“The Archeer A320s comes with a 15W subwoofer and a massive 8,800mAh battery”
You might have heard the old adage ‘’you get what you pay for’’ and while it still holds true to some extent, audio manufacturers have proved it time and again that you don’t need to splurge a lot of money for a quality product. With every passing year, a smattering amount of incredible tech products are added to the market which offer insane value for money. Take the recently-launched KZ ZS6 earphones by Knowledge Zenith for instance, which come equipped with quad-drivers and retail a fraction of the price you’d pay for a pair of Beats. I reviewed the previous pair of earphones from Knowledge Zenith, the ZS5, and found them to be solid value for money. Now, finding such products is like looking for a needle in a haystack, but I feel like I’ve stumbled across another such needle. A while ago, Archeer sent us the A320s, a Bluetooth speaker constructed out of wood. Having used the speaker for a little over a week, I am convinced that it deserves to be on your shopping list and here’s why.
Table of Contents
Design
There are tons of Bluetooth speakers in the market but only some manage to look as aesthetically pleasing as the Archeer A320s. Instead of using traditional elements like plastic and metal for the outer shell, Archeer has made use of bamboo, which gives the A320s a rather unique look. To top it off, the company has also added a layer of fabric towards the back of the unit which adds a bit more flair to the speaker’s design. And that’s not all. As the adage goes, vision without execution is just hallucination, the company ensured that the A320s was constructed with industrial precision. The Bamboo feels soft to the touch, the fabric at the back sticks really well to the surface and there are subtle chamfers and cuts on the speaker’s edges which refine its design even more. One more thing I’d like to add is that the A320s has a good heft to it and therefore, does not feel cheap when you lift it up, unlike some other budget Bluetooth speakers in the market. With that said, while the design of the speaker is exquisite, the use of fabric and bamboo does make the A320s susceptible to damage from water and other earthly elements. Moreover, seeing how the fabric covers the entirety of the speaker’s back, the bottom of the unit is prone to getting scuffed too.
Moving on, your primary means of interacting with the speaker will be via a set of four buttons positioned at the top of the unit. The buttons are raised and come with a rubberised finish which makes it easy to identify them even in the dark. Towards the back of the speaker, you’ll find an AUX port as well as a micro-USB port to charge the unit.
Sound and performance
Underneath its wooden chassis, the A320s hides two 5W drivers which work in tandem with a 15W subwoofer. The speaker gets a massive 8,800mAh battery (which I’ll brush up on later) and can be daisy-chained with another unit to give a true stereo effect.
Technical specifications aside, just how well does the Archeer A320s performs in day-to-day usage? Well, to no one’s surprise, the speaker packs a lot of punch in the low end. Thanks to the dedicated 15W subwoofer, the beats have a lot of depth and suffice it to say, you’ll definitely hear and feel the bass on the A320s. On the flip side, the beats are so pronounced that they eat into other frequencies at times. For instance, the kick drums at the beginning of the Day I Die by National completely overshadowed the electric guitar riff at the beginning and even muffled the vocals to some extent. The experience isn’t all that bad, but if you primarily listen to rock/metal genre, then you might feel somewhat disappointed with the A320s’ performance.
Now, on the flip side, the speaker does offer crystal clear vocals provided there are not a lot of chaotic beats in the background and I found myself using the A320s intensively for listening to podcasts for the same reason. Add to that the fact that despite not offering 360-degree surround sound like the Bose Soundlink Revolve+ speaker (review) did, the A320s still fills the room without breaking a sweat. As you might have guessed by now, imaging isn’t the best on the A320s and songs get extremely muddy when you crank up the volume and listen to songs with a myriad of instruments.
The A320s improves upon its predecessor, the A320 in more ways than one. For starters, the latter shipped with a much smaller battery (5,200mAh) compared to the 8,800mAh unit on the A320s. Now, it does take a while to get the speaker fuelled up, but once the unit is at full charge, you can comfortably listen to songs on it for almost 14 hours before having to plug it in once again. Secondly, the A320s ships with a built-in mic and can therefore be used to answer calls. The call clarity was decent, though I often had to bend and speak directly into the mic to relay my voice over to the other end. Lastly, the A320s can be paired with another unit to offer a stereo effect. Folks at Archeer were kind enough to send us two units to test this feature and once you get over the finicky pairing process, you can enjoy a stereo setup in your home.
Verdict
There’s no denying it – the Archeer A320s is a work of art. The A320s has been crafted with meticulous care to the design and quite frankly, is one of the most aesthetically pleasing wireless speakers I’ve come across. Unfortunately, what you gain in looks, you lose out on functionality. The speaker isn’t splash-proof and unless you take good care of the unit, the fabric will eventually wear out. Moreover, while the speaker does get sufficiently loud, you’ll have to suffer from distorted tracks at higher volumes. With that said, the battery life is excellent and you can upgrade your audio setup down the line by buying another unit and pairing the two together.
Therefore, in conclusion, I feel that Archeer has stumbled upon a winner here and if you are in the market for an affordable Bluetooth speaker, then you should find your money’s worth with the A320s. The speaker is available via Amazon in the US for $100 (~Rs 6,500), but isn’t yet available in India officially, which is a bummer.
Editor’s Rating: 3.5 / 5
Pros:
- Great design
- Excellent battery life
- Deep bass
Cons:
- Not waterproof
- Sound output isn’t extraordinary
Photos by Raj Rout
