Riva Audio Turbo X Bluetooth Speaker Review And Price

The Turbo X is filled with all sorts of features, only one of which we’d consider frivolous: A wave of the hand over the top of the speaker will “wake up” on-board controls, which basically means they light up – the touch-capacitive keys also illuminate as soon as you touch one. Otherwise, the Turbo X is loaded with useful stuff.

For instance, the namesake Turbo button increases loudness and bass so the speaker can play as loud as a claimed 100 decibels without blowing itself up (to say nothing of your eardrums). We can vouch that the button certainly does increase loudness, but we think most folks won’t need it while indoors unless there’s a big party going on. Outdoors, where the extra beef helps the speaker sound much bigger than it is, the Turbo button makes a little more sense. We just wish engaging it didn’t make the ridiculous “vroooom” sound effect you can hear in the video above.

Riva Audio Turbo X Bluetooth Speaker

Based purely on sound quality, my top three portable Bluetooth speaker picks would be the Bowers & Wilkins T7, Bang & Olufsen A2, and the Riva Turbo X. Each of these three has its own admirable sonic characteristics, making a “which is best” determination very difficult. But in the end, the one I want to take home and live with on the long term is the Turbo X. This speaker just does it for me.

The A2 is a much snazzier looking speaker than the Turbo X (hey, it’s Bang & Olufsen), is far more portable thanks to its soft leather strap and light weight, and puts out an impressive amount of bass, but it lacks the warmth and depth I crave. The T7, on the other hand, has a more uniform, balanced sound, a respectable amount of bass, and a very cool aesthetic, but it lacks the punch and power the Turbo X has, and its battery falls a good eight hours short of the Turbo X’s.

The Turbo X may not be the most fetching speaker on the block, but it certainly isn’t rough on the eyes, either. It’s got killer battery life and, with the addition of Riva’s carrying case, is just as portable as the A2 and T7. What really cinches the deal for the Turbo X is the right blend of sonic power, punch, presence, balance, and detail. It’s a speaker made by musicians, and it sounds like it.

The funny thing about us musicians is that we want to hear honesty from a speaker — music the way it was made to sound. We want faithful reproduction, not sculpted art. The sculpting has already been done by the mixing and mastering professionals who recorded and produced the music, it doesn’t need to be re­-sculpted. In fact, the best thing a speaker can do is just get out of the way, and the Turbo X does that better than any other Bluetooth speaker I’ve tested thus far – and I’ve tested a lot.

Price Range [$299.00]