BliTZWOlF BW AS1 Speaker

9.8

Pros

• Solid Aluminum Construction
• Strong bass, good blended sound
• Short Press Volume/Long Press Track Selection Control
• Hands free phone calls.
• 7-8 hours per 4 hour charge.

Cons

• short 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable may be too short
• NO USB-C, no Rapid charge
• Limited Waterproofing
• Bluetooth 4.0 and not 4.2

Speaker Design

Ease of Use

Price/Accessories

Features

BUY ON AMAZON

Enjoy music your way with the portable Bluetooth Speaker from BlitzWOlF.

I have a confession!  I regularly suffer from Office Cubicle Blues, a semi-made-up disease caused by watching everyone else go home before I do.  To alleviate this pestilence, I turn to Amazon Prime Music on my iPhone XS Max.  I have tried a variety of headphone types, to include on-ear, over-ear, in-ear, but I tend to return to Bluetooth speakers.  There is simply something magical about jamming with CCR and Alabama while working.  In fact, Disney’s Seven Dwarfs seemed to get this concept in the song “Whistle While You Work.” 

The BliTZWOlF BW-AS1 arrived in a 9 1/2 inches long by 3 15/16 inches wide by 3 9/16 inches thick matte white retail package.  The top panel displayed the company name toward the upper right and the model number along the middle of the panel in attractive silver font.  The front and back panels provided a 2 3/8 inches wide by 8 inches long silver ink-outline of the front of the Bluetooth speaker.  The left and right side panels were unadorned, and the bottom panel provided a convenient label sticker with QR code, model number, color and product dimensions(205/60/64mm)/weight (750G), product labels and SKU code.  Lifting the lid from the packaging, I found a 2 15/16 inches wide by 2 7/8 inches tall comment card, a 3 1/8 inches square user manual, and the silver speaker.  

One side of the comment card had a positive face and the other had a negative face.  When I opened up the four-panel card, I found a QR code linking to their webpage, email address (support@blitzwolf.com), contact (www.blitzwolf.com/contact-us.html), and recommendations to contact Amazon if you purchased the device from that source. The multilingual instruction manual started with a top, front, and back outline of the speaker listed the accessories and then detailed the power on/off/connection instructions.  The following page detailed the product specifications: Bluetooth 4.0, 10-meter range, DC 5V/0.5-1.5A input, 2600 mAh x 2 batteries, 3-4 hour charging time, 7-8 hour playback time, dual 10W output, 100Hz-20kHz frequency response, 80db output and repeated the dimensions (204/59/65mm).  I found it odd that the listed specifications differed between the packaging and the instruction manual.  The manual further detailed the basic operation, troubleshooting, health warning, and safety notices. 

Beneath the manual, I found the robust 24.67 ounces, 8 inches long by 2 1/2 inches wide by 2 3/8 inches tall speaker.  The front of the pill-shaped speaker had a silver rectangle with black BliTZWOlF printed along the bottom.  I loved the round edges and the curved design.  This was intended to break up the monotony of square angles and straight lines.  I did notice that the small circles on the front were not evenly spaced, especially the outer two rows.  The top of the speaker had four 7/16 inches diameter buttons, for power, play/pause, minus and plus signs. The back of the speaker has eleven 1/8 inches wide by 3/8 inches tall pill-shaped vents, a 3.5mm Aux port and a USB-micro port at the edge.  The bottom of the speaker had two 1 3/4 inches long by 7/16 inches wide rubberized anti-slip feet and listed the same product specifications as the box.  Before you throw away the box, make sure that you remove the layer of thin foam hiding the two 4 7/16 inches long by 3 1/2 inches wide by 1/2 inches thick accessory boxes.  One of the boxes housed the 24 inches long 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable and the other contained the 40 inches long USB-A to USB-micro cable.    

