Fender’s brand name is better associated with its guitars, but it has recently been taking steps into the world of consumer electronics with its own range of headphones and wireless speakers. Much like its bigger sibling, the Monterey, the Newport looks like a miniature guitar amplifier – complete with witch-hat knobs on the top.
We’d recommend choosing a song you know well and turning the bass knob from the bottom to the top a few times until you find the spot you like and – then do the same with the treble dial.
In our testing, we prefer around the mid-way point – five or six – but that may well differ depending on your room size and shape, and the surface you’re keeping the speaker on.
Solange’s Don’t Touch My Hair is kept in line by the Newport, with the bass beats put in their place to make room for Knowles’ clear and delicate lyrics. The two woofers perform well, able to differentiate between the thumping strikes which keep time through the track and the way the bass changes to a lower gear for the deeper beats. It wouldn’t be a proper test of a Fender product without some classic rock ‘n’ roll, so we blast out Jimi Hendrix’ Voodoo Child (Slight Return). The choppy guitar at the start of the track rises from the depths well and, once the first few licks have been played and the full force of Hendrix’s riffing begins, the Newport’s sense of dynamism is revealed.
Strong and forceful for a speaker in this price range, it’s a game performer that handles the change from loud squealing notes to quieter, rumbling riffs to satisfaction. It’s timing is tight too – though your foot starts tapping a little more readily when listening to the £150 Ultimate Ears Blast, the Newport keeps good pace.
Fender Newport Bluetooth speaker review: It’s not just a nostalgia trip, this speaker sounds great
The Newport is one of the best-sounding single-cabinet Bluetooth speakers of its size on the market, totally justifying its $200 price tag. If you didn’t catch it in the intro, the Newport is designed in the style of a portable Fender amp, like the famous Princeton, Reverb, or Twin. Appreciation for the superior tactile and visual feedback afforded by old-school analog controls is rare in a world that’s enamored with touchscreens.
Note that the treble and bass are actually boosts, adding emphasis to the high or very low frequencies; they’re not boost-cut types like on a real guitar amp. The Newport is sturdily constructed, as is evidenced but its 3.25-pound curb weight, although some of that is undoubtedly due to the large battery inside. The speaker measures 5.6-inches high, by 3.5-inches deep, by 7.25-inches wide, which makes it a bit more cumbersome that most, albeit still perfectly portable.
That will charge the unit much faster than a 5-volt USB style hookup, but of course it’s not as common as the micro-USB connector that most BT speakers use. The minute you hear the guitar strum that accompanies power up, you get the idea that the 30-watt Newport’s emanations might be on the plus side of pleasant.
It has enough top-end to keep things clear, the mid-range is decently tight, and turning the bass up to 10 provides more than adequate thump for most music genres. Fender claims up to 12 hours of run time for the Newport, and that’s just about how long it ran at low volume.
wireless review: Fender’s Newport speaker looks classy and sounds great
Inspired by the looks of guitar amps, the Newport has beautiful metal grills and physical knobs to adjust the volume, treble and bass. I tried a variety of tracks, from Korean pop (don’t judge me) to classical to rock and came away impressed at how the sound holds up.
Besides being a portable Bluetooth speaker, the Fender can also charge your phone through a USB port at the rear.
Newport Bluetooth Speaker review: Decent sound in a small classic looking package
Our Fender Newport Bluetooth Speaker review takes a look at a second, and smaller, recent entry into the market by the well-known guitar and amp company. aptX, AAC, SBC Power Requirements: AC Adapter with barrel connector, input 100-240V, output 2.8A/16V The front speaker grille is made from metal and features rows of small slits. Like the bigger Monterey, one thing you can’t do with the speaker, however, is control playback so you’ll have to keep your phone or other device handy to play, pause or skip tracks.
It’s obviously not at the level of the Monterey, but with 30W of output, it gets pretty loud and has a nice balance across lows, mids, and highs. Generally speaking, you should be able to get close to the sound you want using the volume, bass, and treble dials on the speaker.
While the speaker sounds pretty fantastic out of the box, I did find I was able to squeeze even more bass out of it when enabling the equalizer on my phone. With a stated Bluetooth range of 33′, the Newport lets you move pretty freely around the house or backyard with phone in hand.
Of course, an area with more direct sight lines to the speaker will allow you to get further away but for the most part, the Newport fared well with reception and range from my phone while in use.
Given that it also has the capability to charge your smartphone from the USB A port on the back, that will also affect battery life. At an MSRP of $199.99USD, the Fender Newport is leaning towards the higher end for portable Bluetooth speakers. Given the Fender name, quality construction, decent battery life, and sound output, the price is pretty reasonable.
With Fender’s music background, it’s not surprising to see the second of their two introductory Bluetooth speakers take home a Top Pick of 2017 Award here at Techaeris. Compact, great sound, stylish retro design and an all-day battery are just some of the reasons why you should consider the Fender Newport Bluetooth speaker.
Product Review: Fender Newport News Bluetooth Speaker
You can adjust your treble or bass settings according to the music you’re listening to using their distinguishable witch-hat knobs and enjoy classic Fender tone with two full-range speakers and one Tweeter. The Newport also features onboard microphone echo-canceling technology (great for whenever calls come in), and a USB charge port just in case you want to power up your phone or any of your other devices.
The only complaint I have (if I really wanted to nitpick) is the weight of the speaker (perhaps it would be bothersome if you’re traveling with it a lot), but I’m more than happy to tote it around it if it means I’ll be getting a great, clean sound when streaming music.
