Advantek ABT-SPK-A8 Bluetooth Wireless Speakers

Reviewed by

Jasmine France

on 05/30/2007

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CNET editors' rating: 3.0 stars Good
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Quick specs
Type: Microphone Built-in
Product type: Speaker phone
Weight: 10.6 oz
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The good: The Advantek Networks Wireless Bluetooth Speakers are extremely portable and can be used for making and taking calls as well as listening to music; they have a built-in, rechargeable battery and can be attached to non-Bluetooth audio devices via an included cable.

The bad: The Wireless Bluetooth Speakers' call quality is bad, and the music playback is lacking in bass. Setup with a music-playing phone is unreasonably difficult.

The bottom line: Advantek's Wireless Bluetooth Speakers are a decent option for those who want an ultraportable listening device for MP3 players with or without Bluetooth, but the product fails as a speakerphone.

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CNET editors' review

CNET editors' rating: 3.0 stars Good
Detailed editors' rating

Reviewed by:
Jasmine France
Reviewed on: 05/30/2007

Wireless is all the rage nowadays, and though it still leaves something to be desired in the audio fidelity arena, plenty of listeners are eager to cut the cords between themselves and their sound source. The best way to enable this while still keeping devices reasonably portable is with Bluetooth technology, and more specifically, stereo (A2DP) Bluetooth when it comes to music players. A growing number of headphones offer this capability, and so do a handful of portable speakers, including the subject of this review, Advantek Networks' Bluetooth Wireless Speakers (ABT-SPK-A8). These compact speakers retail for $99 and offer an impressively portable design and decent array of features, but usability quirks may turn off some prospective buyers.

The design of the Advantek Networks' speakers is sleek, compact, and unobtrusive. The unit measures 7.3x3.2x1.1 inches and is encased in muted silver plastic, with two speakers flanking either side of a simple control pad, which consists of volume, track shuttle, Play/Pause, and Call/Talk buttons. Between these keys are two sets of LEDs; one indicates Bluetooth status and the other represents power and battery life. Flip the speakers around and you're greeted with a power switch, a variety of ports (DC-in, mic-in, auxiliary line-in), and a retractable stand for supporting the unit in an upright position. There's also a slot where you can attach the included visor clip, which allows for hands-free speakerphone calls in the car--quite handy, no?

Unfortunately, setting up the Bluetooth Wireless Speakers is not quite as straightforward as its simplistic design suggests. For instance, I was easily able to pair it with a BlackBerry for calls, but couldn't for the life of me get the music-streaming feature to work, even though the smart phone is quite capable of A2DP Bluetooth transmission. Connecting the unit to the Insignia Bluetooth MP3 player proved to be an easier task, and I got music playing right away. The lesson: trust these speakers for either calls or music, but not both (at least, not from the same device).