To power on the speaker, hold the power button for 4 seconds and listen for the four beats, followed by two beats alerting you to the Bluetooth connection status.  Navigate to settings, Bluetooth, select BW-AS1 from the list and when the connection was completed the speaker made an additional three tones.  During this process, the Blitzwolf speaker provided visual cues in addition to the audible ones.  Along the upper aspect of the speaker’s face, there was an LED that flashed quickly during pairing and then alternated blue/red/purple/off when connected.  I was pleased to find that a short press of the “+” or “-” buttons changed the volume and a long press changed the tracks.  A short press of the play/pause button allowed the track to play/pause and a long press reset the Bluetooth connection.  Since the device has Bluetooth memory, we may need to reset the Bluetooth to pair with another device.  The buttons proved to be well laid out, responsive and easily accessible.  

Before using the speaker, I charged the batteries.  The charging cable fit snuggly into the charging port of the speaker and the USB port of a 5W/1.5A charging cube.  I charged the device and found it to be fully charged after four hours, similar to the instruction manual details.  I have utilized this device daily over the past one month and found it to last about seven hours on a charge. To test the sound output, I navigated to audiocheck.net and used the Low-Frequency Response and Subwoofer Audio Test (10-200 Hz) and High-Frequency Response and Hearing Audio Test (22-8 kHz) tests.  My nine and seven-year-old sons were able to hear from 30Hz to 17kHz, while I was able to hear from 30Hz to 15kHz.  With the range tests completed, I turned to a collection of my speaker test tracks.  To test the bass, I utilized Holly Cole “Train Song,” CeeLo Green’s “Bright Lights Bigger City,” and Home Free “Ring of Fire.”  To test the upper range of the BliTZWOlf speaker, I utilized the Far and Away Soundtrack, Queen “Somebody to Love,” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” and selections from Billy Joel “Piano Man,” and “The Longest Time.” 

Thanks to whathifi.com, I added a few additional test tracks to my repertoire.  I listened to Radiohead “The National Anthem,” Bob Marley and the Wailers “Turn Your Lights Down Low.” With these tracks completed, I turned to Amazon Prime Music to listen to CCR, Alabama, Anthem Lights, Johnny Cash, the Gaither Band and The Beach Boys.  I appreciated the highs and the lows and the subtle full sound at the lowest volume level of my iPhone XS Max.  While in a 12×12 office space, I found that I did not need to turn up the sound more than 50% to enjoy a full sound.  The speaker did not get tinny, did not get harsh but the volume was more than I liked.  Placing the speaker on a shadow box in my living room, I turned up the volume to around 75% and my kids had a dance party to the Laurie Berkner Band songs.  My kids loved the volume, the clarity and the family time.   The hardest part of the review was when I asked if they were okay with me taking it back to work.  Luckily they sell them on Amazon as I will likely need to get a second device for myself. 

There were a few features that were a little less than expected.  I found it odd that they chose to use Bluetooth 4.0 instead of 4.2.  Most people would not notice the difference, but I prefer to purchase expansive technology, and the Bluetooth specifications continue to improve.  I did not experience any connectivity issues up to the full 10 meters if I maintained a good line of sight.  Once you put a wall between your smart device on the speaker, this range dropped quickly.  I paired my iPhone XS Max with the BliTZWOlf BW-AS1, with the Tribit XSound go, and I set each one at the edge of my driveway.  I walked toward my home and noted the distance.  I was able to get to 30 feet/10 meters with both of the above speakers but had another 15-20 feet with the Tribit XSound Go.  The connectivity was superior with the latest Bluetooth technology.  Testing the speaker indoors, I could not find a spot on my main floor that resulted in a poor connection.  The second aspect that surprised me was that they chose to power the device via USB-micro instead of USB-C.  I would have loved to see a rapid charge feature for this speaker.  The heft was refreshing, and the sound quality was good but the 7-8 hour battery was lower than some of my other speakers. 

This device will work perfectly for easy listening within my office and would likewise serve you well in a dorm, a personal gym, for a trip to the beach, to the pool, for the bathroom, etc.  This device is not waterproof, and you will need to avoid placing it close to water sources.  It was not IPX7 rated, like Tribit XSound Go.  

Learn more about the BliTZWOlf BW-AS1 speaker.
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