We don’t review a lot of portable speakers here on MajorHiFi, but sometimes there are specific releases that excite us. One of those was the ACRO BE100 from Astell and Kern, one of the most impressive home speakers I’ve personally listened to. When Beyerdynamic announced the “Space” portable speaker, I was interested to see if it could surpass the standard for what is commonly used. The Beyerdynamic name has a level of promise associated with it, but can it really translate its high-resolution sound to a Bluetooth speaker?
What You Get
- Beyerdynamic Space Personal Speakerphone
- Dual-ended USB Type C Cable
- USB-C to USB-A Adapter
- Drawstring Bag
Build
A good portable speaker shouldn’t be too chunky, so in terms of its construction, the Space has a great design. It carries a cylindrical shape, reminiscent of a flying saucer. It fits naturally on any desktop or mounted on a wall. There is a ring around the middle of the device that operates many of the device’s functions, including picking up phone calls, adjusting volume, and pairing Bluetooth. These buttons are completely touch-sensitive and very responsive.
Design
Inside of the Space is a 1.5-inch full-range speaker driver and features two different listening modes. There’s your standard music mode that automatically activates when any music is playing and voice mode, where voices are isolated for clear calls. Along with its driver system, the Space uses a series of microphones that utilizes 360 smart mic technology. Four MEMS microphones are integrated to focus on incoming voices and control any unwanted noise.
Sound Impressions
What the Space does best, is take Beyerdynamic’s standard sound profile, and successfully transfer it to a portable speaker. You would think being a small speaker might limit its stereo capabilities, but playing the speaker right next to me captured quite a large display. The soundstage has some major scale to it, and thanks to the Space’s spatial stereo playback, the imaging can be dimensional and layered while separating each element clearly. I guess it is called “Space” for a reason. Placing the speaker further away from you might not give you the same results, so I think the Space works best sitting on a desk next to you. The same goes for bass tone as well.
When I have the Space right next to me, the lows showcase some major rumble coming from the sub-bass. It’s an invigorating vibration that feels rich, as well as realistic, and revealing. You can’t really say the same for the mid-bass though. While the Space develops a solid foundation underneath the instruments, their punch might be slightly underwhelming for some. It doesn’t slam down quite as hard as it vibrates, but the timbre is still transparent and clean. As for the rest of the frequency response, well, this wouldn’t be a Beyerdynamic product without some crisp treble. Some listeners might not gravitate toward this response, but those who enjoy the classic Beyerdynamic bump in treble will find the Space to be up their alley.
Summary
It’s funny how the Space is pretty much exactly what I expected it to be. The sound signature replicated Beyerdynamic’s headphones surprisingly well, even featuring its bump in the treble that can be polarizing to some. At its price, there really isn’t anything quite like it that works as well. It is a well-built portable speaker with controls that work and a stable Bluetooth connection.
The Beyerdynamic Space is available directly from their website here.
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