The controls are on top, but the readout for these controls is in front. I talk about this later, but it makes setting up so much harder than it needs to be. For some, the frustration this causes would be enough to make it a deal breaker.

The speakers are equipped with a dual-coil subwoofer for that rich bass experience. The dedicated midrange and tweeter drivers provide deeper, more precise, and broader music experience. No matter how high you turn up the volume, there is almost no distortion (less than 0.1%) even if the table it’s on is shaking. This is especially impressive for a battery-operated speaker. It’s a sound you would expect from a more expensive in-home speaker. But if you want to become nostalgic, you’ll have to take a little hit: The original manufacturer was sold to Sony in 2002 and ceased operations in 2006. In 2013, the brand rights were sold to “River West Brands”, which cooperated with “Hale Devices”. The latter company subsequently renamed itself “Aiwa” and is responsible for the device we tested. Most of our complaints are related to build quality (too much plastic) and to control panel design. Like most Bluetooth speakers, pairing your Aiwa Exos-9 is straightforward. Turn on the speaker and activate Bluetooth on your device. The speaker will appear as “Aiwa Exos-9” on your device search screen. Select and you’re connected.The decibel itself is only a ratio which means that it compares the value of one number to the value of another

Peachtree Audio deepblue3 and Exos-9 are similar in many ways – they have the same boxy design, the number (as well as the size and placement) of drivers is the same, and they have similar dimensions. They are also priced the same. Indoors, no matter the room size, the Exos-9 produces a room-filling sound that is balanced and rich. It’s so good you could even consider using it for your home theater setup.

The Soundboks Go is a new Bluetooth speaker on the market, and it doesn’t fail to live up to the Soundboks models that came before it. While the much larger Soundboks 3 model offers 126 dB of volume, the now more widely available Soundboks Go brings 121 dB to the table. Portability The two USB ports on the rear panel don’t have anything to do with the connectivity of the AIWA Exos-9, but they do come in handy.