Altec Lansing HydraBlast 2.0 EVERYTHINGPROOF® Speaker

Liked the older model I bought the new one when it gave up after 14 years

AWESOME BETTER THAN THAT I TRULY LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT IT

Just a note to start on, this is on software version IMW1302 V01.01.01 and I would like to believe is fixable.Altec Lansing's speaker options have never impressed me in the past, seeming too bulky and overpriced for their features. However this one offers very competitive features in a utilitarian package, if just a bit pricey for my taste.Sound quality is fine, offering well balanced bass and respectable highs as well. Build quality is great, but feels a touch too light for it's size. My favorite feature is the magnetic bottom for just keeping it from getting knocked over unexpectedly. It does have a threaded insert at the bottom that opens its compatibility with common camera gear such as tripods.For charging, USB-C is availible for input and can also be used for charging other devices with a regular USB-A port or Qi wireless charging. Quite convenient.Lighting is a very subtle ring(?) around the speaker grill, and is not on by default, which is very appreciated.Battery life is around 7 hours just above half volume, which is a very respectable loudness across a medium/large room with lots of ambient noise. The catch is, that the speaker has no idea what battery level it is at and turns off at 7 hours with 60% reported battery life. It won't say it's at low battery and just turns off, and will not turn on unless connected to a charger even if only for a second, and continue to report 60% battery then turn off again shortly after.If that battery indicator is correct we can expect near the claimed 20 hour mark, but it just does not want to operate below 60% if that's even correct.I was pleasantly surprised by this speaker, I want to love it, but that's not possible with how unreliable this speaker can be if I don't even know if it'll stay on.

The Altec Lansing Hydrowave speaker is a well madce compact waterproof speaker with very clean sound. It is the largest of this series but can still be carried in one hand. It is also magnetic, so it can be mounted anyplace magnets cn, and if that is not enough, there is a tripod mount on the bottom. It also has a very sturdy built in loop for a strap... so you have options if you want to take it wherever5 you are going. In my opinion this is the best sounding speaker of the series, a big step up from the smaller hydro. It is not, however, very loud by comparison to other speaske4rs I have tried. Loudness is not everything but in this case it does make the speaker less good for outdoor usde. A picnic, sure, but a party would be a stretch. I think it might be a good speaker for a do4rm room or bedroom. The sound is very clean, balanced, free of artifacts.The sound quality is better than the vast majority of midrange speakers. but at this price point it is competing with some heavy hitters. While good, I don't think it competes welll with the "top ten". ThAT IA, t this perice point there are speakers I prefer. It it, however, verry solid, very flaxible, very easy all around, and the sound quality is good. I alsao like, really lik3e, that Altec Lansing has their priorities right, focusing on sound and usage, rather than data collecxtion (and I have had some issues wi5th audiophile companies which have changed priorities, optimizing data collection over usability, flexability, even sound quality. That said, this is an area where Altec Lansing shines. This speaker would also do better than most in a tough environment. Take it camping, climbing, mount it on a bike or off road vehicle. It's a tough little speaker. Altec Lansing calls it "everything-proof".

This paired easily with my phone. I stuck it to my fridge, and the magnet was quite strong. I don't need to put it on a stand or anything, but I did screw on the base-stand-thing. I'm sure it would be fine for whatever it's for, though I don't see myself using it. I like the color ring around the front, but more on that later. You can also charge your phone (if your phone can be charged wirelessly) as long as the speaker is on. It doesn't work if the speaker is powered off.Sound quality was pretty good. I would have though the app would have an equalizer, but it didn't. I used the equalizer that's part of my phone, and it seemed to help. Actually, the app is pretty useless. I hope there's an update at some point. There's a color ring around the front that's supposed to change color through the app, and I couldn't find anything about changing color in there. The only thing I was able to do was put in some information (name, serial number, date bought), and I could read the instructions, but that was it.TL;DR: The magnet is nice, the sound quality is good, the app is mostly useless. I think this is a decent speaker.