You’ll agree with us when we say that buying a bluetooth speaker can be quite confusing with all the variety out there.
Today, we’ll be testing out the Ihip Bluetooth speaker to see what it has to offer.
We’ve tested this product for months to familiarize ourselves with all of its ins-and-outs. Furthermore, we also compared it with similar speakers to see how it fares.
iHip, Sound Machine
This product has a very unique design and you’ll find that it’ll provide great value to your overall listening experience. It weighs less than a pound which makes it extremely portable and you can easily store it in your backpack.
Alternate #1
With its dynamic LED lights and high-quality sound, this product is a great choice for casual and heavy listeners alike. Furthermore, it comes at an extremely cheap price and you’re sure to get great value out of it.
Alternate #2
This product is both wifi and bluetooth-enabled. Its rugged exterior means that you can treat any way you like and it’ll still be able to play music consistently. Its integration with Alexa means you can easily control it with your voice.
Quick Summary of the Main Product
The iHip bluetooth speaker, officially known as the iHip Sound Machine, is a product that we were super excited to test.
When you first see the iHip Sound Machine, you’re greeted with its unique design. The iHip Sound Machine is available in a number of different colors so you can really get what you want aesthetically.
The sound that the iHip Sound Machine produces fills the room instantly and we noticed that the audio was also very nuanced. With the highs, lows and mids being uniquely distinct from one another. Furthermore, the bass that the iHip Sound Machine produces is rich and deep with the highs being bright and loud.
The iHip Sound Machine also has a very small footprint and it’s very lightweight which means you can take it with you anywhere you go. Use it to play music outdoors, at parties, by the poolside and also indoors.
Features and Benefits
Unique Design
The iHip Sound Machine features a very unique, sleek and contemporary design that is surely going to turn heads wherever you take it.
The iHip Sound Machine features a small handle on top that you can use to carry it around.
Furthermore, the iHip Sound Machine comes in five different color combinations including Pink and White, Red and Black and, Blue and Orange.
Great Audio Quality
The iHip Sound Machine creates audio that can rival some of the top Bluetooth speakers available in the United States.
The sound is very nuanced which makes it a great fit for casual listeners and audiophiles alike.
Ample Bluetooth Range
For any Bluetooth speaker, quality of the playback is extremely important in judging whether it’s a good speaker or not.
We found that the iHip Sound Machine worked flawlessly at long ranges even when the phone that it was paired with was obstructed by a wall or walls.
Not only does the iHip Sound Machine work great at long ranges but the audio playback also never gets distorted or interrupted if any obstruction is placed between the bluetooth speaker and the device that it’s paired with.
Easy to Use
The iHip Sound Machine is incredibly easy to use since it features one-touch pairing with any Bluetooth-enabled device such as a phone, laptop, etc.
Furthermore, once you’ve connected it to your phone, you can easily control the song navigation and volume control from it.
It features easy to hear beeps that signify different statuses of the iHip Sound Machine with three beeps meaning it has low battery and five beeps meaning that it’s at full battery.
Portability
The iHip Bluetooth speaker is incredibly portable. It’s very lightweight and also not too big which makes it perfect for people that like carrying their speakers in their backpack.
You can take the iHip Bluetooth speaker anywhere with you and you’ll barely even feel it in your backpack. It won’t take up too much space in your backpack either.
Pros and Cons
- It has a small footprint which makes it super portable.
- It features an aesthetically pleasing design.
- The sound performance is great and dynamic.
- The bluetooth speaker features a rugged exterior which ensures it’ll last you a long time.
- It can pair with a number of different Bluetooth-enabled devices such as your phone, PC, etc.
- It’s quite budget-friendly.
- Some reviews say that the bluetooth speaker’s voice tends to get distorted after a few months.
Social Proof
As with all of our product reviews, we didn’t want to be in the dark when it comes to the public opinion regarding the bluetooth speaker.
Hence, we decided to look up customer reviews online to see what others have to say about this product. We searched for reviews in the United States and here’s what we found:
More Recommendations!
#1: Best Aesthetically-Pleasing Alternative Speaker - Mianova LED Bluetooth Speaker Review
Considering its extremely low price of about $20, you’re really getting your money’s worth when it comes to this bluetooth speaker.
It’s lightweight and portable but also brings high-quality and loud sound to the party as well.
