We review the Gadgetverge Xtreme!

Last week, Gadgetverge’s wireless speaker offering arrived at HQ. Aside from sporting a rugged exterior that can take a beating (hence the Xtreme name), it comes with a unique mounting option in the form of a suction cup.

Priced at Php 799, is the Gadgetverge Xtreme worth your money? Here are our insights after using the speaker for a week:

Suction cup mount is clever

One of the coolest things about the Gadgetverge Xtreme is that it comes with a suction cup mount, which is located at the speaker’s driver side. While the suction cup is removable, we chose to leave it as is at it does give extra oomph to the Xtreme’s sound quality: Acting as a reflector of sorts, the suction cup helps the speaker deliver a fuller sound.

There’s a slight catch though: While the mount is clever, the suction cup does not mount on certain flat surfaces like painted walls. We tried mounting it in walls, and the speaker ends up falling off. Good thing that this is a rugged speaker, so there are no worries when it comes to the Xtreme’s durability.

 

Volume controls/Playback controls can be tricky…but you’ll get used to it

While the + and – buttons indicate as a volume control, they are more than that: a short press actually lets you go to the next and previous track respectively, while a long press prompts the volume change. We were puzzled at first, but as we got to use the speaker longer, we find it intuitive of Gadgetverge to add dual functions to these controls.

For its price, it is one of the most affordable speakers to sport BOTH a volume control and playback control, and not just the usual play/pause button.

 

Decent audio quality, but sound distorts at higher volumes

Speaking of sound quality, the Xtreme has decent sound, especially with the mids and highs. The sound quality is improved further thanks to the placement of the suction cup mount. The same cannot be said with the lows, however, as the lack clarity in that department.

As with the speaker’s volume, the sound tends to distort when you pump the volume control beyond 70%, so we advise to keep the volume at around 70% for the best possible sound quality.

 

 Lags when used for prolonged periods

Another thing that we noticed while using the Xtreme is that there were times that the Bluetooth streaming lagged behind. Music would stop for a few seconds before the track continued on. We’re not sure if it is a hardware or firmware issue, but we hope Gadgetverge issues a possible fix for this.

Speaking of prolonged usage, the Xtreme lasted for around 7 hours with us before we had to juice it up. There’s the usual low battery warning to remind you if you need to charge it up.

 

Verdict: A good choice with room for improvement

Being one of the most affordable rugged Bluetooth speakers out there, the Gadgetverge Xtreme is a good buy for its clever mounting options, better-than-average performance, and a complete set of controls. If there’s something that Gadgetverge has to improve on the Xtreme, it has to be its Bluetooth connectivity because of the lag we experienced using the speaker.

 

Gadgetverge Xtreme Bluetooth Speaker Unboxing, Initial Review: A Rugged speaker with a Few Tricks