Though Bowers & Wilkins products are not cheap and while the average person might consider their products very expensive, their new T7 ($350) portable Bluetooth speaker is actually B&W's most affordable speaker.
This time B&W came up with a highly distinctive industrial design that for the first time is actually portable. It measures 8.25” wide by 4.4” tall by 2.15” deep. This speaker features a nice hexagonal “Micro Matrix” inner frame with the task of reducing distortion by holding the speakers firmly in place. This unit has three front-firing speakers and one on the back.
On its right side, there is a slightly elevated power button and four white lights. On top of this unit you will find Bluetooth pairing, play/pause, and volume controls.
On the back of this unit, there's a back-firing speaker next to a power socket, auxiliary input for non-Bluetooth devices, a micro-USB service port, and a reboot button. Sadly, there is no USB connection for charging your device - which is a feature I like.
A nice feature is that B&W decided to incorporate a series of chimes just to let you know when the unit is turned on, off, or when it has been successfully paired to another device. Another thing to note is that the T7 is aptX-compatible. You will even get a pop-up telling you when it is enabled. You can double-tap the play button to skip to the next track, pressing the power button reveals a set of LED lights on the side to let you know how much juice the T7 has left.
And speaking of battery power, B&W claims 18 hours of playback (75% volume playing rock music. They also claim a longer playback time (up to 40 hours) at lower volume and/or with speech radio. It also comes with different power connectors just in case.
So, there you have it. If you are a fan of Bluetooth speaker (like me), take a look at this one. While it is still a pretty expensive speaker ($350) compared to other existing speakers, it sure has a lot of things going for it. Let me know what you think!
