Betron KBS08 Bluetooth Speaker, Wireless, Portable, Mini, Black

Why did I choose the Betron KBS08?I wanted a bluetooth speaker so I can listen to internet radio while I'm in the kitchen without having to take the laptop with me, and also for a better sound than my laptop speakers for watching movies/TV. Also, I wanted one with some decent bass that can fill the room when I feel like dancing, but not pay an arm and a leg.Did I get what I wanted?It works perfectly on Bluetooth with my phone and AUX with my laptop. The bass is incredible, when you put it on a wooden surface like a table you can actually feel the floor vibrate. The sound quality is really nice and decently loud to fill the room. I carried it to every corner of our small flat and it didn't cut out even when I closed the heavy bathroom door.The light strips also make it look really cool and will be a really stylish eye catcher at any house party.Ease of use & charging:It was simple to pair (immediately connected with both my Lenovo laptop and Samsung smartphone without issues), quick to charge and worked for about 4 hours on full charge before a loud beep alerted me to its need to be fed some electricity. It comes with a 3-way cable that allows you to charge the speaker via USB. Charging was fast, I didn't time it exactly but I think it was fully charged again within 1-1.5 hours via a USB mains plug.There are only a few buttons so you can't do much wrong. You get the usual Play/Pause/Answer Phone, Forward/Louder, Backward/Quieter and Off/On, and also a Mode button that will cycle through the Bluetooth, FM and AUX functions when pressed. A nice lady tells you which mode you've gone into when the button is pressed and notifies you when the Bluetooth is connected.It has 3 cable slots for AUX, Mini-USB and MicroSDTF. In order to use the AUX function of the speaker, set the Mode to AUX, connect the Mini-USB to your speaker and plug the AUX cable into the device you want to get the sound from. I have no device that uses MicroSDTF so could not test that.The speaker starts up in the volume that you left it on when last using it, so if that was full volume don't hold your ears close to it during startup.Negative points:Overamplification:At very high volumes the low price of the speaker starts to show as it overamplifies during certain frequencies at a high volume.Bass in speech:For watching movies/TV, the bass is a bit TOO good. It's quite unnerving to have the basses in people's voice and sound effects emphasised that much.Permanent light show:While the lights are great for a party atmosphere, they do get a bit annoying when you just want some quiet background music and I have not found a way to switch them off completely.The above would make me reduce the rating to 4.5*, but it's not annoying enough to give it only 4* given the overall quality.The following oddity also happened to me that is NOT the fault of the speaker:Laptop Bluetooth Pitch Shifting:My laptop's Bluetooth settings make the speaker pitch shift and put out sound about a half tone higher than the source, resulting in everthing sounding like on helium. I managed to fix it briefly, but whenever a new song started, it would revert to pitch shifted sound again. I currently circumvent this by simply using it via the AUX cable or listening to internet radio via my phone, with which it works perfectly fine.Some research showed that this is actually a common problem, due to software drivers cutting corners on sound quality in order to produce a consistent signal. If this happens to you, it's not the speaker that's at fault but your driver and you may need to do some poking around (my fix on Windows 7: Start > Control Panel > Hardware & Sound > Manage Audio Devices > Properties > Tick "Remove All Enhancements").Verdict:The sound that the KBS08 produces is incredible for such a tiny thing and it's easy to use, a brilliant value for price ratio here! It weighs next to nothing and fits in a coat pocket, so it's ideal for travel as well - no more putting my phone in a water glass!I can't currently do all the things that I want with the speaker due to the pitch shifting, but as that is not the fault of the speaker I really can't blame it for that - the workaround with the AUX function or just using the phone works well enough for the time being. I just need an excuse to buy a laptop that has better bluetooth drivers on offer and I'll be set!

Excellent quality. Easy to use Bluetooth. I charged battery once and sat outside for about 4 hours. It still hasn’t run out of charge. Great value. Would definitely recommend.

This is a very handy little speaker, take anywhere. Very easy to use and has very good sound quality. Looks good too.

Arrived quickly, was as described. I tried all the many functions immediately even though I only really wanted it as a Bluetooth speaker but it is so much more. First bluetooth, my Sony android phone connected immediately as did my iPad, and for the small size of this speaker, tne sound was very good. This alone more than justified buying it at this price, it is excellent value.Now to the other functions, most obvious is the ability to connect to non bluetooth devices via the (supplied) cable meaning it can be used with any audio device with a 3.5mm headphone socket.The next function I tried was the FM radio, it is auto tuning and able to receive many stations including most BBC stations plus Magic,Heart, Absolute etc and quite a few local stations, all without interference or crackles.For me, the best "bonus function" is the ability to play MP3 music from a micro SD card, I had a couple of unused 2Gb cards and copied some MP3 tunes to them. These played perfectly, you can make a playlist of any tunes that are appropriate for any occasion you choose and are useful for BBQs, picnics etc without running down battery on your phone. the tunes play in order on the card but you can easily skip tracks if required.All in all this little speaker is great value just as a bluetooth speaker as I originally wanted but the extra functions make it brilliant. Some of my friends/family like it and I think I will be giving one or two as gifts in the future.I have just bought the Betron carry case for this speaker, it is well made and fits perfectly. I am disabled and use a shoulder bag to carry objects with me so I can use my hands for crutches and this case comes with a clip to attach it to the metal rings on my bag, ideal.

Amazing sound quality and array of features for the price.

The range is a disappointment but the sound and quality is good. Good for around the same floor

This is an amazing little speaker!

I have never written a review before! This little speaker worked great the first few months I had it. I used it sparingly so it's not like this happened do to overuse or something...The other day I was playing music and placed the speaker on a shelf, and I kid you not, this thing jumped and fell off (about 5 ft) onto the floor. This wasn't a narrow shelf either so that means it really went the distance. The song wasn't bass heavy in the slightest so the "vibrations" wouldn't have made it fall either.At first I thought it was just my fault or some kind of accident, so I placed it back on the shelf. I had soft music playing I tell you!! AND IT HAPPENED AGAIN! It wasn't near the edge, I placed it securely, and the shelf is steady too (Ikea kallax), not some shaky contraption. There really was no reason for this to have happened. Because it fell several times parts of the bottom have completely shattered off and the base is now crooked and misaligned from the rest of the device.This was the strangest thing that has ever happened and I am so tremendously disappointed because the speaker worked well at first, was the perfect size, and the price was attractive. I really have no idea how this happened, so I just want to warn others.