Wavemaster Mobi-2 Bluetooth Speaker Review

1. Introduction2. Product Photos and Description3. Performance and Testing4. Closing Thoughts5. View All Pages

When KitGuru first looked at the original Wavemaster Mobi speaker back in July there were two things that we felt were missing – Bluetooth support and the ability to daisychain. Now that the German design team in Bremen has addressed Bluetooth functionality, we decided to retest the latest version.

Browse through the audio section of a store like John Lewis and you will see that some Brits are prepared to spend an awful lot of money to enable their portable devices to fill a living room/bedroom with sound. Making your phone/laptop/tablet music available, out loud and on the move is a slightly different market and, we believe, one that’s both larger and more budget conscious.

The Mobi-2 is available in black and white, which should be enough options for most people and could indicate that Wavemaster found less call for pink and green last time around.

Putting the spec sheet for Mobi and Mobi-2 side by side, it is easy to spot the differences. There should also be a price difference, as Wavemaster expects the new Bluetooth product to be around 15% more expensive due to the additional features.

Surprisingly, at the time of going to press we found the Mobi-2 around the same price as the original Mobi – sometimes even a little cheaper.

Technical Specifications

• Speaker driver: 4.3 cm full range
• Amplifier: Class-D, integrated
• Output power (RMS): 1 x 3,8 W
• Frequency response: 80 – 20000 Hz
• Controls/display: On/Off, LED indicator for ON/OFF and charging status
• Battery: Li-Ion 3.7 V, 500 mAh
• Charging Voltage: USB 5 V
• Connectors: Bluetooth, 3,5 mm stereo, Micro-USB for charging
• Dimensions: 80 mm x 38 mm
• Weight: 110g

Wavemaster claims a 10 hour playback time on a full charge but you are likely to find a big variation in how long any Li-Ion battery lasts – depending on temperature, age, wired/wireless and the volume you choose to play back at.

During general use, we had it physically plugged in and at a sensible volume for almost 8 hours and it showed no signs of stopping.

Mobi-2 definitely looks better than the original. It has a matt finish and weighs a little more which is always a good thing with a speaker as sound dampening will be improved. Also, the little blue light speaks of additional features.

In these days of internet purchase for many electronic goods, you are unlikely to be seeing the Mobi-2 in store when deciding which portable speaker you want.

However, if you do, then we can report that not only is the packaging solid enough to withstand any sensible transport, it's see-through enough for you to be able to take a good look around prior to parting with cash.

The packaging also comes with an integrated ‘hook'. For hanging.

The unit itself comes in black or white and has a pleasing matt finish. It's one of those situations where all of your options are likely to be plastic, but some plastic feels more expensive than others. It might not actually be better, but it feels good.

One face is the speaker itself, while the reverse has an audio cable and blue light to indicate power on as well as Bluetooth activity.

On the side, we have the power switch, which also has a third setting for Bluetooth.

There is also a small USB port for charging, so this is compatible with the kind of wall charger supplied by Samsung/Blackberry/Nokia as standard. For comparison purposes, we considered other portable speakers in a similar price bracket.

  

The speaker itself is a pop-up design, so it is smaller in your pocket – but bigger when you want to play music.

According to Wavemaster the larger the physical volume of the speaker, the more powerful the audio reproduction. You can get a close up of the Mobi-2 by clicking the shot on the left and an idea of the relative size of the Mobi-2 from the group shot above – next to the original Mobi and a pair of X-Mini speakers.

‘Bigger is better'  is one of those statements that sounds logical, but takes genuine testing to be absolutely certain. Plus, there is individual taste to consider … the fact that not everyone hears the same way.

After trying it open and closed, we can confirm that the Mobi-2 sounds better open. We pulled out our trusty digital sound meter and, at a distance of  1 meter, discovered a bump of close to 4dBa.

Above, the Wavemaster Mobi-2 in closed/open modes. The rubberised feet help it to not slip around or vibrate. This would be key when we made our final analysis.

We are glad that this unit has Bluetooth, as the standard 3.5mm audio cable is quite short. With a phone or tablet PC across the room, that’s not going to be an issue, but if you want to balance an iPad on your stomach while laying down then you will be very aware that there is a speaker attached.

For right handed people whose laptop has the audio connection on the right hand side, it will be fun to use ‘connected' while trying to type. Bluetooth gives you the distance you need to be comfortable.

