Mpow Mbox Portable Bluetooth Speaker Review

TweakTown's Rating: 90%

The Bottom Line

When I first receive the Mbox, I didn't expect to be surprised - but my words tasted nice going back down. For $49, the Mbox is a damn impressive mobile speaker, perfect for an iDevice owner.

Introduction

I get a handful of portable speakers sent to me every month, and half of them come from companies that I've never heard of before; and most of the time, that's a good thing. It's good, because I am introduced to companies that I might have never worked with otherwise. I am also introduced to products that I had no idea existed, and that I actually like, and love to review.

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Mpow is one of those companies. I had not heard of Mpow until they reached out to me to review their Mbox Portable Bluetooth 4.0 Wireless Speaker. Mpow sells a range of audio products; everything from Bluetooth hands-free devices, to hands-free kits for your car, and of course, mobile speakers.

Specifications, Pricing, and Availability

Mpow has put together an extremely stylish mobile speaker with mid-range specs. The Mbox features a 1500mAh internal lithium-ion battery that powers the Mbox for around ten hours, of which I was able to experience nine or so hours in my testing. The Mbox also uses Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity.

Inside of the product packaging, we find the Mbox speaker, a USB charging cable, 3.5mm audio cable, and a user manual. In terms of Warranty, Mpow covers you for 18 months, with a 45-day money-back guarantee.

The Mpow currently sells on Amazon for $49.99, which is a great value for this type of speaker.

A Closer Look

Now we're going to take a closer look at the Mpow Mbox speaker, beginning with the front of the product.

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Straight away we can see that we have a great design. A great design is something a little out-of-the-box when it comes to mobile speakers, and I'm definitely not complaining. I love the look of the Mbox.

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On top, we have previous and next track buttons, as well as the play button.

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On the back, we have the micro USB slot for charging, a 3.5mm jack for audio from your device, and the on/off button.

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Here is a closer look at the beautiful design of the Mbox.

Design

At first glance, the Mbox looks like something Apple would design, which isn't a bad thing. The beautiful aluminum frame lends a big hand here, with the perforated white grid style on the front being very eye-catching.

The Mbox doesn't just look good; it also feels great in the hand. Unfortunately, there's only one color option, and with this design, it would've been great to see various color options. The perforated front would look great in every color: blue, red, green; and even interchangeable covers for the front would've been a nice change in pace.

PRICING: You can find the Mpow Mbox for sale below. The prices listed are valid at the time of writing, but can change at any time. Click the link to see the very latest pricing for the best deal.

United States: The Mbox retails for $49.99 at Amazon.

Canada: The Mbox retails for CDN$55.99 at Amazon Canada.

The Listening Experience, What's Hot, What's Not & Final Thoughts

The Listening Experience

I spent a night out with friends, and the Mbox came with me. A variety of music played through it, with everything ranging from pop music, to heavy metal, right down to tracks from Blink-182 and Eminem. The Mbox performed admirably, considering you can pick it up for under $50.

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The Mbox isn't going to shatter your windows, but it will fill the room or area you're in with enough audio that you will consider your money well spent.

I had to turn the volume down to ~80% in order to prevent the music from sounding distorted, but I find that is necessary with virtually all of the mobile speakers I review. Most audio devices should never be cranked all the way up to 100%, but even at 80%, the Mbox was still an impressive piece of kit.

Vocals could be heard nice and clearly, and it still provided enough bass to know that there was, well, bass. The audio could always be better, but this is a small, affordable speaker that shouldn't be promising the world. Priced at $49, I think Mpow has done exactly what I expected from it - impressed me, without breaking the bank, or my ears.

What's Hot

For those who want to sum up the entire review in a few points, the What's Hot and What's Not part of my review will help you. Skip right to this bit if you want a quick read, or if you want to find out what I found to be the most notable parts of the Mpow; we're going to jump into that right now.

Super Stylish Design: The Apple influenced design looks great, and the Mbox really stands out from other offerings. It looks great sitting out on my deck, my desk, or even the kitchen bench.

A Great sub $50 Price: Unless there's something super special about your mobile speaker, such as it offering something that the competition doesn't have, or it has extremely good sound quality, pricing it over $100 is beyond ridiculous. So, pricing a stylish speaker like the Mbox at just $49.99 is a great decision by Mpow.

What's Not

Now I want Mbox 2!: I'd love to see what Mpow can do with an Mbox that is slightly bigger, and features NFC technology. That would be a nice upgrade on what we have here today, but other than that, I was thoroughly impressed with what Mpow offers with the Mbox.

Final Thoughts

For $49, with a money-back guarantee, you really can't go wrong with the Mpow Mbox speaker. The Mbox provides some impressive audio output, with a long-lasting 1500mAh battery that is good for up to ten hours of playback.

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Playback aside, the physical style of the Mbox is damn impressive. It really looks like an Apple-like device, so for those of you with an iDevice, you should be checking out the Mbox if you're in the market for a new mobile speaker.

PRICING: You can find the Mpow Mbox for sale below. The prices listed are valid at the time of writing, but can change at any time. Click the link to see the very latest pricing for the best deal.

United States: The Mbox retails for $49.99 at Amazon.

Canada: The Mbox retails for CDN$55.99 at Amazon Canada.