Bayan Audio Soundbook GO Wireless NFC Speaker Review

TweakTown's Rating: 93%

The Bottom Line

Bayan Audio has just come onto my radar, big time. The Soundbook GO is one of the best portable wireless speakers in its class, with it being worth every single dollar, and some.

Introduction

Bayan Audio is another new company I've been dealing with, but after using their Soundbook GO speaker, I've come to get excited about their other products. The Soundbook GO is an ultra-compact wireless speaker that has NFC connectivity, along with Bluetooth, and a great design that hits the right chord with pricing.

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Bayan Audio is a UK-based company, which makes products for a variety of users, which work with audio systems, smartphones, tablets, notebooks and much more. Bayan explains that "the quality of sounds produced from today's digital, synthesized methods isn't as good after a long period of play, so we avoid these methods and invest more in the quality of the materials we use". That sounds good to me.

Specifications, Pricing and Availability

Bayan Audio has built a $140 speaker that has a great specification and feature listing, with the star of the show being its audio quality and performance, but also the inclusion of the super easy-to-use NFC connectivity. The company has crafted a beautiful looking speaker that has surprisingly good bass. Not only that, but we have around 9-10 hours of battery life, with weeks of standby if you need it.

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We have 15W of power with its two 1-inch long-throw neodymium drive units, backed up by one 2-inch pass bass radiator. Power input sits at 1A, so you can power it even from a cheaper, or low-power portable battery. Battery life is longer than 9 hours, which we'll talk about later.

Connectivity wise, we have a physical 3.5mm audio jack, Bluetooth 4.0, a built-in microphone for voice and video calls, and NFC. NFC allows for one-tap bonding with your device, a process that takes mere seconds. It all comes wrapped in a portable speaker measuring 160mm x 88mm x 40mm, weighing 480g total.

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Bayan Audio isn't just offering sub $100 speakers, as it has the Soundbook X3 priced at a premium $399. This speaker offers an even better experience, but at a premium. At $199 on Amazon, we have the Soundbook, which offers up to 10 hours of battery life, and isn't as expensive as the Soundbook X3. What we have here today with the Soundbook GO, is wrapped in a price of $140.

For UK residents, Bayan offers a 30-day home trial, where you can order the product you want to purchase, and if you're not 100% happy with it, you can call Bayan, where they'll organize to have it picked up from you, and refunding the entire price of the speaker. No system is available in the US, or anywhere else in the world, unfortunately. Bayan - extend this program! That's an incredible offer.

A Closer Look

Bayan Audio makes the Soundbook GO in four colors: black, white, red and blue. The colored style goes around the entire speaker, with the front of the speaker being black, with blue and black trims around the entire speaker itself. I receive the red one for this review, and really loved the look.

Not only does it look great, but it feels great too. The entire trim feels quality, with every piece of the speaker: from its buttons, to its front cover which doubles as a stand, Bayan has built something worth every single dollar of that $140.

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Starting with the top, we have three buttons: volume down, power and volume up. Below that, we have a Bluetooth LED, battery LEDs and the microphone to the very right.

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On the front with its cover on, the Soundbook GO looks great, but this cover doubles as its very stylish stand. Its faux leather feel looks just as good as it feels.

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On the front, we have that stylish speaker with the red trim.

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On the back, we have NFC to the very left, the subwoofer in the middle, 3.5mm auxiliary jack, and micro USB for charging.

Design

Bayan Audio has crafted one of the best portable speakers I've ever used, with the Soundbook GO having an elegant, stylish design that not only looks great, but feels good too. Each button feels quite premium, each part of the speaker feels like it's worth every dollar you've paid for it.

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The anti-slip stand feels great, with a faux leather feel that I really came to enjoy. The Bayan Audio tag on the front of the Soundbook GO is a nice touch, again, showing that the company knows how to craft an amazing looking device. Pulling on this tag reveals the anti-slip stand, and the speaker itself. As soon as this tag is pulled and the stand is peeled back, the Soundbook GO lets out an audible tone to let you know it's ready to be paired, too.

