TURBO X RTX01B Premium Wireless Bluetooth Speaker (Black)

Everytime I purchase a new bluetooth speaker I think it will be my last time as my inventory is already excessive, but then one is released with a new feature or design I just can't resist. Well, it happened again despite being satified with the performance of my current keepers being the Soundlink Mini, Soundlink III and UE Boombox. With the Turbo X, the prospect of a portable speaker incorporating a new engineering approach to offer stereo separation was too tempting to pass up and I am glad I didn't.DESIGN: Just about everyone is familar with size and dimensions of the Big Jambox. Well then you now know what to expect when seeing the Turbo X in person. The craftsmenship looks and feels stellar, on par with offerings from the likes of Bose and UE. The look is best described as 'classy' with a high gloss plastic top and bottom and a 360 deg metal grill wrapping around the unit sitting on rubber pads to protect the bottom surface. The plastic used is best described by compairing to the look and feel of top tier LG phones. On top are recessed touch capacitive controls that illuminate in a soft blue glow triggered via proximetry sensor with the wave of a hand over the top really adding to the sophisticated look. The one ding I have on it's visual design is the somewhat tacky "RIVA TURBO" branding on the fromt of the unit. I also always prefer to listen with the surround mode on during music in addition to video and the unit does not recall the previous setting after powering off, requiring you to activate surround mode each time. Overall, the Bose Mini continues to offer my favorite build in it aluminum unibody, but the Riva Turbo will certainly be found aesthetically pleasing by nearly all and some may prefer it over others pending personal preference.FEATURES:Especially compared to Bose, this thing is feature packed. The top controls are your basic power, bluetooth, mute, volume controls along with a Turbo button to maximize volume and surround button to enter surround mode. The touch capacitive buttons work excpetionally well being responsive without being oversensitive and the recessessed design prevents accidental contact. The proximetry sensor is actually quite usefull when using in a dark environment illuminating the buttons before touching to ensure you hit the button you intended to. Countless times have I unpaired the bluetooth device on both Bose models when pushing the wrong button trying to adjust volume. The Turbo mode is awesome and useless at the same time. The volume this thing reaches is great, but having to hit an additional button to reach the top volume is a little gimmicky to me. The surround (Trillium Surround) button unleashes the true feature that sets this speaker above the others. Designed to enchance video surround function, I have found it to be equally effective advancing music as well. The application available for iOS and Android is a nice bonus providing a means to turn on/off the surround and turbo setting, shows precise battery life and allows increased volume control but unable to replace you go-to audio player app. The speaker also takes some of the best features of others such as the JBL Charge with its charge out feature to give your phone a boost of juice when needed and is splash resistance. Like may other bluetooth speakers other than Bose, the speaker does include a speakerphone function with a built in microphone although I have yet to trial it. The feature that I actually miss not included with this speaker are a wireless charging platform and particularly a case for travel.SOUND:The size and price of this speaker places it in the same category as the Soundlink III, Big Jambox, Pill XL and my sorta oldie but goodie UE Boombox (not the UE Boom). The performance exceeds anything I have owned or sampled. I thought I would never be amazed by the sound of a bluetooth speaker again following the thump put out by the Mini Soundlink given its dimunitive size. The Turbo X does not provide the same degree of low end oomph of the Soundlink III or especially the UE Boombox, but is certainly not lacking in producing substantial bass for its size that is what audiophiles would likely praise as being a cleaner bass. Lacking dedicated tweeters was an initial concern of mine that was eliminated as soon as I played the first song, easily on par with or exceeding the competition. Being a fan of bass, my choices of previous bluetooth speakers tended to sacrifice the mids in order to obtain my craving for the low end. The mids delivered from the Riva while maintianing satisfactory bass have revealed what I have been missing, allowing me to enjoy songs again that I had been burned out on. Listening to songs from Imagine Dragons that I have found most protable speakers to really struggle really demonstrated the Turbo X's balance throughout the frequency range. Something I can Never Have by NIN is another song I like to use to compare speakers due to its complex melody range and the Riva again came out on top in overall quality. The Soundlink III certainly sounds great and similar to its smaller sibling offers the best bass to size ratio of any other product I have listened to, but as with all portable speakers I've experienced up to now stereo seperation is minimal at best even when ideally positioned. The stereo seperation delivered from the Turbo X is what gives me the same WOW factor I had when first hearing the low end generated from the Soundlink Mini. The notable stereo seperation defies logic given the limited physical seperation of the drivers within the speaker. The addition of the "Trillium Surround" technology and phenomenal mid range make this speaker far superior than the competition when using the speaker for audio watching media on my phone and tablet. The overall volume appears to reach a higher level than most with its "Turbo" mode on, but what is most impressive is its ability to maintain a consistent sound signature throughout the volume range unlike others kicking in the digital processor limiting the low end to avoid distortion. Keep in mind that since digital processing is kept to a minimum in this unit you will be able create disortion if you tinker too much with a custom equalizer. The claimed battery life far supasses any other speaker I have owned. I can't say it reaches it's acclaimed 24 hrs battery life, but have used it on battery power for 4 hrs straight with 83% power remaining so the 24 hrs claim seems reasonable.CONCLUSION:Is this speaker worth the $50 premium over the Soundlink III....YES. I was hesitant purchasing a $350 speaker made in China by a start up company despite being designed by experienced audio engineers in the USA. Thanks to the ease of returning products through Amazon I decided to take a chance and am glad I did as this product not only beat but surpassed my expectations. The performance and features easily lead this speaker to the top a crowded bluetooth market. Riva states they are setting a new standard in portable audio and have backed up that claim.

