There are plenty of wireless Bluetooth speakers in the marketplace, but there aren’t that many that are both of high quality, affordable price and with plenty of power. Fortunately, Audioengine’s B2 Bluetooth Speaker fits that bill, at $299 and packing some serious sound.
Available in walnut, zebrawood and black ash, the 10-pound speaker has two woofers and two tweeters that looks like an expensive piece of equipment, especially when the grill is removed.
On the back panel, the B2 features a volume knob, a pairing button for Bluetooth, an auxiliary input, a connection for the Bluetooth antenna and the power button. The Bluetooth antenna increases the range to about three times the average, and I had no issues pairing my iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air 2 and the HTC One (M9). I also appreciated the speaker's 24-bit digital-to-analog converter, as I connected both my Macbook Pro and a Walkman (yes an actual Sony Cassette Walkman), and was glad to see how the B2's audio performance really brought out the sound in both devices.
At 60-watts of power, I found the B2 to be able to produce some really clear highs and mids, and though the speaker did have plenty of bass response, it was a little flatter than some of the other wireless speakers on the market. Those who prefer heavy bass won’t be blown away, but audiophiles who prefer a more natural sound, like myself, will be impressed with accurate sound.
Playing “Billy Jean”, I was happy with the reproduction of Michael Jackson’s high notes, while the song’s signature beats allowed the B2’s bass reproduction to shine through. At higher volumes, the B2 struggled a little bit with distortion, though I don’t usually need the speaker at the volume that it had issues with. Switching it up to The Thrillseeker’s “Synaesthesia”, the B2 really highlighted vocals with impressive mids. Again, it was only with music that had high amounts of bass, such as Kaskade’s “4AM – Adam K & Soha Mix” that the speaker wasn’t quite up to the task. Nonetheless, the tradeoff of having a little bit less bass, but much cleaner, crisper audio, is worth it.
For folks who want speaker-popping bass, there are other wireless speakers available out there, but for overall audio performance and build quality, the B2 Bluetooth Speaker is tough to beat.
Final Score: 4.5 out of 5
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