The Deck by SOL Republic X Motorola Bluetooth speaker review

The Deck by SOL Republic is their first Bluetooth speaker.   Back in the day I had speakers that were 4’ tall, massive black and tan things that weighed 30 pounds each.  They were a different kind of speaker.  The Deck by SOL Republic provides outstanding sound, weighs about 2 pounds and has a couple of neat features that you wouldn’t expect.

Technically the Deck is easy to operate and pair with Bluetooth devices.  You can pair it with a new device in less than a minute, it’s ridiculously simple.  When you turn it on it audibly tells you how much power is in the battery and lets you know that it’s ready to be paired.

On the top of the Deck are a + and – sign.  On the black Deck it’s a bit hard to notice them, but they’re there.  Those symbols allow you to turn whatever sound you have coming out of it up or down.

The sound difference between the Deck and the tablet speaker is the difference between seeing only in black and white vs. seeing in color. At first we thought the sound was louder, but within the first couple minutes we figured out that it was so much clearer it just sounded louder. Not only is this functioning in the kitchen, but it has been in the office and the bedroom – it makes you feel like you’re encapsulated in the music instead of just being a third party to it.

There is also a cool feature on the Deck that allows for up to five different users at a time.  That way if you’re at a party and your guests want to play the music from their devices they can do that.  When you think about it, that’s pretty cool isn’t it?

The portability is also impressive at 300 feet.  The Deck has been in every room of the house, yet its Bluetooth providing device has remained in the kitchen.  It is large enough where you get 360 degree sound yet small enough to fit in a compact bag.  The sound from the Deck fills a room, but is never too loud or distorted if you’re close to it.

The Outdoor Boost button makes the sound pop a bit more so that you can hear it farther away.  This is a cool feature that really does amplify the sound when there is atmosphere noise.   It’s also got a stereo out jack that you can connect to other devices or like minded units for a daisy chain/wall of sound sensation.

The Deck from SOL Republic has a 10-hr battery charge and retails for $200.

Bottom line

The sound is awesome, battery life is long and you’ll hear details in the music that you haven’t heard in years.  Factor in that you can do phone calls over the Deck and it’s something that you’ll use lots.  The price is a bit more than we expected, but is in line with its closest competition.

We received product for review purposes, all thoughts are our own.