Deck Speaker Allows Others to Take Control
The Deck wireless speaker from Sol Republic and Motorola.
For its first foray into wireless speakers, the headphone maker Sol Republic wanted to stand out in an already crowded market. So the company teamed up with Motorola to create Deck, a speaker that offers more than the typical bells and whistles.
With Motorola technology, Sol Republic was able to increase the range of the Deck to 300 feet, about 10 times the range of standard wireless speakers. Sol Republic also added an “outdoor mode†that bolsters the sound, allowing it to better fill open areas.
But the most innovative feature of the Deck is the “heist mode,†which allows other people to commandeer the speaker and stream their own music. Typical wireless speakers are manually paired with only one device at a time, but the Deck can be paired with up to five devices through Bluetooth or near-field communication. This allows friends to hijack a Deck and become the D.J. at your next party; a lock button can secure the connection to a single device.
The Deck includes a 3.5-millimeter audio cable and ports to connect to devices without Bluetooth capability or to create a daisy chain with other speakers. It also comes with speakerphone capabilities, a lithium-ion battery that offers about 10 hours of life and an “acoustically transparent†cloth carrying bag, which offers protection from dings and scratches while still allowing the music to pass through. The speaker, which is expected this month at electronics retailers like Radio Shack and Best Buy, comes in lemon lime, electro blue, vivid red and gunmetal.
The Deck’s internal drivers and side bass port produce a full, clean sound, with an emphasis on the bass; the slim, lightweight design makes it easily portable; and the heist mode is a fun, social feature that offers the opportunity for friends to share new music. But at $200, it’s a bit expensive, especially compared with similar models.
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