Sea, sex and sound ! Sound, an essential ally of successful summer evenings, is making a remarkable breakthrough with the new ML-655 BT Bluetooth speaker from Muse. The French firm, which markets often original and accessible audio products (such as low-cost vintage turntables) succeeds a nice shot with a multi-faceted device and a good price/quality ratio, that the drafting of 20 minutes could test.
Sounds and lights
To set the mood for a barbecue evening, a dinner by the swimming pool, or even a picnic on the beach, portable speakers are precious allies. With its Bluetooth speaker ML-655BTMuse pushes the concept a little further, with design equipment, of good power and which, not content to send big sound, will also bring light and color to your parties.
Measuring 574mm (H) x 319mm (D) x 366mm (W) and weighing 2.9kg, this speaker can be either mains or battery operated. Concealed in its casing that can withstand water splashes (IPX4 standard), a 6,600 mAh battery thus ensures the device an autonomy of up to 5 hours. It’s not huge, but it can do the trick for sounding a cocktail or a dinner. Paired in a flash during our tests, the ML-655 BT surprised us with more than adequate sound quality and high power.
On board, a woofertwo speakers for the midrange and two Tweeter, as well as 100 watts of amplification. Obviously, we are not at home Devialetbut the Muse speaker clearly does the job ! Muse has even planned to be able to combine it with a second ML-655 BT speaker, to create a stereo pair.
Transportable thanks to its large rear handle, the speaker also has the good idea of being able to be placed on its magnetic wooden tripod. The latter, quite elegant, will probably find its place more inside than outside. It will add a nice decorative touch to the device which does not intend to stop there.
Kitsch, gadget, but nice!
Because Muse had the good idea of housing LED bulbs in its enclosure that will transform the ML-655 BT into a large ball of light. Thanks to the supplied remote control, it is thus possible to choose random colored lighting which will gradually go through all the shades; that can be fixed on one or two colors; or which can be white with an intensity that can be modulated on four levels. Sometimes creating an atmosphere, matching its environment (blue by the pool, green on a lawn, etc.), or acting as extra lighting, or even as a nightlight in a bedroom, the speaker does so double blow between sounds and lights, and in a rather beautiful way. She may seem a little kitsch, even gadget, but during our tests on a terrace or in a large living room with white walls, the device always had its small effect. He even weathered a storm for a few minutes without being affected…
Sold for 150 euros, which is a rather contained price given its good overall performance, the speaker for garden party de Muse does however have a few minor flaws. If it is possible to modulate the level of bass and treble from the remote control (which is a good point), the sound stops with each click on the dedicated button while a “beep” validates the setting selected. We would obviously have preferred something more fluid, even totally transparent.
Then, so beautiful are the proposed lightings, these cannot match the rhythm of the music. This is a function found on most so-called evening speakers, but not on this one.
Finally, Muse, a major supplier of tech equipment, has obviously not yet taken the step of responsible and recyclable packaging, since in its box, the ML-655 BT speaker is held together by two large blocks of polystyrene, a type of packaging that most brands have already taken care to abandon.