Gadget Review: The Kitsound Cadet Universal Portable rechargeable Bluetooth Speaker Review.

The Kitsound Cadet Universal Portable rechargeable Bluetooth Speaker

Heya peoples how you all doing? I have something for those sound-a-holics out there.

I have another mini speaker to show you all today; but this time its a ruggedy outdoor one for those who enjoy music while camping or want something for barbeques or picnics or any outdoor activity.

I have reviewed quite a few products from Kitsound and Ive found them excellent quality, affordable and fun. So I was excited to have the opportunity to review one of their latest mini speakers.

The Kitsound Cadet

At Kitsound they believe your music deserves to be listened to on great quality products that don’t cost the earth. That's why they are constantly fine-tuning their headphones and speakers so you can showcase your music at its best.

See my photo-loaded review below

We have been invaded with mini portable speakers in the last few years and I have yet to find my perfect bassey sound speaker; so I couldn't wait to get this bad boy on charge.

Packaging
It may sound shallow but Im a complete sucker for packaging and am really drawn into products from companies that have really put alot of time and effort into the design of its packaging.

The Cadet was a really lovely surprise when it arrived for me as I loved the modern grey coloured sleeve; that slides off to reveal a bright mustardy yellow super strong cardboard box with the speaker inside.

Inside the box you get;

Cadet wireless speaker with attached Karabina,
Micro USB to 3.5mm auxillary cable.
Micro USB charging/data cable.
User manual....Yesss....finally a brilliant user manual.

Description
The Kitsound Cadet is one of the latest speakers launched from Kitsound this year and its portable, rugged and wireless.
Its surrounded with a tough rubber coated metal housing and is solid enough to withstand extreme conditions.

Measuring only 80mm x 73mm in width and 45mm in depth its small enough to clip to your belt or rucksack while doing outdoor activities with its own large black karabina; which is securely attached via a rubber loop and silver metal press stud.

The speaker is easy to use via its 5 buttons directly ontop of the speaker; designed like the slices of a cake.

The central rubberized button is the Mode and On/off button.

The buttons are white covered in a clear perspex for more protection, it also makes it easy to see in the dark.

The left and right arrows are the volume, the top button has a green phone icon so you can answer and end calls quickly and easily and will pause any music playing for the duration of the call so you can hear your caller via the speaker itself.

The bottom white button is your bluetooth on/off button and skip forward tracks button.

The chunky bowl shaped speaker is comfortable to hold with a lovely substantial weighty feel. You can hear the music via several of the black metal netting recessed in the sides giving a good modern design look too.

The Cadet is not only Bluetooth but it also has a Micro SD card slot so you don't even need your devices to play music; simply pop in a card with your music on and away you go.

The base of the Cadet has an extra ring of grey rubber so it will grip onto most surfaces especially shiny ones.

To the side you have the Micro USB charging port which is covered by a rubberized flap to keep it watersealed, this is also used as an AUX play port.

The Science Bit

Blutooth V2.1.
Bluetooth range up to 10m.
Inputs Bluetooth, aux and micro SD.
Output RMS 3W@4ohm.
Playtime up to 8 hours.
Frequency Response 100Hz-20Khz.
Micro SD size 4GB-32GB.
Compatible music formats - MP3, WMA, WAV, FLAC, APE.
Weight 200g.

Charging

The Cadet has a built in rechargeable lithium battery which takes approximately 4 hours to charge using the Micro USB end to the cadet and USB to your PC or mains USB. Whilst charging the central on/off button will pulse red and change to blue once charged.

Bluetooth and Pairing

I found it so simple to pair the Cadet to my Galaxy S4; you simply press and hold the central on/off button for 4 seconds where it will slowly flash blue.

Turn on the device (S4 and Nexus 10) and select search for new devices.

The Cadet's name then appeared straight away on my phone Bluetooth list (above) with no need to input any pass codes...super cool!

The Bluetooth LED then turns a solid blue with a really loud bing bong which actually made me jump I nearly dropped the speaker.

Playing Music

You have several ways to play music through this clever little speaker.

Bluetooth - hands free; the easiest of ways.
To wire it in directly to your device using the Micro USB to 3.5mm jack plug.
Using a Micro SD card so you don't need any other devices just the card.

For me the easiest ways to play my music was via Bluetooth as most of my music is on the phone. It pairs and connects within a few seconds...its super fast. It also has a huge range of 10m and Ive tested this and I actually got to 15m before it started to break up a bit; but this was without anything inbetween. If you have a wall in between its doesn't work as well its best kept near you.

I found when you play your first track the speaker automatically resets to middle volume so you can easily choose whether you want louder or quieter.

The Sound

The fact you can stream your music wirelessly from any Bluetooth device from up to 10 meters away brings the Cadet right up there into the forefront of affordable technology. The sound itself is gorgeous; I am in no way claiming to be a sound aficionado but I know what I like and what my friends and family like and that's good clear crisp sound which the Cadet has by the bucketful. It has good bass...but I always want more being a bass fiend lol!

I tried a good range of genres of music and found the sound quality is sharp and crisp and it manages to boot out substantial volume too depending on the type of music and track you are playing.

We found the best sound was when the Cadet was hung up in a tree or bush etc so it could hang freely as seen by my photos above.

I loved having the chance to use music from my SD cards too and the quality was the same. The card goes in almost all the way however so you need to use your nail tip to press it to jump out to remove it.

The fact it comes with a carabina already attached is just genius as you can simply hang it anywhere. We spend a lot of time outside during the year and it hangs perfectly on our wooden hangy seat so we can enjoy music outside too.

Seen here hanging from a plant hanger for the garden; its a perfect height when having a picnic outside.

I clip it to my bag when Im going out just incase.

Here I can listen to my calls handsfree or if the call needs to be shared with others.

Charging from powerbanks

If you have been following my reviews you will have seen my review recently of the brilliant Aqua Trek waterproof power bank; this has been brilliant in topping up this speaker and they look great together too...don't you think?

I haven't left the house without my gadgety trio.

My only slight niggle is that it doesn't come with a pouch to keep the cables and the Cadet together. You can use the gorgeous solid cardboard box it came in however its quite bulky.

Opinion

I absolutely love this adorable speaker, it charges fast at usually under 4 hours and lasts the longest out of all my speakers of over 2 hours in 1 sitting at almost full volume, turn it down and I can almost guarantee it will last the stated 8 hours. But of course when you are outside you usually want your music loud to enjoy. Otherwise you would just use headphones right....?
This amazing speaker will fill a room with incredible crisp quality sound and when using outside its still loud and clear.

I love the smooth texture of the rubberized outer-case it feels so nice...mmm so touchy-feely. The buttons are responsive, direct and easy to use even if you have wet or dirty hands.

Easy to clip onto rucksacks or belts without being too bulky.

I would highly recommend this gorgeous Kitsound Cadet it has great sound for such a small speaker and its build is excellent quality. Its in the dearer price bracket for a smaller speaker section; but its worth it being so very rugged as its perfect for those of you into outdoor activities like rock climbing, hiking, or mountain biking etc. Or for those of you that are just a bit kluttsy like me as its going to take a few drops or bangs without any damage. It really is a perfect all round mini speaker.

Pro's