Hands-on review: BlueAnt M1 Stereo Bluetooth Speakers

A few BlueAnt products have rolled through the Yahoo! Tech offices recently, and I must say there's one common strength with all of their products: attention to detail. In this case, the BlueAnt M1 Stereo Bluetooth Speakers.

First, a quick rundown of the product. The M1 is designed to provide portable, high-volume music played from your Bluetooth-enabled laptop or cell phone (A2DP only) without the need of any wires at all. It features a total of 28 watts RMS output, internal sub-woofer, bass-boost mode, additional 3.5mm headphone jack input, internal rechargeable battery, playback-control buttons, and a functional carrying case for the device.

The exterior design of this device is typical BlueAnt—sleek, straight lines and a jet-black paint job with brushed-metal accents. A series of white LEDs surround the silver volume knob to give light to the playback-control buttons in darker settings, while the multi-colored LED gives information on the speaker's mode and status.

The M1 also comes with a Velcro carrying case that fits tightly around the speaker has a small trap door in the back for quick access to the AC charging port and the line-in jack. There's also a small vent on the rear side of the carrying case that allows air to flow for the sub-woofer, so the speaker actually never has to leave the case.

With a direct line-in connection from my iPod and 60% volume, music sounded crisp, loud, and clear, and bass response was strong, especially considering the wireless/battery-powered nature of the device. Over A2DP Bluetooth, sound quality was still good, but there was some background static. As for the maximum volume, let me put it this way: The M1 can get really, really loud. Of course, you'll want to stick to medium-ish volumes for the best sound quality. As for cons, no real big gripes come to mind, except the non-removable rechargeable battery may be a problem down the road due to charge degradation.

At $139, the M1 isn't cheap, but the versatility and well-thought design makes this a great gift or purchase for beach goers, BBQers, or any other frequent outdoor day-tripper.

BlueAnt M1 Bluetooth Stereo Speakers