the Mpow SoundHot R9 is its ability to pair with up to 100 separate R9 speakers at the same time. Known as the “PartyCast Mode” this allows you to sync up with other R9 speakers so you can get a true surround sound experience. Obviously, you’ll have to own more than one of this specific model of speaker, but needless to say, it’s awesome that this ability is possible.
进入PartyCast模式中,首先,对单个R9机型like you normally would; press the pairing button until the LED flashes blue. On your smartphone, select the R9 and make the connection. Afterwards, turn on the second speaker and click the pairing button twice on each speaker, simultaneously. At this time, on the first speaker, the LED should turn green, red and then blue. The second speaker LED will turn a solid green.
For the third speaker, or every additional one you’d like to pair, turn it on and click the pairing button twice. Continue repeating as desired until you pair as many speakers as you’d like (up to 100).
虽然派对广播模式对于普通日常操作不是必不可少的，但绝对是一个不错的奖励功能。我们只同时配对了两个扬声器，但是我们可以看到有两个以上的扬声器在同一时间演奏音乐，可以提供非常酷的（和响亮的）效果。
Durability
Feeling the Mpow R9 in your hands, it doesn’t feel cheaply made or low quality. Honestly, it has a nice weight and sturdiness to it. Sure, the materials it’s comprised of isn’t metal or an indestructible resin, but we feel the plastic is rugged enough that you shouldn’t have to worry about it falling apart.
Since Mpow markets this speaker as an outdoor speaker, it’s nice to see that they’ve included anIP等级它的设计。具体来说,R9机型IPX7率d, meaning that it can withstand submersion in up to 1 meter of water for up to 30 minutes. In addition, it can withstand dirt ingress, or dust/debris from entering the body of the speaker. We tossed it around in the dirt and even exposed it to the rain on more than one occasion. To our expectations, it held up just fine and still plays music just as nice as before.
集成的挂绳是一个不错的补充，但这只是鞋带。这可以完成这项工作，但是与具有登山扣或橡胶手柄的其他扬声器相比，这有点俗气。当然，您可以轻松地将其删除并忘记它，但是它确实提供了一种将其连接到几乎所有物品的好方法。无论如何，MPOW只是将其连接到扬声器主体上的内置环上。这样，即使您确实删除了它，也可以稍后将其固定在道路上。
电池寿命
Like any other Bluetooth speaker, the R9 has an integrated rechargeable battery. This 4,400 mAh lithium-ion battery allows the speaker to hold a charge that offers an advertised “10 hours” of playtime. But the real question remains; is 10 hours accurate or is it an overstatement by Mpow? We aimed to find out, so we fully charged up the speaker and let it play music at a medium volume for as long as it could. At around 8 hours, we were alerted with a “low battery” warning. At just over 9 hours, it was dead and no longer able to play music.
So the 10 hour estimate is a bit generous, but at an even lower volume, it might be able to achieve that. Turn the volume up and it likely wouldn’t have been able to reach 8 hours. This is simply the nature of it; if you play music loud, it’ll use up more battery power. Play it at a low volume, and it manages the existing battery capacity much better. Kind of like MPG in a car; if you drive fast and accelerate a lot, you’ll use much more gasoline than you would if you were to drive like a grandma.
Speaking of charging, the USB-C charging input offers a quick(ish) way of topping off the battery. With the supplied USB-C cable, simply plug it into a USB charger and the LED on the speaker will flash red. After about 3.5 hours from completely empty, the battery will be charged fully and ready to go. We like to see that Mpow chose USB-C rather than Micro-USB. USB-C is simply becoming the standard for everything these days. It’s more durable than Micro-USB and more universal with most modern day electronics and smartphones.
Wireless Range
MPOW R9利用蓝牙5.0可以从约50英尺外的地下无线流式传输。50英尺后，您可能会遇到滞后，失真或轻微延迟。在配对的设备和扬声器之间放一些墙壁和障碍物，您正在寻找更短的范围。在大多数情况下，我们认为50英尺的无线范围与竞争对手相当。大多数无线扬声器在此距离处最大化，因此我们认为这是足够的。
如果您不喜欢使用无线连接，则可以简单地使用辅助连接将扬声器硬线连接到几乎任何具有AUX输出的音乐源。例如：老CD播放器，磁带甲板等。
Final Thoughts
总而言之Mpow SoundHot R9 Bluetooth Speakerhas a lot going for it. The sound quality is quite favorable with plenty of “oomph” and clarity for most situations. The volume can crank to an enormous level and with the “PartyCast Mode” we could see it becoming a favorite among party-goers or entertainers that want to play music outdoors or indoors with a decent sized crowd. The bass seems adequate, although it’s not adjustable, and the treble is set to a nice level that makes the vocals shine through.
尽管我们喜欢它的崎and，但外观和感觉并不是什么特别的。凭借其IPX7防水等级，我们确定它可以承受相当多的磨损。最重要的是，MPOW从购买之日起在R9上提供2年保修期。这意味着，如果您有任何问题，或者只是在最初的24个月内停止工作，则可以与他们联系以进行更换。话虽如此，MPOW已经存在了几年，并且总是很容易掌握。
