Boombotix Boombot Rex Bluetooth speaker review

Bluetooth speakers are everywhere. I’ve seen them in the grocery store line, at convenience stores – everywhere but gum ball machines and neighborhood lemonade stands. Many are OK for listening to podcasts or ball games when you’re on a bike ride or park or something, but if you want something to stand up to the rigors of your daily life, you’re gonna have to drop a little bit more than $9.99, and it may weigh more than is comfortable on your key chain. Enter Boombotix, and their Boombot Rex speaker. Designed for rugged outdoor duty, this handful of sound packs quite an auditory wallop. Let’s take a closer look.

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The high-tech look belies the rugged reality. This speaker meets the stringent IPX-6 standard for dust and liquid resistance. That means you can sling it around on the beach or on a mountain bike trail or ski slope without worrying that it’ll die before you finish your run. It can even survive a brief dunk in water – just don’t let it stay there! It’s not “submersible”, but it is “splash proof”. The buttons and ports are all covered by rubber seals, but are easily accessible.

There is a very strong clip on the back that, once you squeeze it tight enough to clip onto your belt or a strap, is not going anywhere. There’s a small tab on the bottom of the clip to prevent slippage, too.

The four buttons on the top face offer the standards – power, volume up and down, and speakerphone answering. Yes, you can even use this as a speakerphone so you can participate in that conference call while you’re skateboarding.

On the two lower sides, you’ll find two AUX jacks under one flap and a microUSB jack under another. The latter is for charging, and the former can be used to connect a sound source or another BoomBot. You can daisy-chain these guys to build up the sound.
Pressing and holding the power button for a few seconds is greeted with a power light behind the grill and a loud “here I am” sound. Once it connects to a source over Bluetooth, you’ll hear a different alert noise. Neither of these are your standard “bing” sounds, so be prepared. My Lovely Bride still jumps when it powers up, connects, or powers down.

The buttons, behind their rubber seals, sometimes needed a second push to engage, but the sound and connectivity were great. While I’ve used speakers that had more bass, the balance of the sound from this little box was quite room filling for such a small size. Not sure if it would carry over the waves or the sounds of a busy pool party, but it’s at least nice to know that it’ll not get damaged, should a sudden rain storm interrupt the festivities.

There are several colors, and decorative silicon covers that can change the appearance to suit your mood – or your wardrobe. Five stars out of five.

Updates 03/31/16

This is now the sewing room speaker. My wife and daughter spend a lot of time sewing, and whatever device they want to use in there, they simply pair to this.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by BoomBotix. Please visit http://boombotix.com for more info.