Bluetooth speakers are great to have inside the house to listen to your favorite tunes while you relax and enjoy some couch time. But sometimes you want to bring the sound outside where things might get a little wet and wild. Enter the FUGOO Tough XL. FUGOO sent us this beefy speaker to test out and give you our thoughts, so let’s get into the FUGOO Tough XL review.
Specifications
- 4 Neodymium-magnet tweeters
- 2 Neodymium-magnet aluminum-domed mid-woofers
- 2 passive radiators
- Unique positioning of drivers on all 4 sides delivers 360-degree sound
- Drivers set up at 8-degree upward tilt for better dispersion
- Sound volume up to 97 dB SPL-A at 0.5 meters
- 38 Watts of audio power (19 Watts per channel)
- Full range frequency response: 50Hz – 20KHz
- Supports aptX® codec for high-quality Bluetooth stereo sound
- Bluetooth 4.0 for wireless connectivity; connectivity up to 36 meters/120 feet outdoors and 10 meters/33 feet indoors
- Bluetooth Low Energy for wireless Remote Control with Google Now and Siri voice access
- AVRCP 1.5 (Audio/Video Remote Control Profile) enables control from supported audio devices or the optional Remote Control
- Other Profiles: Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) 1.3, Hands-Free Profile (HFP) 1.6, Headset Profile (HSP) 1.2
- 3.5mm stereo input for wired connection
- Fast Charging Power Bank – USB Type A dedicated charge port for fast charging up to 1 amp external devices such as smartphones and tablets
- Micro USB for downloadable firmware updates
- DC-in jack for charging speaker internal battery
- Google Now™ / SIRI® Compatible
- Omni-directional microphone with echo cancellation
- Full-duplex capable in speakerphone mode
- 35 hours of music playtime from full charge at 50% loudness
- Battery life displayed on supported devices
- Built-in 37 Watt-hour Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery
- Charges in approximately 3.5 hours using Fugoo AC-DC adapter
Design
The FUGOO Tough XL has a rugged design and that’s not just for looks. This thing is IP67 certified waterproof up to 3′ for 30 minutes as well as snow proof, dust proof and shockproof (rated for 3′ drops). While the design is tough and rugged looking, it still manages to maintain a sleek minimal feel to it. The materials used, plastics and aluminum, are all high quality and made to withstand a 3′ drop. We dropped the Tough XL over a half dozen times and it survived with some minor scuffing and scratches to the chassis. Overall this design should appeal to almost every taste out there and to be fair, this is a speaker designed for on the go use anyway so it’s not likely to be a living room showpiece.
Ease of Use
Pairing via Bluetooth is simple and works flawlessly with both iOS and Android. Using the Tough XL as a battery bank is easy as well. It has a convenient USB port you can use to charge your smartphone and with 35 hours of battery life, there’s plenty of juice to go around. The Tough XL also has an omni-directional mic that picks up your voice for voice calls and using Google Now and Siri. FUGOO even offers a waterproof remote control so you can control the unit from the pool and even take voice calls from afar. Super easy to use and setup is as simple as a few screen taps to pair the Bluetooth.
Sound
Big sound, really big sound for a speaker that isn’t that huge. FUGOO boasts this speaker as 360 degrees and there are indeed speakers on all sides of this thing. Four tweeters, four mid-woofers and two passive sub-woofers pump the sound out all around and it’s crispy clean. The sound is balanced without too much bass with mids and highs smoothing everything out. One of the best things about this speaker is the independent volume control. Many speakers lack this feature and I love it. Being able to crank the phone volume to full and then crank the speaker volume up is nice. I never experienced any cracking or buzzing even at the loudest (I could tolerate) levels. Overall the sound quality is some of the best out on the market today, FUGOO really took care in dialing in the sound.
Reception/Call Quality
I generally don’t like to use Bluetooth speakers for phone calls but for the sake of testing, the call quality is excellent. As long as you’re near the speaker the caller can hear you really well on the other end and their voice is crystal clear on your end.
Battery Life
FUGOO boasts 35 hours of battery life and they’re pretty dead on, I was able to get over the advertised 35 and averaged around 36.5 hours. Keep in mind, the volume you listen to music at will affect battery life as well.
Price/Value
$329.99 seems like a lot of scratch but for the waterproof, dustproof, snowproof and drop proof features alone… this speaker is more than worth the price. Not only are you getting the rugged features but the sound on this thing is pretty awesome. Overall this is going to run you a few Benjamins but you get a lot of features for the price.
Wrap Up
The FUGOO Tough XL should be on your shortlist if you’re on the hunt for an outdoor rugged Bluetooth speaker.
[rwp-review id=”0″]*We were sent a review sample of the FUGOO Tough XL for the purposes of this review.
Last Updated on January 23, 2017.
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