INTRODUCTION

   After having used a large number of portable Bluetooth speakers from most companies in the field it just hit me that by definition all of them were single unit ones designed for maximum portability. That's certainly not a bad thing since that's obviously what you'd expect from a portable speaker but wouldn't it be nice if you could also use that same device while at home? Of course the only problem with that is that we all would rather use at least a stereo speaker system at home and that's not something portable Bluetooth speakers offer, at least not the vast majority. After quite a bit of searching it seems that SuperTooth one of the most popular manufacturers in the field has released a product that offers true stereo sound coming from two individual speakers which are connected wirelessly to each other. The name of the product is the Disco Twin Bluetooth Stereo Speaker and it just might be what we've been looking for all this time.

   SuperTooth, headquartered in France, is a world leading manufacturer of Bluetooth speakerphones and portable accessories, with a presence in more than 50 countries. In 2004, SuperTooth created the concept of a Bluetooth speakerphone that could be clipped to a car’s sun visor providing hands-free phone call capability. Today the Bluetooth expert is continuing to pioneer audio accessories that are powerful, reliable and affordable, also integrating new NFC technology. SuperTooth owns its own factory, managing and operating the entire production and supply chain – from initial designs and concepts, to the manufacturing and packaging. For more information, visit www.SuperTooth.net.

   The SuperTooth Disco Twin Bluetooth Stereo Speaker consists out of two portable tower speakers that feature Bluetooth v3.0 connectivity (supports A2DP, AVRCP and Remote functions), two drivers and a bass reflex system (each tower) resulting to a total of 32 Watts RMS total (WRMS/16WRMS each tower) and Nickel–metal hydride battery packs (one in each tower) which give them up to 10 hours of life at medium volume levels. These two tower speakers use a 2.4GHz wireless band to connect together wirelessly up to a range of 10 meters and that alone is quite impressive since you can create a stereo soundstage without the obvious limitations of cables (10m should be more than enough for example to place each on both ends of any room). At first glance the build quality of both towers may not be the best we've seen and the design is certainly not great but audio quality, range and battery life are far more important when testing portable speakers (especially ones which are not ment for outdoor use) so let's see what SuperTooth brings to our table with the Disco Twin model.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

Both towers arrived in a large box with their picture at the front along with the SuperTooth logo and a smartphone used to showcase the Bluetooth connectivity.

The main product features are listed on the left side of the box while on the right side we see a full scale drawing of one of the towers.

All of the product features are listed at the rear in six languages right above the bundle contents and next to a drawing of the speakers.

The front of the box opens up to reveal the two towers and a quick look at how you can use them.

Along with the two tower speakers you will also get two cloth carrying pouches (or covers if you don't plan on moving the speakers a lot), two 3.5mm audio cables, two wall chargers, quick start guide in two languages and a warranty paper.

THE DISCO TWIN

Standing 182mm tall, 108mm wide and 70mm deep the 552.7g heavy Disco Twin speakers are made primarily out of plastic.

Both the size of the two towers combined is even less compared to that of the SOLEMATE MAX but still they should deliver quite the punch in terms of volume levels.

The illuminated media control buttons are placed at the top of the towers and allow you to control the volume and play/pause/navigate songs.

A 3.5mm audio input is placed at the lower end of both towers right next to a LED indicating when both towers are connected and the DC power port.

The master tower has that printed at the rear so it's not hard to spot although i think it would be better if SuperTooth had placed this at the top or front of the device.

Both towers sit ontop large rubber pads that make it impossible for them to slide while in use.

CONCLUSION

   It's not really the first time since we've seen two portable Bluetooth speakers working together wirelessly to allow for a wide stereo sound field since a few manufacturers have done so in the past. However SuperTooth offers perhaps the only set of such speakers that works right out of the box thus "simplifying" things especially for people who are looking for something like that. SuperTooth claims that the Disco Twin speakers can connect up to a range of 10m and we verified this out in the open although obviously that number doesn't apply when walls are present between them (6m with a wall in between is not bad however). Audio quality is not really superb all over but the Disco Twin offer very good and accurate mids with rich bass so although highs are not impressive i doubt anyone will have a problem with that, besides we're not talking about an expensive audiophile grade floor speaker. Volume levels are also very good and more than enough to cover a large room although if you max the volume on both the Disco Twin and your source you may notice some slight audio distortion. As for battery life well at full volume we were unable to hit 4 hours but we did hit 3 hours and 42 minutes which is not at all bad if you think about it although i do expect most people to have both towers plugged into power sockets if they plan on using them at home.

   Most good Bluetooth portable speakers cost quite a bit so i was somewhat relieved to see that currently the SuperTooth Disco Twin retail for just USD149.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and 140.53Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de). Granted at first this price tag may not seem low to many of you but if you take into account that you are getting a set of Bluetooth portable speakers which you can place up to 10m away from each other and fill a room or an area far more efficiently compared to a single unit I’m sure you will soon change your mind. Now i do think that SuperTooth should work a bit more on the design of the Disco Twin (or the Disco series in general) Bluetooth Stereo speaker since it's indeed somewhat dull but that's a far less important factor than audio quality and features when choosing a portable speaker. Bottom line we all liked the Disco Twin and that's why it gets our Golden Award (we hope SuperTooth will keep up the good work and release more sets in the future).

PROS

- Overall Quality
- Detailed And Accurate Mids
- Plenty Of Bass
- Volume Levels (32 WRMS)
- 2.4GHz Wireless Connection (10m Distance)
- Bluetooth v3.0 & Individual 3.5mm Inputs

CONS

- Design (For Some)
- Battery Life (Roughly 4 Hours At Maximum Volume)