A decent speaker with additional features.
Ever since I was little I always wanted to have a karaoke machine. I’ve always enjoyed singing and having fun with family and friends. Karaoke is the perfect combination of both those activities. Karaoke is fun for people of all ages and as it turns out, the best things come with time because I happen to have a really fun Karaoke speaker from Blitzwolf now — the Bluetooth Party Karaoke Speaker (BW-KS1).
DETAILS
The Blitzwolf Bluetooth Party Karaoke Speaker is a powerful all-in-one solution for listening to and singing along with your favorite music. It can be connected to wirelessly or by using AUX in, FM Mode, or TF Card/USB Flash Drive. The speaker is designed to be portable and provides HiFi sound quality. It has a recording function (must be in TF/USB mode and have a TF card or USB flash drive inserted) and a battery level indicator on the display. The included microphone is wireless as well. The speaker is made with PC, PVC, Iron, and Aluminum Alloys to keep it lightweight and make it easy to carry. The speaker comes with a remote that makes it easy to switch between modes, change songs, or increase/decrease the volume. The speaker has a small LED strip built-in that responds to music and helps to create a ‘party atmosphere.’ In addition to volume, users also have the opportunity to adjust the echo, bass, and treble levels of the speaker.
SPECS
- Bluetooth Version: 4.1
- Transmission Distance: ~33 feet (10m)
- Working Voltage: DC 5V
- Charging Time: About 4 hours
- Data Sync Speed: 2.1 Mbps (over the air), 300 Kbp (over UART)
- Power: 20W
- Battery Capacity: 4500 mAh
- Play Time (AUX/Bluetooth)
- 50% Volume: 4-5 hours
- 100% Volume: 2 hours
- Speaker Dimensions: 12 x 7 x 13 inches
- Weight: 5.2 pounds
USER EXPERIENCE
The Karaoke speaker was delivered in a cardboard box. It had a plastic cover to protect the equipment from getting beat up or scratched. There wasn’t any assembly required other than charging the speaker and inserting AA batteries into the microphone (not included). The speaker does come with a strap that can be attached for easy transport of the speaker, but it’s not really essential since the speaker has a handle. I would have liked to see a place to attach the microphone, charging cable, and remote on the speaker itself. Even if it was just a simple pouch on the back of the unit, it would have bee great to be able to keep all of the essential pieces together with the speaker.
The next thing I noticed right off the bat was the charging cable. Yes, one end of it is a USB-A plug, but the other is a DC plug. Therefore, if you lose this cable, you have no way to charge the speaker. That is problematic in my mind. I would have rather seen this charging option be more universal like USB-C or even Micro USB. Also, there was no power adapter included with the speaker. That means I had to dig out a USB-A power adapter to charge the speaker. Along the same lines, I’m not a fan of the battery-powered microphone. I would rather see it be rechargeable like the speaker. I’ve always felt like if batteries are required, they should be included. One thing that is kind of weird is that the instructions state that 5 AA batteries are required, but when you unscrew the base from the microphone you will find that there are only 2 spots for batteries. I’m sure that it’s just an older version of the instructions, but it is still worth pointing out.
Once the speaker was charged and batteries were installed in the microphone, I connected my phone via Bluetooth and turned on a station on Pandora. I streamed some music and sang along with it. The microphone has its own volume control so you can mix the music and the microphone together pretty well. I have tested out the volume, bass, and echo and they work amazingly. I walked around the house with the microphone and it stayed connected to the speaker. I do have to admit that sound quality isn’t that great. The specs state that it has HiFi quality, but I noticed that both the FM radio stream and Bluetooth connected audio were not crystal clear. They were ok, but not great. The LED lighting effects don’t seem to move with the music either. They move in an up and down sequence, but not in time with the music.
CONCLUSION
The Blitzwolf Bluetooth Party Karaoke Speaker is a decent option for a large portable PA speaker. I don’t think it’s worth billing as a “Karaoke” speaker because it doesn’t come with any Karaoke software or option to view lyrics. To me, that is what defines a Karaoke device. The speaker works well and does come with the added benefit of a connected microphone. I just don’t feel like it’s fair to call it a Karaoke Party speaker.
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