This is a review of the SoundSOUL Bluetooth Water Speakers Fountain Speakers.

What does SoundSOUL Bluetooth Water Speakers Fountain Speakers do?

As the name slightly gives away these are dancing water speakers! They can either be plugged in via USB or use the inbuilt battery.  Charging time is 2 hours for a 3 hour playtime or 6 hours standby.

The two speakers come as a pair, with each having 4 coloured LED lights inside as well as a water that dances and moves inside the speaker with whatever is played. The unit is sealed and feels well made.

The best way to understand what they do is to watch them.

How easy is it to setup?

There is not really any setup, the speakers connect to each other via a link cable.

You can either connect to a media source (Phone / Laptop etc) via the supplied aux cable or via Bluetooth.

How much do they cost?

£50.99 on Amazon – at time of reviewing (2/1/18) on sale £25.99!

Soundsoul Bluetooth Water Speaker

What’s the connectivity?

They connect via a supplied aux cable or via Bluetooth.
The smart part is the Bluetooth connection is pin less, this means it can be connected to Alexa!

What’s it like living with it?

These are a really fun portable speaker, the lights and water dancing look great.
The fact it can connects to Alexa via Bluetooth is a big plus.

What are our final thoughts?

Perfect for a kids bedroom. The sound quality is good enough, we didn’t expect mind blowing audio as the main feature of these speakers is the fun!

This is a We Own It review of SoundPEATS Q30 dual 4.1 Bluetooth headphones with microphone.

What do the SoundPEATS Q30 do?

They are Bluetooth in ear headphones with a microphone. One of the things that initially really stands out is the price – most wireless headphones cost near £100, these have a very reasonable RRP of £39.99! At the time of writing of this review, they’re on Amazon for under £22.

The earbuds are metal and stick together with a magnet making sure they don’t rattle around or get damaged in the case. You can also clip them together around your neck so you don’t lose them.

A helpful, although little scary sounding, voice lets you know when the battery is low or when connected to a new device.  Great idea as nothing worse than trying to remember what a status light means, voice is much easier. 

They have a built in microphone so you can use them as your phones headset and answer calls with them.

They come with an almost excessive number of accessories to make sure they fit in everyone’s ears:

6 x Ear Fins (yes this is what they are called)
10 x Ear Tips

The manual states 75% of people need medium we did and everyone we tested in one did as well but nice to see they cater for everyone.

One nice feature is they come with a little leather carry case, good for keeping them all together.
How easy are they to setup?

Setup was simple, they came with a charge so didn’t need to wait for them to charge before having a play.

The first thing you need to do is connect them to a device.

To do this you press the middle play button, or multi-function button as they call it. It turns blue to show it is in pair mode. Now on your phone or whatever device you want to pair select Q30 from the list and your good to go.
They take nearly 2 hours to charge but when tested lasted over 7 hours listening to music – with the odd phone call as well. Not bad for such a small bit of kit.

What’s the connectivity?

These work on Bluetooth 4.1 and state they have a 10-meter range. We found they had just under this for a good signal about 7 meters, but let’s be honest – why do you need a long range on headphones?

As these work on the Bluetooth profile A2DP and AVRCP they can connect to Amazon Alexa – creating a portable Alexa around your house!

To connect them to Amazon Alexa put the headphones in pairing mode.

Open the Alexa app, go to Settings > Alexa > Bluetooth > Q30.

You can now use the in-built microphone to control Alexa, perfect for when doing the hoovering and want to listen to music.

As it fully connects you can also control anything connected to Alexa like lights.

How much do SoundPeats Q30 4.1 Cost?

The RRP is £39.99 making them very cheap Bluetooth headphones, especially considering the build and sound quality.

You can buy them from amazon usually for under £22.

SoundPEATS Bluetooth Earphones with Mic, Q30 Dual 4.1 Magnetic Wireless Headsets

What’s it like living with them?

Impressive! The sound quality is good and balanced. Due to the fit in the ear you can hear very little else, good for commuting and when you don’t want distractions.

They do get occasional interference if you walk too far away from the source, but normally with a phone in pocket it’s not an issue.

What are our final thoughts?

These are great little headphones, especially as you can connect them to Alexa and almost any Bluetooth device. The microphone is a handy extra as is the magnetic catch.

For more information there website is: www.soundpeatsaudio.com

This is a We Own It review of the SoundPEATS Bluetooth wireless Speaker P4

What does SoundPEATS Bluetooth wireless Speaker P4 do?

It is a portable Bluetooth speaker and microphone in one. There are two 5W speakers, one at the front and one at the back of the cylinder creating a ‘360’ effect.

