Arctic S113BT Bluetooth NFC Portable Speaker Review

Offering a rubber coating and big sound out of a small package, Arctic tries to set themselves above the bar in the saturated Bluetooth speaker market.

Arctic S113BT Bluetooth NFC Portable Speaker
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TweakTown
Published
Updated
Manufactured by Arctic
4 minutes & 30 seconds read time
TweakTown's Rating: 83%

The Bottom Line

Sitting at roughly $50, the SB113T Bluetooth NFC portable speaker from Arctic provides any general user with an easy to use, entry-level speaker system worth considering for the price.

Introduction

Why do I even need a portable speaker? I asked to myself as my friend dragged out his old Jawbone JAMBOX in 2013. He connected it via Bluetooth to his iPhone 4 and blasted some tunes away while we lazed in the spa, and thus my love for this style of sound was born.

Arctic S113BT Bluetooth NFC Portable Speaker Review 01

I have been travelling a bit for various different jobs over the past few years, business trips and exhibitions have left me exhausted and in need of some musical stress relief. As someone who listens to music almost 24/7 while at home, working, at the gym or driving, having a unit I can take with me is extremely important - especially when your friends are around and you want to share some beats.

In this review, I'll go over this portable speaker I have been sent by Arctic, my impressions on the build design, specifications, price and availability. As with most sound based objects, I can only give you my opinion and thoughts on the product and it's up to you to decide if you like the overall package enough to either hear it in-store, hear a professional recording of the sound output, or buy one online if you trust me enough.

Enough about myself, lets get cracking into the review.

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Specifications, Pricing and Availability

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Featuring extremely handy NFC connectivity and a power output (RMS) of 2x 3W, this Arctic unit also offers the basic capabilities for you to call your friends using the speaker in replacement for the 'loudspeaker' on your phone. This functionality comes through a built-in microphone boasting a sensitivity of -44 ±3dB. A 2-year limited warranty is supplied with the S113 BT, which also boasts an interesting inclusion of 2x 1.5" full range drivers and 2x 1.5" Bass Radiators, set to improve your sounds depth, volume and punch. As a handy little consideration, this device gives you the ability to connect to all iOS and Android phones.

Sitting at 290g and with eight hours of claimed playback through the included 1200 mAh battery, this small unit provides enough punch for a small gathering of friends or a solo jam session in your lounge room.

On top of all of these features, the Arctic S113 BT comes in a variety of color options including: black, blue, pink, yellow, orange and white. We think the black looks the best, and as such requested this exact color for review purposes.

A Closer Look and what's in the box

Shipped as a rather basic unit, the Arctic S113BT comes with a simple package of - the device itself, a charging cable, a basic user manual, a 3.5mm AUX male-to-male cable and a handy travel pouch. Often you'll see other products being shipped with accessories things such as special leather carry pouches, portable battery packs and other goodies, however it seems Arctic has kept this one simple as to keep not only the package small, but the costs down.

Rather than a boring picture by picture - we've utilized our new 1080p Logitech webcam as seen on the TweakTown tech podcasts to show you exactly what's involved.

PRICING: You can find the ARCTIC S113BT NFC/Bluetooth 4.0 Stereo Speaker 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 ARCTIC S113BT NFC/Bluetooth 4.0 Stereo Speaker retails for $44.66 at Amazon.

Canada: The ARCTIC S113BT NFC/Bluetooth 4.0 Stereo Speaker retails for CDN$49.99 at Amazon Canada.

What's Hot, What's Not & Final Thoughts

Long playback time and large sound experiences

With a long 8-hours of playback time and surprisingly good sound coming out of this tiny unit all set at the reasonable price of $49.19, it means that this product is almost unbeatable when it comes to the mid-range market. This is coupled with an amazing 70 hour standby time and easy NFC connectability ensures this product will provide all-round performance at a low cost.

What's Hot

Rubber coating: Often not considered with new-age designs, the Arctic S113BT gives you a little extra protection thanks to the rubber shell around the exterior of the product. This helps against general bumps and bruises and also gives it a very nice sleek feel.

Big Sound: For only a small unit in stature, it's able to light up a lounge room with the drivers that it has on offer. If you're looking to play some beats solo or to a small gathering of friends, this unit will do the trick for only $50.

Long Battery Life: I'll say it again - 8 hours playtime, 70 hours standby time. How often do you forget to switch off your products? Now you can go a few days without worrying about the charge running out the window.

NFC: With better NFC pairing that most other devices I've used, the Arctic S113BT is super easy to use.

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What's Not

There's nothing exactly wrong with the Arctic S113BT, you just need to make sure that it suits your needs. If you're wanting to play music at a party or a campsite, you're going to have to look into purchasing bigger models with more grunt and battery life, such as LUXA2's Groovy W with included wireless charger. Otherwise, this unit is a stunner and is recommended.

Final Thoughts

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We recommend this unit for anyone who's looking for something compact and portable, however, if you're willing to up the investment and have some spare money to throw around, take a look at LUXA2's Groovy W with included wireless charger for louder sound, deeper bass and a longer run-time.

PRICING: You can find the ARCTIC S113BT NFC/Bluetooth 4.0 Stereo Speaker 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 ARCTIC S113BT NFC/Bluetooth 4.0 Stereo Speaker retails for $44.66 at Amazon.

Canada: The ARCTIC S113BT NFC/Bluetooth 4.0 Stereo Speaker retails for CDN$49.99 at Amazon Canada.

Performance (Amount of mAh)80%
Quality including Design and Build90%
General Features85%
Bundle and Packaging80%
Value for Money80%
Overall83%

The Bottom Line: Sitting at roughly $50, the SB113T Bluetooth NFC portable speaker from Arctic provides any general user with an easy to use, entry-level speaker system worth considering for the price.

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