A few weeks ago, I received a package from Fender. A big, brown box. With Fender stamped on it. That in itself is a big deal to me. I love the Fender company, the products they make, the vibe, the customers. Yeah, it’s like that. How many other companies can you think of that make such cool products? Guitars, amps, bass guitars, gear, accessories, you name it. Ok, so back to the package. It was a huge box with a tiny powerful Blue-tooth inside it. The speaker really wasn’t that tiny, it was just tiny compared to the massive box it came in. Enough about the box. I know what you’re thinking; I get cool stuff from Fender in exchange for writing about it. Even that would be cool, but that’s not the case. Fender sent this to me because they are so freaking cool. I did a piece on them a while back, and developed a relationship, and they did something really cool (in addition to giving me a tour of the factory).
But I’m not doing this review because Fender expects it, on the contrary. I’m not even doing this review because I’m returning a favor or just want to do something nice in return. I’m writing this review because not only is this one of the coolest gadgets I’ve ever had in my house, to top it off, the wife is impressed with it. She doesn’t get impressed by much. I’m compelled to write about this because I love it so much.
So seeing as this speaker is so darn impressive, let me tell you about it. I’m amazed that so much sound can come out of something that measures 3” by 7.25” by 5.25” and weighs just a touch over three pounds. The sound that comes out of this thing can be compared to what you get out of a small “bookshelf” stereo system with 12” speakers. It’s hard to believe something this small can sound so good. Great tone and you can really blast this sucker!
Prior to its arrival, I had never really considered getting one of these things, but after using it, I wonder why I didn’t buy one years ago. I have every manner of “i” device here, iPad, iPhone, iMac, a house full of electronics, and I never thought to use something like this. Awesome!
The Newport Speaker not only sounds great, but also looks great. It looks like a tiny Fender amp, complete with “witch hat” style knobs, a real toggle switch for the power, rubber around the edges in case you drop it, a real metal grille, and it plays forever without needing a charge. My favorite thing about it though is the little chord that it strums every time you power it on, or mate your device with it. Sometimes I just walk over and flick it on to hear this happy little guitar chord.
Well done Fender, great amp….I mean portable blue-tooth speaker. I wish I’d had this when I still had my sailboat. You can pick one of these little beauties up for $199.99 and it’s a purchase I’m sure you’ll love for quite a while!
