Grace Digital Schooners II Review
When it comes to high quality, robust speakers at an affordable price, there are very few brands that can compete with Grace Digital. Recently, I purchased their Schooners II and I would like to share some of my thoughts on these speakers and whether or not they live up to their name. I will talk about design, sound quality, build quality, and functionality of the speakers in the following Grace Digital Schooners II review.
Design
Upon opening the box, the first thing you notice is how the speakers jump out at you. They are a pristine shade of white which makes them completely unique to the common matte black finish of most speakers. The modern, lampshade design on the speakers not only give way to great sound, but stares from friends and family who quickly ask, What are those?
Build Quality
The speakers themselves are well built compared to those in their price class. They have a great weight to them and are very solid with very few moving parts. The speaker net is perfectly placed and the internal mechanisms seem very well protected. These speakers, according to Grace Digital, comply with International Weatherproofing Standards. I have come to realize that this is nothing short of the absolute truth. I used these at a pool party at which they were exposed to many gallons of water throughout the day as guests dove into the pool. The speakers remained completely functional and never skipped a beat. What is more is that days later, unlike many other speakers which claim to be water resistant, they were still fully working.
Sound Quality
The main reason why most are reading this review is to get an opinion on the sound quality of these speakers. As a longtime audio geek who possesses many speakers from Skull Candy to Bose, I have come to find the quality of these speakers to be superb. The speakers’ max volume is very reasonable and does not cause it to blow out if used over a long period of time. The design of the speakers allows sound to amplify through their chambers and filter out with a wide range of audibility. It is safe to say that the volume generated from these speakers has caused my neighbor to drop by a couple times to tell me to keep it down. Furthermore, bass is nicely presented while small instrumental sounds are lost. If you are listening to slow jams or classics, this may not be for you. If you are, however, listening to rock, pop, and hip-hop, this product does them much justice.
Functionality
These speakers give way you to connect up to 10 others from Grace Digital. They also come with a basic iOS cradle, a common accessory that is left out of many speaker packages, which is handy for iPods and iPhones. The device does not come with a remote, so all music changes must be made directly from the iPod. This can be a hassle as you must be near your iPod at all times to fully have command over the music you want to play. Another gripe with me is that the speakers require several batteries to be operated without wires. To be specific, each speaker requires eight, yes eight, AA batteries to function. This can result in ridiculous amounts spent on batteries. The speakers are inefficient in regard to energy usage and can be a hassle if you decide to break them out one day and find the batteries dead. Most people don’t have sixteen AA batteries laying around and available on short notice.
Overall
The Schooners II are well worth the price and are highly recommended for someone looking for affordable, wireless speakers. They are well built and have superior sound quality. Functionality can be improved, but that is to be expected at this price range.