SonicGear has released a new budget speaker known as Pandora Mini New that comes in 5 different colors (Yellow, Gray, Red, Green, Blue). This portable wireless bluetooth speaker priced USD $12.90 before tax and shipping. The speaker can be purchased from LeapFrogGlobal. It’s pretty small and lightweight but comes with a medium-sized sound driver. Before we dive into the review, let’s take a quick overview of the technical specifications and features of this product!
Features
- Bluetooth wireless music playback
- Built-in FM receiver
- Built-in USB slot: MP3 music playback
- Built-in TF-card slot: MP3 music playback
- AUX-in audio output
Specifications
- Driver size: 2.5” Full range
- Frequency Response: 150Hz ~ 18KHz
- Impedance: 4Ω
- Total System Power: RMS 5 Watts
- 5-in-1 Playback Function
- Bluetooth Version: 2.1 + EDR
- Wireless distance up to 10 meters
- Support HSP, HFP, A2DP and AVRCP
- Built-In Rechargeable 400mAh Lithium Battery
- Continuous music playback (@50% volume): up to 4 hours operation
- Standby time: up to 24 hours
SonicGear Pandora Mini Video
SONICGEAR Pandora Mini vs Xiaomi Mi Speaker V2 Comparison
Note: Xiaomi Mi Speaker V2 cost approximately 4 times more than SonicGear Pandora Mini.
[youtube “https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvBXHh0VOq4”]
Packaging and Unboxing
Packaging-1: Here is a look of the Pandora Mini Speaker front and rear sides of the packaging. The rear displays the specifications of the speaker, Bluetooth and built-in rechargeable battery. The front shows a glimpse of the product along with its brand and speaker name.
Packaging-2: Both right and left sides of the speaker displays the image of the speaker.
Accessories: The box contains the speaker along with 1 short micro-USB to USB and 3.5mm audio jack. To play audio via cable, you will need to plug in the micro-USB into the speaker and connect the 3.5mm audio jack into your audio device (e.g. smartphone or computer). The cable measures 44cm which is quite short. If you plan to connect it to your computer, I would recommend to get a cable extension.
Design
Design-1: Here is an overview of the front and rear of the speaker. It has a large speaker in the front protected with mesh grill. The speaker comes with a plastic handle to make it easy to carry the speaker around. The rear has a turn on/off switch, micro-USB port for recharging the built-in battery and audio input, USB port and SD card port for music and finally the volume+mode switcher. Press and hold the volume button to switch from Bluetooth, FM Radio and Aux-in. Press to the right to increase volume or press to the left to decrease volume.
Design-2: The speaker sides are plain. It uses 2 screws to hold the handle. If you prefer not to have the handle, the screws can be removed. The speaker width x height x depth is 10cm x 10.5cm x 6cm. The handle isn’t long enough to allow the speaker to be tilted 45 degrees to allow music to be directed diagonally.
Design-3: The speaker comes with 4 anti-slip pads that allows the speaker to not move when speaker vibrates. This is a big plus for me.
Conclusion
After using the speaker for a few days and testing it with various music genre, I have concluded the following pros and cons below. If you’re looking for a budget-friendly portable speaker, then you may want to consider this speaker after looking at its features and capabilities it can provide.
Pros
- Affordable.
- Loud audio that spreads nicely without needing to place at ear level.
- Thick anti-slip pads on the bottom of the speaker.
- Comes with a handle for better portability.
Cons
- Micro-USB + USB + Audio Cable is too short.
- Lacks of an audio jack. Need to use a female audio jack extender.
- FM Radio does not work well and troublesome to find for a radio station using volume controller.
- Audio distorts when playing music while charging speaker simultaneously.
Mediocre
- Audio sounds mono instead of stereo as it only has 1 sound driver in the speaker.
- The volume/mode button is confusing for first time user.
- Always starts in Bluetooth mode. Does not memorize previous selected mode.
- Does not have a battery indicator and audio-mode indicator.