Laptop Mag Verdict
Sleek design meets incredible battery life in the DBEST London PS4003BT Duo mini-speaker set.
Pros
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Sleek red-and-black design
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Cool magnetic base to attach speakers
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Excellent battery life
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Loud audio
Cons
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Limited controls on speakers
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The $69.99 DBEST London Duo PS4003BT Duo wireless Bluetooth speaker offers a sleek and innovative design and best-in-class battery life.
Design
Click to EnlargeMeasuring just 2.4 x 2.4 x 1.7 inches and 5.6 ounces, DBEST's PS4003BT Duo speakers are each a little larger than a golf ball, and fit nicely into the palm of our hand. The black exteriors have a soft matte finish, and, like the DBEST London, the speakers themselves are a shiny red.
A small strip of black plastic with the DBest logo spans the speaker, protecting it from damage. The speakers are rounded at the top, but have legs on the bottom to maximize sturdiness.
The coolest part? Although you'd think you'd be twice as likely to lose these tiny speakers since there are two of them, the interlocking bases are magnetic so they snap together for easy transport.
One speaker has an aux-in jack, and the other has a USB port for charging, an On/Off switch, and a volume dial. Unlike competing Bluetooth speakers, though, there are no controls to advance tracks.
Setup
When we turned on the DBEST PS4003BT Duo, it made a multi-toned ringing sound. Once paired with our iPhone, the speakers made another ringing sound. We appreciate that DBEST wants to give us so many alerts to indicate when we're ready to go, but we could do without so many tones. To use both speakers, we plugged the audio cable into their respective Input/Output jacks.
Performance
Click to EnlargeIn general, sound from the dual speakers was loud and accurate, if a bit bright. When we played Daft Punk's "One More Time," the vocals rang out in the electronic, funky way they're supposed to. When turned to full volume, the speakers shattered through a medium-size room and easily filled an extra-large room, although we noticed that audio from the second speaker was a bit softer. The Satechi ST-69BTS speaker, by contrast, offered equally loud sound, but much stronger bass.
According to DBEST, the speakers work up to 45 feet away from your device. When we traveled with our iPhone 4 around our apartment, we noticed only slight breaking in tracks when traveling between rooms.
As far as battery life goes, DBEST boasts that this speaker pair gets 20 hours of continuous wireless playback. When we tested this out, we got just shy of 22 hours of listening time. That's pretty impressive when you consider that the next longest battery life we've seen was about 16.5 hours from the Genius SP-900BT (with the volume automatically cut in half).
DBEST says the speaker set takes four to five hours to charge, but when we tested it out, it took only 3:24 to get them fully juiced.
Verdict
Click to EnlargeThe DBEST London PS4003BT Duo has an edgy design, and we appreciate the idea of having two speakers that you can spread out. Its battery life is incredibly impressive, and the sound is nice and loud. While we prefer the audio from the $44.99 Satechi ST-69BT speakers, if you're looking for a set that will last literally the whole day, DBEST's PS4003BT Duo is a very good pick.
DBEST London PS4003BT Duo Specs
| Accessories Type | Bluetooth Device, Speakers |
| Battery Type/Life | 22 hours |
| Brand | DBest |
| Company Website | http://www.dbest.co.uk |
| Size | 2.4 x 2.4 x 1.7 inches |
| Weight | 5.6 ounces |
