This week we have an interesting item from a company called iLive. Now that the calendar has turned, we’re starting to spend a little more time outside, something like this makes a lot of sense. This is the iLive Bluetooth Tailgate speaker and it comes with basically everything you need to be a knockabout speaker for the great outdoors.
Let’s get this out of the way right now - in terms of sound quality, it’s not the best. But it is loud enough to be heard just about anywhere in your yard, or your neighbor’s yard, or a few houses down the street. Let’s start with the hardware.
This is a little smaller than I expected it to be. It has an 8inch subwoofer which doesn’t produce super heavy bass. It’s largely a plastic build all over which makes it super lightweight at just six pounds. It’s a little funny because one of its selling points is an extendable handle and roller wheels that make it portable. But in most instances, I just grab the whole thing and carry it wherever it needs to go. I’d almost rather have them get rid of the extending handle and wheels, and make it 5 and a half pounds.
You can connect your phone to the speaker via Bluetooth and the latency is actually fairly low which is a nice bonus. There’s also an FM radio, microphone input, and separate music and mic levels, along with an adjustable Echo effect on the mic, making it fun for karaoke. It also has a microSD card reader and a line-in jack if though want to connect another device.
The speaker itself also has LED lights built in which can flash and give a funky lighting effect on the speaker for nighttime celebrations. The speaker also has a mount on the bottom for setting the speaker up on a stand to elevate it, which is a nice, and often overlooked touch.
ILive says that this is a tailgate speaker, and I couldn’t agree more. Whether you’re playing some music while at a barbecue or playing TV audio through it while watching the game, sound quality isn’t really as important as the other effects - the lighting, and even the microphone in. You won’t really miss booming bass when you are outside, hanging out before a game. This is not a speaker you put in your living room. This is a speaker you toss into the back of your pickup on your way to the beach and I can get behind that.
Overall, it’s a decent speaker for around 50 dollars, so it’s hard to go wrong. I’ve put a link to it below, and if you pick one up, I’ll get a little piece of that at no additional cost to you, and you’ll have my thanks. But for now, let’s get back to the show.
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