Editors’ Choice Music

Doctor Who Bluetooth Speakers

Review by Angie Kibiloski

Massive Audio has come out with an exciting series of Bluetooth speakers that are absolute must haves for any Doctor Who fans worthy of calling themselves Whovians.  I’ve been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to tell you all about them, ever since they were first announced many moons ago.  There are 3 models in the series: the sleek, black Dalek Sec, the impressively bronzed Assault Dalek, and the famous blue box herself, the lovely TARDIS, each containing top-notch technology to produce fantastic sound.  These attractively constructed beauties not only do a stellar job at playing your music with clarity, they also make fun sound effects when you perform certain actions, like turning them off and on again, or to let you know their batteries are low.  The TARDIS makes her much beloved mechanical sounds, and the Daleks talk.  Who wouldn’t want their very own materializing TARDIS or talking Dalek on their desk?  I’m lucky enough to have both, and I’m infinitely thrilled about it!

The TARDIS is 8.53” tall, and the Daleks are 7.56” tall, making them a bit larger than some currently trendy portable Bluetooth speakers.  This larger profile allows for 2 important things.  Firstly, the sturdy ABS plastic bodies are rendered in beautiful detail, creating far more accurate miniatures of these iconic figures than you could get with smaller models.  Secondly, the dimensions make room for a more superior sound quality than comes from the smaller speakers I’ve encountered.  Personally, I think they’re perfectly sized to be an eye-catching addition to your desk, kitchen table, bathroom counter, or any other surface that’s in need of some Whovian adornment.  Their lithium-ion batteries can be charged via micro USB, and will last for a good 10 hours.  This means your universe-hopping speakers don’t always have to be stuck at home near a power source.  Take them to the park or the beach and enjoy a full day of onlookers gazing at them with envy.  They can easily connect with any standard Bluetooth device, like your mobile phone, tablet, or computer, from up to 33 feet away.  The superior sound quality I mentioned is created through a combination of a high powered 2” speaker and 2.5” bass radiator, along with a direct wave guide, all working together inside a precision tuned ported enclosure, to produce very smooth, large sound, with a 360 degree dispersion.  All of this means that not only are you getting the full, gorgeous sound of a much larger speaker, it’s an all around sound as well.  You can be standing in front of, to the side of, or behind your speakers, and enjoy a uniform, high quality sound experience from all angles.  If you want an even bigger sound, you can daisy chain multiple speakers together with the included 3.5mm auxiliary in/out cord.

Playing music isn’t the only function of these powerful little speakers.  You could use one as a hands free device for your cell phone.  The omni-directional microphone, with noise cancellation, will clearly pick up your voice from any angle.  It’s easy to switch back and forth between the phone and speaker functions as well, with just the press of a button.  Also, the coolest feature is, of course, the sound effects.  The TARDIS sound effects include the noises of materialization, dematerialization, turbulence, flight, and the cloister bell, which are triggered when you turn it on and off, search for and connect to a Bluetooth device, and to indicate low battery.  In addition to the sounds, the top LED lights up when powering on and off, and the Police Public Call Box sign illuminates when paired via Bluetooth.  For the Dalek sound effects, they say “Seek, Locate, Exterminate” when searching for a Bluetooth device, make a gun noise when connected, say “Reinitializing” and “Powering down” when being turned on and off, “Dalek command override” if you connect via auxiliary cord, and my favorite, “You would make a good Dalek” if you let the battery get too low.  Their antennae also flash and get brighter as music is played and the volume increases, and their eyestalks illuminate when paired with a device.  Their appendages are also adjustable, so you can give them just the right menacing pose, and the Assault Dalek comes with a bonus, interchangeable appendage.  Due to these awesome sound effects, and its stunning metallic bronze finish, I think the Assault Dalek is my favorite of the 3. As if these speakers weren’t fantastic enough already, check out the attractive white TARDIS headphones below.

I am so excited to be able to share these awesome products with you.  I literally jumped for joy, and did a little happy dance, when I first got my hands on my very own Dalek and TARDIS.  You’ll pay a little more than you would for some small, bargain speakers, but the range and quality of the sound, along with the incredible look of these little babies makes them well worth the price.  The TARDIS and Dalek Sec retail for $119.98 on the Massive Audio site, and the Assault Dalek retails for $149.98, because of its massively cool bronze finish.  If you get the combo pack of either the TARDIS and Dalek Sec, at $219.98, or the 2 Daleks together, at $249.98, you’ll enjoy a great savings per speaker.  You really NEED to get one, or two of these for your very own.  Trust me…I’m a Doctor Who fan. These speakers and headphones are now sold through the Fametek.com site.

Review date: June 2015