Verdict
A groovy and neaten Bluetooth speaker with some ready to hand skills and unspoiled battery biography , but it ’s let down by routine audio performance
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Not everybody ’s heard of Victrola , but if you ’ve ever seen the iconic HMV logotype you ’re familiar with one of its ancestors . The original painting – you know , the one with Nipper the dog listen to the criminal record player – was used by the Victor Talking Machine Company , which sit at the top of Victrola ’s family tree .
These day Victrola still makes turntables , althoughthey’ve make out on a bit since those early phonograph , but it also has a range of wireless speaker – and the Music Edition 2 is its top portable offering .
At $ 200 it ’s not cheap , and as a less well - known name it ’ll have its work cut out among so much competitor from more conversant brands , but its progress - in wireless load pad does make it digest out from the crowd . Can it make Nipper proud ?
Design
slenderly larger than a standard theatre brick , but thankfully not as heavy , the Music Edition 2 ’s chassis is made of metal , with zigzag - shaped cut - outs on the front and back that allow you to see the grille underneath . It gives the Music Edition 2 a look that ’s resonant of a board top radio but without feel overtly retro . The top and bottom dialog box are rubberised , so it certainly feels solidly built . It ’s a little prone to scuff and fingerprint , but they do n’t show up too much on the matte last .
Its size and form also make it ideal for moving from the kitchen to the bedroom to the bathroom ( thanks to itsIP67 sealing ) or taking out into the garden when the sun ’s out . It ’s perhaps a bit too large to pack for a weekend out , although the wireless charging panel on top mean you would be cover if you circumstantially allow your phone charger at home .
On top you ’ll regain two sets of three buttons , which permit you to control almost every aspect of playback without having to attain for your telephone . They ’re nice and solid , so it ’s improbable you ’ll press any of them by fortuity when moving the talker around , but the symbolic representation on them can be hard to make out in anything but very good light .
There ’s also a position light in one quoin , which lights up when the speaker unit ’s turned on , blink of an eye blue when it ’s in pairing fashion , and with a spry printing press of the exponent button will change colour to bespeak how much life is leave in the stamp battery . When it ’s down to less than 10 % allow for the visible radiation will start to flash red , but it ’s leisurely to miss , so some kind of hearable warning would ’ve been handy .
Features
The Music Edition 2 is n’t exactly crammed with features , but it does have one that lay it apart : a wireless charging pad .
The Qi panel sits between the two sets of buttons on top , marked by an embossed Victrola logotype , but if you did n’t know it was there you ’d never guess the speaker had hidden powers . The pad is always active when the Music Edition 2 is plugged in but as this is principally a portable speaker you ’ll usually need to activate it by holding down the relevant button on top .
You do have to verify your phone is correctly placed for it to start charging , but this would n’t be the first wireless battery charger to be a bit fussy over how you position devices . If the launching pad go unused for five minutes it ’ll turn itself off to save battery .
Using the Ampere Test app on iOS , I found the Music Edition 2 ’s wireless charger could charge aniPhone 14 Proat 5.76 watts . That ’s towards the bottom end of the radio charging spectrum – the telephone set itself is adequate to of charge at 15W if you utilize MagSafe – so do n’t expect it to fulfill up too quickly .
Using the wireless courser will obviously have a prejudicious effect on the life history of the 4400mAh battery , which Victrola say will give you up to 20 hours of playback before it need to be plugged in . Without using the wireless battery charger we receive that to be about right , with the speaker conking out after 18 hours at 50 % volume , so you could belike bosom out an extra span if you knocked it down a snick .
Our review sample took over seven hours to fully reload , which Victrola say us is n’t normal , but it may be because there ’s no UK plug adaptor in the box so we had to use a third - party one .
The reexamination sample only came with a US ballyhoo adaptor , but you do get aUSB - Ccable in the box – and it ’s not just used for charge . There are USB - degree centigrade and 3.5 mm ports on the back , both of which can be used for playback . If you have a second Music Edition 2 you’re able to also connect them together to shape a stereo pair . If you ’d prefer , they can also be switched to mono mode . There ’s no microphone , so you ca n’t use it as a speakerphone , but that does n’t feel like a huge absence seizure .
An IP67 evaluation means it can be submerged amply in up to a metre of water half an hour , plus it ’s also totally protected against detritus , although any backbone or scandal would be a incubus to clean out of the triangular - shaped cutout on the front and back .
Sound Quality
The Music Edition 2 might not weigh as much as a brick , but it might help solve some of its defect if it did . Its stature means it lacks basso weight , with some songs sounding skewed towards the top death , but it does bet on the genre .
make for Jelani Blackman ’s Hello and the bassline lacks dominance , while the rhythm part in the live version of Donald Fagen ’s I.G.Y. just sense a fiddling slight . Drums often miss impact , while the noose in Arcade Fire ’s No Cars Go sound a jot coarse .
Voices tend to get along well . Laura Marling ’s vocal in Song for Our Daughter is clear and rich in look , while Bill Callahan ’s distinctive baritone on Too Many Birds has plenty of persona . The understated arrangement on Rozi Plain ’s record album Prize are full of texture , too .
The Music Edition is equal to of going fairly trashy for its size , and it does sound better when you pump it up , although it does n’t have the mogul to soundtrack a party . It ’s not a bad - vocalize speaker by any means , but there are better out there . With no app to tweak the EQ , you ca n’t even fiddle around with how it sound either .
Bluetooth range is good , which should be expected from Bluetooth 5.0 , but I did encounter some signaling effect when play music with the phone identify on top of the speaker , which is n’t great if you want to listen while you commit .
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Should you buy it?
- : It might not quite strike the claimed 20 hours , but the Music Edition 2 will still last longer than a lot of the competition .
The Music Edition 2 does n’t have the biggest low - oddment bearing , so bassheads will require to look elsewhere .
Final Thoughts
It ’s never been more difficult for a Bluetooth speaker to stand out from such a big bunch , but Victrola care it with the Music Edition 2 ’s build - in wireless courser . Whether it ’s enough to convert anybody to buy one is a dissimilar subject , particularly when you consider the cost .
At $ 200 , it ’s $ 20 more than a Sonos Roam , which also has Wi - Fi . Sure , that speaker does n’t number with a build - in charger , but JBL ’s Charge 5 does , albeit not a wireless one , and that ’s $ 20 cheaper than the Music Edition 2 , too .
Of of course , if the Victrola sounded phenomenal that spare $ 20 would be worth spending , but its audio execution is fine rather than fantastic , which makes the Music Edition 2 harder to recommend over its competitor .
Trusted Score
How we test
We prove every wireless speaker we review thoroughly over an extended period of clip . We use manufacture standard tests to equate feature properly . We ’ll always distinguish you what we find . We never , ever , accept money to review a intersection .
receive out more about how we try in ourethics insurance .
FAQs
We encounter the Music Edition 2 could charge an iPhone 14 Pro at just over 5 watts , which is towards the down in the mouth scale of wireless charging .
Full Specs
Sustainability
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