INTRODUCTION

   Inside June we received over a dozen of emails by some readers asking about which portable speaker we think it would be best for them to purchase in order to accompany them in their summer vacations. Now of course some of you asked about portable speakers with superior audio quality and plenty of volume while others chose to ask for something really small in both size and weight with good battery life. As you all know the answer is not a simple one and normally large portable speakers produce better and more powerful audio compared to smaller ones while at the same time they also feature larger rechargeable battery packs. If however there's one thing I’ve learned over the years using and testing countless electronics is that there are always exceptions (never say never basically) and the Cube high performance portable speaker by NuForce seems to have what it takes to be part of that small club.

   NuForce was founded with a singular vision: to provide consumers, audiophiles, and audio pros stunning sound with classic and elegant design. Since then NuForce products have earned the loyalty and passion of consumers while getting top marks from the most prominent publications and press in the world. NuForce is more than just products - it's about making highest-quality sound part of an everyday lifestyle. Our growing array of home and portable products bring music and movie sound to life while providing inspiration, transporting you to another place, and making you feel more connected to your recordings and soundtracks, wherever you are. As music is a universal language everyone can appreciate and enjoy, NuForce products are sold around the world. We remain firmly committed to providing the highest-performance consumer electronics adhering to the most stringent quality standards, and ensuring integrity and value in every product.

   Unlike most portable speaker manufacturers Nuforce started from the size of the unit and then based on that they moved forward with the development of the Cube. The somewhat funny part is that at first glance the Cube is so small that the first thought that will certainly come to mind is that they couldn't have placed many things inside and that's where the fun begins. You see not only did Nuforce equip it with an 50mm speaker driver but they also managed to squeeze an USB DAC (16Bit/48KHz) for improved audio, an tiny headphone amplifier for more power if it so happens you decide to use headphones to listen to music and finally a rechargeable lithium battery capable of providing the Cube with up to 8 hours of life. The only downside is that the Cube does not feature Bluetooth connectivity so in order to use it with your smartphone or tablet you will need to rely on the typical 3.5mm connectivity which in the long run is not really bad since that means you will also be saving battery power on your devices. So time to see how well these translate to real world use.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

NuForce uses a small semi clear plastic box to ship the Cube in allowing the consumer to check all sides prior to purchasing it.

At the rear NuForce showcases the various usages of the Cube and also gives some pointers on how to properly charge and recharge the device.

The device specifications, bundle contents and barcode are placed at the bottom.

Although the box is very small still you are getting the Cube high performance portable speaker, the user’s manual, a nice carrying pouch, mini-USB charging cable and an 3.5mm mini-jack cable.

THE CUBE

The NuForce cube is a tiny portable speaker and by tiny i mean 58.5mm in length, 58.5mm in depth and 60mm in height. It weighs a total of 168g and is available in 4 different color versions (black/blue/white/red).

In order to have a better idea on exactly how tiny it is we placed the Cube High Performance Portable Speaker by NuForce right next to the very small Sandberg Pocket Bluetooth Speaker and the somewhat larger BeatBlock Premium Wireless Speaker by Tech-Life.

The NuForce logo is engraved at the top.

NuForce has covered the 50mm mono driver with cloth to protect it against dust. The power LED (red) is placed at the center of the lower section.

Moving at the rear we see the 3.5mm audio in port, mini-USB PC input/charging port and the headphones output port.

CONCLUSION

   So far most portable speakers I’ve used and/or tested have been quite larger in size compared to the Cube so when it arrived at our doorstep and we took it out of its shipping cardboard box naturally we had our doubts. All those doubts went packing shortly after we finished charging it for the very first time and used it to listen to our favorite tunes. To be somewhat blunt the results were amazing considering it's tiny size and so not only did the Cube produce amazing volume levels with superb clarity and good bass but we also only noticed a very slight audio distortion when the volume was all the way maxed out something that happens a lot with pretty much every portable speaker out there (which is to be expected due to the small size of the drivers). The only downside of the Cube is that it packs a single speaker and so it can't produce the same area effect as others can that feature 2 or more speakers. However after testing it for almost a week we all feel that it was a lot more convenient to use and carry around than for example the BeatBlock by Tech-Life or the Solemate by Jabra mainly because of its tiny size and weight. Lack of Bluetooth connectivity is also a small drawback but i think that the headphone amplifier makes up for that although using a portable speaker to connect your MP3/4 player with just to get more power for your headphones may seem a bit off to some people (would be a lot better both in terms of comfort and looks if MP3/4 players had such amplifiers built-in instead). Now regarding battery life NuForce claims that the Cube can last for as long as 8 full hours but during our tests we never even hit the 7 hours mark. However as always manufacturers test battery life with the volume levels placed right in the middle and not maxed out so that was to be expected and besides almost 7 hours of music playback is not bad at all especially for such a tiny speaker.

   Since this is my first actual encounter with a product by NuForce i didn't know what to expect in terms of pricing so i was somewhat pleased to see that the Cube high performance portable speaker currently retails for USD99 inside the USA (Purchase Directly from Amazon.com) and for around 100Euros inside the EU (Purchase Directly from Amazon.co.uk). Granted the price is not as low as i would like it to be and I’m quite certain that many of you may choose a larger portable speaker based on appearances (and logic since larger equals to more powerful, most of the times anyways) but remember that in the end you're not just getting a tiny portable speaker but also a USB DAC and an headphone amplifier as well. In the end NuForce has put lots of work in the Cube and it has paid off since i personally haven't come across anything more powerful and with better audio clarity that can even come close to the size of the Cube and that's why it receives our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Size/Weight
- Design
- 3 In One (Portable Speaker/USB DAC/Headphone Amplifier)
- Volume Levels
- Audio Clarity

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Lacks Bluetooth Connectivity