****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
The SOL Republic Deck is a thoughtfully designed wireless speaker with nifty features not found in other comparable products. At its retail price of $199 there’s better sounding competition, but now that Motorola is closing them out I believe its a great value.I really love the design and bold colors. The SOL logo stretches across the top, and not only lights up when powered on, but changes colors in heist mode. There’s three buttons (2 for volume / 1 multifunction). It’s flat, which makes it ideal for many situations since you don’t have to worry about it tipping over. The audio is projected upward so everyone can hear clearly no matter where its at.After powering on a voice prompt tells you the remaining battery life and the Deck immediately goes into pairing mode. I was able to pair my iPhone quickly and start playing music. The audio is well rounded with a little bass, a nice midrange, and clear highs. There’s an outdoor mode which cuts the lower frequencies, so the volume can be pushed louder without distortion. It gets quite loud for its size.My two favorite features are heist mode and the 3.5mm line out. Heist mode will allow up to 5 bluetooth devices to connect simultaneously, and the SOL logo will change color each time someone "cuts in" and plays their music. You can identify them by the color shown. Pretty clever. The line out allows you to daisy chain other wireless speakers for louder audio. You can also mute the internal speakers and use Deck as a bluetooth receiver if you have a home stereo to connect to. This is a feature you hardly see in wireless speakers, and its nice to have the option given its portability. I haven’t tested the battery fully, but I believe most people are seeing 6-8 hours, which is decent. It charges fast. Bluetooth range is the best I’ve seen in a wireless speaker. My KMC3 is near a bay window, and will cut out if I walk further than the kitchen. The Deck hasn’t missed a beat yet indoors or outdoors.I didn’t think I would enjoy this wireless speaker as much as I do. I bought it for the beach (no, its not waterproof), but I find reasons to take it with me everywhere, while my Big Jambox sets on a shelf at home.
