A palmful of amplification
Sony's Bluetooth mobile speaker gives plenty of bang for the bite
Serving up a big sound for its tiny size, the Sony SRS-BTV5 Bluetooth wireless mobile speaker features one touch connection with any NFC-capable smart phone.
It measures a mere 65 mm x 67.6 mm x 65 mm and sits comfortably in your palm yet its sound can fill a small bedroom.
In fact, during the test, I found that it was loud enough to fill in my large living room.
It’s so small and light that you can carry around in a pocket as a companion to your smart phone for sharing music with others around you on the go.
The beauty of BVT5 is that it could be connected to your NFC-capable smart phone very easily. You simply enable NFC (Near Field Communication) function of your smart phone and tap gently on the top of the speaker. Your smart phone will then seek your confirmation that you want it to connect to the speaker. That confirmation is needed only for the first time. The connection is made via Bluetooth connection.
When you use NFC to initiate the Bluetooth connection, the BTV5 does not have to be turned on. It will automatically turn on the speaker.
I tested it together with my Sony Xperia V, tapping the phone on the top part of oval-shaped speaker, prompting the NFC function to connect phone and speaker with the Bluetooth radio signal. The Walkman app of the phone then start playing and streaming songs to the wireless speaker automatically.
If your phone does not have the NFC function, you can also link it to the wireless speaker using the direct Bluetooth connection.
That connection is a breeze. You simply slide and hold the power switch for about two seconds to have the speaker enter the Bluetooth pairing mode and you use your smart phone’s Bluetooth connection to pair with it.
While the BVT5 was amazingly loud for it tiny size I needed to lower the volume level by two steps to avoid distortion. I then switched the volume level on my smart phone to the peak level and was pleased to find that the speaker was loud enough to be enjoyed in my living room.
The small size does have one disadvantage though: the BVT5 lacks powerful bass. That said, it reproduced soft music beautifully and I really enjoyed listening to the “Best of Sting” album, the “Best Audiophile Voices V” and “Sax for Sex: Beautiful Night” on the wireless speaker. The music was clear and sweet but with little bass sound.
The Sony SRS-BTV5 is available in white, black, pink and blue colour and costs just Bt2,490.
Key specs
_ Full Range Speaker Size: Approximately 1-3/8 in. (34 mm) diameter
_ Impedance: 6 Ohms
_ Output: 1.2 W (at 10% harmonic distortion)
_ Audio In: Audio In jack (3.5 mm stereo mini jack)
_ DC-In: 5 V DC, Micro-USB terminal (Charge Only)
_ Battery Life (Approx): Audio Playback: Approximately 5 hours
_ Battery Type: Lithium-Ion Rechargeable Battery (Built-In)
_ Dimensions: Approximately 65 mm x 67.6 mm x 65 mm (w/h/d)
_ Weight: Approximately 135 g
