Expert’s Rating
Our Verdict
The SoundFly BT is a decent - sound , well portable verbaliser , since the whole thing plugs right into your wall outlet . Do n’t expect much bass comportment , but you ’ll get enough volume to fill a room .
JBL have two nigh identical speakers , with names that play up their key divergence : the $ 200SoundFly Airlets you stream audio to the speaker system using Apple ’s AirPlay engineering , while the $ 180SoundFly BTuses Bluetooth , instead .
With the exception of that core , but outwardly unseeable , conflict , the two SoundFly speakers are about identical . Each is small and white with a fabric grille ( light gray on the BT , darker gray on the Air ) , and each is design to plug away directly into a paries outlet . In other word , the speakerisits might cord and power brick : You plug the whole shebang into the paries . The speakers are design to fuddle their phone upward , so they should bring even with way out positioned nearer to the floor .
Each SoundFly ships with the appropriate plug adaptor for your rural area — in the U.S. , you get both two- and three - prong jade — and each measures 7.5 inches wide , 2.8 inch magniloquent , and 3.6 inches thick and weighs slimly less than one pound .
Both SoundFly models have a pair of touch - capacitive buttons . The first is actually integrated into the JBL logo in the center of the speaker grille and acts as a baron push . On the SoundFly BT , the push button simply toggle power on and off . On the SoundFly Air , pressing the power push briefly redact the speaker to slumber ; you may wake it by either constrict the clit again or bysending AirPlay audio to it . press and holding the Air ’s power clit for three second puts the unit into Eco - Standby manner , from which you must manually wake it up by pressing the button again . Both SoundFly model mechanically go to nap after ten minutes of inactivity .
The second clitoris , located on the front of each speaker ( when plugged into a wall outlet ) , is utterer - specific : On the SoundFly BT , the push button cavort a dismal Bluetooth logo for couple the utterer with your Bluetooth machine . Rather than flash a light , the BT uses a pre - recorded voice that announce when the speaker is in pairing mode and when it ’s successfully paired . In my testing , pairing the SoundFly BT was a straightforward cognitive process .
The SoundFly Air ’s button instead hosts a backlit ( green or orangish , calculate on the status ) Wi - Fi symbol . get the breeze on your meshwork takes slimly more elbow grease than Bluetooth mating , unsurprisingly . You hold up down this release to enter AirPlay - setup style , which creates an advertizement - hoc Wi - Fi connection . You then connect your computer , tab , or smartphone to this connection and channelize your internet browser to a special web page to configure the speaker . ( Sadly , the SoundFly relies on beep and the flashing of the AirPlay clitoris , rather than courteous voice annunciation , to indicate AirPlay status . )
Alternatively , you’re able to pop off the SoundFly Air ’s grille to unveil a USB port , link up your iOS machine ’s care / sync cable to that port , and then configure the speaker usingJBL ’s free app . ( you’re able to pop off the SoundFly BT ’s grille , too , but there ’s no USB port underneath . ) you could also use the free JBL app to adjust the practical breadth of the Air ’s stereo separation .
Of naturally , since it uses AirPlay , the SoundFly Air requires a local Wi - Fi mesh . But though that web can be parole protect , the SoundFly Air ’s setup procedures ca n’t handle Web - found check processes , like those used by many hotel web . Which mean that while both SoundFly unit of measurement are small-scale and fire up enough to toss in your bag , the BT edition may be a better wager for travel .
Though each SoundFly employ an selfsame pair of utterer drivers , they do n’t vocalise the same : The SoundFly Air sound slightly — but noticeably — salutary than its Bluetooth sib , likely due to the fact that Bluetooth employ lossy compression to transmit audio , while AirPlay does not .
That tell , neither SoundFly speaker sounds great , though both vocalize passable . Audio often sound compressed , and both verbalizer miss bass presence — with no significant lower - final stage presence , the speakers simply lack auditoryoomph . On the other hand , both SoundFly speakers are capable of satisfy a small way with auditory sensation , and that auditory sensation is much , much louder and far less wooly-minded than your source machine could generate on its own .
Bottom line
JBL ’s SoundFly speakers are unambiguously portable : They do n’t move off electric battery ability , but thanks to their plug - right - into - the - bulwark intention , they ’re small and light enough to take wherever you ’ll have world power . Though they lack powerful sound , they vocalise just fine for casual hearing , and their want of cablegram and adapter is commodious . If you ’ll be listening entirely to Apple devices — and , more crucial , you ’re typically in range of a Wi - Fi internet — spring for the SoundFly Air adaptation , which sounds a minute better ; otherwise , you ’ll need to go with the SoundFly BT .
