Fender Indio Bluetooth Speaker Review

When I tested the smallest of Bluetooth speakers in the brand offer, Fender Newport , I could at most say that the loudspeaker is inspired by classic amplifiers from the producer. Fortunately, the rubberized handle is very comfortable, but it is also the element most susceptible to dirt and dust, which simply sticks to the surface. The point is that in order for the sound to be truly phenomenal, two conditions must be met – the loudspeaker must be ideally in front of the listener and must play loud. Low tones are selective, but not overwhelming, the center of the band is very clear (electric guitars sound insanely! Therefore, it is best to set Fender Indio somewhere in the corner of the room, from where it will be able to emit sound waves evenly across its entire surface. On the one hand, audio in 320 kbps streaming through Bluetooth sounds perfectly ok and you do not hear any additional compression or loss of quality. Alternatively, to conduct hands-free conversations via a microphone built into the loudspeaker, which quite well collects sound in a small room. And despite the fact that the dimensions make it rather a stationary speaker, so if necessary, Fender Indio can work up to 20 hours on a single charge. Only Marshall produces speakers in a similar style (though in my opinion not as good as Fender), so if you want to buy a bit of a “rock” character, you do not have much choice. However, if the style is of secondary importance, and the key is the sound and additional functions … well, I am afraid that most customers will be more likely to use Bose or B & O products. And it will certainly be a wise choice, but if you ask me, I would be more delighted to look at the tube amplifier miniature every day than the fancy, futuristic shape of other Bluetooth speakers at a similar price.

Fender INDIO Bluetooth Speaker – Black

With its amp-style knobs and toggle switch, textured vinyl covering and speaker grille cloth, the Indio will easily match any décor.

Fender Monterey review

As brands go, Fender is one of the music world’s more evocative – it has stuff in common with Ford or Coca-Cola beyond an overly fancy typeface for its logo. Mind you, neither did Marshall (an equally iconic brand in guitar amplification), but that didn’t stop it from launching a range of consumer-focused products, of admittedly variable quality. The pro design cues keep coming – the top panel has three of the classic ’witch-hat’ rotary knobs for volume, treble and bass control and a hugely satisfying toggle switch to turn power on and off. Under the skin, the Fender wireless speaker features a claimed 120W of amplification power, plus two 12.5cm woofers and two 25mm tweeters. When switched on, and also when wireless pairing is achieved, the Fender Monterey gives a little guitar-strum of acknowledgement – a pleasing touch but a little cheesy at the same time. We get underway with a Tidal-via-iPhone 7 file of Flamin’ Groovies’ Shake Some Action and the Fender immediately reveals itself as an up-and-at-‘em listen.

There’s decent detail retrieval on display, too, with background maracas given just as much attention as the echo around the edge of vocal harmonies. It’s worth noting that, although the three rotary controls are marked ‘1’ to ‘10’ in the guitar-amp manner, choosing ‘5’ as a safe middle ground is not good – it’s too loud, too bassy, too trebly, altogether too much.

It’s never less than a warm and friendly listen, but it struggles badly with fitting different pieces of a recording together harmoniously. Consequently tricky rhythms never quite flow, bass sounds disrupt rather than dictate tempos and there’s a two-left-feet aspect to much of what the Fender does.