We’re no strangers to Bluetooth speakers, and when we’re able to get our hands on a new model, especially one that brings us some unique qualities to the speaker game, we’re all ears for a review. We were given a Fanstereo Nubump Bluetooth speaker for an honest and fair write-up today on the product, and considering the overall size of this speaker, power and decent sound quality it brings, we were quite impressed. At the cost on top of it, we have a nice combination of quality and affordability, as long as you’re one who’s in need of a wireless speaker of this particular stature and selling point. Let’s get into the details.
Features of the Nubump Bluetooth speaker
- Bluetooth V4.1
- High Precision Audio (HPA)
- Built-in microphone
- Driver type: 32mm stereo
- Battery type: Lithium 500mAh
- Playing time: 12 hours
- Standby time: 200 hours
- Charging time: 2.5 hours
- Frequency Response: 180 Hz to 18 KHz
- Available in metal, red, leather
- Comes with USB charger
Using the Nubump Bluetooth speaker
Right out of the box, we wanted to charge this speaker up to make sure we had a full bank. It took about 2 1/2 hours which was congruent to the advertised time, and once we turned it on (hold that little button for about 5 seconds), we heard a male, robotic voice state aloud, “Fanstereo. Power on.” There isn’t necessarily a LCD light” visible on the unit itself, but if you tilt the speaker upward you can see inside of the USB port a blue light that shows we’re powered up. The voice then stated after about a minute, “Pairing mode”, and once finding the device in our Bluetooth settings labeled as “FANSTEREO”, we were paired up quite easily. If you do need to pair the speaker up with a new device, just hold down the main button for about 7-8 seconds and it will enter pairing mode again.
We tested the range and were able to attain a whopping 70-75 feet, a very feasible distance in our opinion considering the size of this thing. Our office is about 1,500 square feet and we were easily able to stand across from the speaker in the largest area with no disruption, so using this let’s say at home, a house party or outdoors in a backyard, you should be fine unless you’re planning on trying to play music for a large crowd of up to 30-50 people. This also isn’t waterproof, so be careful playing this at the beach, pool or the bathroom near the shower. We can see this sitting permanently in our bathroom to play while we get ready (we have about 3-4 speakers around the house alone in different rooms, I guess we’re spoiled). Otherwise, having this as an on-the-go solution to keep in your bag works very well, too.
One complaint some may have is the fact that the Nubump doesn’t have any controls on the actual speaker itself, and while we agree, while thinking about it we typically only use on-board controls for speakers and headphones once out of every maybe ten times we skip tracks, play, pause or answer calls. At the same time, this is still an assumption we had when first using the Nubump. There are in fact controls at hand (with a few limitations), just no stereotypical play\pause or volume up and down buttons like most speakers in the market do. You’ll have to memorize the ways to work this but it only took us a few minutes to get a hang of it. Here’s how they work:
- Play\pause: Tap the button quickly to pause, and again to play.
- Answer calls: Tap the button quickly once to
- End calls: Tap the button quickly once
- Redial: Double tap the button (will redial most recent)
All other controls, such as volume up or down, and track forward or previous, must be done on your music playing device. The little microphone is located at the opposite end of the main button, and it looks like two smaller holes at the corner. It works quite well, although we recommend staying with a few feet of the mic to have a feasible conversation.
Build quality of the Fanstereo Nubump
The overall build of the Fanstereo Nubump is quite sturdy, and there isn’t any plastic we can detect here. This is a big plus here, and one of our favorite features of the speaker overall. Many will assume it’s built cheaply due to the lower-end price-point as well as size. Fortunately, the overall casing frame is of a hard aluminum, and by trying to bend or hit it against a desk we saw no signs of wear and tear. The Nubump gets an A from us in terms of overall build, as the speaker grill is also a stable aluminum, and the back a softer leather-like (a bit harder than leather) exterior. No, you can’t play the speaker on this back side as it’ll muffle the sound, so just make sure the Nubump is facing the right away upwards.
There’s no carrying case with this speaker as we have seen some models in this price-point include, however it can be justified to some if you’ll be taking advantage of the small size and storing it in your pocket, purse, backpack, etc. It’ll be a bit risky just throwing it in one of the pockets, but if you don’t tend to throw around your bag it’ll simply act as another accessory in there along with your wallet, headphones, tissues, etc.
Sound quality of the Nubump Bluetooth speaker
To us, the sound quality was expected when it came to a speaker of this size. The mids and highs were quite clear here and the volume was a lot higher than we anticipated. The loudest volume notch was a bit too much for our ears (it was sitting pretty close to us on our desk, however), so we had turn it down a few notches, which ultimately tells us the power here is great. When it came to testing the capability of the volume from the furthest distance possible, we had it play a few rooms away from us with the doors open and we had no problem hearing the sound, although it wouldn’t be feasible if there were a party to entertain, so we ultimately recommend keeping it within 20-30 feet in the same room if you want a personal listening experience.
Unfortunately, the lower-end wasn’t as present as some may like, but given the size of this speaker most are buying this for the versatility as opposed to the overall mix, frequency response or extra presence of bass. You’ll have to pay a lot more money for a punchy lower-end, or at least the same price for a speaker that’s bigger and can hold a driver large enough to handle low-end power. Most people are going to be prioritizing the Nubump over other speakers in this price-point due to the size, versatility and travel friendliness, not the overall sound mix.
To also highlight some of the sound tech in this thing, Fanstereo has something called ‘High Precision Audio (HPA)’. Its ultimately Fanstereo’s means to processing digital audio. There’s no real way to describe what it is technically since we’ll start to get into some scientific words here, but HPA only helps sound quality in this speaker’s capabilities. Speakers, headphones, or really any audio playing device needs a way to ‘process electronic sound waves’, and HPA is their spin to the method. Overall, even though it clearly lacks a low-end, the Nubump’s sound quality matches it’s personality and ultimately, size. We don’t expect much since drivers are important, especially size, for being able to process the whole spectrum of the sound scape, and you can only fit so much into this one.
Concluding the Fanstereo Nubump review
Again, you will be buying this speaker due to the size and as compared to other wireless speakers, not “extra bass”, “crazy volume” (although it does go extremely loud in our opinion), or “advanced protection”. The selling point here is being able to take this with you literally wherever you go, and to us won’t act well as a standalone speaker to use in the house for a huge room especially in a party setting, but perhaps a supplemental addition to a smaller space that you can use as you please. Ultimately however, this will be a perfect addition to your bag to add as an accessory — you’ll never know when you need to pull out a speaker and play some music. Perhaps studying at a friends, picnic, outside playing sports, etc.
Ultimately, we think the Fanstereo Nubump Bluetooth speaker is worth the buy if your needs seem suitable for the highlights of this one. We haven’t seen many speakers this size worth buying, but the Nubump definitely is if size matters to your particular speaker needs at this time.
Image Gallery of the Fanstereo Nubump Bluetooth speaker
