Cambridge Soundworks OontZ Angle 3XL Ultra Bluetooth Speaker - Portable Bluetooth Speakers

First of all, I am sort of an audiophile, having been involved in good stereo systems for all of my life since high school. My main interest has been in the design and building of speaker systems including bass reflex and folded horn types. For the past several years I have bought quite a few portable Bluetooth speakers for use with my phone especially when away from home. Almost all have been disappointing in one or more areas as listed below. So, after reading many reviews of the Oontz Angle 3XL Ultra, I sprang for a pair of them including the LTGEM cases. Now for my findings;1. Upon opening the boxes, the first surprise was the "Quick Start Guide", which is really a full instruction manual of 24 pages written in one language; English. It is well written and fully illustrated and has an extended section for connecting two units for full left-right stereo which is why I bought a pair of these. This manual is "hands down" the best set of instructions I have ever seen for a Bluetooth speaker!2. I like the triangular shape of the speakers as I have always thought for best sound, the speakers should be angled upward into the room rather than beaming straight ahead as with most Bluetooth speakers.3. Unlike most Bluetooth speakers, this is a true two-way design with two woofer-midrange units and two tweeters, plus three passive bass radiators.4. Another big surprise; the audible announcements for startup, Bluetooth connection, stereo information, etc. are very soft and not bothersome at all. Other speakers do this at top volume and can't be turned down. And I also like the fact that these speakers do not have flashing or pulsing lights that get in the way of the music and waste battery power.5. Although the battery is rated at only eight hours, I have been listening to mine for several days at low to medium volume and have yet to recharge them. Another plus is that the battery is replaceable. I have not heard of this capability in any other Bluetooth speaker.6. And now for the "Biggie" is using these speakers in a true stereo setup with dedicated left-right channels. The instructions were very clear as to how to accomplish this, and it worked the first time and every time thereafter. To turn the speakers on, all that is needed is a momentary press of each power button. A couple of very soft tones indicate the Bluetooth connection followed by a soft feminine voice "Left Channel" from the left (control) speaker and "Right Channel" from the right (second) speaker. To turn the speakers off, merely press the power button on the left (control) speaker for about two seconds. Both speakers shut down and all indicating lights go off.7. The overall sound; WOW! When I unpacked the speakers, I initially tried only one unit to get used to the sound of both stereo channels in a single cabinet like most Bluetooth speakers. The sound was very balanced with good response across the board, but I was missing the stereo effect unless I was very close to the single speaker. After a few days, it was time to go for the full stereo experience with both speakers. As previously mentioned, the connection to full stereo was quick and painless. All my other Bluetooth speakers that can be connected for full stereo either had a very complicated setup procedure or would not connect at all. The sound in full stereo mode is completely different from single speaker mode. It is very spacious and besides a good left-right separation, has great depth. It really opens up the listening space! In my living room, I have been listening to them separated by about seven feet with my chair about eight feet back. I have the speakers raised off the floor about 18 inches and towed-in toward my chair. This literally fills the room with music and approaches the quality of a home stereo system!In summary, I would definitely recommend the Oontz Angle 3XL Ultra Bluetooth speakers. Notice the plural because with only one you will be missing out of the true character of these speakers. Do yourself a favor and order a pair and you will not be disappointed.

