Urbanears is a Swedish lifestyle brand owned by Zound Industries, the same company responsible for the excellent Marshall Bluetooth speakers that I reviewed a few weeks back. Urbanears targets a slightly different demographic that’s a bit more urban with its minimalist designs, muted color palettes and cool vibe. The company has just released a new portable Bluetooth speaker, the Urbanears Rålis, which the company modestly claims is “the only speaker you’ll ever need”. That’s quite a bold claim but perhaps not too wide of the mark. I’ve spent the last week or so testing the Rålis to see if it truly lives up to that claim.
The design of the Rålis Bluetooth speaker is achingly cool. The speaker cabinet is a cube and available in Mist Gray, Haute Red, and Slate Blue finishes. There’s a tough fabric carry handle provided – with contrasting stitching – so you can tote this thing around the home and play it anywhere, thanks to an amazing 20 hours of playing time from its built-in lithium-ion battery, which can be recharged in just two hours and will even beep to let you know when it’s full. Even the power cable that comes with the speaker matches the color of the unit. It’s all so cool and stylish.
On the top of the speaker cabinet, there are five flush-mounted buttons that control things like volume level, play, pause, and track skipping, Meanwhile, the left side of the cube is where you’ll find the power switch that also acts as a battery charge indicator if you press it briefly. The color that shows up on the button’s LED indicates how much power is left in that stonkingly huge internal battery. Next to the power switch, there’s a Bluetooth button for pairing the speaker with a smartphone or other streaming device.
Around the back of the Rålis there’s another speaker grille because this device uses the Blumlein speaker placement technique for a true 360-degree sound. It’s uncanny how this speaker can project such a big stereo image from such a small footprint. It’s the same technique of speaker placement used in the latest range Marshall Bluetooth speakers, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if there weren’t some sharing of technology within the Zound Industries group of companies.
Also at the back of the speaker, there’s a port for allowing the ample bass tones to escape from the cabinet. There’s also a hinged flap that hides a socket for a figure-of-eight power cord. The voltage input ranges from 100-240V, so the Rålis can really go anywhere that you go and still be charged up or operated from the mains power supply.
Alongside the power socket there’s a USB port that acts as a power bank. Next to the USB socket there’s a 3.5mm stereo jack for hooking up an analog sound source. It’s good to know you can recharge your smartphone while streaming music to the speaker. When not using any of these ports, you can simply close the hinged flap and return the speaker to its IPX2 water-resistance rating, which should be fine for light splashes or the odd spilled drink around the swimming pool.
Pairing the Urbanears Rålis to a smartphone is a pretty straightforward process and only needs to be done once; it even issues a trendy confirmation tone to let you know when you’re connected and ready to party. It’s possible to connect two Bluetooth devices to the Rålis speaker at the same time in order to spread the DJ duties around a bit. In fact, if you use the 3.5mm aux input as well, you can have three DJs sharing their tunes to the speaker.
The sound that the Urbanears Rålis emits is nothing short of stunning. Like its stablemate speakers from Marshall, the Rålis has a really crisp and detailed treble, a solid midrange, and a thumpingly huge bass that really impresses. I can’t stress enough how good this little thing sounds, and I imagine it would be perfect for small parties or barbecues. The volume goes really high and there’s not a hint of distortion. Musically it has rhythm to spare and I actually preferred listening to it at times instead of my mini hi-fi system.
The superb sound of the Rålis is down to a digital amplification system with 10W of power going to the woofer and two 5W Class D amps driving the tweeters. The main woofer is acting almost like a sub while the tweeters provide the treble and the stereo soundstage. It’s a loud little system that punches well above its weight… and did I mention that it looks cool too?
Verdict: This fabulous portable speaker from Swedish company Urbanears is a cool design and available in a choice of three stylish colors. The 20 hours of playing time is a real bonus, plus you can use the speaker as a power bank for other devices that need recharging or powering. The sound quality is superb, with a real 360-degree effect, bags of volume, and a solid bass that makes it ideal for parties. There’s absolutely nothing to dislike about this great little speaker and everything to love.
Pricing: $199 / £169 / €199
More info: www.urbanears.com
Specifications:
- Amplifiers: 5w x 2 tweeters + 10w woofer
- Frequency Range: 50Hz~20 000Hz
- Battery Play Time: 20+ hours
- Charging Time: 2 hours
- Wireless Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0 + 3.5mm input
- Dimensions: 195 mm x 138 mm x 184 mm
- Weight: 2.8Kg
- Charging port: USB 5v, 2A
- Input Voltage: 100-240 V~
- Mains Frequency: 50/60 Hz
- Water Resistance Rating: IPX2
