Acoustic Research Bolt 1.0 Bluetooth Speaker Reviews | Drop

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Acoustic Research Bolt 1.0 Bluetooth Speaker

Audiophile

FULL DISCUSSION

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 I dont know when this came out, but it probably is slightly outdated in a world where bluetooth speakers are making amazing advancements pretty quickly.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.

Feb 7, 2020