23 facts and highlights
4. weather-sealed (splashproof) ✖ Fender Newport The device is protected with extra seals to prevent failures caused by dust, raindrops, and water splashes. A lower weight is also an advantage for home appliances, as it makes transportation easier, and for many other types of products.
Review: Fender Newport et Fender Monterey
The Fender Newport Bluetooth speaker inherits its look from the amplifiers manufactured by the legendary American brand. The Fender Newport is designed for listening to music wirelessly and without the need for a power block, whether you are at home or on a stroll. Thanks to its rechargeable battery, the speaker offers up to eleven hours of listening far from all sources of power on a single charge.
It indicates that the manufacturer didn’t try to save on costs by using cheap materials, components and speaker drivers. In addition to the standard volume knob, the Fender Newport also features bass and treble controls. The Bluetooth 4.2 controller is compatible with the SBC (universal), AAC (iPhone), and apt-X codecs.
A USB port and a 3.5 mm mini-jack stereo input are located at the back of the speaker which allows the user to charge a device and connect a DAP, for example. We placed the speaker on a desk in a large open-space area, then moved it to our listening room, which benefits from a much better acoustic treatment.
A short sequence of electric guitar at medium volume is played when powering the speaker.
We started our listening session with Michael Kinawuka’s Cold Little Heart, which was delivered with a lot of energy throughout the entire sound spectrum. The singer’s voice is clearly separated from the instruments and the drums are restituted with an impressive richness for such a compact speaker (18 x 13 x 8 cm). The manufacturer decided to go against the current trend of ultra-wide sound diffusion for compact connected speakers (which inevitably affects the balance of high frequencies).
The Sony has the advantage when it comes to battery life and waterproof design but the Fender speaker has the upper hand as far as sound restitution goes. An up-close listening experience ensures a splendid sound resolution, while the tone balance stays absolutely delightful at midrange.
With the loudness mode deactivated, the Fender Monterey’s sound signature is a bit drier than that of the Newport. It benefits from a generous extension in the lower end of the sound spectrum and its EQ is clearly rock-oriented.
Klipsch The Three: although the sound signature of the two speakers is comparable, the Klipsch fails to reach the Fender’s high sound output without losing its composure, the low register loses its fullness and the highs become aggressive. The Marshall Woburn delivers a tremendous amount of energy in the high-bass which results in a restricted extension in the lows.
Pairing big drivers with a powerful amplifier is not enough to make a great wireless speaker. The Monterey also benefits from a strong personality and the energy it displays in the mids results in a unique sound signature.
In the end, although the two speakers were obviously designed for different types of applications, the compact Fender Newport is the one that really won us over.
Fender Newport: The king of guitars arrives into the Bluetooth speaker scene (Review)
It’s like a match made in heaven: a brand that has dedicated its entire life to creating music instruments is now manufacturing their own Bluetooth speakers. They actually thought this through and has come up with a superb product that, despite some very minor flaws, matches or outperforms its competitors. Bluetooth: Version 4.2, range of approximately 33 foot, codecs apX, AAC, SBC However, the Bose SoundLink Mini II and Marshall Stockwell are lighter, allowing easier transportation. While the Monterey used a rugged plastic that closely resembles an amplifier, the Newport uses a soft, smooth surface that still manages to avoid feeling cheap. If the overall design wasn’t enough for you, Fender made sure that you actually feel like you are using an amplifier by making its controls look like one. I always get a “that is so cool” (or its equivalent in Spanish) from the people I’ve shown it to, and the fact that it is made by Fender means that everyone immediately associates it with high quality and superb sound. Of course, it was just a small social experiment that I made, but I think it is safe to say that Fender has done a superb job in the design department, and that very few devices in the market look as good as this one.
I feel sorry for my flatmates, since they have to listen to these guitar tunes every day every time I turn the speaker on and there’s no way I can make something to avoid it.
I haven’t had any connection drops, even when I moved my device to other rooms with several walls between the speaker and my Samsung Galaxy S8.
I am really glad that Fender decided to add this to the speaker because there’s nothing sadder than having to stop the music at your social gathering because the phone with the premium Spotify account just died (been there). In case the default sound is not up to your standards, you can change the bass and treble knobs to adjust the output.
I don’t consider myself a person with a varied taste in music, but I did test songs like The Solace System by Epica, Panic Station by Muse, Hell Yeah by Rev Theory, and On the Rocks by Amaranthe. Songs from Dragonforce, for example, that don’t rely as much on bass sounds, benefit from adjusting the treble instead. It’s just a matter of finding what works best for you, but when you do, the Fender Newport sounds as good as the best speakers in the price range. This is incredibly handy in open spaces and gatherings with several people, where a speaker with middle-range volume won’t cut it.
Finally, in case you receive a phone call, the Fender Newport has a built-in, echo-cancelling microphone. Overall, it worked pretty well the two times I received a phone call while testing this, and the other party didn’t mention anything in particular, neither positive nor negative.
Granted, I’m not much of an outside person, but knowing that, if the time comes where I have to see the outside world, I can just take this speaker with me and blast some Nightwish for 12 to 15 hours in a row, makes things much easier. I’m pretty sure that you could find this charger online as well in case something happens to yours, but I would gladly trade up charging time in return of a more universal cable.
On the bright side of things, this charger is capable of accepting 110V to 240V currents, so you can just use an adapter if you buy the US version and want to use it in Europe, for example. This positions the Newport in the upper end of the market, competing with products like the Bose SoundLink Mini II, Marshall Kilburn and JBL Extreme.
Be First to Comment