Wireless for Sound: a fab new boombox from MONDO by Defunc is sure to be the star of the party
A review of one of the best new standalone speakers on the market – one that packs a powerful punch, and all through Bluetooth!
Once upon a time when you’d put music on, it’d be played on a stereo in the living room where friends or family could enjoy a vinyl record or CD as much as you’d enjoy listening to it. Either that or you’d be cooped up in your room with bulky headphones over your ears, tuning in and dropping out to some grunge or trance-like tune.
Today, though, we’ve gotten used to being in our own sonic universe, wearing tiny ear buds, one in each ear to block out the outside world – unless you’ve gone and lost one of the buds… and who hasn’t experienced the drama of that before?
So what do you do when you want a reliable audio device, and if a friend or two are visiting and you want them to hear the latest tracks you’ve downloaded by Suede or Amyl & The Sniffers or Sabrina Carpenter, for that matter? Where is the modern version of that old lounge room stereo for all to hear and enjoy?
Introducing the Mondo by Defunc Bluetooth speaker – a compact and solid bit of hardware that does a great job in playing back all genres of music, and is also something of a boombox with its sturdy handle and difficult-to-dent metal build. This really is what we wished boomboxes looked and sounded like in the 1980s.
The large model of this nifty speaker delivers up to 96 watts of output power. It has six drivers and three passive basses, providing the listener with clear highs and deep low-end sound.
But it was the medium-sized speaker that I was keen to try, since I wanted to get a general experience of what this Bluetooth-run baby could do.
The medium-sized MONDO Bluetooth Speaker is equipped with three active speaker drivers and three passive bass radiators, so while you might assume it delivers just half the oomph of its bigger-sized brother, it actually boasts an output of 60 watts, and is built to handle everything from soft background music to room-filling rock numbers.
Once the battery is fully charged, it offers up to eight hours of non-stop playtime. Note, if you’ve not pressed play on your device, or allowed the tracks to continue playing, the speaker will sit in silent, then quietly signify that it is turning itself off after five to eight minutes.
Recently, I reviewed a pair of MONDO by Defunc Bluetooth headphones and in that review I mentioned how I was testing some new music I had produced, on various devices. The new tracks sounded amazing on the headphones, but the real test was to see if they played out to a bigger crowd on a solitary speaker – because solo speakers is where a lot of party music is played from these days.
The wireless connection was a cinch. I simply downloaded the MONDO app, opened it up and after powering up the speaker heard that blissful and welcoming ‘device paired’ comment. Indeed, Bluetooth 5.3 technology ensure stable connection for a smoother listening experience.
Throwing my own music over to a new device and seeing the title of my record pop up instantly on the MONDO’s LED screen gave me a certain sense of joy. And in my book, ego is not necessarily a dirty word. It really feels cool seeing your work picked up – literally – by modern technology.
For the first test of my album, I kept the equaliser settings equal right through from bass to the treble end – just so I could see if the speaker would deliver all the audio nuances I’d created. Indeed, it did, and then some. There was some subtle reverb on some of the tracks that blew me away. It was like the speaker knew exactly which parts of my songs I wanted to hear extra audio trickery on.
Suffice to say, sound settings are customisable, and the MONDO by Defunc app even has some built-in presets for you to test and tamper with.
Weighing in at around six-and-a-half kilos, the MONDO by Defunc medium-sized speaker packs a lot of punch for its size. It’s light enough to carry to a party, to the beach, the bedroom, in fact wherever you want your music played and enjoyed. In fact the bigger the room it plays in, the better the audio sounds because the MONDO appears to like spacey acoustics.
If you’re shopping around for an all-in-one speaker that plays all genres of music at impressive levels, put this speaker on your shopping list.
For pricing and further information, visit mondobydefunc.com.au. Currently on the MONDO by Defunc Australia website, there is a special going on the medium sized speakers. The original price for the speaker is $449 but make the most of a great deal currently of just $291.85 including GST.
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