INTRODUCTION

   We are literally just a few weeks away from Christmas and since all of us here happen to consider that season as the best and most cheerful time of the year we’ve decided to spend a weekend on the mountain away from technology and more specifically computers and TV. Personally i like the idea since i do need some time off to relax but I’m not about to leave here entirely unprepared and so because of that for the past 2 weeks we've been doing our best to get our hands on as many portable devices as possible that can help us enjoy our time there while at the same time making us feel safer. TDK has been in the business of designing and manufacturing high performance wireless speaker systems for quite some time now but until just recently they didn't offer something really tiny in their product line. It seems however that TDK listens to their consumer base and so the latest TREK A26 Ultra-Portable Wireless Speaker is here to change that.

   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.

   When TDK announced the release of the TREK A26 to us a few months back it was a pleasant surprise but not really a new concept since we are talking about basically the cut-down version of TDKs acclaimed A33 weatherproof wireless speaker which is placed in the same ballpark as the Boombox and A360 portable speakers, size-wise that is. However TDK did notice that although quite impressive their wireless solutions were not portable enough for some people and so what better way than to take the design of an award winning product and just shrink it down a bit? Well i haven't used/tested the A33 up till this day (will try too however soon) so i really can't make any comments regarding its performance (i only know for certain that it has won multiple awards worldwide) but the A26 retains the IP64 weatherproof certification of its enclosure and comes featuring Bluetooth v4.0 (A2DP/AVRCP/HSP/HFP), NFC (Near Field Communication), two 1.5" full range drivers and two 2" passive radiators that output a total of 6W. On top of that under the hood an NiMH rechargeable battery is responsible for keeping the A26 running for up to 6 hours so things couldn't get much if at all better. How does it perform? Well let's find out shall we?

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

We received the TREK A26 inside a small black box with a product image, the main features and the TDK logo at the front.

The product features are printed at the rear in 8 different languages.

TDK has placed the entire bundle inside a cardboard tray which should provide adequate protection.

The bundle includes the TREK A26 wireless speaker, micro-USB charging cable, 3 user manual papers (8 languages in total), 2 caution papers, registration paper, contact information paper, warranty information paper and a quickstart guide.

THE TREK A26

Although TDK has the TREK A26 available in black, white and red/black i think the all-black version looks better (less "flashy").

It's size is nowhere near the Boombox and the A360 portable speakers we've reviewed in the past and to show that we placed it right next to the LG Optimus 2X smartphone. To be more specific the TREK A26 measures 178mm in width, 76mm in height and 28.5mm in depth while weighing just 340g.

The TDK logo is present both on a round brushed aluminum gold plate at the front and at the top right next to the NFC (Near Field Communication) logo.

Unfortunately i was unable to remove the front grill to take a look at the drivers (not without damaging the device).

The top of the A26 is covered in a nice rubber coating beneath which lie the on/off, volume, source (aux/Bluetooth) and accept/end call buttons.

A small rubber cover on the right keeps the power on/off switch, micro-USB charging port and the 3.5" port safe (part of the IP64 weatherproof design).

At the rear of the A26 there's another section with a grill and that's actually a very useful tilt-in stand.

Now at first i didn't understand why TDK chose to use another grill here but this section is actually right next to the speaker port so they didn't really have much of a choice.

CONCLUSION

   We used the TREK A26 primarily with 3 smartphones (iPhone 4s, Optimus 2X, Huawei Honor), the Logitech Squeezebox Touch and a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 for a period of 9 days and the results were quite good. Bass was sufficient (although not much) and quite deep, mids/highs were quite clear and accurate but the volume output was not what we had expected from a TDK device. That part however ended up being our mistake since having used both the Boombox and A360 wireless speakers by TDK for a moment there we thought that the A26 would be able to rival or at least come somewhat close to those in terms of volume levels but we were flat out wrong because this is the A26 and not its larger brother the A33. Leaving that to the side however the NFC feature actually works as advertised for a change (compared to other devices) and thanks to Bluetooth v4.0 we experienced no issues with range even from 15 meters away with 3 concrete walls in between (if your device is also Bluetooth v4.0 compatible). TDK claims that the NiMH rechargeable battery can keep the A26 going for up to 6 full hours however during testing we hardly crossed the 5 hours mark (5 hours and 12 minutes to be exact). Of course TDK much like every manufacturer out there measures the life of the battery by using the device at normal volume levels while we do with the volume level turned almost all the way up so 6 hours doesn't seem to be off. We also performed a couple of calls just to check the quality of the microphone but as usual although it does work quite well don’t expect perfection since in the end it’s just a side feature.

   Unlike the Boombox and the A360 wireless speakers the TREK A26 is a less powerful typically sized portable wireless speaker with a retail price tag set at USD99.95 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and 130Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk). Now i do hope that TDK does something to equalize the price tag between the USA and the EU since the difference is quite large but that being said the TREK A26 is not really an expensive portable wireless speaker not when there are plenty of competing products by other manufacturers that cost quite a bit more. Of course if you want plenty of power i really suggest taking a look at the 2-Speaker Boombox since it's quite small and packs many times over the punch of the TREK A26. Overall however TDK has introduced a very good feature-rich portable wireless speaker that clearly deserves our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Portable
- Design
- Audio Clarity (Clear & Accurate Mids/Highs)
- Bluetooth v4.0 & 3.5mm AUX Input
- NFC (Near Field Communications)
- Tilt-In Stand
- Rechargeable Battery (Lasts Well Over 5 Hours) 

CONS

- Volume Levels (Good For The Size However)
- Price Tag (In The EU)