Give the Gift of Music This Holiday with the SOL Republic PUNK Bluetooth Wireless Speaker

Thank you to SOL Republic for providing a PUNK wireless speaker sample for us to base this review upon and for providing an additional product for our giveaway prize.  All opinions expressed are my own.

I have been privileged to have reviewed so many SOL Republic products over the last couple of years. I am always excited to see and test the next one. So far every SOL Republic product I have tested has received an outstanding review from me and I would be lying if I said I was not partial to their products, but frankly they have earned that bias from me. SOL Republic makes great personal audio electronics and their pricing is always better than the competitor for comparable items. However I always try to find at least one imperfection when I do a review for them. I am not always successful….

I received the SOL Republic PUNK Bluetooth speaker in black for review. And as always, I was excited to get it as I love my DECK and wanted to see how a smaller speaker compares. The basic rule of thumb with speakers is that bigger is almost always better. Could the PUNK sound as nice as my larger DECK?

I wont keep you in suspense: The DECK has a bigger and richer sound, but wowee the PUNK wireless speaker sounds extremely good for a 3-1/2" speaker and I was impressed. It boggles my mind how much sound SOL Republic can jam into a speaker that can fit into your palm.

The bass is better than I would expect from such a small form factor (SOL Republic signature bass) and the rest of the range was pleasantly complete. At max volume there was no cracking or static. This is no quickie-mart-as-seen-on-TV speaker that I see everywhere. I tested a few different genre’s of music to hear a variety of sounds as well as some video to really test the PUNK. It all sounded fantastic.

The PUNK is also water and dust resistant, something that even my DECK can't do! The exterior is rubbery and soft offering some light shock resistance and toughness. The PUNK is so tough, it doesn't come with a case like its peer does. Just grab and go.

You can plug the PUNK into analog and USB ports for wired audio and charging. Not that you need to plug it in for audio, the Bluetooth connection was as easy to set up as can be and the range is superb. Although I have yet to prove if the PUNK can go for 8 hours on a charge, I hardly doubt it as my DECK can play all day long. SOL Republic knows how to do wireless batteries!

Are there better sounding Bluetooth speakers out there? Sure. But not one as small as the PUNK and certainly not as inexpensive. I also bet none are as tough as the PUNK or can get wet and keep playing.  The PUNK is truly designed to just grab, throw in a bag or big pocket, and go. With the punk you can have quality music anywhere you go.

And guess what? I don't have a single negative thing to say about the PUNK. I failed to find my obligatory imperfection. At $69.99 you simply cannot go wrong with this speaker. It's tough and easy to use, perfect for teenagers, college students, and anybody who needs great sound that's easy to take with you.

The SOL Republic PUNK wireless speaker comes in 7 colors.  To see them all or to learn more about this compact Bluetooth speaker, visit www.SOLRepbulic.com.

CYBER WEEKEND SPECIAL:  Order a PUNK speaker and get a pair of JAX in-ear headphones for FREE. (Valid thru December 1st, 2014 @ 11:59p Pacific Time.)  Also, $1 from every order over $50 from the SOL Republic website will be donated to the Children's Cancer Association.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck in the drawing!

This giveaway is open to U.S only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. A random drawing will be held shortly after the contest closing. The winner will be announced here and will be contacted via email. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new winner will be drawn. Although every effort will be made for the winner to receive the prize by December 24th, 2014, delivery in time for Christmas is not guaranteed. The color of the prize to be sent will be based on availability.

Start off the New Year with the High Quality Sound of SOL Republic's Deck Wireless Bluetooth Speaker

Thank you to SOL Republic for providing a complimentary Deck Speaker sample for us to base this review upon and for providing an additional product for our contest prize. All opinions expressed are my own.

Sometimes we fall in love with a brand and our opinions about it are always biased. For me, one of those brands is SOL Republic, I just love their products. This year SOL Republic sent me two more items to try out and review, and as always I was very excited to do so. As biased as I am towards SOL Republic, I still do my best to point out the flaws as I see them, even for products I otherwise love and recommend.

