INTRODUCTION

   If you really enjoy listening to your favorite audio tracks more than most people around you chances are that you already own at least one portable speaker which you can take with you at a moment’s notice. Of course as many of you are certainly aware the word portable is no longer used only to describe compact battery powered speakers but rather just about anything you can carry around with you including some quite large wall powered models that feature impressive power outputs and features. That being said there have been some attempts at battery powered portable speakers with surprisingly good outputs (JBL, Ultimate Ears and Marshall are the most popular ones) but at the end of the day such models simply can't compete with the larger wall powered ones. Aiwa used to be a very popular brand name in Europe back in the 90's but it's also a name i hadn't heard of in almost a decade so when we learned about their award winning Exos-9 Portable Bluetooth Speaker (AIWA-9001) we had to take a look for ourselves.

   We've proudly resurrected the iconic Aiwa brand in the passionate pursuit of bringing people together around music. How do we do that? We create products that deliver legendary sound quality; we bring you the music you love, the way it was meant to be heard. Aiwa has a simple formula for delivering serious audio equipment without compromise - we have the best acoustic talent, we put our money into the highest quality components and we offer world-class customer service. For those that want music to be more than background noise, for those who want their music to have the power to entertain. Our company, Aiwa Corporation, was founded in 2011 and has no association with Sony Corporation or any of its subsidiaries, the previous holders of the Aiwa Trademark. Questions, support or service for any Aiwa product made prior to 2014 should be directed to Sony Corporation.

   If you're looking for a compact portable speaker then you're out of luck since the primary goal of Aiwa when designing the Exos-9 back in 2014-2015 was obviously a great deal of power output followed of course by audio clarity. So even though the Exos-9 delivers a total of 200W of continuous power output (WRMS) thanks to two class-D amplifiers it does so with the help of 5 speaker drivers (two 77mm neodymium mid-range drivers, two 26mm silk dome tweeters and a single 165mm dual voice coil subwoofer) placed in acoustically isolated chambers which in turn cover a frequency range of 40Hz-20KHz with a max SPL of 100dB+. Other features include Bluetooth connectivity (A2DP/NFC/aptX/AAC/SBC), TWS pairing (wirelessly link two Exos-9 speakers in dual stereo or stereo separated configuration), 3.5mm audio input, touch controls, 5-band onboard graphic equalizer with 4 available pre-sets (you can also fine tune the EQ to your liking), bass reflex port, carrying rubber handle, USB charging port (for mobile devices), micro USB firmware update port and a 2600mAh lithium-ion removable battery pack which can power the Exos-9 for up to 9 hours (if 9 hours is not enough for you Aiwa has a 4400mAh 12-cell lithium-ion battery pack available with which the Exos-9 can keep on going for up to 18 hours). So the time has come for us to get close and personal with the Exos-9 by Aiwa.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

Aiwa packs the EXOS-9 inside a large white box that has a partial picture of it at the front along with their logo.

The product features are mentioned on both sides of the box.

A wireframe of the Exos-9 is located at the rear of the box right next to a picture showcasing its rear and beneath the product features and specification lists.

Contained inside the box are the Exos-9 speaker, removable battery pack, EU/UK power cords (depends on the region of course), 3.5mm cable, quick start guide in several languages, registration paper, warranty information papers and a paper with a few words from the people behind the new Aiwa.

THE EXOS-9

Measuring no less than 492mm in length, 197mm in width and 301mm in height the 5.8Kg heavy Exos-9 is larger than most battery powered speakers in the market today.

To have a better understanding about the size of the Exos-9 we placed it next to the Solemate MAX by Jabra.

The company logo is placed at the top center of the fascia right next to a LCD screen and the volume control knob.

Most of the fascia is made out of a grille behind which are the 5 powered drivers.

The touch panel is located at the top of the enclosure and includes a play/pause button, EQ selection/adjustment buttons and a LINK button for TWS (the NFC area is located just next to the panel).

