Koala. That's what we see here. Round eyes, big black nose; a koala. What we feel is a product with build quality belying its £150 tag. The Addon T3 isn't the handbag-friendly bar, but that helps it feel like a more serious piece of kit.
It’s still portable though. Robust, rather than heavy, the handle is a canny touch and battery life is up to 30 hours at half volume or 12 at full blast. But does the sound justify the extra bulk?
Sound
Everything about this speaker so far suggests we'll be impressed, yet we've heard too many wireless speakers in this price bracket to request the Earth. So when we hear Bauhaus's Bela Lugosi's Dead, we are pleasantly surprised.
In the drum kit – the unmistakeable kick, hi-hat and snare-rim rhythm with which the piece starts – you hear the size of the room immediately, giving it a more complex and natural feel than you may have imagined possible in this field, and that texture remains unconfused as it is treated with delay.
As the song grows, first with bass and then with guitar, you notice not only the depth of the frequency range, but its agility and respect for its surroundings.
The low end made feasible by that larger chassis doesn’t commandeer the balance, instead it does just what it should, offering stability when the vocals begin.
And that is where the upgrade on something such as the Ultimate Ears Roll – a humdinger at £100 – is justified. Sure, the Addon T3 is equally ideal for the garden or poolside, but you’ll be sufficiently engaged by its level of expression to listen for longer periods.
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This obviously isn't going to replace your hi-fi system, but it is comfortable and more communicative than your average budget wireless speaker.
Rachmaninov's Concerto No2 in C Minor will lack its usual gravitas on any sub-£250 wireless speaker, but the T3 stays within its comfort zone.
And that is not meant negatively; it doesn't overstretch itself and instead focuses on what it does well – making instruments sound as wholesome as possible without sacrificing organisation or range.
It is more than listenable and we get through all three movements – longer than half an hour – without fidgeting.
If it can play that, it can play anything. And it does; from Beastie Boys' Intergalactic to Prince Fatty and Horseman's take on Insane In The Brain, that level of expression makes fun, well, fun. It's bouncy, full of attack and not slowed at all by the extra bass weight.
There's an auxiliary input for your telly/iPod/record player, and a USB port to charge your phone.
Verdict
We're unable to fault Audio Pro on this one.
You'll need double the cash if you want something to fit in your pencil case and sound this good, though we're pretty sure you'll choose to take the T3 with you when you hear what £150 can buy. Splendid.
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