Dre would have preferred the former style of performance back when the song was released in 1996, but who really knows? In any case, the added clarity that Beatbox appears to offer is partially due to its restraint in the bass department without the extra warmth flooding the speakers, your ears focus more on other nuances in songs, for better or worse. We’d have guessed that the beat-driven Dr. As just one example, you can feel and settle into the heavy background beat in “Been There, Done That” with the Zeppelin, while Beatbox focuses your attention more on the high-pitched percussion. Dre’s own songs are performed more clinically through this speaker than we’d expected.
Midrange performance is very respectable and, like the treble, detailed enough to pass muster even at this price point, but the consequence is that the system doesn’t reach as low as the Zeppelin or the iMT800, both of which offer warmer and deeper bass than the Beatbox.
#Monster streamcast app drivers#
Beatbox’s top volume level is a little louder than Zeppelin’s, though the difference isn’t major both have more than enough power to deafen users in a small room, and fill a medium-sized one-the only noteworthy takeaway is that both systems continue to sound good at their peaks when less expensive systems fall apart.īeatbox’s biggest issue is in its low-end, where it lacks for the dedicated bass hardware that would commonly be expected in systems at this price point-$300 all-in-ones such as the iMT800, Logitech’s prior Pure-Fi Elite, and others have dedicated or more large speakers purely to bass, but the $450 Beatbox relies on its 5.25” drivers to handle both midrange and low-frequency sounds. Lossless songs played on both systems next to one another sparkled a little more on Beatbox, and for psychoacoustic reasons sounded as if they were a little cleaner at the same volume levels. On a positive note, the system’s treble performance is considerably better than we would have expected from a system that relies upon 2” drivers for high-frequency sound reproduction, rendering tracks with crispness and detail that might even surprise users of the more expensive B&W Zeppelin.
The rear has a line-in port, a power port for a short included cable, and a rubber cap to cover a compartment labeled “Wireless Module.” If we were placing bets, we’d put money on Monster releasing a $100-$150 AirPlay adapter for Beatbox, but the company has said only that it’s for a Streamcast Wireless System Adapter-whatever that may be.Īs with all speakers at or above the $300 price point, Beatbox will thrive or fail on the strength of its sonic performance, and it’s here that the system runs into some difficulties.
Monster falls short only in the frills department, including a plain, button-limited Infrared remote control, dock inserts, and feet to prop the system up on a flat surface if you’d like.
You can decide for yourself whether Beatbox’s looks work for your personal needs our feeling is that it certainly won’t turn people off, and so closely resembles center-channel surround speakers that it will easily blend into most living rooms. Beatbox is as visually neutral as Bose’s SoundDock 10 and certainly less polarizing than B&W’s Zeppelin or, say, Altec Lansing’s iMT800 Mix, all systems that possess similarly large speakers and ambitions of filling rooms with powerful volume levels. This is, like the Beats headphones, a stylish design that is hard to find fault with on the aesthetics.
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