Moving at the rear we find the rubber handle, bass reflex port, battery area, 3.5mm line-in port, USB charging port, firmware update micro SD port, power port and the on/off power button.

The bundled lithium-ion battery pack has a capacity of 2600mAh/57.7Wh.

Just like with laptop batteries the battery of the Exos-9 can be mounted with ease.

AIWA has placed two large rubber feet at the base of the Exos-9.

Here you can see the EQ LCD screen and top panel when in use.

Aiwa also makes available an IPX4 splash-resistant, dustproof and shockproof carrying bag for the Exos-9 along with an remote control via which you can lock the Bluetooth feature so other devices can’t connect to the speaker (unfortunately we were unable to get samples of those so the above pictures are marketing material).

Finally you can check for available firmware upgrades online just by entering the serial number of your Exos-9 (our sample came with the latest one).

CONCLUSION

   As clearly stated in the introduction page the new Aiwa is not in any way connected to the old one and although that did strike all of us as a bit odd at first it's certainly worth pointing out that ownership change is not something new in the electronics industry (and it's always good to keep a popular brand name from being gone for good). With that out of the way the "new" Aiwa may be far from what the Aiwa we all knew was (at least in terms of size and available products) but if they continue to design, manufacture and release products like the EXOS-9 their future seems quite bright. You see the Exos-9 may not be the best all-around portable wireless speaker since it does lack certain features we'd like to see (such as a built-in micro SD/USB MP3/WMA/FLAC player, audio tags displayed on the front LCD screen and why not even RGB lighting - although to be fair back in late 2015 when the pre-orders of the Exos-9 were delivered there were almost no products with RGB lighting in the market) but thanks to its massive power output, clear and accurate mids and highs, enough bass to throw a small party (although if you want the best possible sound stage two Exos-9 would be ideal), adjustable EQ and a removable battery pack (one of its strongest selling points if i might add – we never were able to hit the advertised 9 hours however / best result we got was almost 7) it's certainly quite unique. Another thing we liked about the Exos-9 and the new Aiwa are the extra available accessories like the IPX4 carrying bag, the remote control and the higher capacity removable battery pack. Granted we didn’t have the chance to check those out and it’s a safe bet that some of you would like to see them included in the package (regardless of extra cost) but the fact of the matter is that we don’t see something similar by other manufacturers. Unfortunately although we do realize that Aiwa had to make some compromises to keep the weight of the Exos-9 in check (still even 5.8Kg is not exactly easy to carry around with one hand) the almost entirely plastic enclosure doesn’t feel very robust and thus hurts the overall image of the product.

   Just like with its immediate competition the Exos-9 Portable Bluetooth Speaker by Aiwa isn’t exactly what we’d call affordable and so it currently retails for USD329.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 299Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de). Still even at this price you will have a very hard time finding a portable speaker that can go up against the Exos-9 in terms of raw power and on top of that the easily replaced battery is a lot harder to come by than what wed’ expect. At the end of the day the 2015 Exos-9 Portable Bluetooth Speaker by Aiwa may have begun to show its age but there’s no doubt that it’s still an impressive product worth our Golden Award.

PROS

- 2.1 Speaker System (5 Speakers In Total)
- Two Class-D Amplifiers (200WRMS)
- Bluetooth & 3.5mm Connectivity (NFC Supported)
- Battery & Wall Power Operation
- Removable Battery Pack (Up To 9 Hours)
- 5 Band Adjustable EQ With 4 Presets
- Touch Panel
- TWS Link (Can Pair Two Exos 9 Speakers)
- USB Charging Port
- Micro SD Firmware Update Port
- Available Accessories (IPX4 Carrying Bag / Remote Control / 4400mAh Battery Pack)
- Price (Compared To Similar Models)

CONS

- Size/Weight
- Plastic Enclosure
- No Micro SD / SD / USB Audio Player
- Price (For Some)