FOXL Personal

I'm not a fan of earphones! Not only do I dislike the tactility of buds in my ears, I also crave the bleed of surrounding life in my sonic mix. So when I was offered FOXL's Personal Audiophile Loudspeaker unit to review, I was keen to hear some new state of the art mini speaker technology, particularly because I didn't need to stick it in my ears. When I first viewed the size of the unit (143 x 55 x 35mm), my expectations were lowered… it would have to defy physics to give the kind of sound I've become accustomed to. It's around the size of a chocolate bar, the way they used to make them anyway.

The unit's purpose is to play music from your iPod, computer, or smart phone. Operating the FOXL is easy enough, you turn it on and either connect to your  audio source via the 3.5mm stereo mini jack (lead provided) or for those with Bluetooth/wireless capabilities, via your smart phone.

The folks at FOXL claim that the point of difference between this unit and other mini speaker systems is that it packs an inordinate amount of punch for its size and can do it wirelessly. The sound is driven by two patented dual voice coil 25mm linear Magnetic Drive Twoofers (tweeters that also woof apparently). The BassBattery is both a re-chargeable lithium ion battery, and a Flatmagic acoustic bass radiator.

I connected the unit to my computer initially using the stereo mini jack route and called up iTunes. My first impression is that something is not right… and I don't mean that in a negative way… I mean it's not right that such low end boom and mid clarity is emanating from this Violet Crumble (they still make those don't they?) sized piece of metal. It's truly amazing and the louder you turn up the volume, the better the sound gets. OK, it's not the kind of sound you're going to get from your regular floor bound stereo system speakers but comparatively, the unit size per output ratio for this FOXL unit is off the map. Developed by Dr. Godehard Guenther, a physicist and former NASA engineer, the acoustics achieved are quite incredible.

But does it work as well without the leads? I went into my smartphone preferences and configured the settings to talk to the FOXL. My Bluetooth connection took all of 20 seconds to sort. While the unit does feature a volume control, it makes more sense to set it where you want and control volume from your audio source. Once I had the sound pumping out wirelessly, I took the phone for a stroll to check the unit's range. Despite walking behind walls a room away, the unit kept in touch with my phone.

The sturdy construction means you can place it on a flat surface and it's not going to fall over. If like me, you don't have a set of speakers attached to your computer, then this little beast will be a godsend. Alternatively if you need to take your music with you, you can wear the FOXL on your belt, around your wrist or if you can bear it beating through your chest, around your neck too. The user guide suggests that a fully charged unit should have a battery life of 12 hours. At around $239 bucks for the Bluetooth model, the FOXL system is an affordable and versatile space saving sound system option.