Figo Portable Speakers Review – If you’re like me, you’ve been there. I was out hanging with friends and there was a song or a YouTube video I wanted to share with them. The music starts playing and your friends said, “Crank it up!” But it’s at its loudest already!
And then you’d wish that there was a speaker that’s loud enough and could fit in your pocket.
So Figo expandable portable speakers have come to the rescue! Granted, these speakers won’t be the first ones of its kind around, but these speakers do give quite a punch for their size.
Figo has kindly offered two of their speakers to us for review; the Figo Photon and Figo Solar.
Figo Speakers Review – Features
- Compatible with any device that accepts 3.5mm headphone jacks including
– Mobile phones
– Tablet/notebooks
– Music/media players
– Portable gaming devices - One year warranty
- Expandable Resonator for enhanced bass experience
- Daisy-chain multiple FIGO speakers together for unbelievable volume
- 40mm driver for exceptional quality and volume
- Built-in battery rechargeable by USB, and has up to 8 hours of play time
Figo Speakers Review – Specifications
Photon
- Dimension: 60.0mm x 47.5mm (closed resonator)
- Net weight: 80g
- Speaker: (ø) 40mm
- Input: L/R380mV
- Power output: 3W
- Signal to noise: ? 80dB
- Amplifier frequency range: 280Hz – 16kHz
- Battery charging voltage: 5V±0.5V
- Battery voltage/capacity: 400mAh
- Battery charge time: 2.0 hours
- Playback time: up to 8 hours
Solar
- Dimension: 62.5mm x 53.0mm (closed resonator)
- Net weight: 101g
- Speaker: (ø) 40mm
- Input: L/R380mV
- Power output: 3W
- Signal to noise: ? 80dB
- Amplifier frequency range: 280Hz – 16kHz
- Battery charging voltage: 5V±0.5V
- Battery voltage/capacity: 400mAh
- Battery charge time: 2.5 hours
- Playback time: up to 8 hours
Figo Speakers Review – Observations
The speakers come with a storage bag to carry the speakers in, a USB cable with an AUX 3.5mm jack cable, and a FIGO powerband for you to wear.
Straight out of the packaging I found that these speakers are built well. There are no flimsy parts and the expandable resonator is solidly quite stiff. You’d have to apply considerable force to push it down.
The on-off switch doesn’t wiggle and gives a satisfying “click!” feedback when you switch it on or off.
The volume dial also doesn’t wiggle and is not flimsy that you can change the volume unintentionally every time you touch it.
At the bottom of the speaker you’ll find the cable stored away for transport. Even this was well manufactured! The cable could be stored away securely so it doesn’t accidentally get pulled out of its storage.
To daisy chain the speakers, simply pull out the input cable from one speakers and plug it into the “AUX in” of another FIGO speaker, then plug that speaker to your device. By having the multiple speakers daisy-chained you will get considerably louder volume. I wonder what will happen if you daisy chain like a hundred of these. You might have yourself a little mini-disco, ha!
Volume-wise these speakers do give quite a punch and with a fuller sound compared to the standard speakers on a mobile device like your smart phone or tablet or laptops, which usually would deliver “tinny” sound quality.
These speakers are not designed to give you stereo sound. They were designed with volume and portability in mind.
FIGO Photon vs Solar
The obvious difference between the two is the size. Photon is smaller and lighter and charges 30 minutes faster than Solar. Specifications-wise I don’t find any difference aside from the dimension, weight and charging time.
However, after a closer look and a test of the sound, I found that the Solar has a superior sound compared to the Photon. It projected a deeper bass and also clearer trebles. I’m not too sure why this is when the driver specifications are identical, but maybe it’s more because of the bigger resonator size enabling delivery of deeper bass sounds and a different design of the top part of the speakers?
But honestly if you ask me to listen blindly to each of these speakers at different times, I will have a hard time differentiating between the two.
FIGO Speakers Review – Conclusion
FIGO Speakers
Even though these speakers are not the first ones that I’ve had experience with, I still feel that the FIGO speakers have superior build quality and have slightly better sound quality than all similar speakers that I’ve used before.
I like the build quality of these speakers as they feel solid enough for me to just throw in my bag with all the other items and not worry that my books or laptop adapters might crush them.
Rating by Adrian Kencana:
