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Acoustic Research Bolt 1.0 Bluetooth Speaker

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Acoustic Research Bolt 1.0 Bluetooth Speaker

Name: Acoustic Research Bolt 1.0 Bluetooth Speaker
Brand: Acoustic Research
SKU: acoustic-research-bolt-1-0-bluetooth-speaker
Price: 45 USD
Availability: OutOfStock
Rating: 3.5 (26 reviews)

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Product Description

The Acoustic Research Bolt 1.0 Bluetooth speaker is less than 10 inches wide, but still it packs a powerful audio punch. It delivers clean, detailed sound, due in part to its 20W RMS with active subwoofer and best-in-class impulse response Read More

Customer Reviews

3.5

(26 reviews)

(8)

(6)

(5)

(2)

63% would recommend to a friend

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elira

222

Aug 3, 2020

Verified Buyer

Nice speaker, good sound quality.

This speaker is kind of odd, it's big and heavy, plus it is not waterproof. It seems like it's an speaker designed to be used indoors, or in dry places, not the kind of speaker you toss in your backpack to go camping. Based on the documentation it does the digital to analog conversion on the amplifier itself, which is nice to reduce distortions and noise. The MSRP is very high, and you very likely can find something better at that price, but with the discounted price is a good deal. I see that most people didn't like it, but so far it has worked fine for me. The long lasting idle battery is a nice thing for a speaker that is rarely used. I can use it once a week, or once a month and I know it will have charge. My main use case for this speaker is to listen music while doing the dishes, it's loud enough, and the sound quality is good enough to enjoy music. It's not the most hi-fi speaker, but it has decent quality, is loud enough and has a long lasting battery.

Recommends this product? Yes

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Elloboc

Dec 29, 2019

Verified Buyer

Very nice!

Built solid. Nice rubbery feel to it. Great sounding. Highs minds and lows all sound excellent. Good bass. Gets pretty loud. Definitely would purchase again.

Recommends this product? Yes

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bbrks011

Sep 28, 2020

Verified Buyer

I have read some bad reviews here about this speaker but despite that fact I decided to buy it. So after couple of weeks of relaxed listening, I just fail to understand how anyone can give a bad review for this outstanding speaker. If you ask me, best buy for that money. Excellent for every day easy listening to music.

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RajS

Jan 4, 2020

Verified Buyer

Excellent!

Just had this speaker for a few hours- weighs a ton- seriously! Fairly full bodied sound- presumably because of the integrated sub woofer. Quirky charging display but I guess I’ll get used to it. All’s forgiven by that great sound.

Recommends this product? Yes

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One_Eyed_Jackal

150

Jan 30, 2020

Verified Buyer

Picked this up for a total of $110.57 in the Jan (2020) drop. No info on this and was hoping to find a surprise at the price point (think the MSRP was like $350-$400). I was immediately disappointed upon testing it. I'll update this review after a few days. Day one review. First thing I noticed when picking up the package, was that it was heavier than I expected. Initially this excited me. I quickly unpacked the device and all its attachments/add-ons.

For some reason it seemed smaller in my head. Below is a picture of it with a pen and quarter for reference.

The grill is...squishy. Just a little. It feels like some kind of foam material. Upon closer identification, the grill is in fact on another metal grill. Close-up below. Some of the sound could technically be muffled by the differing overlap. I doubt that actually takes place, but it is annoying. Also, in the back is the charging port, usb, and aux-in. It fits, but looks like an afterthought.

I quickly connected it to the wall charger (since it had absolutely no charge at arrival) and synced it up with my phone. The sync went standard. It utilizes some sort of low-power BT technology and hosts two different bluetooth connections (we're supposed to connect to both). The BT connection causes a delay when starting and stopping sound (such as pausing and resuming sound). Which is kind of annoying because it takes 2-3 seconds for it to pick up and that audio is skipped. Then comes the sound. I consider myself an audiophile in philosophy, having started spending money on higher grade equipment over the last two years. While I have room to go, I use Vanatoo Transparent One as my speakers and a HD 6xx powered by S.M.S.L. T1. Anyways, I power this thing on. I start out with a playlist of well-crafted songs that are familiar with me: Sultans of Swing, Aja, Pick Up the Pieces, Thriller, and so on. Even put on A Milli and Limit To Your Love to just get a wiff of that active subwoofer. I hear it, something, I don't know what it is. But it feels like feeling you get... like a pill is stuck in your throat, except it's your ear. Everything feels mono and the audio feels super directional. A lot of BT speakers are really good at feeling like audio is coming from everywhere—this isn't. I get close. It is, in fact, stereo. I focus on the cymbals. I move on to the bass guitar. The articulation of the vocals. The finesse of the toms. The crystal sound of the piano. Everything is relatively clear and articulate. But something isn't right. I try rock, jazz, rap, and electronic. The electronic might be okay. The subwoofer doesn't seem to do anything. I'm sure it fills some space but doesn't make any feels. I don't expect much from the size of it, but it seems like a passive radiator would have worked almost as well. Still, all of the sound together doesn't work. I go home to try it out with my other speakers. Pictured BT devices (left to right): AOMAIS GO, AR Bolt, AOMAIS GO Mini, DOSS Soundbox XL.

The AOMAIS GO thunders, over-exaggerates the highs and lows, but not uncomfortably. It's tuned for consumers. The vocals stick out, the bass rolls, and the cymbals are crisp. The AOMAIS mini sounds like a little brother. It doesn't feel as open, or wide, but it still tuned to sound good. I wouldn't call either AOMAIS speaker flat and accurate. The DOSS Soundbox XL really gives each instrument some space. It has a nice EQ (or lack thereof), but probably sounds somewhat empty after listening to the AOMAIS (which exaggerate). The DOSS is a clone of the Sony SRS-X77, but much cheaper. I'm happy. Now the Bolt. Putting the Bolt against all of the others, it just sounds like its playing music from inside all of the boxes that it was packaged in. The vocals aren't clear and the lower-mid range is overpowering. I open my software EQ in my phone (which I never use) and drop the 300Hz range to -7DB and the 1kHz to -5DB. Suddenly, the Bolt actually sounds nice and neutral. Probably can raise it to -5 and -3, respectively. EQ off. I called in my wife (not an audiophile but audio-tuned). I do a blind sound test, putting each speaker center while playing. I give them letters. After hearing each speaker in the same song at relatively same parts, I get her rating from best to worst. The Bolt gets last place, but just barely worse than AOMAIS mini. Okay. Max volume. There is no distortion and this gets pretty loud. In fact, it is just as loud as the larger AOMAIS GO and maybe even a tad louder. The Bolt sounds pretty good. But then again, for some reason almost anything sounds good when loud if there isn't any distortion. I go back to my testing volume of 50%. Suddenly the Bolt sounds better now. I've got to stop. The hairs in my ears must be done for the day. I'd price this at $30-$50. Not $110. Most certainly not $300+. Also, no Bluetooth cable. Update: 9+ months later I haven't used this thing.

(Edited)

Recommends this product? No

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MountainPass

223

Feb 3, 2020

The iARBolt connection never seemed to work properly with my phone, so I stopped using it. I only use the long-range ARBolt connection. I also updated my previous comment to make it a little clearer.

TLemelin

165

Sep 6, 2020

One_Eyed_JackalGreat review, especially since you compared it to other speakers. I have a Doss XL and love it, so it sounds like I'd be better off getting another one as opposed to this, even at the same price.

MitchRusso

Feb 13, 2020

Verified Buyer

Mediocre Sound Quality, Loud and Heavy

Once again, I was sucked in by a great brand name and a hefty promise of something special at a low price. Message to self: Find a way to listen first before buying. Message to manufacturers. Go get yourself a Bose Micro SoundLink and compare it to your product. If you can't beat that, save us all the grief of shelving another stupid purchase we can't return. The Sound: Over bloated, muddled, unbalanced and unsatisfying sound. I have been trying to find a way to like this but I can't. The physical box: It's hefty, it's loud, it has a decent battery life and it looks like it's a nice design. The experience: Frustrating. Every room I try it in makes it sound worse. This product could possibly be improved with an app, an equalizer that would let listeners tailor the acoustic spectrum to their own taste. It's possibly the simplest fix. Or maybe just ditch this before it inflicts it's misery on the rest of us. Sorry AR, but you can do better, much better...

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tisimst

Sep 6, 2020

MitchRussoOne product I have never been disappointed with is the Anker Soundcore Motion+. Spectacular sound! Even the bass is excellent and gets enhanced (Not muddied) by putting it up against a wall or in a corner. Not quite as deep as the DOSS Soundbox XL, but the sound quality is awesome and at a max price of $100, I recommend it 100%. The accompanying Soundcore app allows you to use a custom EQ to really refine the sound even further. Look up Oluv’s Gadgets on YouTube for his reviews and recommended EQ settings because they really work well.

(Edited)

quicklytoo4

779

Keyboard Club Member

Sep 7, 2020

tisimstAnker's audio stuff is surprisingly good in terms of price/performance $15 V1 Soundbuds Curve beat a lot of wired and all other blutooth earbuds I have tried in the sub $60 range

FuzzTone

Feb 1, 2020

Verified Buyer

Junque

The ports are flipped from what the manual says. Feels like it's got a lead-acid battery. No charge indicator. I bought it so I could BT Qobuz from my 2019 Moto. It connects quickly, of course nothing like the manual states. But it plays NO audio from the phone. It works with my A&K player, BFD. SQ? Don't know! Or care. The few moments I heard were not good. Did not sound any better than my $27 Polaris V8 that also plays mem cards and has an FM tuner. Along with BT that actually works and a replaceable 18650 lithium battery so I can pop in a spare and keep rocking. AND it's still available. NO warranty on this Bolt. This thing gives "Made in China" a bad name. Apparently Voxx just collects respected brand names so they can sell crap to chumps. I sent it back. Refund OR PayPal dispute. Since it took Drop 6 hours to even respond I'm not holding my breath. My first AND last purchase from Drop. And from Voxx. I had a nice Audiovox 8-track in my '73 Civic. They can't seem to even aspire to that level of quality any more.

Recommends this product? No

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Bob3600

201

Sep 6, 2020

FuzzToneHi Fuzz, Is the Polaris V8 a pretty good speaker?? Sound good?? It seems to be pretty versatile? Thanks:)

FuzzTone

Sep 6, 2020

Bob3600Yeah it sounds good and loud enuff to hear over surf. However I think they stopped making them. It was available under a different name for a while but good luck finding one now. It has been my go-to for travel or beach.

(Edited)

Haasaaroni

Feb 3, 2020

Verified Buyer

Not up to snuff

I had high hopes for this! Marked down from such a high price, I assumed it was just an overlooked product that got lost somewhere in the tech haze. Turns out, it was probably lost for a good reason. I dont know when this came out, but it probably is slightly outdated in a world where bluetooth speakers are making amazing advancements pretty quickly. The sound is just muffled. Very muffled. Muddy midbass and dulled highs. It's almost as if the most important part of the tracks you listen to (guitars, drums, WORDS) are a little distant and covered over. I feel like a lot of small speakers try to overcompensate for size by giving an impression of "substance" in the sound. In the Bolt's case, it did so at the expense of any kind of detail retrieval. There's no distortion, as another reviewer pointed out, even at the maximum volume setting (which isn't too terribly loud) -- which is where this sounds by far the best. Probably because the mids are loud enough where you can actually hear them! But at anything less than near max volume, it's very dissappointing. Maybe I'm being too critical, I haven't heard many too many bluetooth speakers. So I'm trying my luck with the Anker Soundcore Motion+ and seeing if it fares better. From Oluv's sound samples, it seems like it definitely might.

(Edited)

Recommends this product? No

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Haasaaroni

Feb 7, 2020

HaasaaroniWanted to add a quick update after getting the Anker Soundcore Motion+...the thing is just so much better in every way. Another reviewer mentioned that sound doesn't fill the room well with the Bolt, and well, the Motion+ it really does. Also, the bass is tighter and goes lower, there is actualy clarity in the highs, and I don't find myself struggling to hear anything in the mids. Instrumental separation also isn't bad at all for such a small speaker. I don't mean for this to be an advertisement for the Motion+, but for a speaker about the same weight, about the same cost, and smaller (in overall dimensions), the Motion+ puts the Bolt to shame. Easily.

LGNDARY

Aug 2, 2020

Verified Buyer

Heavy, Shit Sound

This thing is really heavy. Like way more heavy than you would expect. I think bricks are lighter. The sound is awful. There is no low end. The features feel gimmicky in their implementation. I also bought in the last drop and was really hoping for better. Pretty sure anything on amazon for $20 or more is as good or better.

Recommends this product? No

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tisimst

Sep 6, 2020

LGNDARYIf you are looking for a good sounding product in the $20 range, check out the Earfun and Tribit speaker products. They sound really excellent. I honestly can’t believe they ask for such a low price.

sipankh

Sep 9, 2020

LGNDARYFound this as well https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGgriszzQNk

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Rehack65

Oct 5, 2020

Verified Buyer

Totally okay but not for $100

I was really excited when I got this as it's a pretty big speaker and it's decently heavy, for a portable Bluetooth speaker. However almost all of the sounds unless you're listening to very heavy EDM music, which I did try, is incredibly muddled. You need to play music on max volume to actually hear anything distinct in the song. Pretty disappointing.

(Edited)

Recommends this product? No

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