Otone Accento

Music on the go has never sounded so good

      Portable battery powered speakers often leave a lot to be desired in terms of both the level of audio they produce and the actual lifespan of the battery. You’ll often come across the scenario of an individual or group of people struggling to listen to the tinny warbling emitted from portable speaker, while firing a worrying glance at the dwindling power levels. However, that doesn’t always have to the case.
      The Ontone Audio Accento is an exception to the rule in this case. Here we have a an extremely portable device that measures just 137 x 57 x 38mm and weighs in at a paltry 200g yet offers an exceptional level of sound through a pair of 40mm full range 3W speakers. The lithium-ion rechargeable battery, when fully charged, can dish out up to ten hours of continual use according to the manufacturer – and take just an hour to recharge via mini-USB.
DETAILS

• Price: £30
• Manufacturer:
Otone Audio
• Website:
goo.gl/WhJi3O
• Required Spec: Spare
USB port/USB charger,
3.5mm audio port, SD
card (optional)
      In terms of connectivity, you get the standard 3.5mm stereo audio jack as well as mini-USB, but also Otone have cleverly included a Micro SD card slot with support for cards up to 32GB. The design of the Accento is surprisingly good, too – and of a higher quality than the price of the unit would first suggest. It’s an oval shape, with the speaker grill covering the front of the device, with a polished aluminium logo in the center. Along the top there are three slightly raised buttons for power/play/pause, volume up/skip forward and volume down/skip back, together with a single LED to signify the specific function and battery charge. One side houses the mini-USB port while the opposite has the 3.5mm audio jack, and the Micro SD card slot is located in a recessed area at the bottom of the speaker.

      There’s also a slide-out stand on the back of the speaker that, although strong enough to hold the speaker in an upright angle, is a little stiff to move without applying significant force.

An extremely capable portable speaker at a very reasonable price.

      Its operation is very simple. By pressing the power button for a couple of seconds the speaker will power up and once hooked up to a phone, tablet, MP3 player, laptop or PC via the 3.5mm jack will start to play whatever’s being outputted by Music on the go has never sounded so good the controlling device. If an SD card is fitted, the contents stored will start to playback – and when connected to a PC can act as a removable device to transfer music to and from the speaker. The default audio input, though, is the 3.5mm jack, which provides startlingly good sound. Volume can be increased significantly with little distortion in the playback, and, while lower frequency levels aren’t as good as a speaker with a dedicated bass, its generally adequate to allow for good allround audio. The battery life was also appreciated. In our tests the speaker managed to keep playing for a total of around eight hours, which is well within expectations – even after a charge of just over an hour.
      We were suitably impressed with this tiny, portable speaker. Otone Audio has done an exceptional job. There are also different designs and styles that can be applied to different models of the Accento – a Union Jack flag version, for example.
      If you’re in need of a really good portable speaker, then you won’t go far wrong with the Otone Accento.