The volume and track can be changed using the controllers on the top of the device speaker.

The microphone adds functionality if connected to a phone, allowing you to answer and speak as well as reject calls. We tested this and the caller could hear and understand us, the call was a little muffled but good enough.

It is powered by a 2000mAh lithium battery, taking 4 hours charge for a mighty 6-8 hours use.

It’s light weight and you can tell care has been taken when designing it.

SoundPEATS Bluetooth wireless Speaker P4 Bass Portable Stereo Bluetooth 4.1 Wireless Speaker

How easy is it to setup?

Very easy, from unboxing to playing in less than 2 minutes.

One nice feature is it comes partially charged allowing you to use it straight out the box.

To pair the device turn it on, the musical note on the dial flashes blue – then connect via your device. We tested with an iPhone 6.

What’s the connectivity?

It connects via Bluetooth 4.1 as well as a supplied 3.5 aux cable. The advertised Bluetooth range is 10m – we tested it in the park and got just over 9 meters range.

How much does SoundPEATS Bluetooth wireless Speaker P4 cost?

The retail cost is £60

What’s it like living with it?

Good! It’s small yet powerful. This has become an essential holiday addition.

What are our final thoughts?

This is a handy speaker, perfect for the garden or taking away on holiday or camping.

Unlike a lot of the smaller plastic speakers we have used this one sounds good, looks good and has an impressive battery life.

You can purchase the speaker from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01MTKTF7G

This is a We Own it review of the Lithe Audio Bluetooth Ceiling Speaker specifically the IP44 rated speaker.

There are many different types of Bluetooth speakers on the market however Lithe Audio seem to have found a gap in the market! Wireless Bluetooth speaker that are ceiling mounted and can come IP44 rated. All other examples we found require separate amplifiers or multiple units for the Bluetooth controller and speaker – with these everything is contained in one compact unit.

Lithe Audio was founded in 2014 manufacturing these speakers as well as TV mounts.

The team are tech experts having designed and created the successful Retrotouch brand since 2008. This is also good to know as a lot of the companies in this space just import the ‘latest tech’ cheaply from overseas and sell via their website or partner (eBay/Amazon) with no actual interest in product development or customers.

What does Lithe Audio Bluetooth ceiling speaker do?

The speaker sits in the ceiling, connecting to any Bluetooth 4.0 device or via the RCA line in.
You can choose either pin protected or pin free. Pin free works with Amazon Echo Dot and other tech – however will allow anyone to connect to the speaker and play from it so if in a flat or somewhere ‘high traffic’ we advise going for Pin.

We connected it to our iPhone and then Spotify – however it will play anything playing on the device.

As we chose the pin free option the phone connects then disconnects to the speaker it does not pair, meaning it will not auto connect and you must select it to connect to it.

Not an issue for us but if you are looking for a totally seamless option your better choosing the pin configuration.

The sound quality is impressive! We have 4 Sonos in our house and this little beauty gives them a run for their money.

The speakers come in a few different versions, we choose the IP44 rated model so we could install it in the bathroom.  Unlike our friend Sonos where currently the best solution for a bathroom Sonos requires an expensive Amp, separate IP rated speaker as well as cable and space to install the separate tech.

How does it work and What is the tech?

The speaker connects to Bluetooth it has 2 power solutions:

• Power Cable with plug
• Wire into lighting circuit (by an electrician)

This is a great feature and allows flexibility on install, we went for the hard-wired option as fitted it into our ceiling.

The speaker also has an RCA input for connecting to a TV, as well as a connecting point to allow you to connect it to another speaker to create a pair.

It has a built in Woofer and Tweeter – as we said it really is a all in one unit.

Our speaker only worked in mono however Lithe Audio informed us a feature enhancement is coming in the next edition of the IP44  speaker that makes them stereo.  Another great feature coming it is the ability to hard limit sound, great for kids bedrooms or preventing accidentally blasting music in the bathroom.

How easy is it to set up?

Ridiculously easy! From opening the box to playing music was under 3 minutes, using the plug provided.

Once turned on you search for the Bluetooth device, Lithe Audio BT, or for a small programming fee they can rename them – useful if installing more than one or just want it named, we choose Bathroom. Note this must be requested when ordering as is done at firmware level.

Once connected it plays whatever the device is playing – simple as that.

Our electrician also commented how easy it was to install – there is a helpful template for cutting the hole in the ceiling.

What’s the connectivity?

The speaker connects via Bluetooth 4.0 – the range is impressive, the spec states up to 10 meters, and covers nearly the entire upstairs of our house.

