Betasphere HR 800 Bluetooth 2.0 Speaker Review

Today for reviews I’ve got a Bluetooth speaker called the Betasphere HR 800 and it looks similar to other speaker on the market today. The speaker was provided by My Trendy Phone for review and overall it’s not a bad little product, battery life is decent as is the sound overall.  The speaker is what they call 2.1 sound where it has a full speaker and a subwoofer inside of it. The Betasphere also has controls for volume and it also acts as a speakerphone with a built-in microphone and a button for answering and ending calls. Read on to learn more..

 

Product: Betasphere HR 800 Bluetooth 2.0 Speaker – Diamond Black

Price: $56.69

Overall Rating: 4/5

 

Specs/Features:

Diamond design Bluetooth speaker, 10 meters wireless distance, 2.0 channel with subwoofer for superb bass and clean treble, Handsfree, built-in mic, built-in rechargeable battery for playtime up to 5 hours, USB charge, AUX in to play with any music devices

What’s in the Box?

 

How about a video to see what’s in the box?

 

 

 

 

The packaging is nice looking with pictures and information on it.

 

Inside you’ll find the speaker, user guide, USB cable, 3.5mm cable and an adapter that I don’t what it’s for. The adapter is microUSB to miniUSB, I guess you could use it if you lost the cable that come with the speaker.

 

 

On the top of the speaker are basic controls for volume and phone calls.

 

The front of the speaker has a diamond pattern grill covering the speaker inside, it’s metal so it should protect the speakers from any damage. The metal grill does wrap around to the left and right sides.

 

Here’s a view of what it looks like sitting there basically.

 

On the bottom is just some info and then two rubber non-slip feet.

 

On the back you’ll find the 3.5mm audio jack, miniUSB port and the power switch.

 

The speaker has dimensions of about 6.5” x 2.25” x 2”.

The speaker isn’t stereo, inside is one full range speaker and then a subwoofer. Not sure why they did it that way as they could have probably fit two speakers and the subwoofer in there.

It does feel solidly made.

 

 

Impressions / Review:

 

The first thing you’ll need to do is charge the speaker and once charged you should get up to 5 hours of play time which isn’t too bad I think. When charging there is a tiny red LED that lights up to let you know it’s working and then it goes out when the speaker is charged.

 

For testing I used it with my PS Vita and HTC One over Bluetooth and then with my ZuneHD over the auxiliary cable and connection.

With the PS Vita games sounded very good and full.

With my phone and ZuneHD  sound was very good but at high volumes there was quite a bit of distortion through the bass. Lowering the volume of course fixed this, but it was distorted to the point where it was hard to understand at the higher volumes. This isn’t unexpected as this is common with most small speakers like this.

Yes it can get very loud, and the sound decent overall, I just wish it was stereo.

There really are no controls on the speaker, just volume buttons and the phone button for answering and end ending calls. I would have liked to have seen other controls as there certainly is room for them.

As far as range, with my HTC One I could walk into the other room on the other side of the wall and still have a connection and music playing.

Phone calls work as expected, press the button to answer or end your calls and then talk through the integrated microphone.

 

 

Conclusion:

 

The Betasphere speaker is basic but it works and sounds pretty good unless you really turn up the volume then there is a bit of distortion especially in bass heavy music. This is something that is common with many speakers of this type so it’s not exactly a surprise.

Overall the speaker sounds nice and full with good bass, but it’s not stereo.

The Betasphere is well made and looks good, it would look fine sitting on your desk for playing music or as a speakerphone for taking calls.

The price is basically $57 and for that I would honestly expect stereo sound, but you don’t get it. There are other very similar priced and looking speaker out there that do offer stereo sound so I’m not sure why this one isn’t.

The speaker only has very basic controls on it, volume is nice to have, bonus point there, but physically there is room for other control like play and pause and forward and back so I have to question why they weren’t included.

For a basic Bluetooth speaker I guess it’s fine, but I just have to question the price point as it’s lacking in a few areas.

 

Pros:
+ Looks great
+ Overall decent sound
+ Simple to use
+ Decent battery life
+ Well made

 

Cons:
– Not stereo
– No multimedia controls except volume
– Distortion at high volume levels
– No carrying case

 

 

Disclosure: This product was given to us for review by the company for review purposes only, and is not considered by us as payment for the review; I do not, never have, and never will, accept payment from companies to review their products.