Updated Review for the OontZ Angle 3XL Ultra 3-17-19:Any reviewer who rates these under a 4 star is playing lousy sound files, or spends most of their time in a disco with ridiculous amounts of bass. Hey, I like a lot of bass myself, but 90% of what I play does not require chest thumping bass. The bass on these speakers is very good as is, outstanding when used with EQ. They play loud with little to no distorting, depending on quality of file and bass used in the original recording. I have been converting my CDs to FLAC format to take full advantage of my speakers. I "grew up" when 196kbs music created a large file. This thinking was due to the fact that hard drive space and MP3 storage was expensive, so smaller was better. Not anymore with terabyte hard drives, and 32-256GB memory in phones and tablets.Updated Review for the OontZ Angle 3XL Ultra 3-12-19Forget what I wrote below about some non-sense about "deal breaker". These sound too good and can be paired? In true stereo? No, these are worth every penny. Also, I updated the firmware which resolved the sound leveling which I found out is a know "problem" with these speakers. The update is idiot proof and quick. I tested these out with every genre of music that I own, selecting songs that are hard on speakers not up to the task and that would distort, etc. I only ordered one (mistake I now realize) to test it out. The 3XL pairs with the Ultra speakers I purchased prior to this one speaker! They sound great together. The small Ultras can actually handle most of the bass and volume of the the 3XL, but loses in the end. I listen to my Ultras and they are VERY GOOD for size and cost. A pair of the Ultras for $69 is another no-brainer. A single Ultra is okay, two is a couple levels better.I read some reviews about the 3XLs not having enough bass. I can understand where the reviewers are coming from. I own and love my HK Onyx Studio II speakers. Now the HKs have a lot of bass. The 3XLs cannot compete, BUT, the bass is NOT lacking, just not as powerful as other speakers in the same class. But the bass that is put out by these speakers ensure the music is well balanced. You can feel the bass, it sounds good with any type of song I played. It is not disco thumping bass, but it isn't lacking, it is just not over powering as many people would like. Pair these with a good EQ/MP3 player and it is over. I got tired of hearing my music from just one speaker and wanted the true stereo separation. Most over priced, BT speakers could either NOT pair, or, they play stereo out of both, not true stereo. I was going to order a second one, but the price had gone up. I paid $69 for the single OoontZ 3XL Ultra! It was on some kind of secret sale I did not know about. It just happened to be the price when I order it! The normal price as of 3-12-19 is $109 on Amazon.I usually order what I want then ship it back on my dime if I do not like. I do not know why I did not this time. I will wait on ordering the second 3XL since pairing it with the smaller Ultra still sounds amazing. I will wait for another sale or bite the bullet and pay regular price, which is still a bargain.Originla review: = = = = = = = = =I had very recently bought the smaller version of these speakers, the OontZ Angle 3Ultra (A3U) and LOVE them! I figured buying the OontZ Angle 3XL Ultra (3XL) would pretty much double the pleasure! And they did, however...With great anticipation, I carefully unboxed the box the 3XL came in. Then I carefully unboxed the speaker. Heart was racing, I was salivating anticipating the great sound I was about to be treated to.I tried to take the 3XL speaker out of the box but could not get a decent grip on it due to its shape. No biggy, did a gravity assist out of the box. I wanted to pick it up by the ends but that is where the bass passive radiators are. No biggy, just get used to using two hands to pick up the 3XL or tilt it with one hand then grip, then pick it up.Okay, found the small box the charging cable and the 3.5mm audio cable comes in.Disappointment!The speaker charges by using a corded brick power unit and ROUND connector! No USB charging! Deal breaker in my book. To use these outside for a party, they will have to be near power outlets or I would have to use a power bank (PB) that outputs the correct voltage level. I use a 19v PB to power my Harman-Kardon Onyx Studio II (OSII) speakers.I paired my tablet and listened to the sound. Very good with good solid bass. Very balanced, a little less bass than I like but not a deal breaker. The 3XL also pairs with one of my A3U, nice touch.The 3XL sounds like it has sound leveling processor that reduces volume level. It is noticeable to me and added to my disappointment. Keep it at less than 75%, not a problem. I only ordered one of the 3XL just to see if it was worth ordering a second 3XL to pair in stereo.For me, they are not worth it, reasons follow:1. These are not designed to be very portable. They like to be placed in a location and left. The design makes them hard to carry and the radiators on both ends makes it a bit difficult to grab.2. The charging method for the amount of power output is a major disappointment. Instead of being able to connect a 10,000 mAh PB to keep the speaker powered for a longer time period, I have to have it near a power outlet.3. I have two OSII speakers already, I was looking for a more volume and bass from the 3XL. The OSIIs blow away the 3XL, but that should be the case, they are much more expensive.I will stick with my A3U speakers. They are what I was looking for, I just got greedy.Do I recommend these speakers? YES, all day long. They just happened to over lap with my OSII speakers (which are NOT stereo but ROCK connected by USB BT transmitter). I have PBs to power the OSII for a about 5 hours at 75%+ volume before the PB runs out, sound drops a few levels and it continues on its internal battery.If you want VERY good speakers with good bass and solid sound, you CANNOT go wrong with a pair of these.Also, and this is a HUGE plus for these speakers... you can replace the internal battery should it wear out or go bad!!! WOW! I do not know of any other BT speaker that does this. Most want you to send it in for replacement or just trash it, or you just mod it yourself.Man they do sound good though. I want to keep them, but the power method makes these a no go for me.