One of the products I was sent this year was the Deck Wireless Bluetooth Speaker. I was dying to get my hands on one the moment they were announced. With the prior SOL Republic products I have reviewed, I always found one or two things that were less than perfect to mention in my otherwise glowing reviews . I can tell you I have yet to find a single negative thing to say about my Deck. Sort of.

The Deck is handsome and has an asymmetric pattern of lines across its surface. As always with SOL Republic products, the Deck is offered in an assortment of fun colors . . . Electro Blue, Gunmetal, Lemon Lime, and Vivid Red. The unit feels heavy and solid when held, an important feature for a speaker with a subwoofer. The heft of the unit combined with a rubbery base keeps the unit from vibrating when reproducing SOL Republic's signature deep bass. The Deck is about the size of a small paperback novel. The unit could easily fit into a jacket pocket, but not comfortably in a pants pocket unless they are cargo pants. Mine sits perfectly next to my tablet in my bag inside the included soft case.

I feel like a broken record talking about SOL Republic's sound quality, but consistency is consistency: The Deck sounds wonderful. It generates decent bass from its subwoofer, a real treat for such a small speaker. And as always with SOL Republic, the range is not sacrificed for the bass. My tastes in music include everything from opera to death metal and the Deck keeps pace nicely.

The Deck manages to broadcast its sound 360 degrees from the unit, an excellent feature allowing you to place the unit anywhere and still hear the quality sound. Another feature that really stood out to me was the volume, the Deck is LOUD. Trust me when I tell you my office co workers have been enjoying the Deck as well…… whether they liked it or not (When it’s time to rock out, it’s time to rock out!). The Deck is an excellent choice for listening to music outdoors where a bit of volume is required.

SOL Republic claims the Deck has a 300 foot range with its Superpower Wireless feature. Although I was not able to prove or disprove that, it did start to get choppy about 60 feet away in my office. But I hardly take issue with that, Bluetooth is only advertised to work up to 30 feet and my office is made of concrete and steel, the bane of wireless devices.

Pairing to the Deck was as easy as can be, just point your device to the Deck and pair, no password required. Another unique feature is Heist Mode that allows up to 5 devices to send music to the speaker. What a great idea for parties, anybody can be a DJ with the Deck! As cool as Heist mode is, I can see it being equally annoying and fortunately you can turn it off.

The Deck comes with all the accessories required to charge its 10 hour battery (tested and verified by the way) and hook directly up to your device when wireless isn't an option.

The closest thing to a fault I can come up with for the Deck really isn't a fault. As amazing as the Deck sounds, it is still a compact speaker. Big speakers will almost always sound better than little ones. Now of course technology and quality play a big part in this, but assuming those are equal, bigger is always better. Having said that, the Deck sounds every bit as good as a speaker of its size should, MUCH better in fact. If you compare its sound to a larger and equally quality speaker you will be disappointed. But for me, if its too big I won’t bring it with me unless I know I need it. The Deck goes with me everywhere, even if I don't plan on using it. I LOVE that. Can you buy a better sounding speaker? Yes, but it’s going to be much larger and certainly more expensive.

If you want to bring high quality sound with you, in my opinion, there is no better option than the SOL Republic Deck. There are lots of great wireless speakers out there, but SOL Republic gets it right... Again. Great sound, fantastic quality, compact, and at $199.99 priced similarly or better than its competition. Yet again SOL Republic wins my heart through my ears.

If you haven't guessed by now, I recommend the Deck wholeheartedly. The Deck would make an excellent gift for yourself or any travelling audiofile.  Visit www.solrepublic.com to learn more.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck in the drawing!

This giveaway is open to U.S. entries only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. A random drawing will be held shortly after the contest closing. The winner will be announced here and will be contacted via email. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new winner will be drawn.