98 of 103 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exceeded My Expectations, June 7, 2011
This review is from: Monster ClarityHD Precision Micro Portable Bluetooth Speaker (MBL CLY SPKR BT) (Electronics)
First of all, I love music. I love expensive toys that play music. And, I have a critical ear. Additionally, I'm pairing with an HTC Thunderbolt. And, I was looking for something portable that I could easily pair with my phone to enjoy surfing the web, streaming music and watching videos anywhere from my bedroom to the beach. And, I wanted to do all of that wirelessly.
I was fearful of a bad experience with my Thunderbolt. I had read that many people had poor experiences with HTC's Bluetooth stack and pairing with various devices. So, when I made the order, I was taking a certain leap of faith.
It took about 60 seconds to pair the Monster ClarityHD speaker to my phone. Music was up and running another 5 seconds later. And, WOW, was I surprised!
Don't get me wrong, this is still an "inexpensive" and small speaker. I'm not expecting, nor receiveing, a Bang & Olufsen experience here. But, given what I was expecting from something this small, wireless and portable, the sound quality and volume from this speaker is remarkable. Not only does it have bass, it also sounds very clear.
The weakness is the high end of the sound spectrum. In order to really enjoy the "highs," you need to have the speaker pointed right at your ears. But, even with that small weakness, the sound truly is remarkable.
Not only does it sound good, it's wireless. The fear about Bluetooth I had was unnecessary. The sound is clean and clear. And, I was able to walk at least 30 feat away, staying in line-of-sight, before I experienced any lag or popping.
A quick comment about watching videos with bluetooth. Bluetooth will have a barely noticeable delay. So, when you are watching videos, you will likely notice the sound is barely behind the video. No way around it. But, after watching several videos and movies, I stopped noticing it as much.
Additionally, the internal battery is very convenient. The speaker can be completely untethered while producing great sound. And, after around 5 hours of use, you can simply plug the included mini USB cable into a laptop or an Apple adapter and charge it back to full strength.
The next feature really blew me away. While I was listening to music, my dad called. I simply answered the phone and talked with him for about 5 minutes. When we were finishing, I asked him about the call quality and revealed I had been talking with him through this speaker the whole time. He commented to me that it sounded to him as though I had my phone right up to my mouth. I was sitting on my bed about 3 feet away from the speaker. He couldn't believe the call quality.
Additionally, the speaker comes with a nice soft carrying case. I suppose it would keep the chrome-looking reflective top from getting scratched during its "portable" adventures.
If I had one final gripe, and this is mostly with the Thunderbolt, it's that it's a little bit of a pain to switch from being paired with the Monster ClarityHD and being paired with my Plantronics bluetooth headset. So, I'm keeping an eye out in the Android market for a cool bluetooth toogle app of some kind. (Edit - added Bluetooth Setting icon that takes me directly to Bluetooth settings. It allows me to easily toggle between my Monster ClarityHD and my Plantronics bluetooth headset.)
Ok, I lied, I have one more...observation. The blue/red lights that indicate power/connectivity/pairing mode/etc. are very bright. If you plan on keeping the speaker in your room at night, it will illuminate your room like a night light. If that works for you, great. If not, you'll need to consider that when keeping the speaker turned on and/or charging.
Overall, I couldn't be more pleased with this tiny powerhouse. It was everything I'd hoped for...and more!
UPDATE - I've owned the speaker for a few weeks now, and continue to be impressed. Everyone I've shown this little speaker to wants one. I took the speaker with me to a friend's house in another state. While there, we paired the speaker to her iPad and watched movies and other media. She enjoyed the flexibility, portability and sound quality so much...I ended up having to buy one for her, too!...and one for my dad on father's day...and one for my mom because she was jealous of my dad's gift...you can see where I'm going with this...
If you're using this speaker in conjunction with a cell phone, I HIGHLY recommend installing an app with an EQ. As mentioned, I have an HTC Thunderbolt. Most phones with Gingerbread can download a stand-alone app that changes the EQ setting for all applications (including streaming). The Thunderbolt does not have Gingerbread yet, so I downloaded PowerAmp, which has a very customizable EQ. When listening to music with PowerAmp through this speaker, the Monster ClarityHD is even more amazing than before. Bass is more solid, treble is crisper and more pronounced. As amazed as I was when I first unboxed this speaker, having it play music through an EQ knocked me out. The down side is I can't play Pandora through PowerAmp, which is frustrating given how wonderful this speaker sounds when equalized.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing little speakers!, June 15, 2011
This review is from: Monster ClarityHD Precision Micro Portable Bluetooth Speaker (MBL CLY SPKR BT) (Electronics)
After much reviewing and comparing I settled for these little Monster speakers over the Jawbone Jambox. I've heard the Jambox in person and was impressed by the sound but the $200 (+/- $50 in some places) was just a tad bit too steep for me.
