SPECIFICATIONS
Driver: 40mm dynamic
Frequency Response: 20.0 ~ 20.0 kHz
Sensitivity: 100mV @ 1kHz = 101dB SPL
Impedance: 32 Ohms
Microphone: Unidirectional electret
Plug: 3.5mm stereo mini-plug
Weight: 132g
WHAT’S HOT
- Impressive sound quality
- Sleek design
- Internal battery
WHAT’S NOT
- Could use a bit more battery life
BOTTOMLINE
It’s sexy, it’s pretty and it sounds great. If you want to make the most of your phone’s Bluetooth connection, take a look at the Supertooth Disco 2.
REVIEW
Life will always be more interesting with background music. Unfortunately, we don’t all have the nances to hire professionals to score each and every moment of our lives. Headphones and portable music players are all well and good, but sometimes it’s just too inconvenient to stay tethered to your devices. Bluetooth, apart from being a convenient way to stay connected to your contacts while on the road, allows us to stream music wirelessly from compatible devices. There are a lot of these devices available now, and a lot of them are speakers in the barest sense, putting a premium on wireless connectivity over sound quality.
Supertooth, a hitherto unknown brand (at least to us here), has come up with a stereo Bluetooth speaker that is equal parts sexy, convenient, and capable. This is a combination that we don’t often see in speakers, so do try to understand our excitement over the Disco 2.
The packaging of the Disco 2 is meant to show the device o . The box has a window inside which the speaker itself rests. It comes in a few colors, though the one that arrived for review was the quiet and stately black model. There are few things in the box. You’ve got the speaker itself, a 14V power brick, an AUX-in cable and a carrying pouch, along with the user manual. The speaker is a simple monolith with a cinched “waist” and clean, simple lines. It’s minimalist, but not alien-looking.
Setup couldn’t be simpler. Plug the power brick into the wall, plug the other end into the device and hold the power button until the Disco 2 o ffers a helpful chirp. This means it is ready for pairing. You’ll find the speaker once you do a search for Bluetooth devices on your music player. Tap on it, and you’ll be ready to listen wirelessly.
We were streaming a varied playlist from my Samsung Galaxy S4, but once the first few notes hit, I knew we had something special on our hands. Very often, speaker manufacturers try to cover up shortcomings by drowning them in bass. This was clearly not the case with the Disco 2. Bass was present, yes, though in just the right amount. The middle is the star of this show. Vocals come out nice and clear, if a little cold.
Listening to a few jazzy Mayer tracks had several of us agree that it surprisingly close to sounding like a larger, more comprehensive system, instead of streamed wirelessly from a mobile phone. Tweaking the equalizer made the di fference stand out even more. It was both impressive and extremely pleasant. Of particular note was just how nice pianos sound on the speaker. The highs come out very nicely. We had to remind ourselves more than once that this was a single speaker. The Disco 2 also has loads of volume. Turning both it and the device up to maximum made for some uncomfortably loud music, even in the open room where we usually sit to try audio hardware.
The Disco 2 also conveniently gives you volume controls and play/pause controls on the top of the unit, as well as previous and next rack buttons, if you happen to find yourself closer to the device than you are to your player. It’s not a necessity, but it is a well-appreciated bonus.
There really wasn’t anything we didn’t like about the Supertooth Disco 2. If we had to pick something we wish it had, though, it would be a larger internal battery. As it stands, the device has to plug in to a wall outlet after about 3 hours on max volume and a rated 10 on medium. As such, you might need to carry around the power brick, if you are to listen to extended periods away from a wall outlet. It isn’t the smallest of devices, but the sound quality made the thought of carrying a device its size around worth it.
The Disco 2 is a solid performer all around. It’s simple to pair, easy to use and gives sound quality that is far better than you would expect from a single desktop-sized tower speaker. The connection, once made, doesn’t break, and it even gives you on-device controls so you can listen with no hassle at all. We’re in love with this thing, and might just go looking for one of our own once the review period is over.