If you want a portable party music solution with lots of features, the Sony PG10 Portable Bluetooth Speaker is worth considering. This speaker has two 1.57" tweeters and one 7.08" woofer in a compact 13” x 14 7/8” x 12” package with built-in handles and that weighs just 14 pounds 13 ounces. Moreover, the built-in rechargeable battery packs about 13 hours of music party power.
The quirkiest feature of this speaker is that the top of the speaker flips open to reveal four cup holders and a splash-resistant surface to hold nachos, salsa, and whatever else you need to get the good vibes flowing. Yes, technically opening the top flaps positions the tweeters for a fuller sound but you have to admit that your social media shares are more likely to feature a speaker happily holding beverages than a technical discussion over acoustics and woofer-to-tweeter distance separation.
This speaker has a lot of features in a tiny package, even a speaker tripod attachment hole on the bottom. Additional features are accessible using the Sony Music Center or Fiestable apps for iOS and Android. For example, in the Music Center app you can select music tracks to play or you can customize the sound with an equalizer–there are multiple pre-saved EQ profiles, or you can customize the sound yourself with a seven-band EQ.
The latches to open the flip top panels are found on the back of the speaker. The telescoping FM antenna is also on the back, as is the AC power port, which has a closable door to improve water resistance in case you are not using AC power.
The front panel above the woofer contains the speaker controls:
- LED Display: shows status messages, which Bluetooth device is connected, volume level, etc.
- Function/Pairing Button: press to select Bluetooth, USB, or Audio In input modes or hold to activate Bluetooth pairing
- Power Button: press to turn the speaker on/off
- Charge Indicator: lights while the battery is charging and flashes when using battery power and the charge is less than 10%
- Play/Pause Button: start/stop the music being played; press for 3 seconds to hear a built-in sound demonstration
- Next/Previous Button: select the music track to be played or tune the FM station
- Key Control Buttons: sharpen or flatten the track being played to help the person singing karaoke via the mic sound more in tune
- Mic Echo Button: toggle between three levels of an echo effect (or no echo) for the mic audio
- Mega Bass Button: used to add bass sound enhancement; press for 3 seconds to receive a voice battery level indication
- Volume Buttons: used to increase or decrease the audio volume
- Bluetooth Indicator: lights when the speaker is connected to a Bluetooth device–the speaker supports up to three simultaneous connections
The input/output ports are behind a small plastic door on the front panel:
- Mic Jack: 1/4 inch line level mic jack–if you have a mic with an XLR connector you can connect to the speaker using the output from an audio interface or mixer
- Audio In L/R: RCA audio inputs
- USB Port: audio input from a USB device (compatible with MP3, WMA, AAC, and WAV file formats) or charging at 5V 1.0A output
Unfortunately the app is clunky to use and so I just prefer to play music using Apple’s Music app. Due to the speaker’s small size the audio, while clear, does not have as rich a sound as from larger speakers so access to the EQ settings in the app is useful. I also wish the speaker had a handle so the speaker could be carried in one hand. This is not an audiophile speaker and I wouldn’t recommend it as a main room speaker–this speaker works best for example if you want to share music with friends outside then need to bring it back inside. Teens would love it. All in all, the Sony PG10 Portable Bluetooth Speaker is a good portable speaker option when you need to get the party going.
- Pricing and Availability on Amazon: Sony PG10 Portable Bluetooth Speaker
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