In addition to being lightweight and easy to carry around, you will also find that this bluetooth speaker will be the center of attention wherever you take it. Its LED lights are super-bright and the integrated chip within it does a great job of changing the colors in a soothing way.
Features of Mianova LED Bluetooth Speaker
- Dynamically changes color during music playback
- Battery life of 10 hours with LEDs off and 8 hours with LEDs on
- Anti-offset chip for eliminating distortion
- Weight: 0.92 pounds
- Bluetooth version 4.2
- Impressive sound quality
- Looks great in all environments
- Comes with a variety of input options
- Easy to use
- Quite affordable
- Lightweight and portable
- Prone to scratches and slightly flimsy
Best Aesthetically-Pleasing Alternative Speaker
The best aesthetically-pleasing alternative speaker is the Mianova LED Bluetooth Speaker due to its bright, dynamically changing LEDs. It’s a great speaker for parties and it not only looks great but sounds great as well.
#2: Best Alternative Speaker with Voice Assistant - Ultimate Ears MegaBlast Super Portable Wi-Fi Bluetooth Speaker Review
This product is a treat to hold in your hands. As soon as you hold it, you can clearly feel the weight of it as well as the high quality of its build. This speaker is built to last and we tested it with this in mind, subjecting it to all sorts of different environments and weather conditions.
We were pleased to see that it was able to play music consistently no matter what conditions it was subjected to.
Furthermore, we noticed the sound to be extremely crisp with bass that was deep and rich.
Its battery life is also something worth mentioning as this product lasts up to 16 hours on a full charge. That’s a lot more than any standard portable bluetooth speaker which typically last anywhere between 6 – 8 hours.
Features of Ultimate Ears MegaBlast Super Portable Wi-Fi Bluetooth Speaker
- IP67 rated waterproof
- Battery life of 16 hours
- Wifi and Bluetooth compatibility
- Integrated with Alexa
- Multiple speakers can be connected simultaneously to a single device
- Extremely long battery life
- Impressive sound quality
- Responsive and satisfying controls
- Easy to operate
- Great build quality
- Fairly expensive
- Quite heavy
Best Alternative Speaker with Voice Assistant
The best alternative speaker with voice assistant is the Ultimate Ears MegaBlast Super Portable Wi-Fi Bluetooth Speaker due to its integration with Alexa. It has a rugged exterior that can survive many harsh environments and its rechargeable battery lasts a very long time.
Guide to Buy
When you’re going out to purchase a product like a bluetooth speaker in the United States, there are certain aspects that you should bear in mind. They’ll help you decide what kind of bluetooth speaker would be most appropriate for you.
Weight and Size
In most cases, it’s likely that the bigger and heavier a speaker is, the better its sound performance is going to be.
That being said, if you’re going to be taking your portable bluetooth speaker out with you to different places, then having to carry a heavy one can become annoying. That’s why, depending on your lifestyle, you’re going to have to decide what type of speaker you really want.
If you don’t go out much, you can get away with having a heavier speaker. On the other hand, if you’re going to be going out then you may want to strike a balance between sound quality and weight and size.
Compatibility
Depending on what type of devices you have, you’re going to have to take into account what type of input options your speaker has.
Of course, portable bluetooth speaker is going to have bluetooth but it’s a good idea to get a product that has a few other options as well. A speaker that is wifi-enabled or at least, has an AUX input is a good place to start.
Sound Quality
Of course, this is extremely important with any type of speaker you buy. Sadly, the only way to really know how a speaker sounds is to hear it for yourself.
If you can, you should check the speaker at your shop to see if you like how it sounds. Other than that, you can also look up customer reviews online to get an idea of what its audio performance is like.
Battery Life
Again, this is going to depend on what your use is going to look like with the portable bluetooth speaker. If you’re mainly going to be using it indoors where you have access to electrical sockets, then a smaller battery life is not really going to be an issue for you.
On the other hand, if you’re going to be using it outside a lot, then you may want to invest in a product that lasts for a longer time on a single charge.
Price
Some people feel that they should look for products with the lowest price possible. If that’s what you can afford, then that’s completely fine.
However, if you can afford to go a little higher, it can sometimes be worthwhile to do so. This is because you don’t want to get something that’s too cheap because then, that would mean that the speaker would be made of sub-par materials.
Hence, it’s important to find the sweet spot where it’s not too expensive but also high-quality.