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J**A
Impeccable build quality and sound
***** 5 month update *****I've had this speaker since January 2018 and it is still going strong. The battery life has continued to amaze me and I've hardly ever had to charge it. I decided to take the grill off and wipe it down a bit since I hadn't done so since I got it. Check out my video to see all the drivers working. In the video I had the sound at about 75% - 80%, and as you can tell it is plenty loud (especially if you're indoors).Original review:This speaker (Tough XL) is an absolute tank. It looks like it can take anything. And it basically can. It is everything-proof. Dust, water, mud, sand, you name it. Sonically, it sounds amazing, as there are EIGHT drivers facing all directions, so you're always getting quality sound wherever you are in relation to the speaker. The bass drops, too. At 50 hrtz, this speaker puts out deep, clean bass that you simply wouldn't expect to hear from a speaker like this. I get compliments on it all the time. A lot of other speakers out there have decent bass, but a lot of the time it's more of a muddy, thumpy, and overpowering bass. That's not the case with the Fugoo XL. Paired with the 4 tweeters and the 2 midwoofers on the sides, this thing puts out some of the most clear and well-balanced sound I've ever heard from a portable Bluetooth speaker.When you pick it up, you will immediately notice that it is extremely well engineered. Button placement is perfect and they are very responsive and sync with your smartphone (so you don't have to turn up your phone separately from the speaker). It also has an "outdoor mode," which is on by default when you first turn on the speaker out of the box. This produces slightly louder sound, with more emphasis on mids and less emphasis on bass. This helps the sound to carry further when you're outdoors. I find that most of the time I prefer to keep it on the "normal" mode, since it provides slightly better bass. To switch between the two modes, you just need to hold down the play/pause button for a few seconds and a voice will tell you what mode you're switching to. It will remember which mode you set it to, so there's no need to change it every time you turn it on.A few other small details that I like about this speaker is that it has support for both AAC and aptX Bluetooth codecs. Both are superior to the standard SBC codec used by most Bluetooth speakers. This just means that you'll have a higher quality Bluetooth experience with higher than average sound. One thing to keep in mind is that for aptX to work, you'll need to be using a device that has it built in. The same is true for AAC. however, all iPhones support AAC by default and Android phones with Android 8.0 or newer will have support for both AAC and aptX. Unfortunately my Nexus 6P does not support aptX (thanks Google), but it does support AAC, so that is what I've been using. The Bluetooth range is also very good at 120 feet. I've experienced zero connection issues, even if I walk far away from the speaker.I also need to talk about the battery life. It's amazing. The company claims 35 hours at half volume, and I have no reason to doubt this. I've used it all day at max volume for many hours and there is usually still a good amount of battery life at the end if the day. You can check the battery status by pressing the power button when the unit is on. When you do this, a green light will flash 1-6 times to tell you where the battery is at. 1 means low, 2 means about one quarter, 3 means 50%, 4 means three quarters, 5 means almost full, and 6 means full. By default a voice tells you the battery level when you turn it on, but you can disable it or turn the voice level down by holding down the volume + and - buttons when you turn on the speaker.If I had to pick an area where I'd improve the speaker, it would probably be loudness. As others have already said here in the reviews, this speaker is a little bit more subdued in the loudness department compared to some other speakers in this class. However, for me this is not an issue because 1) it gets loud enough for my needs and 2) I prefer sound quality over loudness. Don't get me wrong, this thing gets plenty loud. But for some it is not loud enough. And that's okay. Everyone has their own needs and preferences!To sum up, I would highly recommend this speaker to anyone who cares about sound quality, durability/ruggedness, and portability. Thank you, Fugoo, for making an awesome product!P.S.I bought this speaker with my own money (after lots of research) and voluntarily wrote this review. I didn't receive a discount and I wasn't asked by Fugoo or Amazon to leave a review. I don't review a lot of products on Amazon but I enjoy this speaker so much that I felt compelled to share my experience with you. Thanks for reading!
Z**Z
This speaker is incredible.
I purchased multiple bluetooth speakers to compare and decide which one I wanted. I'm awaiting the Karmon Kardon Onyx 3 still, but I've tested the JBL Xtreme and the Fugoo XL Style alongside this UE Megaboom.The Fugoo XL (Style or whatever version you want) is amazing. It is so waterproof and in the Style and Sport shells that it floats. It is DURABLE. For sure. But most importantly, the sound quality is superb. It hits the lowest bass notes I've heard outside a 2.1 type system. It doesn't come with the carrying strap unlike the JBL Xtreme, which is an unfortunate extra $30 purchase.This also doesn't get nearly as loud at all in comparison to the Xtreme. But I got yelled at by my upstairs neighbors while testing its upper range. I heard distortion up at the absolute max setting, but same with all the others, including the JBL. The audio is crisp and clean with this speaker. And it literally has speakers sticking out of every side, so although it isn't startlingly loud in one direction, it sounds just as excellent if you're in front, behind, or to the sides. Put it in the middle of a room and you're set. The outdoor mode seems to reduce bass and up the mid ranges since those are the areas that would be more drowned out. The style body looks gorgeous, but I kind of want to have the Sport version since the buttons on top light up in the dark, while these do not. I'll order that and compare. The Fugoo XL is around $200 right now, so if you're in the market for a larger speaker (slightly larger than a Nalgene liter bottle) then buy it ASAP. Did I also mention that this thing has an estimated battery life of 35 hours?? That's like 4 times what most other speakers get. It even has updateable firmware, and a USB port for charging other devices, like the phone you're streaming the music it's playing. It's a winner. For SURE. The only downside is that it doesn't seem to be capable of pairing with other speakers, which isn't really necessary since it sound comes from everywhere. It'd be awesome if you could set it up with two of them to do true stereo for watching movies. But oh well, I'll just need to get a real home theater system some day.The strap doesn't come with the Fugoo XL, so that was pretty disappointing, but the audio is just so great.Fugoo XL Sport vs JBL Xtreme Indoors:[...]Fugoo XL Sport vs JBL Xtreme Outdoors:[...]But here's my current thoughts on these other speakers I've tested.The JBL Xtreme is the largest and heaviest, and is great if you need LOUD, very LOUD, especially in the bass ranges where it has an extreme bass boost going on. It was excellent for EDM, but seems like a poor choice for many other types of music, even when switching my iPhone to Bass Reducer mode. Voices boom during TV shows, but it is great for dancing AND you can connect multiple together (not sure why you'd need to since it is so loud!). It's also really really big. Like almost a half gallon mason jar sized tube. The audio only sounds good when you're in front of that speaker. They claim water resistance, but the connections like power port and usb, etc are all just behind an awkward zipper which made the power plug keep falling out. Even so, I left it plugged in for over a day and it never seemed to fully charge, which makes me question it's battery life.The UE MEGABOOM was the smallest of the four, but not the cheapest. The size and weight are what give it the stars, as well as the ability to daisy chain multiple speakers together. But, when it comes to the sound quality, I was disenchanted in less than one minute. The bass is totally lacking. Not only does it not have the lower excursions, but the rest of the audio ranges all sound kind of mushy. It just lacks the clarity I'd expect from a speaker at this price, Even on sale for $240. Also, the audio is not truly 360. You have to face the controls away from you to get the best sound. But if you want decently portable and durable, OK.
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