Review — Verbatim Bluetooth Audio Cube

Verbatim’s Bluetooth Audio Cube is utter tosh. It’s too bulky, the buttons are too fiddly and it needs 4 AA batteries to run if you want a cord free music experience. But, it sounds decent. Stuff the positives. Let’s tear it apart I say.

Boxy sound

For roughly US$35, the Audio Cube pumps out 2 Watts of pure portable power. Whether corded, connected to your laptop or mobile phone via the A2DP Bluetooth standards, the Audio Cube smoothly rubs out audio, pumps bass and generally behaves rather well, that is until you max the sound out.

Trouble rears its head on maximum volume. The Cube begins to rattle and the sound turns from dream to nightmare. This sucker should be at low to medium volumes to keep disappointment down.

Batteries, why?

A device with no internal power supply in 2012 is a sick joke. Batteries cost a fortune and, for the sake of this review, I was forced to drop US$15 on a pack of 6 Duracells. My hands shook as I pulled the money out of my calf-skin wallet. The paper fell onto the register like autumn leaves, the batteries were mine, despite my heart slowly sinking into my stomach.

Wrenching open the Cube from the bottom reveals the battery compartment. I slid in each AA like a missile into a torpedo chute. I clicked the compartment closed, long-pressed the hexagonal power button and paired the Cube with my iPhone 4S. From the music app on my phone, the sound instantly streamed through the stereo speakers located on each side of the Cube. Decent enough, I thought.

Designed with Care

One redeeming feature, outside of the passable sound is the slickly designed metal controls on top of the Cube. Each button is hexagonal, and surrounds another, central, hexagon which is exceptionally fancy. The remaining inputs include a hole for the audio cable, and one for the USB cable.

Outside of this, it’s a natty little Cube with vulcanised rubber hugging the sides. Still, batteries.

Send it up the river

The lack of internal, recharging power and the hateful inclusion of batteries utterly kills the experience for me. Something is hardly portable if it’s going to run out of juice and then be unable to charge itself. Couple this with the sound which is merely decent at best, and you have a Cube that’s too “square” for my uses.

Verdict: Burn