3 weeks ago, we published on Quad Damage our unboxing of the Kitsound Hive. Hive is a wireless speaker positioned for people who wish to take their audio content on the go.
Hive is well packaged in a black and yellow box. The box, as mentioned in our unboxing, is reminiscent of Kitsound’s website. Its box shows honeycombs, which makes a bit consistent to the portable speaker’s look. The box includes the following:
- Kitsound Hive Wireless Speaker
- Carrying Pouch
- MicroUSB cable
- 3.5mm cable extension
- Manuals
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- IMG 0286
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- IMG 0285
Just a quick tour of the the device. Its front enclosure, which houses the 2 drivers (5 W RMS: 2.5 W @ 4 ohm x 2) look really good with tis honeycomb design. It also has an light indicator near the right edge, which shows if the speaker is connected via Bluetooth (color: blue) or Aux (color: red), or its battery is already below 25%. The enclosure is tightly shut so you won’t hear any vibrations even when listening to music with intense bass. (Tip: Place the speaker on a cotton cloth when listening to EDMs. Your table – especially when its made of wood – might vibrate, which will likely affect the sound you’ll hear.
Auxiliary port (3.5mm), On/Off switch and Micro USB port can be found on its right side. Everything don’t look cheap, but I thought that it would have been a lot better had they used a different material on the On/Off switch. That’s purely aesthetic so it shouldn’t be a major problem.
Bluetooth pairing button (that also doubles as Play/Pause button when paired to a supported smartphone/tablet) and volume rockers are located above the speakers. I commend Kitsound for putting these buttons on top of the device so it’s easily accessible when placed on bedside table.
Kitsound Hive also has a non-slip base so you won’t worry if you put this on glass or wooden tables. Its body also has non-slip matte finish, which also enhances the overall look of the speaker.
Coming from the noteworthy quality of Kitsound Manhattan, I expected a lot from Kitsound Hive. Well, I’m happy to report that Hive’s sound quality blows and lives up to the reputation imprinted to me by its Bluetooth headphone and big-ass speaker counterparts.
Its 2 sound drivers with 50 – 20Hz frequency range perform really great! It’s loud, and its loudness almost doesn’t affect the delivery of sound clarity. Acoustics and faint claps, for instance, can be heard even at full volume. Guitar plucks and voices, for instance, sound like real ones and that’s a good indication that Hive is great for listening music.
Fully charging its battery takes about 4-5 hours. In my real life test, it took me 9 hours to fully consume its battery at intervals of:
- 2 hours playing music at 30% volume in the morning
- 30 minutes playing mobile games at 30% volume
- 3 hours playing music at 30% volume in the afternoon
- 1 hour playing music at 30% on my way back home
- 2.30 minutes playing music at 40% volume until it ran out of battery.
Kitsound is a marvelous sound accessory. Priced reasonably at PhP2,990 on Lazada, it has the potential to sit on your living room or bedside table. It sounds great, looks awesome and feels perfect! But don’t just simply count our word for it. Drop by XTC‘s product resellers to experience it yourself.
Giancarlo Viterbo is a Filipino Technology Journalist, blogger and Editor of gadgetpilipinas.net, He is also a Geek, Dad and a Husband. He knows a lot about washing the dishes, doing some errands and following instructions from his boss on his day job. Follow him on twitter: @gianviterbo and @gadgetpilipinas.
