Portable Sound with Rockbox XL
The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free.
Summer may be coming to an end but that doesn’t mean the music has to stop. With the Rockbox XL from Altec Lansing, my music not only sounds good but it can go with me everywhere. My 16-year-old son has strong opinions about speakers and was kind enough to share his opinions of the Rockbox XL with us.
As with any speaker, it starts with the sound.
Altec Lansing says the Rockbox XL has 50 Watts RMS of sound, dual 3.5″ ferrite woofers, 30mm x 2 mylar tweeters, and dual 160mm x 83mm passive radiators. Basically what that means is that it can play loud music with plenty of bass without it sounding bad. I’m not an audiophile but to me, it sounds really good.
I’m honestly surprised at how many places I have found myself taking the Rockbox XL. It goes with me just about everywhere despite it being a big, heavy speaker. It is meant to be portable with its integrated handle and ruggedized design but it is not one that I would want my little sister to carry around and drop on her toe. It is simply too heavy.
That heavy-duty design that makes it an awesome companion for a teenager like me.
The Rockbox XL is dirtproof and shockproof. This means that it is one thing that I don’t have to worry that my brothers and sisters are going to destroy and break. It feels like it is pretty close to indestructible. I can take it camping, to the skate park or even throw it in the trunk of my car without worrying about it all.
It is also waterproof with an IP67 rating. If you are like me, you are not sure what that means. I found out that if somehow it sank to the bottom of a 1-meter deep pool and sat there for a half-hour, I could pull it out and it would have no water damage at all. I really wish that my first cell phone had been given an IP67 rating but that’s another story. The Rockbox XL floats so all that really means is that it can get really wet at the pool or when snowboarding this winter without worrying about it.
Altec Lansing thoughtfully designed this speaker to work seamlessly with your iPhone or Android device. That means that it not only plays my music over Bluetooth but it has a physical ‘Just Ask” button on top which activates “Siri” or “Hey Google” to control my music and answer calls. Something that has come in very handy while working out so I can leave my phone in my gym bag.
The Rockbox XL has 7 different modes for its LED lights.
It can turn on constant colors, have them fade and change or even blink with the music. This speaker works hard letting people know it is there. The only thing is that is is more of a party trick than something that I use regularly. Luckily, It is really easy to turn the lights on and off with just using the button on top.
Like all my friends, my phone battery is always dying. This speaker thoughtfully added a 5v USB charging port so even when my phone gets low, I can still keep playing music or chatting with my friends. Using that port to charge my power-hungry iPhone doesn’t even seem to affect the speaker’s 20-hour battery very much.
The Rockbox XL from Altec Lansing is an impressive-sounding speaker that can go just about anywhere without fear of it getting destroyed.
I’m definitely recommending it to my friends. You can find it at Best Buy.
