The No Bounds is a great little Bluetooth speaker – sustainably designed, smart looking, tough and lightweight. Like all of House of Marley’s products, the No Bounds speaker is made from as many natural and sustainable materials as possible – but not at the expense of style. The speaker comes supplied with an aluminum carabiner clip and charging cable wrapped in the same Rewind fabric. The No Bounds is available in black, white, red and blue – the latter two of which are tastefully muted shades rather than the somewhat gaudy hues of many Bluetooth speakers (we’re looking at you, Ultimate Ears).
The main drawback of the No Bounds is its lack of smarts – there’s no support for Alexa, Google Assistant or Siri here, and there’s no app for adjusting sound profiles as there is with the UE Boom 3. It lacks the smart features you’ll find in top-end Bluetooth speakers, but for simply enjoying music on the road, it’s seriously impressive.
House of Marley No Bounds Review
Verdict While not too far off the current price of the original Wonderboom, the House of Marley No Bounds is a tough sell for those who like their music delivered with gusto. There’s no shortage of companies trying their hands in the portable Bluetooth speaker market – a search on Amazon returns a dizzying array of results. As an unapologetic millennial who wears his fear of climate change on his sleeves, charitable efforts such as these allow me to feel far more comfortable with the tech I end up buying. Resembling a hockey puck with raised edges, the device is split into three main tiers: an upper mesh casing that rests above the speaker; a base comprised almost entirely of recycled cork; and a core encased in rubber. As such, you’ll never have to worry about dust or water mangling the device, which is handy since its rugged design is clearly built with the great outdoors in mind. If you do fancy a trip to the beach, or a dip in the pool however, the No Bounds will have you covered since its recycled material allows the device to remain buoyant in water. House of Marley claims that the No Bounds has a 10-hour battery life (the same quoted for the original Wonderboom), and we found that to be in the ballpark for volume set under 50%. In a time when the Ultimate Ears range has brought improved sound quality down to an affordable price, House of Marley was always going to have its work cut out taking on the reigning champs.
Diving into modern pop classics such as La Roux’s “In for the Kill” and Paramore’s “Ain’t it Fun?”, the No Bounds relishes the highs, with the female-led vocals of both tracks coming through nicely. Since the No Bounds speaker points upwards, you won’t get the full range of any song unless you prop up the device against a wall or another object. However, if you’re in the market for a light, stylish, eco-conscious personal speaker that’s a better alternative to listening to music via your smartphone then you might find a great companion in the House of Marley No Bounds.
House of Marley No Bounds XL review
That said, House of Marley has made it its mission to make sure that its products are as environmentally friendly as possible, which results in the use of some unique build materials. Putting it in my backpack took up a good amount of space and forced me to leave some other things behind, and it isn’t exactly lightweight either. Luckily, House of Marley added a small metal carabiner to help you carry it via the attached loop, but I found this is really only useful once you get to your destination. Altogether, these materials make for an IP67 waterproof build that’s also buoyant, so it’ll float if you drop it overboard accidentally.
I got to around 50 feet with a wall and a floor in the way before the music started to stutter, so if you have a straight shot outdoors you should have no problems with skipping. Another downside is that this speaker doesn’t have a USB Type-C port, so when you need to charge it up you’ll need to use the included micro-USB cable.
Not once during testing did I feel the need to max out the volume, but if you’re going to be providing the music for a large gathering it’s good to have that extra wiggle room if you really need to blast it. Bass lovers will thoroughly enjoy this speaker as the thumping low end throughout the song Gun by CHVRCHES has just the right amount of power to keep your head nodding. More than once, certain elements of songs sounded a little harsh to my ears and as I mentioned, I wasn’t even playing the speaker at max volume. The House of Marley No Bounds XL isn’t my favorite waterproof speaker—that still goes to the UE Boom 3—but that’s mainly because of how convenient that speaker is to use. While it’s battery life is severely lacking, the House of Marley No Bounds XL is a solid larger speaker and the fact that it’s relatively affordable just helps its already strong case.
House of Marley No Bounds XL Review
The $149.99 House of Marley No Bounds XL is an eco-friendly Bluetooth speaker that delivers audio from a waterproof, dust-tight frame. It also lays on the digital signal processing (DSP) pretty thick most of the time, which can result in tracks sounding a little squashed in the dynamics department.
I wouldn’t describe this as a deal breaker unless you plan to conduct business using the speakerphone, but the mic makes it hard to hold normal phone conversations.
House of Marley estimates the No Bounds XL’s battery life to be roughly 16 hours, but your results will vary with your volume levels and your mix or wired and wireless playback, and whether you use the speaker to charge external devices.
Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better sense of the No Bounds XL’s general sound signature. The dynamics of the track are again squashed, creating the sense of the volume level rising and lowering whenever it is triggered by a powerful element in the mix.
Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary, receive some added body and depth in the low-mids. The No Bounds XL pumps out serviceable audio, and if your main priority is being able to take it on the go and not worry about dirt, dust, or water damaging it, it’s worth considering.
For less money, the smaller Sony SRS-XB10 delivers solid audio in a water-resistant design, and if you’re interested in other rugged options, the EcoXGear EcoSlate is also a winner. House of Marley No Bounds XL 3.5 See It $149.99 at Amazon MSRP $149.99 Pros Rich bass response with crisp, bright highs. The Bottom Line The House of Marley No Bounds XL is an eco-friendly Bluetooth speaker with a waterproof design that offers average audio performance.
Customer Reviews: The House of Marley No Bounds Sport Portable Bluetooth Speaker Signature Black EM-JA016-SB-BBY
Great product, really packs a punch for its size. This review is from The House of Marley – No Bounds Sport Portable Bluetooth Speaker – Gray
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