The power of sound propelling out of a bazooka is always a good start, ok it is not a rocket-launching weapon but it is called the Zooka. We are here to give you our full Zooka Wireless Speaker review, we would also like you to know that this audio gadget is great with many Bluetooth devices but we tested it with Apple products.
The Zooka Wireless Speaker by Carbon Audio was first spotted on the well known funding website called Kickstarter back in February this year, it is great news that the Zooka speaker is now available in the UK and are pleasantly delighted with this product, please read on to see why.
Introduction
The Kickstarter project goal was only $25,000 but a staggering total of $70,540 with 678 backers was achieved, it is a little obvious the public wanted the Zooka Wireless Speaker. We love the fact that this audio device has its recommendation over on Janet Jackson’s blog the Zooka hit the celebrity limelight. The Zooka by Carbon Audio was collaborated with Wieden + Kennedy’s experimental school, W+K 12, to help launch the Zooka and redefine the spectrum of loud.
First Impressions
The box is long and thin and with deep quality in mind, it is not your usual flimsy plastic or paper-thin box but yet made with thick quality cardboard. The presentation is second to none and just by sliding out the inner box you get the satisfactory eye candy one would expect. We had a little feel of the Zooka Speaker Bar and the silicone material has that funny feel about it, but sexy at the same time. So first impressions is a big fat we love it so far, how will it fair when we test this little Zooka out, will it be boring or music to our ears?
Design
We have the purple Zooka Speaker but would have preferred the red one to be honest as Phones Review loves that colour, but then again the colour is not going to get in the way of how it performs and sounds. The design is simple to stare at but yet very practical at the same time, it is small enough to carry around and to sit on your Apple Mac Air, but also big enough to house your iPad. When you add the words ultra-portable, stylish and even lightweight it is heading in the right direction of being a very cool product.
Control the Zooka
Simplicity is where it is at, a volume up and down button to set how loud you want it to go, the controls include volume, Bluetooth and power on / off, very simple really. We have a little snag about these controls, which we will explain below so keep reading. We tested the Zooka with our iPhone 5, Apple Mac Air and our first generation iPad, yes we do have the new iPad that was recently released but we left this elsewhere and only had to hand the old iPad, oops sorry but it still works well.
Pairing the Zooka with the iPad and iPhone 5 was very easy indeed, all you need to do is power up the Zooka and then hold the Bluetooth button until you hear an audio alert, then go into you iDevices and turn Bluetooth on, wait a little until the iDevices finds the Zooka and touch that pair button.
Main Features & Technical Bit
Easy to access control buttons (Sort off, we will explain below), Easy Pairing, HD Audio Sound with A2DP Streaming, 8 Plus Hour Battery Life, 3.5mm input jack for those that do not have Bluetooth devices, Micro USB Charging Port, Silicone design and iPad Peg Stand. The Zooka has two 30mm speaker drivers that are at each end to deliver true omni-directional soundstage, offers 80db at 1m sound pressure level, 30 ft. Bluetooth range and a Frequency Response of 150 to 20,000 Hz.
Positives
First of all the design is stunning, the sound is of pure quality. Yesterday we reviewed the Kitsound BoomBar and we really liked it, but to be honest the Zooka has by far the best sound quality especially when watching a movie on the iPad. The Zooka is very easy to use and we have it sitting on the office desk because it plays music and movies at high volume without any distortion.
Negatives
When the metal rod is screwed in acting as a stand for the iPad this is where it has its little problem, we would say set the volume has high as it goes and control the up and down volume via the iPad because the controls on the Zooka are at the bottom. Sorry readers we cannot seem to find any other cons with this speaker, some sites out there have said they heard hissing when connected to Bluetooth and that the sound lacked depth, personally they must have had a bad one or connection was poor because we got nothing but quality. I am trying so hard to find a fault but there is none other than the controls being at the bottom when connected with the housed iPad.
Phones Review Overall Summary
The Zooka wireless speaker is what we call cheap at £79.99, but even better news is that by visiting Amazon UK you can buy one for only £73.58. To learn more about Carbon Audio and the Zooka, please visit www.c14audio.com or take a look at the YouTube video to see the Zooka in action below this review.
We have no idea why it is called the Zooka, and the reason we ask this is because when we did a Google search the first thing we noticed was a site called “Zooka”, this is a website that quotes “Kids love Zookas because they throw real baseballs at real speeds. Parents love Zookas because they’re safe, easy to use, and built to last.” Yes it is a totally different product but been going since 2001, maybe a name change would have been better for the Zooka speaker.
Stunning sound with both treble and bass perfection, it is minimalist and offers great limited frequency response. You know what just go and buy one and see what you think, mark our words when we say the Zooka Wireless Bluetooth Speaker is quality for only £73.58.
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