VARO Portable WiFi + Bluetooth Multi-Room Speaker, Vibe (iOS Only)

I was a little skeptical about these since the name seemed a little unfamiliar, but am glad that I took a chance. These are surprising good WI-FI speakers and I’ve found a lot of fun ways to utilize them already. My goal was to find a portable speaker that I could take with me to outdoor gatherings, BBQs, on the boat, at the beach, etc., while also being able to use it at home for streaming music. To be honest I never looked too closely at the specs. But after getting it I noticed all of the various inputs and knew that it was going to be fun to mess around with. This was my first Varo but I’ve since added two more to network, another Vibe and the Cube. There are a lot of things I like about them. The instruction manual that came with it was really simple and easy to understand. It walks you through the setup and since I’m not a techy person, that was a huge plus. The app is amazing. Very easy to navigate and when I received my second and third speaker I was able to assign names each speaker, adjust the levels and get everything set just the way I wanted. I use them mostly for Spotify and Youtube and have never had any issues. Songs are super easy to find and I LOVE that I can have one thing playing inside, and a completely different genre in another part of the house. Also, when friends are over and want to take turns picking songs, you don’t need to pass your phone around. They can install the app quickly and then choose songs from their streaming services. It’s really convenient. A totally unexpected perk was being able to use this in my home studio. Sometimes I don’t want to do playback or practice guitar through my interface/DAW, so I can use the aux connection to connect to effects processors and other equipment… like a nice alternative to amps or big studio monitors. It’s also perfect for getting a little better sound from my digital piano by going right into the aux. As for the sound, it’s really good despite not being super high end audio, but I was not expecting that. Very clean tones, great volume control, distinct mids, bass and respectable high ends. If you have an EQ on device you can adjust it even more. Negatives. The only thing I’m not crazy about is the “Starting Up” voice that chimes when powered on, but that’s it and it’s really not that bad. Others in my group thought it was really cool. All in all, I am really happy with these and am already planning on ordering the subwoofer tower for my Cube. A couple friends have ordered too and I’ve only heard good things. Definitely a smart buy for anyone who wants a nice sounding portable WiFi speaker with lots of input options!

For starters, the sound is just as is... For the price is just sound, it is not a great sound, because the bass is not well controlled, and at low levels it can compare to an even 5 dollar speaker. But when it turns up to maximum the things get even. Even worst... Because it is true the bass gets "high" but it start to compress and distorts a little. I don't know if it is my unit but a strange noise like it it's rattle-ish even at low levels, so I think mine is broken. Also talking about connectivity, is worst than the sound. To start the list, you have to wait over 20 seconds to the unit starts, because of the wifi, then you switch over to Bluetooth... Why? Because simply enough the wifi does not connect properly 😒 I mean, it "connects" but don't play any sound, and even on iPod it is a pain to try connect via airplay or what ever. Then you switch in to the Bluetooth connection, that takes other 5 to 10 seconds to "ready to pair" and the other 3 seconds to connect, after almost 1 minute trying to pair your speaker, you have to deal with the terrible sound, that it is clear-ish, to the level that if you turn maximum to "have some bass" it starts to pierce your ears. Final approach? Spend the same money on something else... Ah also... The IP rating... It's a joke... Trust me

I was looking for a water resistant speaker for the bathroom and didn't want a Bluetooth speaker because they automatically pair with the last device when powered on. This won't work for me because the kids and I all need to use the same bathroom speaker when we each need to take a shower, etc. With the AirPlay feature, it's easy to start audio playback on your device and then just choose the speaker from the AirPlay menu. I had some trouble initially getting the speaker connected to WiFi and setup, but I eventually figured it out. The correct iOS app you will need is called Soundlogic WiFi Controller. Once I got the correct app, setup was fairly similar to other connected WiFi devices. Once connecting to the device WiFi, you'll then connect it to your home 2.4 GHz WiFi network. After it connects it will probably perform a firmware update. The firmware update worked on the first try, but after the speaker restarted the app said it couldn't find it. Powering the speaker off and exiting the app before powering it back on and opening the app fixed the issue. I like that I can rename the device so it is easy to find in the AirPlay menu. The speaker supports AirPlay version 1, not AirPlay 2. This means you can't use AirPlay for multi-room audio. However, for what it is and considering the cost I think it's a reasonable choice.

