After the true wireless headphones, our tour of Silvercrest audio products brings us today to an ultra-portable speaker for less than 10 €.
The main thing to remember
The Silvercrest speaker, named SBL TW3 A1, is one of the most conventional ultra-portable Bluetooth devices. The quality of manufacture and finish is basic, the enclosure does not benefit from any particular resistance, neither to water, nor to shocks – it must therefore be kept away from water points. That said, we didn't notice any apparent flaws or malfunctions during our two weeks of use.
No frills when it comes to handling and using the speaker. The five mechanical buttons provide access to all the essential controls (music playback management/power on with the Play button, volume management and navigation between tracks with the “+” and “–” buttons), Bluetooth pairing and activation of the stereo coupling with a second loudspeaker) and some sound/light indications allow the user to be guided to a minimum. Neophytes will be advised to use the instructions for the first grip, but regulars will have no trouble finding their marks.
The connection of the speaker is also done in a very classic way in Bluetooth or in wired mode via the mini-jack input. The microUSB port is present for charging the speaker. Given its volume, the Silvercrest SBL TW3 A1 offers good autonomy. We regularly exceeded 12 hours of use during our test period with variable listening volume, ranging from 50 to 70%. Still, we would have really appreciated if the low battery sound alert didn't sound and briefly interrupt playback every 30s...
The cold shower nevertheless arrives when you start reading. The ultra-portable Silvercrest speaker is simply incapable of giving the slightest satisfaction in terms of sound reproduction. The rendering is very uneven, aggressive, nasal and rough, the timbres are not respected and the dynamics are very crushed. The extreme timidity of the treble brings a muffled aspect, while the highlighting of the high-mids adds a bonus of a particularly unpleasant acid sound. The speaker also struggles a lot on the bass side, whether in terms of depth, balance or definition. The result is an extremely pronounced box effect. To top it off, the correct power reserve of the speaker, given its volume (in theory sufficient for a small room), is not at all usable. Past 50% of the listening volume, the loudspeaker annihilates the little remaining sound detail while accentuating the aggressiveness coming from the high-mids.
Frequency response measurement
Highlights
Complete orders.
Possibility of coupling a second speaker in stereo.
Good autonomy, although lower than announced (14 hours at very low listening volume, against 19 hours claimed).
Weak points
Execrable sound reproduction.
Very limited usable power reserve.
Sketchy design.
Conclusion
Note globaleDespite a decent user experience and a very decent battery life, the ultra-portable Bluetooth speaker from Silvercrest completely misses its subject in terms of sound reproduction. We prefer by far the competing models which offer much more efficient speakers at low prices to properly enjoy your music.
Sub Notes
- Ergonomics
- Audio
- Autonomy
- Manufacturing
- Orders & app
- Certification IP
- Connectors
- Latency
