Reloop has announced the Groove Blaster BT, a portable floor-standing Bluetooth speaker with high volume, an emphasis on bass, and a battery onboard, making it the kind of speaker that should prove ideal for off-grid, wireless partying.
Two speakers can be paired via Bluetooth for a bigger party or even multi-room coverage, and remote control of Bluetooth paired devices can happen via a touch panel on the top of the unit. Wireless NFC makes connection easy.
The li-ion battery lasts up to ten hours, and there’s a USB out, which could be used for phone charging.
Groove Blaster BT can, however, also be powered from an external power source (there’s even a compartment in the back in which to stash the power supply unit), and there is a wired Aux connection. This means that it would work as part of a portable DJ system, too.
“A stable and lightweight housing with a metal grille on the front protects the loudspeaker chassis and [the speaker] is easy to carry thanks to the detachable carrying handle.” says the company.
The speaker output Power is 1 x 30W (woofer), 2 x 12W (mid), and 2 x 5W (tweeter). the speakers are 6in (woofer), 3in (the two mids) and 1in (the two tweeters). the size is 180 x 180 x 430mm, and it weights 4.4kg including power supply.
First thoughts
Coupled with a smartphone or tablet running Algoriddim’s djay or MWM’s Edjing Mix, or with the recently announced Pioneer DJ DDJ-200 and any of the streaming services it can control via compatible apps (SoundCloud, Beatport, Beatsource, Deezer or Spotify), this would make a fully portable DJ set-up, ideal for beginner DJs just getting hooked on the hobby.
We have yet to test the claims for bass response and volume, but as long as it performs, it could be a winner for Reloop – and we also liked the neat ability to stash the power supply unit (although that begs the question as to why Reloop didn’t just build the power supply in completely).
• Groove Blaster BT will cost €180 / US$200 / £156, and will be available from the start of June. more here.
Joey Santos
