It’s been a while since I last looked at a Bluetooth speaker so I was pleased when the Denon Envaya Mini DSB-150BT arrived on my desk for review. This stylish little speaker is about the length of a new pencil and has the girth of a can of soda, albeit squared off. It’s covered in a durable fabric, abvailable in two finishes and there are rubberised end-caps to protect it from knocks and drops. Even more importantly, the Envaya Mini is waterproof to IP67 standards. This means you can drop it in water and it will continue to function undamaged for up to 30 minutes at a depth of up to one metre. This makes it ideal for use in the bathroom, kitchen, around a swimming pool, or even at the beach.
At the right end of the speaker there’s a cluster of five buttons that control power, Bluetooth pairing, volume up, volume down and a final button to receive phone calls and voice activation. Unfortunately the buttons have very little tactile feedback and aren’t very sensitive. This can be infuriating, especially if you’re using the built in Siri function which requires you to hold down a button for up to three seconds. There definitely needs to be some sort of tactile feedback just so you know the button is working properly.
Pairing up the Envaya Mini is really simple; just power up the speaker and hold down the Bluetooth pairing button then use your smartphone, tablet or computer to connect to the speaker. You only have to do it once and then every time you turn the speaker on it will reconnect with your Bluetooth-enabled device.
For such a small speaker, the Envaya Mini can really pump out a lot of sound. Like a lot of small Bluetooth speakers it does slightly lose its grip at the highest volume levels but there’s plenty of bass on offer as well as detailed treble. The Envaya Mini uses the apt-X codec with low latency for a higher quality sound than when using the regular SBC Bluetooth codecs. Users of iOS devices will also be pleased to know that AAC is also supported.
At medium volume levels the Envaya Mini performs really well and offers some semblance of a stereo soundstage, something that a lot of other smaller Bluetooth speakers can really struggle with. My one criticism – and this applies to most Bluetooth speakers – is the amount of hiss that the unit produces at the very lowest volume setting. This can be really annoying if you want to listen to music late at night because the hiss can almost be louder than the music. Fortunately, very few people would be listening at such low volumes so this won’t be a problem for most people.
The Denon Envaya Mini is good for up to 11 hours of use between charges, which can be carried out using almost any 5v USB charger and takes around three hours. A USB Mini cable is provided, as is a wrist strap. Alas, there’s no case included, which is a shame as this little speaker is likely to be very popular with people travelling and needs some sort of protection.
The Denon Envaya range of speakers include a feature called Envaya Link which means you can use any two Envaya speakers as a stereo pair and create a much wider soundstage with each speaker taking on the role of left and right in a stereo pair.
Verdict: The Denon Envaya Mini is a really competent Bluetooth speaker that can deliver a stereo soundstage and function at reasonably good volume levels. It’s slightly let down by unresponsive control buttons and a tendency to hiss at very low volume levels but there’s a lot to like here. The Denon Envaya Mini DS-150BT holds its own well against the competition and is competitively priced.
Prices: £129 / $149 / €138
More info: http://denon.co.uk/
Specifications:
- Product: Denon Envaya Mini DSB-150BT
- Bluetooth version: v4.1
- Codecs: SBC, apt-X, AAC
- Analogue input: 3.5mm mini jack
- Charging port: USB Mini
- Battery life: 11 hours
- Charge time: 3 hours
- Water / Dust proof rating: IP67
- Speakers 2x 40mm Full Range Driver, 1x 40x83mm Passive Radiator
- Amplifier: High efficiency digital amplifier (2x 8.5W)
- Maximum Dimensions: (W x D x H) 187 x 63 x 65mm
- Weight: 541g
