Soen Audio is a relatively new company comprised of former JBL and Harmon engineers. But they're coming in swinging with their first foray into the Bluetooth speaker arena with the Transit($199.95).
Design
The Transit features an industrial design, and is clad in flat black, rubberized TPU with brushed aluminum accents. The speaker grill dominates the front of the device, with an aluminum divider down the center to separate the two speakers.
On one side, you have your power switch, AUX input, micro-USB charging port, and what Soen calls the "Momentum Port," designed to maximize bass response. Atop the Transit are volume buttons, along with a Bluetooth pairing button, while an inconspicuous kickstand resides on the device's back.
Functionality
Pairing your device with the Transit is pretty straightforward. Just hold the pairing button atop the speaker, select it on your device once it's discoverable, and you're good to go—as long as you have enough battery. I had no issues setting up the speaker.
I'm no audiophile, but for a speaker this small (6.6-inches long, 3.8-inches tall, and 1.3-inches deep), the Transit blew me away. Its maximum output is just a tad shy of being able to fill a moderately sized room, but I found its clarity to be unmatched compared to other Bluetooth speakers I've used. The Transit pumped out crisp highs and satisfying lows from every music genre I threw at it, and even performed well with movies. Distortion was minimal at best at higher volumes, and didn't suffer as much as I thought it would.
Although it's an often overlooked feature in Bluetooth speakers, the Transit also serves as a speakerphone. In my handful of call tests with the Transit, no one even realized that I wasn't speaking into my phone. On my end, voices came in loud and clear.
With such a nice sounding speaker, it's a shame that the Transit didn't live up to Soen's promises of an eight-hour battery life. In my testing, I rarely got over five hours of use before needing another charge. That's not a short amount of time by any means, but other comparable speakers fare much better.
The Good
- Easy to setup and use
- Great sound quality for its size
- Beautiful design with great build quality
- Speakerphone works remarkably well
The Bad
- Short battery life
The Verdict
If you're in the market for a Bluetooth speaker, the Soen Transit packs a huge punch in its small package. It may not be as popular as the offerings from Jawbone or Braven, but it can definitely give those speakers a run for their money.