Soundmatters FoxL2 Stereo mini-speaker review

[dalethorn]

After reading the rave reviews for this speaker system, I purchased the non-bluetooth version (same sound) for wired use only. The reviews I read described the sound as having very impressive bass, and the "best yet" sound in small portable speakers such as the Jawbone Jambox, and this one, the FoxL2. So how does the FoxL2 sound? From the midrange on up, better than either Jambox and significantly better than other small speakers I have on hand now. But the bass isn't anywhere near the level of a small non-bassy headphone such as the Sennheiser PX-200-II. Some small headphones such as the PX-100-II are bassy, but the PX-200-II is a good example of a small headphone with a light (rolled off) bass response, yet its apparent (perceived) bass level is well above the FoxL2, and I'm playing the FoxL2 in an optimum setting, next to a solid reinforcing wall.

 

Despite my comments about the bass, the overall sound quality is very good for a speaker this size, yet I wonder how real reviews will judge the value of this item for its price. I tend to disregard reviews that describe this speaker's bass as very impressive (as I noted above), since there are many canned reviews that don't make real-use comparisons. One big advantage the FoxL2 has over the Jambox is where strong bass notes that are too deep for the FoxL2 to reproduce adequately do not cause audible distortion at normal to moderately loud volumes. That was a big source of frustration with the Jambox, although it's possible that Jawbone has fixed that problem by now.

 

I played a series of professional test tones on the FoxL2, and the bass seemed to have useful fundamentals down to 80 hz. I did hear a smaller measure of bass at 70 hz, but I'm not certain of the quality at that frequency. Going up the scale through the mids and treble, the response was remarkably smooth, with a strong output up to 9 khz, but very little audible sound at 10 khz or above. For comparison, most hi-fi headphones sound about the same at 10 khz as they do at 9 khz, unless they have a resonance peak around 9 khz.

 

The stereo image with the FoxL2 isn't going to be as big as stereo speakers that can be separated, for example with left and right channel speakers on opposite ends of a desk or table. But how stereo is perceived with the FoxL2 depends on the music tracks being played, plus how much reflection takes place before the music reaches your ears. Sitting very close to the speaker, stereo is more apparent since the distance between the left and right drivers is a significant percentage of the distance to your ears. Backing up some, the stereo image seems to merge or lose most of its depth. Back up eight feet or more and depending on how much wall surface etc. the speaker has to reflect off of (a corner usually provides the most reflection), the sound can seem very large like a much larger speaker, but there will be little or no stereo separation at that distance.

 

Maximum volume with the FoxL2 will be good for playing loudly at a desk, or even filling a room with sound as long as the room is quiet. But sitting at a desk and playing Bach's In Dir Ist Freude, a 'tracker' organ piece with a fairly light bass due to the tracker design, the FoxL2 sound became quite distorted at less than room-filling volume, in a quiet room. I suspect that a combination of loud (for this speaker) volume and even the sparse bass of the tracker organ music will overload the FoxL2 in most cases. The volume control on the back of the speaker seems to always reset to minimum when the power is turned off and then back on. This is a real nuisance. I'd like to suggest that Soundmatters fix this, and also (if possible) provide a high-pass or low-cut filter that removes bass frequencies that the speaker can't audibly reproduce, but which might cause distortion as noted above.

 

The FoxL2's size at 5.5 x 2 x 1.5 inches is very small and handy, and the cloth carry bag should be adequate for dust protection (but not impact protection), but I have to wonder why Soundmatters chose such small drivers for an ambitious product design like this. Could it be that the drivers are simply tweaked versions of what are generally available to all such manufacturers, and that's why the one-inch size? I think the FoxL2 could have been large enough to accomodate, say, 1.3 inch drivers with nearly double the driver surface area, and still be small enough to be used anywhere the current speaker is used.

[Audio_ELF]

So is this a mini review of a set of speakers, or a set of mini speakers given a full review?

 

Eloise

 

Sorry I'm being naughty :-)

[dalethorn]

So is this a mini review of a set of speakers, or a set of mini speakers given a full review? Sorry I'm being naughty :-)

 

Fair question, thanks. Based on the rave reviews I read by the Really Big reviewers (Stereophile etc.), I expected the small form factor of a single-piece stereo desktop speaker that would connect to portable music players via Bluetooth or cable. I also expected the Big Bass they raved about. What I got instead was the latest small stereo loudspeaker with little or no bass. I suppose I should just give up, but then, they did create a really good sound quality above the bass range.

 

This works well on my work desk, and could be very handy in hotel rooms etc. But if you were going to listen to full (or nearly full) range hi-fi from desktop speakers, something like the B&W MM1 or the little Magnepans might be better.

 

Edit: Full review of mini-speaker.

[quadlover]

I second the use of this for "road warriors" or for use when demonstrating a product at someone's office. Much clearer than laptop computer speakers and easy to take with.