This speaker is large. It’s the scale of a cooler an individual would take tenting for per week. It weighs 48 lbs. And for purpose, too. The Kube speaker from Thomas and Darden is stable and full of energy. The corporate says it might put out 122 dB of sound. Nevertheless it’s not sound. That’s the rub.

It is a large speaker that will get actually loud however doesn’t sound nice at any quantity. This speaker prices $2,999. It’s not value half of that.

Let’s begin with the great.

The Kube speaker feels and appears prefer it’s value its multi-thousand-dollar price ticket. It’s as stable as a tank and appears prefer it belongs poolside at a boutique resort I can not afford. I really feel like I must drink cocktails round it. The corporate says the speaker is marine licensed.

The middle is skinned in aluminum whereas the 2 ends are encased in a soft-touch rubber. The handles are steel, and the controls glow with a sexy heat.

There’s a battery within the Kube speaker. The corporate says it might final for 50 hours at medium quantity and recharge USB units. I didn’t take a look at it.

The ample area between the 2 audio system is a storage compartment. The audio system themselves solely have small speaker cupboards on both finish. I assume it’s useful to make use of a part of the big speaker as storage, however it will be higher if that area served as a part of the speaker. The Kube may be as huge as some automotive subwoofer packing containers, however it doesn’t act like one. And that’s the issue.

Right here’s the unhealthy.

The Kube speaker’s sound high quality is common. It has the identical audio constancy of most wi-fi audio system with boring mids, sharp highs and uninteresting lows. At excessive volumes, the mids overpower every part, leaving a muddled mess with no bass and straining highs. I need this $three,000, 50-pound speaker to pound. It slumps.

The corporate says the Kube speaker has 350 watts from a digital amp able to outputting sound at 122dB. I can attest to the loudness. It will get loud however the sound high quality degrades as the amount will increase. A consumer cranking this speaker shouldn’t anticipate to have clear tunes.

Though it will get loud, this isn’t a speaker for a DJ. The lows are pitiful and flat. Nation music sounds one of the best on it adopted by some rock. Hip-hop and home music are painful at any quantity.

I attempted the speaker in and out, in a small room and an ideal room and on my deck exterior. It carried out greatest in a smaller place, seemingly as a result of with the audio system mounted on both finish, the smaller area supplied partitions for the sound to bounce off. Exterior, the place the Kube speaker is meant to excel, the audio was not targeted and wanted to be turned actually loud to compensate. I’m positive my neighbors liked it.

The audio is extremely directional. Ignoring the left and proper channels is tough. The Kube speaker has a tough time making a cohesive soundstage although putting it in a smaller room helps.

The speaker sounds greatest by means of a direct three.5mm connection, and Airplay sounds higher than Bluetooth.

With that a lot energy and costing $three,000, an inexpensive individual would anticipate the sound high quality to be above common at high and low volumes. It’s not, and the Kube speaker is an effective reminder that prime energy output doesn’t at all times translate to excessive sound high quality.

The sound is supplied by two three×5 audio system with small ported enclosures. It’s a disgrace, too. The Kube speaker is very large, and a lot of the area is relegated to being a storage compartment as an alternative of an array of drivers and null area that might give the sound room to breathe and develop.

I requested the founder why he made this product and he responded that there was nothing else in the marketplace that provides the identical type of energy with the storage functionality. And I assume that’s true. But when an individual doesn’t want a spot to carry their vinyl data or Fiji water, different standalone audio system provide related energy output however with high quality sound. Marshall makes incredible audio system that look and sound the half. For a similar $three,000 value because the Kube, Devialet sells the Phantom which presents wealthy tones at any quantity, although, I assume, you wouldn’t put a Phantom on the facet of a pool.

Skip this speaker. Right here’s the principle situation: It doesn’t do something properly. It’s not speaker at low volumes, it’s not speaker at excessive volumes, and it’s foolish to spend $three,000 on a storage container. As a whole package deal, it’s overpriced and there are numerous different choices for higher high quality sound at its value. If the speaker was out there at a fraction of its $three,000 value, the sub-par sound high quality might be ignored. I simply can not suggest a speaker that prices a lot and sounds so insufficient.