Of all the Bluetooth speakers I’ve reviewed, the Honeycomb Sound Wireless Bluetooth Speaker has to be the most unusual — in looks, anyway. The honeycomb body is made of ABS plastic (I thought it was aluminum at first) with iron speaker grilles; the design is beautiful, but how’s the sound?
We’ll get to the sound in just a bit; let’s start with the speaker itself. Inside the box is the Honeycomb speaker, a two piece charging cable with power brick, an auxiliary cable, a microUSB to USB cable, and a user manual.
Specifications:
Speker Drivers: 2″x 4 (Full Range)
Amplifier: 40 WATTS, 20w x 2
Frequency Response: 100HZ – 20KHz
Signal to Noise Ratio: > 80db
Distortion: < 2%
Battery Life: 6 – 14 HOURS (via Bluetooth & aux inputs)
Battery Charging Time: 3 HOURS (with AC adapter)
Battery Capacity: 2200 mAh (Li-ion)
Operating Frequency Range: 2.4GHz – 2.48GHz
Bluetooth Transmission Distance: 30 FEET
Bluetooth Compliant: CSR V. 4.0
The Honeycomb speaker measures 14″ long by 6.5 tall by 4.5 deep, and it weighs four pounds. The design is one that should be familiar to everyone; it’s organic, beautiful, and unique. The speaker is available in silver with white grilles (as shown here), or black with red grilles. I happen to love the silver and white, but the black and red looks pretty striking, too.
On the top of the speaker, there is a round rubber touch pad with all of the controls. At the top is the power button, underneath that are two buttons that function as either volume up or down (when you long press) or back and forward (when you short press). Underneath that is a Bluetooth connection button (it chimes when you connect), and a Mode button to switch between Bluetooth, aux-in, and microSD card. The button at the bottom is play/pause.
On the back of the speaker, you’ll find the 3.5mm aux-in port, the USB power bank (you can charge your phone from the speaker — handy if you are short on plugs), the DC line in charging port, a microUSB charging port (you can use it instead of the DC charger, but it takes a lot longer), and a microSD slot.
On the bottom, there are four rubber feet so the Honeycomb speaker will stay put.
The design is so pretty that I think it will look great just about anywhere. While the speaker has a built-in 2200mAh battery, so it is technically portable, the speaker is a bit heavy and unwieldy for easy portability. I think it’s best used on a shelf, as that placement definitely helps with bass response.
I wanted to absolutely love this speaker, because I do think it is beautiful, but I found that the mid-range sound was a bit muddy and music played wasn’t as crisply as I’d like; that’s not to say that it doesn’t sound good enough, but I suppose that I’ve been spoiled by speakers that are tuned differently. With that said, the speaker can definitely fill a room; it can get quite loud when you have the volume on the speaker and your phone cranked up, and the bass will not bottom out. If you’re using it for a party, it will definitely be loud enough to dance to — but for quiet listening, whether it’s rap, rock, or pop, you’ll likely find that the music you’re listening to isn’t quite as sharp and clear as you think it should be. If you aren’t used to listening to higher-end speakers, or if you aren’t that picky about your mid-range, you may not even notice.
One thing that you may think is good (or you may find annoying) is that the speaker will turn itself off if it hasn’t been used for some time. It’s no big deal to turn it back on and reconnect, but if you are used to a speaker being on and connecting as soon as you are ready, it’s an added step. This is likely a battery-saving feature, but when it’s plugged in, I’d rather the speaker be ready and waiting for a connection.
The Honeycomb Sound Wireless Bluetooth Speaker wins points with me for being unique and lovely to look at; I do wish that the sound produced was as clear and true as I expected, but at $129, you could do much worse. If you want something that will look good and crank music loud enough to dance to — this is your speaker.
The Honeycomb Sound Wireless Bluetooth Speaker retails for $129.99, and it is available directly from the manufacturer.
Source: Manufacturer supplied review sample
What I Like: Unique, beautiful, organic design; Can get quite loud without bass bottoming out; Multiple ways to connect; Plays music from a microSD card; Can be used as a portable speaker (but it’s a bit heavy and unwieldy)
What Needs Improvement: Sound isn’t quite as crisp and clear as I would have hoped