A lot of sound out of a small device
When Don Lindich (of Sound Advice fame) and I were having lunch recently, he mentioned in passing that he discovered a nice sounding speaker called Oontz. Next thing I knew, a small box showed up in my office – about the size of 3 pounds of butter. It contained an Oontz, made by Cambridge Soundworks.
Many electronics manufacturers have trouble balancing quality and convenience – but the engineers at Cambridge have done a great job of balancing good sound with convenience.
The Oontz can connect to your computer, your phone or even your old radio – and makes most of them sound better. With bass response in excess of my standard speakers and able to get loud without distortion, the sound of the Oontz is noticeably better than my computer – and the iPhone sound is not even a contest. Yet, unpackaged the Oontz is only a few times the size of a standard mouse.
The Oontz can connect using a standard ear bud size cord, via USB cord, or wirelessly via Bluetooth – and that last one is what makes it even more appealing – because you can put it on a small shelf and listen to music from the PC on your desk or phone in your pocket – without having to worry about wires.
My daughter decided she wanted to see how far the speaker can be separated from the source, so while I was listening to music from my computer in our kitchen, she took the Oontz upstairs, and found that it remained paired, and with good sound, through most of the house. As comparison, my Internet service usually loses two thirds of its speed when I run it wirelessly between the same rooms. So the Bluetooth pairing of the Oontz is reliable.
At $69, the Oontz is a bargain and a half.