Altec Lansing made a comeback to the Indian market last year by announcing a new series of ‘Everything-proof’ wireless speakers ranging from Rs. 3000 to Rs. 14,000. The Mini LifeJacket 2 is one of the options from the series which can apparently take on dust, water, snow and minor drops without sustaining any damage. This is definitely a welcoming change from the company which has been known to provide some of the best speakers in the market for quite some time.
The speaker offers a rugged design with a neon blue coloured plastic along with black rubber all around for protection. It looks and feels strong and the mesh grill on the front and back protect the two drivers inside. The shape is more boxy and angular unlike most speakers which usually have a round cylindrical finish. The back houses has the micro USB port for charging purposes and a standard 3.5 aux port with a rubber cover to protect the ports from water. The power and volume buttons are placed on the top which also provide the functions of play, pause, next and previous. The speaker can also be mounted anywhere using a tripod mount screw as there is a provision at the bottom. It comes bundled with a small mounting bracket as well. The company claims that the speaker to withstand almost any weather condition be it water, dust, snow as well as withstand shocks if it is accidently dropped. It can even float on water although water enters the speaker and the sound gets muffled.
Now we know that it is very sturdy and can take a bashing, but what about the sound quality? Well honestly, is not very appealing and far from what Altec Lansing has been known to provide. The two 1.5-inch drivers are loud but lack clarity. The sound profile is a bit flat and on high volume the sound starts to distort really badly, however on a lower level it starts to sounds a bit better. At this price, one expects a better sound experience, especially from a brand like this. The speaker can also be used as a hands-free for attending calls which turned out to work pretty well. Wireless connectivity is pretty good and there were no issues with the Bluetooth range. The quality from the auxiliary port via the wire is as good as you get when connected via Bluetooth. In terms of battery life you get about 7-8 hours of battery backup on a full charge and can go a bit more if you use it at lower volume level. The speaker also comes with a voice confirmation system, which can get annoying after a while as it goes off every time you turn the speaker on or off or when you connect or disconnect a Bluetooth device.
The sound quality on the Mini LifeJacket 2 is big let-down. Speakers priced at a similar range, offer a more vibrant and clear audio output but probably aren’t as weather proof. The speaker is recommended if you are looking for something which is really rugged and has a loud sound profile but not a very mesmerizing sound experience. It seems that Altec Lansing has given more attention to design rather than focusing to provide a pleasing audio experience. The Mini LifeJacket 2 is priced at about Rs. 7,200 and is available through online and offline retail stores.
