INTRODUCTION

   Audio quality, battery life, design/looks and materials used (build quality) are the four things we focus mostly when testing Bluetooth wireless speakers and although it's very hard to find a model that ticks all these boxes things keep getting better and better as time goes by. Now we all know that there are quite a few well known and established manufacturers that sell Bluetooth speakers (HARMAN and EDIFIER are certainly among them) with both quality and looks but what many consumers don't seem to know is that there are some hidden gems in the market by virtually unknown manufacturers. One such manufacturer is Yantouch and today we're taking a look at their EyE Lifestyle Bluetooth Speaker.

   A brand of Technology and Art, by innovative and passionate team from Taiwan Silicon Valley was founded in 2008. Yantouch has received several Red dot design awards, the world highest honor in Design and owned 21 worldwide patents which are continuously growing. Blend Speaker, LED, APP and wireless technologies, with modern Nordic design plus world leading Taiwan craftsmanship, determined to provide Best Music, Smart Light and Natural Wake 3-in-1 boutique. Bring you a new Yantouch portable romantic lifestyle.

   Although the EyE features a rather strange design it's not without reason since as its name suggests Yantouch tried to "copy" the human eye by using both white (8 in number) and RGB (9 in number) LEDs placed around the main body of the speaker (these LEDs can be configured in 4 different modes Hue, Wake, Sleep and DJ). Under the hood Yantouch has placed a 10W PMPO 55mm dynamic neodymium magnet driver (according to Yantouch this driver comes with a special diaphragm for optimal balance between bass and treble and a 4 layer aluminum coated copper coil for enhanced bass) that features a frequency response of 60Hz-20KHz and a 2600mAh Lithium-polymer rechargeable battery which can provide the speaker with up to 10 hours of playback. Also according to Yantouch the EyE features a special Swiss horn technology (resonance tube) to create natural bass so there's one more thing for us to check out during our tests. Last but certainly not least the EyE can be used not only via a bundled remote control but also via Yantouch's HueDJ app available for both Android and iOS users.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The EyE box has a large product picture at the front and the company logo twice (we received two EyE speakers for stereo tests).

A large product picture is placed on the right side of the box while on the left we also see the main products features above yet another product picture.

At the rear you can see which model and bundle is included in the box (single packages - EyE1 - with black top plastic for our sample) along with several pictures of the HueDJ app.

The speaker is placed inside two formed pieces of clear plastic with the rest of the bundle placed right ontop of it.

Along with the EyE Lifestyle Bluetooth Speaker you will also get a carrying/storage cloth pouch, compact remote control, USB to micro USB charging cable and the user manual.

THE EYE

In terms of size the plastic housing of the EyE measures 154mm in diameter, 59mm in thickness and 95mm when it's standing up diagonally.

By using a 55mm dynamic driver with a power output of 10W the EyE should be quite powerful (for its size always).

At the rear we see the resonance tube exhaust port (top), micro USB charging cable, 3.5mm aux input and the metal base which also acts as the on/off power switch.

Thanks to its 8 white and 9 RGB LEDs the EyE certainly looks unique.

Still it's only when you place two EyE speakers next to each other that you see just how much they resemble the human eye (here you can see some of the available colors).

HUEDJ APP

The HueDJ app may not be the best looking one around (its colors make things even worse) but it's somewhat easy to get used to so from the first tab you can scan and pair the available Yantouch speakers with your smartphone and/or tablet (once you do you can even see the battery status here).

If you happen to lose the bundled remote control or if it gets broken (even if you don't like using it) there's an exact copy of it in the HueDJ app.

You can set the EyE1 to help you sleep at night and wake you up in the morning (Yantouch calls that the sunset-sunrise simulator).

Via the DJ tab you can either change the color of the LEDs manually or automatically.

CONCLUSION

   The EyE by Yantouch is not really a brand new product since it was released almost 4 years ago but having received multiple requests by some of you (most in 2017) we decided it was time for us to take a look. In terms of audio quality the EyE does extremely well by producing clear and crisp mids and highs with a good amount of bass. Of course one single EyE may not be enough in terms of volume levels to cover a very large area (especially since at full volume we did encounter slight audio distortion) but when paired with a second their output rivals that of much larger stereo desktop speakers. We also liked the build quality of the EyE and although glass would look and feel much more "elegant" compared to plastic still we do realize that not only would it be much easier to break (depends on the type of glass used obviously) but it would also increase the weight of the speaker. Using just 9 RGB LEDs (and 8 white ones) didn't seem enough for us at first when we checked the specifications sheet of the EyE but we were proven wrong since they are surprisingly bright even under strong light (just imagine that our photo bench on which we take all our pictures is equipped with roughly 200W worth of neutral white LED lights). Battery life is also quite good and although you will probably never get even close to the advertised 10 hours we did get to cross the 6 hours mark while using the EyE at almost full volume and that's not bad for a speaker with a total of 17 LEDs. There are two things however we didn't really like about the EyE and those are its bundled remote control which feels way too cheap (and sometimes doesn't even work) and its Android/iOS app which sometimes is not what we consider responsive (and you can't use its LEDs without those).

   You can currently get the black version of the EyE1 Bluetooth Speaker by Yantouch (YTL110B) for USD75.48 (Amazon.com) and the clear version for USD99 (Amazon.com) and that’s perhaps the most significant drawback of this specific product. Sure it sounds and looks great but spending almost USD200 for a set of the clear version is a bit much for what you’re getting in return. The black version with a total cost of USD151 is much more balanced and thus is also the one we recommend getting if you’re interested. At the end of the day the EyE Lifestyle Bluetooth Speaker by Yantouch combines audio quality with impressive looks and that’s really not something we get to see every day and although certainly not perfect it’s well worth our Golden Award.

PROS

- Overall Build Quality
- Design (8 White And 9 RGB LEDs)
- Power Output (10W per Speaker)
- Remote Control
- Swiss Horn Technology (Bass Boost)
- Available With Black And Clear Top

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Remote Control Quality
- HueDJ App Responsiveness