House of Marley, No Bounds XL Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker - Crafted From Sustainably Recycled Materials, Portable Wireless Dual Pairing Speakers, 16 Hour Battery - Signature Black

This speaker is advertised that it is buoyant and can work while floating in water - this was not the case! The No Bounds speaker was in the water about 30s, then all of a sudden it disconnected and started making a clicking noise.... it turned off about 10 minutes later and has not turned on since. Very disappointed.Would be amazing if I could get in touch with Marley customer service but the form on their website doesn't work, and every time I call them I get disconnected.Extremely frustrated.

I love it! Really get a feel of the rhymes and for the rhythms.

Just hasnt got enough wallop to justify it's price.

Amazing sound and all round fab product

Awesome speaker great quality sound highly recommended

Really great speaker

First things first, this speaker is built really well - it feels like it could endure being thrown about somewhat and also feels super-sturdy at nearly 2Kg. It's a doddle to get it playing music - it paired with both my Android tablet & phone, and also an Apple iPad, without any hitches whatsoever.Battery life is excellent - I've spent whole days listening to it and it seems to go on & on without requiring a recharge. A charging cable is supplied and I've had no issues charging it (this feature can also be used to charge your phone - handy if you're using the speaker down on a beach or in the garden).There are a number of controls on the top of the unit to play/pause the speaker - and there's an on/off button on the side of the unit. There's additionally an auxiliary input on the rear too.I'm told that it's waterproof up to 1m, although I haven't personally risked testing this feature!What slightly lets this speaker down for me is its overall sound quality. It's a little too 'pedestrian' for my liking. Other speakers which I've demoed sound somewhat more muscular, involved & crisp. The House of Marley speaker is certainly an accomplished player - and if you're listening to Radio 3 or Radio 4 then this would make a great option, but for rock music and indie music, considerably less so in my opinion. I've played all sorts of material through the speaker - things that sound pretty good include post-classical music such as Max Richter, Nils Frahm & Moon Ate The Dark. I've also tried rock/pop including Talk Talk, A-ha, Billie Eilish & Coldplay - and it's here where I've felt slightly disappointed by the speaker - the mid-range sounds slightly muted and the top-end is overly polished, losing any brightness on the recordings.The House of Marley No Bounds XL is certainly no slouch when it comes to bluetooth speakers - but it's also difficult to be overly gushing about its abilities. I would recommend listening to it with some of your own music before taking the plunge.

This is a premium product, beautifully finished to a standard, rather than a price. It has the heft of expensive equipment, and nothing about it looks or feels cheap.Charging is quick, around a couple of hours, and there's a 2200mA/h battery capacity which lasts a claimed 17 hours constant use, but with occasional use seems to go on for ages. Pairing is straightforward, but, like a lot of companies these days, the instructions are printed on a tiny sheet of paper. Fortunately it's simple enough to get going, and you're quickly enjoying using the XL. Range is pretty good, passing my "full length of the garden and behind the shed" test with ease, and failing, like everything else, the back door to front bedroom test. But it is better than acceptable, and range is unlikely to be any kind of problem in use.Sound quality is good, though it's by no means hi-fi. The XL produces a bigger and richer sound than the Soundblaster Roar, and the Ultimate Ears Boom 2, though in fairness it's more expensive than both (much more so than the Boom 2). Put simply, the No Bounds XL is good to listen to.Phone calls are handled without issue, with both sides of the call being able to hear and be heard.Unfortunately, I have to say, the No Bounds XL seems to be a solution looking for a problem. I think it's just too big and heavy to be conveneintly portable, and despite offering good value, it still seems the £150 asking price is a bit prohibitive. The battery life is good, but the Boom 2 has a 3200mA/h battery, and weighs about 1lb, rather than the No Bounds XL's 3lbs. The Boom 2 is a fair bit cheaper, and while it doesn't have the same oomph of the No Bounds XL, it's good to listen to, and plenty loud enough. More importantly, when I'm travelling, the Boom 2 is light and small enough to want to take with me, without feeling like I'm lugging something around that's a nuisance.I think maybe the No Bounds XL would be ideal on a boat, where the size of the No Bounds XL would be less of an issue, and the fact that it floats would be a boon. In conjunction with a USB solar panel, this could be a very useful bit of kit, cruising around the med in summer, or even on a canal barge.If you've got to lug it around yourself, if you're flying, or if space is tight, I'd be looking to the Boom 2 or something similar as an alternative. But if cash and carrying isn't an issue, the No Bounds XL is a very nice bit of kit.