Samsung SB330 Bluetooth Speaker Review As Nice As It Is Expensive

Samsung SB330 Bluetooth Speaker Review As Nice as It is Expensive

BY GreenBot Staff

GreenBot Staff

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Published 21 Aug 2014

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Regarding portable Bluetooth speakers, the Jambox and Beats Pill are the first that come to mind, but Samsung is trying to make a name for itself in this market with the SB330. While it’s certainly not the company’s first Bluetooth speaker, it might be the first one you’d consider purchasing. If the $170 price tag doesn’t clarify, Samsung’s gunning for the premium market with the SB330. Pitting it against offerings by Beats and Bose. With an eye-catching design and solid performance, Samsung’s speaker is just as good.

Great Design

The design of the SB330 will make your Galaxy S5 jealous. With a stainless steel grill that wraps around the entire body and a brushed aluminum top, complete with chamfered edges. It’s really something to behold. It proves that Samsung knows what it’s doing in the design department. The world is still waiting to find a great design aesthetic like this in its phones.

Samsung SB330 1 — Four buttons line the top of the speaker for easy navigation.

You’ll find four buttons lining the speaker’s top. The volume up, down, play/stop, and a talk button for answering and ending calls. A square on the right side allows NFC-enabled phones to quickly establish Bluetooth connections. Still, phones without NFC can as promptly press the pairing button on the back. If you don’t want to use Bluetooth at all, you can connect an auxiliary cord included to your phone.

Works like a charm

Of course, if a product looks nice, but its performance isn’t up to par, what’s the point? Luckily, the SB330 earns high marks in this department as well. Samsung says the 3,600 mAh battery will give you 15 hours of music playback at the default volume level. While I didn’t use the speaker for 15 hours straight. It easily lasted 12 hours over the weekend and still had some juice left over. An LED hides in the speaker’s grill and acts as a charging indicator when it’s plugged in. I was astonished to see how loud this speaker gets, which is good. I rarely needed to turn the volume up, and when I did, there wasn’t a noticeable distortion. This speaker won’t let you down if you’re looking to blast some tunes with friends at the park.

Samsung SB330 2 — The right side of the speaker comes with a small section. You can easily pair your phone to the speaker with NFC.

In no way would I call me an audiophile. Usually, If it works well enough, I’m okay with it. This may be why I ended up so impressed with Samsung’s SB330. It’s loud, has a good battery life, and offers multiple options to connect to your smartphone. This is different from saying that the price is justified for everyone. Still, it’s a quality speaker that delivers the goods. The speaker has been superseded by the Samsung Level Box, which is essentially the same speaker with a different bring. Available in black or white, if the $170 price tag doesn’t scare you off. The SB330 is an excellent alternative to its competitors, like the Beats Pill.

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