So we previously announced that Sharp has brought out a range of wireless speakers which we mentioned here. So Sharp brought out the GX-BT 480 – £129.99, GX-BT 280-£69.99 and the GX-BT 180- £54.99.
In this review, we are covering the smaller of the 3 the GX-BT 180 now this speaker comes in 3 colours – Red, Black and for this review, we have the blue version.
Now on the first impression, this speaker looks great and can fit in your bag as its small but don’t let the size trick you this speaker can pack a punch. The speaker only weighs 240g so its a great addition for when you’re on the move. You also get a loop attachment so you can clip onto a beach bag ready for a day out.
The design of the grill on the speaker goes almost all the way around the whole speaker with a rubber edge on each side of the speaker. The front of the speaker is where you have the volume controls in the style of a while plus and minus button and you also have the play symbol that acts as the play/pause function.
Go to the back and your find the power and AUX & the charger port and is covered by a rubber cap to keep them out of vision.
You will notice this speaker looks a little different compared to others we have reviewed as both ends the house a passive bass radiator in silver with the sharp logo stamped on each side this speaker look uniform. Now please note this speaker is IP56 rated which means its dustproof and although it’s splashproof I would avoid bringing it down to the pool on holiday keep it on the balcony as it’s not waterproof. Now connecting the speaker is very simple due to it being a Bluetooth speaker when we turned it on for the first time it paired instantly which is a real positive.
A question you will have when you get this speaker set up is what orientation does the speaker have to be? My guess considering how the buttons are designed is standing up however, half the sound is lost. Now you lay it down on its side and you get a warmer and more open sound.
Now the speaker really does pack a punch mainly due to the 14W RMS stereo speaker. This speaker can be very loud without affecting the quality of the sound. When we played songs like Alice Murton or even Imagine Dragons the sound is clear and you can really feel the base coming out of this speaker. One slight negative some songs you get a bit of echo but I think that due to the drivers being exposed. That aside the speaker pumps out some greatly detailed mids regardless of what kind of music we tried.
I also tried These Wings by Claire Richards and the vocals come out perfectly leaving me very impressed with this speaker considering it’s under £100. However, I did get a little echo again I feel this is likely to be because of the cylindrical speaker.
Now we also used this when making a call and it seems fine I could hear the person I was speaking to even when not very close however I need to be close when speaking myself. Now I also noticed when using google assistant I had to be close for it to hear me.
Now the battery life gives you 10 hours which I used for a full day and it seemed to still have a bit more life in it so if your going out for the day this is the speaker for you as there no worries the battery will die as long as you have given it a full charge beforehand. The speaker comes with an AUX cable and Micro-USB cable to charge the speaker.
So overall, the GX-BT180 is a great little speaker for being on the move and I think this speaker would be great for a picnic due to it being lightweight and the sound allowing you to have it very loud if you wanted. If your someone who can handle a little echo and is willing to give up a little bass quality for a budget speaker this is for you.
The only question you will have do I stand the speaker up or lay it down the choice is yours as you will enjoy the sound given either way.
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