Sunfox Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker 2022 REVIEW

Speaker provides floatable, portable, lightweight sound in the palm of your hand

Portable sound has progressed drastically from the inception of the headphones in 1891 by Ernest Mercadier, the first true headphones in 1910 by engineer Nathaniel Baldwin for the US Navy, from the walkman of the late 1970s, to the iPod generation of the early 2000’s. With the introduction of Bluetooth technology in the 1990’s, and the improvement of codecs and drivers, portable speakers, in-ear earphones, over-ear headphones, and on-ear headphones have steadily gained function. With improved battery life, waterproofing, solar charging, quick charging, and many other features, users should have no problem enjoying portable entertainment.

UNBOXING

The Sunfox speaker arrived in a 5 1/8 inches long by 4 1/8 inches wide by 2 inches tall retail package.  The cover panel displayed the sunfox name/logo along the middle of the panel, just above the generic “Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker Solar & USB Rechargeable” product name.  The lower segment of the panel displayed six labeled icons for the beach, pool, camping, boating, biking, and patio. The front panel displayed six additional labeled icons regarding the 20-hour runtime, solar charging, hands-free calling, waterproof nature, shockproof nature, and sand-proof nature. 

The top panel listed the product manufacturing labels, product name, and contact email (questions@luminaid.com).  Lastly, the rear panel displayed the sunfox name, the luminaid.com web address, three product defining sentences (16-18 hour solar recharge, 1-2 hour micro-USB recharge, 15-20 hours variable playback, IPX6 waterproofing), a product SKU barcode, information about Bluetooth 4.2/10-meter connection, and information about the frequency/built-in rechargeable Li-Po battery. 

After reviewing the outer packaging, I was pleased with their presentation.  I appreciated the clean white slipcover, the use of the black-on-white theme, and their little fox icon.  The inclusion of the product-defining icons likely provided the most useful information for the customer.  I removed the slipcover from the inner tan box, opened the lid, and then removed the 8.7-ounce blue speaker, black accessory box, and instruction manual. 

The accessory box contained a very short 12 1/2 inches long USB-A to micro charging cable, 20 inches long 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable, and a 3 5/8 inches long by 1/4 inches long wrist lanyard.  I removed the thin plastic wrap from around the 3 5/8 inches wide by 3 5/8 inches tall by 1 3/4 inches tall blue speaker and evaluated the features.  The main panel had a 3-inch diameter speaker with white solar/power icon printed onto the surface. The blue plastic shell had an interesting wrinkled-fabric design at each of the corners and led into a hex screw.  

The top/front of the speaker had a rubberized 2 inches wide by 9/16 inches tall button segment with 9/32 inches-wide by 1/4 inches tall buttons for power, phone, “+,” and “-”.  The bottom panel provided the sunfox by LuminAID name and a standard 1/4 inch screw mount.  One of the side panels had a 1 1/2 inches long by 5/16 inches thick by 1/8 inches tall black-colored lanyard port, while the opposite side panel had a 1 7/16 inches by 1/2 inches wide rubberized access port for the USB-micro and 3.5mm ports.

The panel opposite the speaker port provided a 3 inches diameter solar panel with an array of dark silver lines upon the black textured backing.  I removed the access port plug, inserted the micro-USB cable, and then charged the speaker with a standard 5V/2A port.  The LED along the 2 o’clock position changed from blue to red and conveniently demonstrated the charging status of the speaker.  

TESTING/SOUND

Once the device was connected to power and actively charging, I installed the wrist lanyard and perused the instruction manual.  The eight-panel manual provided a helpful product information segment, which detailed the “Bluetooth Module, HiFi speaker, audio amplifier, vigorous bass, and loud treble for “high quality” on-the-go music. 

The manual promised continual solar charging/playback with a 1:1 power-to-playback time ratio (30 minutes solar charge=30 minutes playback), 20-hour total battery storage, and IPX6 water resistance.  Unfortunately, many companies use the idea of IPX6 as waterproof when it only resists splash/rain/shower/jet pressure from any direction but does not protect from any submersion in water (requires IPX7 or IPX8 ratings).  Interestingly, the manual details a dustproof case but did not provide a dustproof rating (x).  

I pressed the power button for 2 seconds, listened to the chime, and then heard a female voice announce “Bluetooth Mode.”  I then navigated to Settings on my iPhone 13 Pro Max, to Bluetooth, and subsequently selected “Sunfox” from the list.  The speaker made a dual high-low chiming noise and quickly paired it with my iPhone 14 Pro Max.  To test the sound output, I navigated to the audiocheck.net website and ran through the audio tests. I started with the Low-Frequency Response and Subwoofer Audio Test (10-200 Hz) and heard the rumbling bass starting between 30 and 40Hz. 

