INTRODUCTION

   I spend the larger part of last Sunday at a beach roughly 90km away and to my surprise after one hour of me being there i noticed several people (not many but way more than last year or the year before) carrying portable Bluetooth speakers with them which they seemed to put to good use later on (not very loud models but enough to sufficiently cover a small area). Weirdly enough however most of those speakers were not rugged so I’m still having a hard time figuring out why one would risk damaging a speaker just by bringing it to the rather "harsh" conditions of the beach. Normally i wouldn't be thinking about something like that for so long since it's not really important but it so happened that at the same time i was also testing the latest flagship rugged portable wireless speaker by Jabra the Solemate Max so i guess that a small comparison was inevitable.

   GN Netcom, led by the Jabra brand, continues to build on its standing as one of the world’s leading and fastest growing suppliers of hands-free communications solutions. With approximately 875 employees and sales offices around the world, GN Netcom develops manufactures and markets a broad range of wireless headsets for mobile users and both wireless and corded headsets for contact center and office-based users. GN Netcom’s business activities also include its original equipment manufacturing (OEM) business to a wide range of global customers including mobile phone, PC and PDA manufacturers.

   As revealed by its name (and size of course) the Solemate Max is the larger brother of the original Solemate and Solemate Mini portable wireless speakers which we've tested in the past so right from that start we knew that Jabra would had probably fitted it with the most features. Well it seems we were right on the spot and so the Solemate Max features Bluetooth version 3.0 (10m/33ft wireless range), supports the usual A2DP (v1.2), hands free (v1.5) and headset (v1.2) profiles, makes use of the SCO/eSCO/Sniff modes, holds data for up to 8 connections with compatible devices (2 simultaneous ones) and thanks to an 1530mAh lithium-ion rechargeable battery it can offer up to 14 hours of music playback (depends on the volume levels). Features however is not what separates the Solemate Max from the other two models of the line what does is the things that Jabra has squeezed into its very large body and those are nothing less than two 3inch long-stroke mid-woofers and two 3/4inch silk-dome neo magnet tweeters at the front while the rear is taken by a single (and quite large) 235mm X 92mm passive bass radiator. Are these enough to throw a small party? We'll do our best to try and answer that one for you in the following pages.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The Solemate Max gets shipped inside a very large box that has a product picture at the front right over the compatible devices list and the Dolby Digital Plus logo.

Moving on the left side we see the left side of the unit where all the connectors are located.

Listed on the right side are the main features of the unit.

At the rear you can see the front of the speaker without the grill and the base where the 3.5mm cable is stored.

Once you open the box you will see a picture of the top media controls.

The entire bundle is very nicely secured inside the box with the help of several pieces of cardboard.

The bundle includes the Solemate Max, two quickstart guides (different languages), 4 warning papers (different languages), registration paper, Dolby Digital Plus application unlock code, AC power adapter with two power cables (EU/UK) and a USB to microUSB cable.

THE SOLEMATE MAX

The rubber coated Solemate Max is quite massive and so it measures 302mm in length, 102mm in width and 138mm in height while it weighs a total of 3kg.

To showcase just how large the SOLEMATE MAX really is we placed it right next to yet another "large" portable wireless speaker the TDK A33.

The playback controls (volume/skip backwards/skip forward/Play/Pause) and the answer/end calls button are placed at the top.

A large rubber strap is placed on the left side of the device allowing the owner to carry the device around with ease.

The DC power port is placed at the rear right lower corner.

Over at the right side we see the NFC zone, USB charging port (used to charge portable devices), microUSB port (PC connection), 3.5mm port, on/off/pairing switch and the battery and Bluetooth activity LEDs.

Aside the channel used to store the 3.5mm cable the rubber tracks at the base is where the unit (and the other Solemate speakers) got its name from.

To get the maximum possible volume from the Solemate Max you will need to use a direct connection via the 3.5mm cable.

Here we can see the Solemate Max without the front and rear grills (marketing material).

USING THE SOLEMATE MAX

Jabra has upgraded the firmware of the Solemate Max quite a few times already so prior to using it i strongly recommend heading over to their official support page to download the latest version.

Installing the latest firmware onto the speaker is very easy and done within just a couple of minutes.

If you wish to make use of Jabras Dolby Digital Plus support you will need to download their software from the Google Store or the Apple Store. The same software is available for many other devices by Jabra (as seen above) and it basically allows you to change the voice guidance gender and gives you control over the equalizer and the Dolby Digital Plus feature.

CONCLUSION

   When we first saw the Solemate Max we all thought it was a beast and it is in terms of size since it's the 2nd largest portable speaker we've ever tested right after the massive TDK Boombox A73. However if I’ve learned something through all the years testing similar devices is that size alone doesn't necessarily mean anything but luckily in the case of the Solemate Max that's not the case since compared to the original Solemate and the TDK A33 if i had to guess after using it for roughly a full month I’d say it's roughly 40-60% more powerful and that's not a small feat although some would argue that since it's easily over twice as large it should be more powerful (as a matter of fact some people already did). Highs are very good and clear, mids are accurate and the bass is more than we've ever come across with a similar device so we have no complaints in this area. Build quality is also superb although i do expect some people not to be very fond of the rubber coated enclosure since it gives a rather sports feeling/look to the speaker although it clearly offers protection in harsh environments for electronics like for example the beach (worked there without issue for 6 days). The capacity of the rechargeable li-ion battery is also high enough to allow up to 11 hours of playback time at maximum volume so Jabra is not far off with their numbers. The only downside is that you need over two hours to fully recharge the Solemate Max but we can't have it all now can we? Using the Solemate Max as a speakerphone was another surprise since both ends received very good audio clarity although i strongly recommend not getting more than 2-3m away from the device while on a call.

   The Solemate Max is a unique product and since there aren't that many in the market like it we never did expect Jabra to give it away for free. With a current price tag however set at USD399.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and 320Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk) the Solemate Max is priced higher than we could had ever expected and that's pretty much the only serious drawback this device has since if you want something similar in terms of output power the TDK Boombox A73 is a far cheaper solution although it’s not rugged and can't be moved around as easily (but it does offer FM reception). In the end it all boils down to how much you are willing to spend and what you want but since the Solemate Max delivers on everything promised by Jabra and then some we can't deny giving it our Platinum Award.

PROS

- Build Quality (Rugged Housing)
- Amplifier Output (90W Total)
- Audio Clarity (Excellent Mids/Highs)
- Bass Levels (Rear Bass Reflex)
- Bluetooth v3.0, USB & 3.5mm AUX Inputs
- Rechargeable Battery (Can Be Used To Charge Other Devices)
- Design
- 3.5mm Cable
- Battery Life (Up To 14 Hours)
- Speakerphone

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Volume Levels (Not As Much As We’d Hoped For Its Size)