I recently moved into a home with an indoor basketball court. The court did not have any speakers installed and I needed a solution that would be able to fill a large space with sound while also minimizing distortion. About a month ago my girlfriend bought me a Varo Cube and subwoofer tower as a gift. The tower + cube setup worked great as they were loud and the subwoofer has a very satisfying bass. After a couple days of using the speakers however I realized that the lower/bassier sounds in the music would drown out the highs, especially as I walked further away from the speakers. This was the only major problem I had with the speakers and I was afraid the solution would require a complete upgrade. Before I bought a completely new system I decided that I should really test out the WiFi capabilities of the Varo speakers first. I did some research and decided to buy a Varo Vibe speaker and put it in the front of the court, behind the basketball rim, since the tower speaker is all the way in the back. Adding the Vibe speaker to the existing setup was very simple with the Varo app, and after making some minor adjustments to the sound levels through it, the sound in my court was absolutely pristine! The Vibe completely solved all of the problems I was having with the Tower + Cube combination. The Vibe has an internal battery that allows you to position it wherever you want when it is charged, but I keep it plugged in as I have already placed it in the most optimal position. I was very surprised by how loud the Vibe could get on its own, but these Varo speakers don’t really shine until you buy the right number you need and position them correctly! Once the speakers are set-up however they are almost a dream product. It is extremely easy to go into Spotify or YouTube and play whatever I want to listen to. Perhaps my favorite user experience feature is that there is no need to fiddle with Bluetooth or Aux cables to let your friends play music. All they have to do is be on my WiFi network and they can play whatever they want just as I can! If I went with a traditional basketball court speaker solution I would’ve spent hundreds more than what my girlfriend and I spent on a couple Varo speakers. That fact, along with the amazingly simple and seamless user experience earns these speakers 5 stars!!! Update (10/13/17): Speakers are still going strong, added some pictures of the set-up."

EDIT/UPDATE I would avoid these speakers. I am leaving my original review up, but see my Caveats section for more info. So first of all, these little speakers are pretty great when they work. I have four around my house and are exactly what I wanted. Sound: Sound on these are decent. They are not very loud if used outside at like a pool or something. But indoors they are perfect for what I use them for. Just to have music playing all the time for me and my girls. Function: So the app is a bit clunky but functional. Once you have the speakers all connected via WiFi they work as expected. Caveats: They have to be connect to the 2.5Ghz band. This means that your phone also must be connected to that band in order to play music through them. I use Spotify from my desktop that’s connected via Ethernet so this doesn’t affect me. The other caveat is they seem to have poor to moderate manufacturing quality. I purchased 4 at one time. Upon arrival one did not power on at all. Even after being charged overnight. Now, about 2 months after purchase, one just drops connection or the sound drops (I can’t tell which) which means I will have to replace a second one out of 4. 🤷🏼‍♂️ UPDATE 11/01/2021 I will have to replace another speaker due to the same issue mentioned above. One speaker keeps cutting out. I would avoid these speakers.

These are probably the best WiFi speakers on the market right now at this price, hands down. I hadn’t heard about this brand until now, but the system overall is a 5-star option because it just works. Pretty speaker with soft-touch buttons on top. The Spotify Connect and Airplay options are the reason why I bought these and those work flawlessly. The sound is loud but pretty ordinary, you can’t turn on the speakers from the app, and there’s an annoying Start Up sound whenever you turn the speaker on, but I’m hoping we’ll be able to turn this off in a feature update later. The app that you use is simple, colorful, and has a short learning curve. Didn’t have any bugs or issues overall and I’ve had it for a few weeks. Overall it just works.

I read all the reviews about the terrible app. Figured I couldn't go wrong getting a battery operated wifi speaker that supported Bluetooth for 20 bucks and I was hoping that due to it's specs claiming it's DLNA capable I could work around the terrible app with a DLNA server like Plex. Unfortunately after wasting a few hours I determined I was stuck with the app as I tried 3 servers and none of them would recognize the device. The Good Respectable sound as long as you stay at or below 70% power and sounds best around 50. Bluetooth 4.1 Battery makes it completely portable You can actually hear some Bass but don't expect any real Thump. Mid and Treble reproduction is fairly accurate The Bad The Horrible 3yr old not likely to ever get an update App The app supports 4 services but unless you pay for two of them you only get 2 Only place you can stream your own content from is your phone. Won't network or access your cloud Bluetooth range a bit on the short side and easily interfered with. 10 ft or less works best Battery has a MEH 4 hour life @ 50% power The touted Samsung amp ain't all that. It's rated @ 24 watts total but 70% of that is all you can use without serious noise and 50% if you are picky Bottom Line: It's a respectable internet radio and works OK as a patio speaker playing jazz or something of that ilk. The cheap alternative to a Sonos system I was hoping for is a dream and had I spent more than 20 bucks for it I would have returned it

Bluetooth worked, but Wifi was hard to hook up to Lynksis router...Ugh! Tried 10 times no success before i tried alternative method which worked. Update...tried to upgrade firmware and got interrupted thx to junk Spectrum wifi now i can complete update and speaker cant connect. Useless. Mgt sent replacement. Update #2. Replacement unit none of lights on front work nor buttons on top.lol. Unreal. 2 weeks of use now 2nd unit is junk.