So without even hearing the Monsters in person I took a gamble and ordered it anyways, worst case scenario I'd just returned them if I didn't like 'em... and like 'em I did. It does everything the Jambox does but at less cost (think about $120 less). with that all said here goes the skinny:
The unit is compact enough to fit in your bag (purse?) without much sacrifice to space, it's small enough to fit in the palm of my hand and is fairly light; about the weight of a good sized smartphone. I really like this cause I've carried it or tucked it in my sweatshirt pocket when I go running with my buddy, since it's so light I really don't notice it bouncing around much when I run. Best part is the bluetooth, I have it synced to my phone playing music AND my Google tracks which ever so nicely provides updates in my routine with data and resumes playing the tunes over the speakers.
Which brings me to my next point... the bluetooth, it works great. The conference mode sounds clear on both ends ( I assume the receiving end is fine since I've yet to hear any gripes, but then again we all know what happens when we assume?). Bluetooth range is ok, about 20ft line of sight in my experience and the signal is clear with very few clips in the transmission, but I have noticed more clips while streaming Pandora. I'm inclined to believe its more a problem with my phone's signal than the bluetooth performance as the connection is near flawless while listening to my phone's mp3 player.
Fit and finish? The case is pretty good I think. The plastic housing is light with two small speakers upfront, it feels solid so it doesn't flex, and it has a nice dark chrome hood on top to cover the small passive sub-woofer below. There are four small grippy pads beneath the unit to keep it stable on smooth surfaces, but they're not so effective on my car's dash board. The buttons on the side I'd say are the weakest point of the unit, they wiggle slightly with some play and require some, but not much, effort to press. I do like the fact that you can control your phone from the unit to receive calls and advance music tracks, and yes folks you can advance music tracks via the speakers while streaming Pandora. :D Oh, and the batteries last about 5 hours, can't say the same for my phone's though. :P
Sound Quality: I'll stop short of saying that they'll blow your home theater system out of the water, BUT they do sound great. They cover a fairly good range in the noise spectrum save for the lowest of bass notes. On that note (sorry, bad pun), the speakers carry a richer bass tones with minimal distortion than ANY of the cheaper smaller crap speakers I've heard. In short, they're not earth thumpers but the bass is there and with little or no distortion. The mids and highs are represented very faithfully never missing a beat. I really feel these speakers are more suited for Rock and Blues as opposed to Drum&Bass, Break Beats, and/or other forms of Dance (No word on Rap or Hip Hop, sorry not my genre). In comparison and the sound quality isn't MUCH different than the Jambox any ways.
So who should get the HDclarity speaker system? If you want a simple but clear hands free bluetooth speaker for driving in your car I'd say go for it, because anything that will help a person keep BOTH hands on the steering wheel is a GOOD thing, and as a bonus it doubles for a great mobile speaker system too. They're great for the workshop, the beach, cubicle (more like crucible), social gatherings , anti-social gatherings, libraries (...don't, just don't), impressing your friends, and any situation in which you may find yourself with the sudden need for some tunes to grind to. They're awesome, buy two.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Video Review of the iClarity HD, January 2, 2012
Length:: 5:10 Mins
I have reviewed several small portable speakers in order to find the perfect combination of sound performance, portability (including it being rechargeable) , and Bluetooth capability. It the video portion of the review I compare the iCarity HD to several of its competitors including the Wowee One
WOWee One Power Bass Portable Speaker for iPad, iPhone, MP3 Players, Laptops, Mobile Phones, and Personal Game Systems (Black), Kinivo BT speaker
Kinivo BTX110 Wireless Bluetooth Mini Portable Speaker for iPhone, iPad, Smartphones, Tablets & other Bluetooth Devices, the Exo Exciter
eXo Xciter Bluetooth Wireless Speaker. I did not compare it to the more expensive Jawbone or Beat Box by Dr. Dre.
As for the iClarity
- Sound - Nice and loud - Both the loudest of the 4 speakers, and the best sounding. It offers two drivers, so the iClarity HD is in stereo (unlike the others). The high and mid frequencies sound pretty decent. The lower end frequencies is lacking (certainly less than the Wowee One) - but it is good enough to give some depth. Someone compared it to a transistor radio, which is inaccurate. The iClarity does not have great depth of sound, but for me... it is the best-in-class (8 out of 10 - graded on a curve due to its size).
- Portability - The iClarity is the largest of the speakers that I reviewed, but it can easily fit into a backpack. I wouldn't want anything much larger, but it is small enough to be considered highly portable. The speaker charges easily using a USB.
- Bluetooth - Pares easily and has a range of about 25 feet -
Other Notes-
- Some people complain about the Bluetooth light - add me to that group. It is pretty bright, and if you are planning to use the IClarityHD as a noisemaker for travel - it may cause an issue.
- The best I can tell, it works as a speakerphone
- I like that the iClarity has an on-off switch.
- Has an aux input incase you want to use with a non-bluetooth device.
Final Verdict - The Monster iClarity offers a nice option for a highly portable bluetooth speaker. While it does not offer much in terms of bass response - it does have best-in-class performance. If you keep expectations in-line (remember it is not the Beat Box by Dr. Dre, Jawbone, Bose or other more pricey speaker) I think you will be happy with the Monster iClarity.
4 1/2 Stars
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
Ultra-Clear Noise-canceling Bluetooth Speakerphone for Hands-free Calls and Video Chat
COMPATIBILITY:
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192250339_.gif){kind=small}