Update 2/11/17Ok....had this for several weeks now and I am loving this thing. Very high fidelity for an item of this size and price. I am impressed by how rich the overall sound is. Bass is very full but not bloated. It really delivers a spacious experience. Mids are warm and full as well and high are perfectly in line with the entire sound.Weather broke today and I am listening outdoors and it is honestly pretty impressive. Volume not even on highest but still sounds impactful. Great product and I'd absolutely recommend it to anyone on the fence. Battery life is also really fantastic. My only remaining concern is that the speaker could very easily be dropped. It is rather heavy for its' size and has no handle to grasp. Not a big deal, but I would not want my 10 year daughter carrying it around.Day two update:Ok....ran speaker for several hours now. No idea what the recommended break in period is supposed to accomplish, but I did discover that I had my iphone equalizer set on "bass reducer" for some stupid reason. Bass does sound pretty good now.I am enjoying the sound more today. I will say that the sound tends to significantly change based on placement, which is completely normal for a small box like this. I am rather picky about my audio....I consider myself hard to please in that regard. So my overall score of 4 stars is no slight to this particular speaker.I think that the price is very fair for what you get. I have heard the Bose Soundlink mini and while it does sound pretty good, this Riva sounds better.....and it is cheaper. The build quality is pretty solid. It is pretty heavy for it's size. I am a visual artist and can say that the overall aesthetic of the speaker is rather nice. I would do away with the "Turbo" branding on the front grill, but other than that I see nothing to really fault about the design...it's elegant and simple....the top control plate is particularly attractive in my opinion.I do not intend to use this for gaming....possibly for video with my ipad, but I have thus far only used it for music. The "surround" feature is neither here nor there when utilized with music. I sat with my eyes closed and repeatedly pressed the button quickly so I would not know whether it was engaged or not...and then pushed it and listened, pushed again and listened, and so on......I was unable to tell at that point whether it was on or off....so in general I think that feature may be better off left to evaluate with games or movies.Loudness is not a huge concern of mine. I got this to listen to music in the kitchen and outdoors on my porch or deck. It fills the kitchen nicely. It remains to be seen how it will sound outdoors. I would suspect that in order to use it at a party or backyard BBQ you'd need to engage "Turbo" mode for it to be at all effective.I do not host parties but maybe twice a year, so no big deal.The audio is pretty crisp and balanced overall, but I think there is a gap in the frequency somewhere towards the high end. Cannot quite put my finger on it yet, but it seems to lack some sparkle in the higher range of frequencies.In terms of portability I would say this is going to be simple to move around the house both indoors and outdoors. But, you do want to take care in moving it as there is no great way to grip it. A nicely contoured grip on the back side would have been a nice feature for sure.While you can probably find louder speakers, I think the overall sound and presentation of the Riva is quite nice and I can happily live with it.Initial review:I hope this changes after recommended 3 hour break-in period.......but I am immediately struck by a general lack of bass.....I am assuming this will be the quality that improves the most.....In addition to that, the volume does not sound nearly as loud as I expected.....on a setting of "6", it is no louder than my iphone.....and that is absolutely shocking to me. In fact, I think my iphone is louder. Again, I sincerely hope this is due to the speaker not being broken in.With Turbo "ON", the speaker is loud enough for me,....but I really hoped I'd not have to use this function for general use due to the compromise in battery life.The speaker construction and general feel/appearance is on par with it's $159 price tag.....no complaints there.I will update my review tomorrow to inform readers what changes occur.

I've had this for about a year and a half.Going only by the sound, I'd give this 5 stars. Going only by the bluetooth issues, I'd give this about minus 10000 stars.But I have intermittent problems with the Bluetooth connectivity. There are two problems:a. I can't control what device the speaker connects to. At least half the time I power it on and before I can tell my iPhone to pair with, the speaker announces that it is connected. And, I have no idea what it's connected to.b. Quite often I'll have it connected and I'll be happily listening to music and then suddenly the music cuts out because the device pairing is "hijacked" by some other unknown device.Since I live in an apartment I have no control of what Bluetooth devices might be in range in a neighboring apartment, or even the ability to know what they might be.Frankly I believe this to be at least partly a problem with how Bluetooth works, but even so it's an unacceptable product feature. Any product, at all, ever. I regard it as inexcusable that any company release any product that behaves this way.Specifically:1. It's unacceptable that the speaker will pair automatically with something that I don't want it to.2. It's unacceptable that, once paired, I have no way to find out what it is paired to.3. It's unacceptable that, once I get it paired to the device I *do* want it to pair with, the connection will be "hijacked" by some other device.I don't care what your excuse is about what technology is to blame, these are unacceptable product features.