G-whizz.
Since reviewing the Cambridge Audio Go Bluetooth Speaker a
while back, we've been keen to find out more about this intriguing British
sound company. If you read the Go's review you'll see that although we loved
the sound the speaker produces, we weren't all that kind about its looks. And
so Cambridge Audio have very kindly sent us the Go's smaller, better looking,
brother - the G2 Portable Bluetooth Speaker.
At just seven inches across the G2 is a speaker designed to be moved around. Whereas the Go had more of a shelf or desktop feel, the G2's gentle curves and wrap-around metal casing makes it a pleasure to hold and a breeze to transport. In your hands it feels like a precision-designed bit of kit and certainly not thrown together as other Bluetooth speakers of this size and shape (but not price) tend to.
Available in black, red, blue and champagne (which ours was
- because we're dead posh, like) the Cambridge Audio G2 Portable Bluetooth
Speaker boasts a few pretty impressive features despite that bag-friendly size.
For a start the onboard battery will provide you with ten hours of music
playback - yes, ten (10)! That battery life is not wasted either, as the G2 has
a full-sized USB port on the back (under a convenient rubber seal - take that
damp grass!) into which you can plug your phone or tablet to charge. Which it
can actually do very well. We had a phone receive a full charge from flat from
the G2, and the speaker still had hours of play time left in it.
Connection wise you have the standard Bluetooth (with set-up
being as easy as pie) and also NFC to make things even simpler - if your device
is so equipped. There is a 3.5mm jack input for old-schoolers as well, again
nicely protected by that rubber seal. The G2 can also be used as a speakerphone
thanks to the built-in microphone which, after crank-calling a few local pizzerias,
we found was sensitive and clear. According to the shouts of "You stop
calling 'ere! You not really want pizza!"
But the headline with the Cambridge Audio G2 Portable
Bluetooth Speaker has to be the sound quality. Good God this is awesome, and we
really mean that - surprisingly startlingly awesome. Room-filling doesn't do it
justice, as we left this playing downstairs and ventured upstairs and could
still pick out vocals pretty well. The highs are as crisp and as clear as a
fresh mountain spring, and the lows are as rich and as deep as James Earl-Jones
reading aloud passages from Descartes.
All kinds of music sounded great out of this thing, and even
podcasts and other spoken-word files sounded like the speaker was in the room -
but from such a tiny package! Also, if you prefer your music more immersive,
the Cambridge Audio G2 Portable Bluetooth Speaker can be paired with another G2
to create a surround sound experience. Dot those around your party and your guests
will be entertained wherever they wander.
So this is a great looking portable speaker that reproduces
sounds fantastically. Could this be the Christmas treat you get for the
audiophile within you?
£99
Visit www.cambridgeaudio.com