INTRODUCTION

   Portable devices have become part of our daily lives and whether that's in the form of smartphones, portable speakers, media players, tablets, notebooks and even coffee makers we simply can't go back to how things were not too long ago. However while it's the trend of our days to miniaturize pretty much everything related with electronics I’m glad to say that there are some areas of the industry where that's not how things are and what better example than the quite massive A73 Boombox wireless speaker by TDK which we had the chance to test a while back? Well it seems that the very successful path TDK has taken over the last couple of years in regard to their portable speaker line is not something to be taken lightly but since the Boombox line has not really been the most "portable" in the market this time over they took things a step further by introducing the brand new A360 Wireless 360 Speaker and we're amongst the very first to get their hands on it.

   TDK Life on Record, a leading global brand with a rich audio legacy, is dedicated to personalizing and enhancing audiophiles’ ever-evolving digital music lifestyles. TDK Life on Record audio products are carefully crafted to focus on performance, marrying a clean, striking design with the precision and flexibility of modern technology. This world-class line of premium audio products delivers a warm, authentic, high-fidelity entertainment experience. The TDK Life on Record logo is a trademark owned by TDK Corporation and is licensed exclusively to Imation Corp., a leading global developer and marketer of brands that empower people to capture, save and enjoy digital information. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

   Unlike the A73 Boombox the entire concept behind the A360 Wireless 360 Speaker is not focused around power but everything else that makes a portable wireless speaker including audio quality, design, size and weight. However that does not mean that the A360 lacks behind in terms of audio output levels. True it's not as powerful as the quite larger A73 Boombox (with its dual 13cm passive radiators, two 5cm full-range drivers and 13cm subwoofer) but still it does feature four 2.5cm full-range drivers (2W each) placed around the chassis and a 10cm (15W) ported subwoofer. That's not all however and so the A360 is also splash resistant (IPX3 rating under international standard IEC 60529, a feature not shared by the larger A73 Boombox) and can also be used to charge your mobile devices via a rear USB port. So on paper this portable wireless speaker seems to be a champ amongst its kind but is that really the case?

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

As you can see the box in which the A360 arrived is somewhat small. Still it comes with a nice product picture at the front along with its main features listed right next to it.

The units features are listed and explained on both sides in 10 languages.

TDK has placed the speaker between two thick cardboard spacers and the rest of the bundle inside a small cardboard box.

Just like in the case of the A73 Boombox the bundle of the A360 Wireless 360 Speaker is also very rich. To be more specific aside the A360 itself you are also getting a wall charger with 4 different power tips (universal), user’s manual in 3 different languages, piece of paper with Bluetooth pairing instructions, warranty/warning paper in two languages and a yellow paper pointing you to the TDK website in order to register the product and participate in their promotional discounts.

THE A360

The A360 Wireless 360 Speaker comes in matte black color and is quite compact measuring 180mm in height, 152mm in width and 151mm in length and weighing just 1937g.

To showcase exactly how large the A360 is compared to other wireless speakers we placed it right next two more compact solutions.

A single gold painted plastic knob controls the volume levels of the A360 (also has LEDs around it as you will see later on).

The audio source and treble/bass can be adjusted via two small golden buttons placed on the opposite side (the volume control knob is also used to adjust the amount of treble/bass).

TDK has placed their logo diagonally beneath the volume control knob.

There's a small compartment on the left side of the A360 which should be the rechargeable battery pack (which means you can swap it once it's depleted for good).

Moving at the rear we see that it attracts far less attention than the front something that was expected actually.

Here we see the 10cm subwoofer port and a rubber flap (the rubber flap needs to be closed as seen above for the device to be splash resistant).

Once you open the rubber flap you will find the AC power port, USB charging port (for portable devices), 3.5mm mini jack input (AUX) and the on/off switch.

A nice handle at the top makes carrying the A360 extremely easy and as you can see the company logo is also printed on it.

The electrical specifications of the A360 are printed at its base along with 4 large rubber feet.

Here you can see the A360 while working (the volume control LEDs turn on whenever you adjust the levels).

CONCLUSION

   When TDK asked us if we would like to test their upcoming A360 Wireless 360 Speaker a while back i was a bit skeptical at first since it's roughly half the size of the A73 Boombox and so i wasn't expecting much in terms of volume output. Well right now i am happy that we did ask them to send it over since although indeed not as powerful as the A73 Boombox it's a lot more powerful than anything else we've used to date (excluding the A73) and at the same time it looks great and it's quite compact. Now the four 2.5cm full-range speakers may already output very crisp mids/highs but i do think that had TDK used 5cm ones not only would they had released a more powerful portable speaker but the size would hardly need to be larger. Still these work like a charm and do offer a nice surround sound feeling especially when supported by the connected device (just don't forget to allow room between the rear of the speaker and the wall for example otherwise the result may not be the best). The 10cm subwoofer on the other hand proved to be more than enough for the A360 since it offers plenty of deep and warm bass. Regardless however i have to be honest here and so the A73 Boombox will always be our first choice when we need power over portability (unless TDK makes something more powerful in the future since the 3-way Boombox is EOL) and i expect the same to apply for people who want exactly that but for everything other than that the A360 Wireless 360 Speaker is really the ideal choice. Battery-wise TDK claims that the A360 can run for a total of 6 hours however once again that's only if you use it at "normal" volume levels so us using it at roughly 80% at all times was enough for it to last slightly over 4 hours (which is not really bad considering the volume level used).

   As mentioned already we are amongst the very few to get our hands on the A360 Wireless 360 Speaker prior to its official launch which means that it's not only available in stores just yet but it's also hardly even announced by TDK so we can't give a specific price tag. However since the recommended price tag according to TDK is currently set at 199Euros inside the EU you should be able to find it for less when it hits the stores (if not when it hits then certainly shortly after). Long story short the A360 Wireless 360 Speaker is a jack of all trades, it looks great, it's compact, offers very good audio clarity, plenty of bass, lots of volume (although less compared to the A73 Boombox) and we don't really expect it to hit stores with a price tag that far off compared to other a lot less powerful portable speakers in the market. The only thing I’d like to see would be a remote control since it came in very handy while testing the A73 Boombox but i guess we can't have it all. So for everything mentioned the A360 Wireless 360 Speaker grabs our Golden award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Compact Size
- Design
- Power Output (23W Total)
- Audio Clarity (Crisp & Clear Mids/Highs)
- Bass Levels (10cm Subwoofer)
- Bluetooth v2.1 & 3.5mm AUX Inputs
- Rechargeable Battery (Can Also Be Used To Charge Portable Devices)
- Price (Compared To Other Far Less Powerful Solutions)

CONS

- Battery Life (Just Over 4 Hours At 80% Volume)