Closing the stand, turns the speaker off. Perfection.

Standout Features

NFC. NFC. NFC. Near Field Communication, baby. It was just so convenient to slide my Sony Xperia Z2 smartphone against the back of the speaker and have it pair, without having to play around with Bluetooth or plug a physical 3.5mm jack into it. This is the way to do it.

On top of that, I really loved the anti-slip stand. The stand itself not only looks great, but it's just so practical too. I had the Soundbook GO on multiple surfaces; glass, plastic, wood and concrete, where it stood the test of time and never rattled, or fell.

As I said above, peeling back the anti-slip stand will reveal the speaker itself, and turn it on. Once you've pulled back the cover, the speaker will let you know it's ready to be connected to something, or paired with a device as it lets out an audible tune. Once you close the cover, the speaker turns off.

PRICING: You can find the Soundbook GO Wireless Bluetooth Speaker - Red 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 Soundbook GO Wireless Bluetooth Speaker - Red retails for $139.99 at Amazon.

Canada: The Soundbook GO Wireless Bluetooth Speaker - Red retails for CDN$139.99 at Amazon Canada.

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

The Listening Experience

I was pretty blown away at what the Soundbook GO was able to provide in terms of audio output, simply blown away.

For my testing, I used the Soundbook GO in a few environments. First, in my office which is ridiculously quiet - and it passed that test, without a problem. This is always the first test, but most portable speakers do well in a quiet environment.

Next, I used it outside, where I put it on a table and had it blasting tunes out to a few friends. The Soundbook GO kept up admirably, pushing out enough audio that you didn't have to have it at full volume to hear it. I cranked it up to 100%, then scaled it down to around 80%, and then tuned the volume from my smartphone.

The quality of the audio was impressive, something I really didn't expect from the speaker. I played a variety of music, ranging from orchestral scores to bass-filled tracks, all of which were handled perfectly by the Bayan Audio Soundbook GO.

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 Soundbook GO, we're going to jump into that right now.

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Absolutely Beautiful: Bayan Audio has crafted music lovers with a beautiful speaker, where I fell in love with the black and red design that they sent me. Everything from the tag on the front to the speaker itself, the buttons and LEDs are all great-looking pieces of tech.

Great Sound: One of the best-sounding portable speakers I've tested, with clear audio, and decent bass. So much performance that I was turning it down most of the time.

Long Battery Life: I had the Soundbook GO sitting in its box for a week between uses, but when I pulled it out, the battery drain on it was minimal. I was getting hours upon hours of use out of it, but some truly great standby times, too.

NFC: This is why I love NFC: one-touch pairing. The Bayan Audio Soundbook GO has both NFC and Bluetooth, so you're not left out. If you don't want to use those wireless technologies, there's also 3.5mm.

What's Not

There's not much I didn't like with the Soundbook GO, it's nearly flawless. Maybe some better bass, but these aren't points where I'd really bring attention - not every product is perfect, but Bayan Audio has a damn close shot at it with the Soundbook GO.

Final Thoughts

The Soundbook GO is one of the best portable speakers I've tried, and has become my new go-to speaker when I'm travelling. It's light, feature-packed, has great audio and looks absolutely awesome anywhere it is sitting or standing.

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Bluetooth and NFC connectivity make it simple to use, especially the one-tap NFC goodness. The anti-slip stand is a great addition, as it turns the speaker on and off, too. If you're in the market for a new speaker, you really need to try out Bayan Audio's Soundbook GO.

PRICING: You can find the Soundbook GO Wireless Bluetooth Speaker - Red 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 Soundbook GO Wireless Bluetooth Speaker - Red retails for $139.99 at Amazon.

Canada: The Soundbook GO Wireless Bluetooth Speaker - Red retails for CDN$139.99 at Amazon Canada.