Chillin' with my Chill Box

Recently portable speakers have transitioned from physically docking your iPod to Bluetooth wireless connectivity. This is in large part due to the fact that we use our smartphones to listen to music and that Apple switched from the 30-pin to Lightning connector. Although I think the Lightning dock is a great step forward, manufacturers largely didn’t, and the result is a wide variety of Bluetooth-enabled speakers.

So when the new Chill Box was released, I was excited to get my hands on it. First impressions: great design, easy to connect via Bluetooth or included auxiliary cable, and did I mention how good it sounds?

I used my iPhone 5 over Bluetooth and streamed my favorite Spotify playlist. I was connected and jamming within seconds; I turned on the device, held the power button until the light indicator flashed blue/red (indicating pairing mode), and it popped right up in my Bluetooth settings. Bingo-bango — connected. I hit Play and began to chill out.

But what makes it unique? It’s style for sure — the sleek aluminum back and cloth grill give it a classy look for your office, apartment, or living room. I’ve had mine connected to my iMac in the office and it looks very Apple-esque, matching the aluminum design look. It has a great speaker phone feature, with a built-in mic and answer/hang up button. I’ve used the Jawbone and I had to use the mic on the phone, which seemed silly. Its sound quality-to-price ratio can’t be beat.

The competition out there is fierce, so ease of use, features and of course, sound quality make all the difference. If you’re someone who thinks sound is most important, note that the Chill Box stands with the rest. In our South Burlington location, I compared the Chill Box to the Beats Pill; besides being endorsed by a doctor, I honestly thought the Chill Box sounded better, and at half the price! A lot of small speakers suffer from poor sound at higher volume, which is not the case with the Chill Box,. You can pump the jams distortion-free.

Final thoughts and helpful hints: When using the speaker with a smartphone or tablet over Bluetooth, you’ll see the battery level appear near the Bluetooth symbol. That’s very helpful, since most units either turn off or beep when the battery runs out. A beep can be heard when maximum volume is reached, so remember that you can control volume from your device if connected over Bluetooth (really handy if you’re not near the speaker). I think my family and friends know what they’re getting for the holidays!

Check out our sweet Chill Box Kibbles-exclusive special below!