Anker SoundCore 2 Bluetooth Speaker Black (Renewed)

Firstly this is a review for the technically challenged of a certain age, similar to myself ie well over 60. I wanted to listen to my desktop computer's audio anywhere around the house without wires so I sent for the Anker speaker which uses Bluetooth wireless technology.The speaker is a very solid rubber clad extended "brick" approx. 16 X 5x5 cms with minimal controls, a micro usb port for charging (same as for most mobile phones) and an 3.5mm audio in auxillary jack in case you want to use it as a wired speaker from something such as an mp3 player. You'll need your phone charger as only the cable is supplied not the actual plug in bit. Stick it on charge until a small red led goes white then you are good to go.As my Windows 7 PC doesn't have built-in bluetooth facility I also sent for a Mpow Bluetooth 5.0 USB Adapter for PC see https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B086W33QDW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. Get a bluetooth 5 device as they say they are good for over 60 feet range-wise against half that for earlier versions.The adaptor is a small nubbin as big as your thumbnail. Pop it into a spare usb port. It loads some drivers but you also need to load drivers from a mini-cd supplied (or download direct from Mpow if you haven't got a CD drive - the link address is in the instruction leaflet).If you have the cd - open it up and find the " set-up. exe" file which is hidden amongst hundreds of other files that as far as I can see you don't need (why do they do that?) - double click thereon and follow the instructions after which you need to re-start your computer.Now the fun begins. On your freshly charged Anker speaker, press and hold the on/off button until the speaker activates, greeting you with a chime. Then press and hold the double triangle Bluetooth connection button at the opposite end to the on/off button. The speaker enters pairing mode and a blue led flashes and is "found" by the computer, the flashing blue LED goes solid and the audio from your computer magically transfers to the speaker - except in my case it didn't - I mean do ANY of these sorts of things EVER work right first time? The trouble is I kind of can't remember how I got it going. You can search for the bluetooth device from your PCs search box and activate it if it hasn't already activated. I also said abracadabra a few times and restarted the PC a few times. Eventually an icon called "Soundcore 2" will appear in "Devices and Printers" in your control panel (at least that's where it is in Windows 7).Opening Soundcore 2 will give you all sorts of interesting options to try. You need to make sure pairing mode doesn't time out on your speaker and if it does press and hold the pairing button again. Eventually another musical chime announces that you have paired successfully along with desktop announcements. The good news is once you are successful there's no need to do all this again as the PC and Speaker remember each other. Now the stuff I didn't know. If you have wired speakers also - they are muted and in Windows 7 there's seemingly no way around this. Actually there is a complex way around it involving 3rd party software but to no end as the two audio sources are out of sync which sounds weird if you can hear them both from wherever you put your new bluetooth Anker. The other thing I didn't know is that bluetooth devices work in single pairs only (transmitter and receiver), so there's no way to add further speakers around the house. To do this you have to invest in the much more expensive Sonos type systems that use WiFi apparently. Now the good news. The tiny speakers sound fantastic with great warmth and depth - how DO they do this with such small drivers? Also the unit is small and light enough to carry around from room to room. The 60 feet range is reduced by wall and floors inevitably but there were only a few drop-outs. To help in this respect I bought a usb3 cable extender, attaching one end to the PC usb port and suspending the little Mpow transmitter high up on the wall via a cup-hook. The only other tiny inconvenience I have found is that when starting up the speaker it's taking 15-20 seconds to pair up during which time you have no audio at all as the wired speakers are muted.However all in all I was so impressed I bought another Anker speaker and Bluetooth adaptor for my wife's PC. Well recommended.

It's a little bit slightly, wooly - swimming by sound. Just some.Other than that it's a lot excellent.It's like the lovely late 80s effect of a ghetto blaster or one of the better early 90s portable cd speaker set ups. There is some eyebrow raising power in there and it handles the sound overall well.It's not quite like ghetto blaster sound, of course. It's a good distance actually like that, while it's also that it's the greatly suggested effect of that - squeezed into these two really small handheld stereo speakers.There's also a bit of a loss of crispness in the play-off, while crispness is usually the stronger point of good speakers around this size. So if crispness and detail especially of highs aren't what you're looking for, and you're happy to have something of a strange but excellent and nostalgic sound of a 1980s stack system milled into something this small, this is for you.I still often use 10 to 15 year old Altec Lansing In Motion 4 folding, portable speakers, which really have a surprisingly excellent sound and presence of detail for the size. They are not in the same world as the Soundcore 2 for effect, meaning impact reminiscent of the good old days, though.I recommend these. I really miss those ghetto blaster speakers and also the all in one Hifi system speakers which seemed to have gotten a lot worse by the end of the 90s. Obviously you won't get the volume with this, it's a kind of effect. The volume is good to very good for speakers this size.The build looks good in the direction of a bit more rugged than standard portable. hope they don't fall around too much for me to find out. Waterproof, which I expect means splash proof and shower proof. They look good.I'm very pleased with the purchase.

I first bought the previous version and was so pleased with it that I bought another but this time I bought the latest version. I can't speak highly enough of both except that version 2 has a better base and is waterfproof. We couple them with our phones and use them instead of radios. They work well in the bathroom as they are small and do not need an antenna. It is also good for listening to BBC radio when abroad. I now find the radios are being relegated to the shed.

Excellent little speaker for the money. Great for someone who travels a lot. Mine has found particularly heavy use as a "sauna" speaker. I leave it in the shower area because im not sure how the heat would affect it, and can hear it clearly. I have also taken it hiking and its worked like a champ, with the battery lasting for days (a few hours use per day).If i had to nitpick, its a bit too bass heavy. The bass often drowns out the mids and highs. I would prefer a more balanced sound stage. However, for a 40€ speaker i use as a portable system to supplement my proper home speakers, this is a non issue.

Updated. I apologise for the time it's taken me to write this update. Anker contacted me immediately after i left my review to arrange a brand new speaker to be sent to me and to keep the old one which is amazing customer service and as expected the speaker was as excellent as before but brand new. I dont usually leave reviews but.. The sound is excellent and bass is great, the battery life is also excellent. The reason I gave it 3 stars is the fact that when it arrived and I opened the box the speaker was filthy! as you can see clearly from the photos. It was covered in greasy finger prints and there was bits of food and who knows what else mushed into the buttons. Not what I expected to find for a refurbished unit at all. Makes you wonder if it has been refurbished at all or basically been returned and sent back out straight away!. If it had been refurbished surely it would have been cleaned. Hope they respond to this and answer why it was sent to me in such a unsanitary condition.