This was a little underwhelming, considering our range of hearing starts at 20 Hz.  For the second test, I changed to the High-Frequency Response and Hearing Audio Test (22-8 kHz) and set the volume to 50%.  My 11-year-old son heard the high-pitched tone at 19kHz, while my 7 year-old-daughter (history of ear issues) and I heard the sound around 15kHz. As we age, or if we have had ear trauma/infection/issues, we tend to lose the ability to hear higher-frequency sounds.  Thus, many adults can hear from about 20Hz to 14-15kHz, while children can hear up to ~18-19kHz.  

Overall, I felt the device did fairly well with the above tests, especially for the size/design.  It is important to note that the device was not designed to be a bass powerhouse or an audiophile-grade speaker.  Instead, like a flashlight or camera, the best speaker is one you can have with you when you want one.  For those interested in backpacking, kayaking, beach/pool, or other outdoor activities, many of the higher-grade speakers cannot tolerate the moisture or they are just too heavy. 

The Sunfox speaker, on the other hand, was designed for portability, endurance, and thanks to the solar charge option, longevity.  We took the speaker on a recent scouting campout and enjoyed many songs during the day and most importantly for use at the campfire.  We listened to a variety of songs at ~75% volume and felt the higher frequency sounds never got tinny nor did the bass get muddy. 

I was able to move around the campsite and roamed around at 30-40 feet without cracking/splitting sounds. The sound should easily fill a dorm room, living room, bedroom, or deck/porch but will become quickly overwhelmed with too much background noise.  Additionally, the speaker provided similar sound quality at the lowest volume level.

The four front-facing speaker buttons were easy to access and were quite receptive.  I appreciated the raised, rubberized buttons, the layout, and the presence of the “+” and “-” buttons.  At first glance, it would appear that the plus/minus buttons would control the volume of the speaker.  Unfortunately, a single press of the plus button advanced the smart device to the next track, while the minus button returned to a previous track. 

To increase or decrease the sound, you will need to hold the appropriate plus/minus button.  I have seen several speakers that utilized that particular programming design and have felt disappointed each time because the volume becomes finicky and lacks control.  By the time you get to the intended volume, you will have likely overshot or undershot your desired level.  For the devices that lack single button press volume, I find superior control through the smart device volume features.     

When I test headphones, earbuds, or speakers, I like to utilize many of my favorite songs to provide a basis for comparison.  I listened to Queen’s Live Aid on Youtube, the Rocketman Soundtrack, the Star is Born Soundtrack, CCR, Alabama, Beach Boys, Home Free, and Styx.  When I listened to Home Free Ring of Fire, I missed the feel of the lower F# growl.  Similarly, when I listened to Holly Cole’s “Train Song,” the speaker failed to provide the expected bass punch.  

The speaker did an okay job with poppy songs from Meghan Trainor, Charlie Puth, with country/rock from Alabama, and “Purple Rain” from Prince.  I enjoyed the blend of the mids/upper sounds in the Far and Away and Robinhood Prince of Thieves soundtracks.  However, when I returned to the Dark Knight Soundtrack “Why So Serious, ” I had similar issues with the lack of build-up and bass support. My sons and I watched an episode of She-Hulk on Disney Plus, Homestead Rescue and Battlebots on Amazon Prime, then watched a few snippets from Vudu, Paramount+, HBOMax,  Netflix, and even YouTube. 

I was able to enjoy video/sound playback and noted a good sync between the audio/video.  To complete my review, I used the call feature and both accepted and made calls from the speaker.  The phone button will play/pause a song with a single press and will call the last number if you double-press the button.  My wife noted that the speaker sounded okay with mild distortion/background noise.

CONCLUSION

The main selling point for the SunFox speaker was the lightweight design and the long battery life.  I was able to enjoy 1-2 hours of music each evening for the past week without needing to recharge the speaker.  I left the speaker outdoors throughout the day and had full power after about two full days of charge.  I was able to keep the device nearly fully charged by charging a few hours each day.  

If I were going to optimize the device, I would change the USB-micro to USB-C, and improve the bass, while maintaining weight. To summarize the overall experience, I would give the speaker a 7/10 for sound, 9/10 for weight/portability, 10/10 for battery life, 7/10 for accessories (USB-micro should be USB-C), and 7/10 for packaging. Even though headphones are more portable/lightweight, sometimes you may want to play/enjoy music with a group, the lightweight, water-resistant, solar-charging sunfox should get the job done.

Mission

I have been a fan of the Luminaid team and mission since watching the story on Shark Tank and meeting them at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in 2016. The Give light program allows those in need to have an inflatable solar-powered light when they need it most. I would encourage you to peruse the website to learn more about the mission.

At the time of this review, >50,000 lights have been delivered to over 100 countries around the world through covid, natural disasters, and war. My wife took a few of them to Uganda on a mission trip and I had several friends send lights post-Katrina.

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