Soundfreaq Sound Step Recharge Review

Although you may have never heard of the Soundfreaq brand we reviewed the Soundfreaq Sound Platform last year and really loved our time with it and its newer cousin, the Sound Step Recharge, aims to be just as good. Essentially, the Soundfreaq Sound Step Recharge is a sound system suitable for use with your iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad or any other smartphone or tablet you have which features Bluetooth (pretty much all of them then). Read on to find out whether this new addition to the Soundfreaq product line is worth your cash with the upcoming holidays.

Design

From the first second I set eyes on the Sound Step Recharge a flash of familiarity hit my head; made from glossy black plastics, featuring illuminating orange lighting and recessed touch sensitive controls, the Sound Step Recharge takes a lot of its design inspiration from the Sound Platform we reviewed a short while ago. Essentially, this product is a contemporary and stylish sound sytem, which looks great practically anywhere.

On the front left of the device are four touch-sensitive buttons labelled ‘UQ3′, ‘Dock’, ‘Bluetooth’ and ‘Aux’. Apart from the UQ3 option, the remainders are your connectivity options. Towards the front right of this sound system are another 7 touch sensitive controls labelled ‘Pair’, two which go to previous and next track, two for volume, one for play/pause and an on/off button.

Once you plug the Sound Step Recharge in to a mains socket and turn it on, a neat little thing happens. Basically, an orange lit bar turns on underneath where your iPhone or iPod sits and the touch sensitive control for whatever connectivity option your Sound Step is using also lights up orange for use most probably in the dark, and also for effect. It’s a nice touch, and more than welcome.

Features

The Sound Step Recharge features a 2.1 speaker set up, will charge your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch, will carry on playing for 5 hours when unplugged from the mains with thanks to an integrated battery system which we tested (hence the name Recharge), includes a remote control for dock connected use, will connect to your iPhone iPad or iPod Touch through Bluetooth and it also includes a free downloadable app allowing you to control your music on the move around the house through Bluetooth.

It’s fair to note then that this speaker system is incredibly well packed with features, but we one quibble. First of all is the battery usage when unplugged from the mains; basically, the Sound Step is happy to charge your iDevice from the mains but not when unplugged, so those who’s smartphones are low on battery on the move are out of hope I’m afraid. This feature would have been hugely welcome however we understand why it hasn’t been integrated as it would rapidly deplete the playback hours the Sound Step can offer away from its power source.

Sound Quality

Ahh, the main event. The grand finale. The point to buying a sound dock. Now, whilst I was happy with the design of this product, and more than happy with the features you get out of the box, these we’re overshadowed by the punchy sound quality of the Sound Step Recharge. Essentially, it’s hugely capable and a pleasure to the ears.

I listened to a variety of different music to test the Recharge with; RJD2 – Deadringer, Eric Clapton with Mark Knopfler – Layla, The Cribs – Ignore the Ignorant and Beethoven – Moonlit Sonata (MVT 1.) being typical examples on the playlist. For rock genre music, the SoundFreaq performed admirably, for Dubstep and Dance the Sound Step performed really well and for classical the Sound Step reproduced a very seductive tone overall.

Now, as with practically all 2.1 speaker systems, the Sound Step suffers when you crank the volume above around 75% but below that at 70% (which is loud enough indoors anyway) it sounds truly great, with the subwoofer offering up a bassy response to even the most heavy of tracks and the 2 x 10 watt speakers providing a nice tone. An interesting addition to the Sound Step is the UQ3 option which you can turn on through the dock at any time, and this evens out all tones to around the same level however I found myself turning it off for every song, as it really did not sound natural to myself. A nice touch though, nether the less.

Verdict

I find myself increasingly saying this but all docking systems should have Bluetooth connectivity as a normal dock simply goes backwards surrounding what the smatphone or iPad, iPhone are all about; portable connectivity. Happily, the Sound Step features that very feature, along with 2 excellent speakers and a decent all round subwoofer. If you are on the look out for a dock priced at under £150 then this product, by all means and rights, should be on your desk right now. It really is that great for what it is.

Rating: (9/10)