How much does it cost?

The IP44 rated Bluetooth ceiling Speaker model costs – £229
Standard Bluetooth ceiling speaker costs – £199

Lithe Audio Bluetooth Ceiling Speaker

What’s it like living with it?

Brilliant, this is one of our favourite bits of kit. We left our phone connected to it for a full 8 hours and didn’t experience any drops, lag or issues. One nice touch is the removable, magnetic, grill that you can paint to make it match you ceiling.

What are our final thoughts?

This is an impressive bit of kit – you can really tell they have thought about the features and developed it accordingly. The only thing we can think of as a negative is it is quite deep, so make sure their is space to install it.

To find out more have a look at http://www.litheaudio.com/

This is a We Own it review!

Sonos is an American company founded in 2012, all they do is audio equipment their mission is to: “Fill every home with music and make listening a valued experience again”

What does the Sonos Wireless Speaker do?

Sonos is a wireless speaker or multi room audio system to give it its full name.

Plug in the speakers, connect them to the internet then stream a vast selection of services including Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Apple Play, Google Play and sound cloud. Note you do need to pay for some accounts these are not included in a Sonos purchase.

Alternatively you can play your local music collection from a NAS, network attached storage.

You can have up to 32 speakers per setup, each with the ability to play the same music all in time seamlessly or all play different music.  This is pretty impressive, as it allows you to create music zones, brilliant for parties or just enough different music in different rooms.

The app has a feature called True Play that plays a sound whilst you walk around the room allowing Sonos to ‘listen’ to the room and balance the sound to make it perfect for every room its in.

Sonos fits into three categories

Upgrade

This range contains the Sonos Connect allowing you to connect non-Sonos equipment to Sonos. This is brilliant if you already have good speakers and don’t want to replace them.

As well as the Sonos Connect Connect AMP, this is the same as the Connect but has a built in Amp.

For your music

This is the main range for Sonos and comprises of 3 players:

Play:1 – This is the smallest speaker in the range, two can be paired to make left and right.
Play:3 – Medium speaker with stereo sound, again two can be paired
Play:5 – Most powerful of the range, boasting deep base as well as a line in.

One great feature of all the Plays is the physical controls on the top allowing you to easily control volume or pause the music.

For your TV

Sonos Sub – As the name suggest a powerful sub woofer

Sonos Play Bar – Connects to the TV via optical cable to create cinema sound

Sonos Playbase – The latest addition to the range, same as the Play Bar but designed for the TV to sit on it, supporting up to 35kg TV’s.

Addons

Sonos Boost – This is if you have issues with your wifi or want to not rely on your wifi signal.

Sonos One – Voice Controlled Smart Speaker with Amazon Alexa Built In

How does it work and What is the tech?

A few years ago you needed to use a Sonos Bridge to add connectivity however they improved their software with its 5.1 release meaning you no longer need a Hub or a wired connection to the router.

If you choose to use the optional Sonos Boost the system works via its own mesh network SonosNet.

How easy is it to set up?

Very easy!

1. Plug in
2. Download App
3. Follow App instructions – it took us less than 3 minutes!!

What’s the connectivity?

This is one of the lacking features of Sonos. It is a closed network and they do not allow any 3rd Party Apps to communicate with it. That said some have managed to for example Sonos Voice however as these are unofficial integrations they could stop working at any point.

There is also no Bluetooth option so if your friend comes round a simply must play a something from their phone the only solution is a 3.5M Jack into a play 5. For this very reason we always have a jack plugged into our Play 5. If you do this you can also play in other rooms, you’re not limited to playing on the Sonos Play 5 your connected too.

How much does it cost?

Sonos is not cheap:

Play: 1 – £199
Play: 3 – £299
Play: 5 – £499

Playbase – £699
Playbar –  £699
Sub –  £699

Connect – £349
Connect Amp – £499

Boost – £99

What’s it like living with it?

Epic! Being able to listen to your music in every room, or different music in every room is amazing. Where the system really comes into its own is parties or BBQ’s where anyone can add a song to the play list like a JukeBox with an endless repertoire of songs. Perfect for that ‘oh I want THAT song’ moments.

We have had two problems with the system after moving house, one device kept dropping off. However Sonos support were brilliant and spent 2 hours talking us through how to fix it. The system can generate detailed logs to send to support in real time allowing them to help you fix anything.

What are our final thoughts?

This is a great bit of kit, it is expensive and without doubt competitors do offer similar setups cheaper however the Sonos App, functionality and range overcome that. One brilliant feature is that you can easily add to it so no need to kit out the entire house at once!!