SPECIFICATIONS
Input: 15V, 2A
Power: 2x10W, 1x25W(RMS)
Dimensions: woofer: 172x198mm, speakers: 40x95mm
Bluetooth connectivity: 2.1 with EDR, A2DP pro le
Range: 10m
Band: 2.4GHz
Support for up to 8 paired devices
Aux In
WHAT’S HOT
- Loud
- Lots of bass
- Nice range
WHAT’S NOT
- No additional controls
BOTTOMLINE
While it won’t be the center of your audio entertainment system, it’s still a handy way to handle daily listening, or as an upgrade to less-capable PC speakers.
REVIEW
Bluetooth connectivity is a beautiful thing. I’m not sure what the global statistics are for deaths and injuries due to snagging on wires and cables, but I’m quite sure this is a signi ficant number. Devant, one of the leaders in audio-video technology here in the Philippines, wants to save you from the dangers of asphyxiation via cable with the BTS-245 2.1 Bluetooth speaker system.
The BTS-245 comes in a small, unassuming box not much larger than other 2.1 systems we have encountered in the past. Tearing into it reveals an egg-shaped woofer a little larger than a regulation NFL football. It comes in a nice, glossy piano white. Along with the woofer come two satellite speakers and a central control unit, all about the same size, shape and oddly enough, look, as a regular golf ball, down to the color and dimpling. It’s actually quite cute, and will go great if you’re looking for a particular theme for your hardware. If you’re after a plain look, the golf ball pattern really isn’t visible when you’re looking at the speakers head-on, so they’ll blend in nicely with any generic white setup, or on their own on a shelf.
The speakers need to be plugged in to a wall outlet to work, so the box also comes with a power adapter and roughly two meters of cable which is just enough to make it back to the device, but not so long as to create a health hazard, dangling down the side of your desk. The satellite speakers likewise have their own wired connection back to the main egg unit, but take up very little space on their own.
Power and volume are controlled via the central ball whose top twists to power the device on and o ff, as well as increase and decrease output. It’s a pretty compact setup, though a little work will be required plugging things in the appropriate slots.
Once main power is plugged, the control unit connected and satellites hooked up, it’s a simple matter of giving the control unit a twist, and the whole system comes alive. A blinking ring around the volume control means that the device is ready for pairing. Simply power your music player’s Bluetooth connection on, search for the device, aptly named BTS-245, and you should be set. A successful pairing will be indicated by a steady blue light and, of course, music playing from the speakers instead of your music player.
Once connected, music streaming remains solid, even if you stray a little away from the device. Bluetooth is rated to 10 meters,though expect range to drop if there are things in the way. We managed to get about that far from the device, with no break in the signal, though a few walls cut the range to about three quarters of that distance.
The first thing you will notice about the device is bass. Even without bumping bass output at the source, the BTS-245 was thumping. On some tracks, it was almost overpowering, and required us to drop the bass a little. The woofer will likely do well placed farther from the other two speakers than you would normally have them. The smaller drivers do a decent job with audio, though lean a little on the high side of the audio spectrum, perhaps to balance out the extremely heavy bass from the woofer. The extra bass can leave some tracks sounding a bit mu ed, as if you’re hearing music from the next room, so it may be necessary to make up for it by tweaking your equalizer a little.The small speakers on their own were clear though, and quite pleasant to listen to.
An unfortunate thing we found while testing the BTS-245 Bluetooth speakers was a discernable lack of extra controls. For their size, we were expecting a little more than a volume/on-o ff knob. Bluetooth pairing is initiated when you switch the device on, so pairing additional devices after that point can be a little complicated. This was a bit of a shame, as the speakers are quite capable of some pretty nice sound reproduction, and it would have been great to easily connect additional devices on the fly. It can remember eight devices at a time, though, so it isn’t all that bad.
The BTS-245 is a nice little system, though it really is made for a single spot in the house. A nice way to make the most of the system is as a wired set connected to a fixed source, such as a PC, which has the ability to stream from a mobile phone or other BT device when you want. It doesn’t seem like much, but that would be a convenient way to go about things, if you think about it. The cute design, powerful bass, and lots of power on tap, plus universal aux-in connectivity make up for sparse controls or other extras. If you don’t mind the gold theme, this isn’t a bad set of Bluetooth speakers to own.
Words by Ren Alcantara
First published in Gadgets Magazine, September 2013