To give this speaker a proper outing we tried a variety of tracks in a regular sitting room environment and also in a very large room (the KitGuru studios to be exact), which is a much tougher test for any speaker.

We tested the Wavemaster Mobi-2 side by side with an older Mobi, an X-Mini (original) and an X-Mini II. To say that the Wavemaster Mobi-2 is the best of the bunch is a serious understatement. In terms of volume, clarity and features, it sets a new marker in low-cost, mobile speaker systems.

To confirm our findings, we lined up 3 sets of independent ears.

Julian Brook, who runs marketing for a well known technology company by day and a rock band during evenings and weekends. He scrolled through a selection of tracks on a Nokia Lumia 920, using Bluetooth and got the same pleasant surprise as we did.

Julian is a rocker by nature and tracks like Enter Sandman from Metallica were used to see how the speaker dealt with fine detail at low volume – through to some pounding drums and thrashing guitar. The Mobi 2 handled very well indeed. Eyebrows were raised when we swapped the Mobi-2 back to the X-Mini and original Mobi speakers. Sound quality was noticeably worse with the other speakers.

Arwyn Bailey is a musician in his own right, as well as being a freelance reviewer for KitGuru. Across a range of classic tracks, Arwyn was a little stunned by the power output delivered by the Mobi-2 and wanted to know if we could loan him our sample, on long term. He said the sound quality from the Mobi-2 was noticeably better than the other speakers in the test.

Two down and one to go.

Siobhan Bermingham is a professional dancer, singer and musician. She has been using an X-Mini for years when going to rehearsals/casting calls. Physically plugged into her iPhone, she uses a portable speaker to warm up and run through routines before being called on stage.

She was equally surprised by the volume this little unit cranks out. “What really makes a difference is the distortion”, she told us. “When you set the X-Mini to full volume, it has a tendency to rattle on harder surfaces, so you can't use it at full volume – but the Mobi-2 is fine. You can crank your phone right up and it just sounds great”.

Our initial findings were confirmed by all of the test subjects in this review.

In terms of overall volume, we played Overkill by Motorhead on all of these speakers, as loud as each of them would go without distorting. To those unfamiliar with the track, it delivers a constant barrage of pounding drums with a serious bass line.

It's the consistency of loudness that makes it a good test for this kind of reading. We measured a spread of just under 8dBa across all of the test units at a distance of 1 metre, which is significant. The undistorted difference in volume from the smaller of the X-Minis to the Mobi-2 is very real.

When we looked at its wireless range, a fully charged Wavemaster Mobi-2 was able to play music perfectly via Bluetooth, even when the Nokia 920 source was 8 meters away. This was achieved across a studio with no obvious sources of interference. Somewhere between 8 and 10 meters, the signal drops rapidly … resulting in cut outs and then silence.

Comparative testing was handled with a sound meter at a distance of 1 meter, simulating sitting at a desk with the speaker attached to a laptop. Background noise was kept to a minimum.

Overall, the Mobi 2 fits in where you would expect. It is certainly louder and more advanced than its predecessor, plus the addition of Bluetooth changes the usage model … for the better.

In terms of competition, the Luza2 Groovy Wireless Stereo Speaker that we tested recently offers more powerful audio – in stereo – but it is £55 on Amazon, so almost twice as expensive as the £20 Mobi-2, which places it in a different class. That kind of comparison seems unfair.

Bear in mind that this is not a pair of cheap mains-powered speakers with sub-woofer, which you could get from a supermarket at around the same price. That would certainly give you more volume, but you can't take mains powered speakers everywhere.

Mobi-2 is an interesting mobile solution, specifically designed for those who want to share their music/video soundtracks on the go. Wirelessly.

Based on our experience, when closer to its recommended retail price of £25, it is a good deal. Around the £20 mark we're seeing on Amazon, with Bluetooth connectivity, this speaker is something of a bargain.

Pros:

• Professional finish in black or white.
• Powerful sound output.
• Bluetooth connectivity worked flawlessly during testing.
• Very competitive pricing.

Cons:

• You still can not daisy chain these devices to make a ‘wall of sound' like you can with X-Mini.

KitGuru says: Fantastic looking speaker that delivers clear, high output sound via a Bluetooth connection.

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