Hisense - PARTY THUNDER PRO with one wireless microphone included, light show, Auracast, 18 hours playtime - Black

This speaker is Awesome! I'll jump into a few of the quirks before highlighting the features I love about this party thunder pro portable speaker. The Power cord is a IEC C7 (non-polarized, "figure-8", or Playstation 2 power cord depending on what term you like to use). If you are like me and have a stockpile of regular PC/IEC C13 cables, they will not work for charging the speaker, so if I ever misplace this power cord, I will need to purchase another cable to charge it with. Playing from a USB device. For testing, I connected two HDDs and one SSDs to the Type A port (the USB-C jack can only charge a connected device), all with various music files on them (.mp3, m4a, .wav...etc.) but the speaker just kept indicating "NOUSB" when the USB device was connected to the Type A port. I asked Hisense support for more info on this issue, and they indicated the answer was in the manual, under USB connections...but I cannot find any information there that can help me resolve the issue. One of my photos is that section of the manual for reference. Only the top is "splash proof" (IPX4 rated) if you get any water on the sides or bottom of the unit, it will likely stop working. Don't believe the marketing photos where the speakers are all around pools...if you get it wet, it will be a problem. My wife has a Soundcore BT speaker that we take tubing with us and that speaker can pretty much live under water for a few hours and not short out. Custom EQ: if you want to set your own custom EQ, you can only do that after you download the ConnectLife app and add your speaker as a device to that app. I used the Rock EQ for most of my testing, and it did a very good job for the range of music I played through the speaker. No firmware updates: I could not find a spot in the ConnectLife app to update the firmware, and Hisense support confirmed there is no way to update the firmware on the speaker. While you can power the speaker off in the ConnectLife app, you can only power it back on by pressing the power button at the device. -This may not be totally bad though as it likely helps save on battery drain while you are not using the speaker. BT range: while grilling, I can only walk about 15 yards away before the Bluetooth signal between my phone and the speaker start to break up. That is it for the quirks for me, now on to the good stuff: 1) This has an FM tuner! I did not see that feature listed in the product information, but I cannot wait to try this speaker the next time we head to a drive-in movie as we will be able to use this bad boy for ample loudness and some bass during the outdoor movies. 2) Time for awesomely bad karaoke nights. I cannot carry a tune, but when you connect the included wireless mic receiver and pair it with the included microphone, anytime you want to belt out some 80's power ballads, the AI features of the speaker do an excellent job of dropping the vocals in the music so your singing gets broadcasted loud and proud through the speaker. 3) Playback time: The box advertises 18 hours of playback on a single charge. I have not been paying full attention to how long I have been using the speaker (grilling, playing some white noise for between 20 mins up to 2 hours while my son falls asleep, and some impromptu karaoke sessions, the speaker still has one bar of power left (out of 3) on a single charge. 4) 3 sides of speakers, not only does the front have a set of speakers, both sides have speaker arrays as well, and helps give the music a full/multi-dimensional playback through this speaker. 5) While the speaker has wheels, so you can carry it around like luggage, it is light enough that one can pick it up by the handle and move it around/carry it down stairs when needed. 6) Even though the speaker defaults to LED mode 1 every time it is powered on, once you set the lights to a different setting or to off from your connected BT device, every time you reconnect that same device, the speaker will switch to the LED mode you last left it at. For me, I have the lights set to off, so every time my phone pairs to the speaker, the lights automatically shut off again. Finally, these are some of the features that sounded cool in the manual, but I was not able to test: 1) If you have 2 (or more) of these Party Thunder Pro speakers, you can pair two of them together in TWS mode, where one speaker is assigned as the Left speaker, and the other speaker is assigned as the Right speaker, giving you stereo playback options. Also, if you have heard of AuraCast, you can set the main speaker as the broadcaster, and set other similar speakers as receiver speakers and it will use the standards based Auracast (low energy Bluetooth) to transmit the signals between devices. The range listed for Auracast is 10 meters between speakers. 2) Possible Subwoofer use. If you have a specific/compatible Hisense TV, you can set that TV to use this speaker as a subwoofer. I only have TCL and Samsung TVs, so I could not test this, but if you wanted to replace a sound bar, this speaker does have a 3.5mm AUX in input on the back to plug in as a replacement to your sound bar. 3) Along with the 1/4" mic input, it also has a guitar input. Not sure if you can use this at the same time as the mic, to be your own one-man band? 4) I also plan on using this for backyard movie nights...now I just need to get a projector and a screen, and I should be able to get everything up and running after dark!

The Hisense Party Thunder Pro is a delightfully fun massive portable party speaker. Although I’ve owned just about every bit of electronic gadget imaginable, this is my first such device. As such, I don’t have a baseline to compare it to, but in terms of “Does it do what it says it does?”, it's a great device. First of all, it’s really big. But speakers are constrained by physics, so to be loud and sound good require this. That said, I think ergonomics are very well done. Between the wheels and the telescoping handle, it maneuvers substantially like a packed suitcase of similar dimensions. Setup is really simple out of the box. You can use the ConnectLife app if you wish, but pretty much everything can be handled directly on the front panel, which is nice. Bluetooth pairing with my Pixel 10 Pro was quick and easy, which is a phrase that can’t always be said when dealing with Bluetooth. The internal battery was partially charged upon arrival, and it takes a while to charge fully. But battery life is sufficient for just about anyone. The sound is pretty impressive. I wouldn't describe myself as an audiophile, but I do like to think I have a good ear for sound after years as a musician. It gets quite loud–I literally never pushed the maximum volume because I am certain my neighbors could hear it well below that threshold. With speakers on all sides, the single unit still has a nice sense of projection, and if you so choose, you can chain more than one of these together. The included wireless mic is a nice touch. It comes with a dongle that attaches with a ¼” plug on the back, and the two are pre-paired together. The mic allows this to be useful as a PA speaker, to talk or speak over music (as a DJ), or to sing along if you want, karaoke-style. I have a big public event coming up and this will definitely be used for exactly this purpose. One interesting feature is the guitar input on the back. I am not a guitarist, but I do play digital piano through my laptop. (I use a Roland piano as a MIDI controller for software instruments.) I first tried going through the aux input, but I noticed latency between the keyboard input and the sound, enough to throw off my playing. Clearly there is some audio processing going on internally for that to happen. I got out an adapter and tried it through the guitar port and it worked perfectly! This is really great because it opens this up as an external amp for my piano when I need a little more oomph or am not using headphones. I tried out a variety of music, from dance, R&B, rock, and even some classical. (You never know when you need to play some selections from Handel’s “Royal Fireworks Music” to a large gathering.) Everything sounded great to me, and the EQ presets can help you dial in the sound you prefer. I also liked the built-in FM tuner with an internal antenna–I had no trouble picking up local stations, and doing so without the external hassle of an antenna is a pleasant bonus. Finally, it’s just fun. The various color patterns you can select through just give it a bit of an extra flair to go along with the sound. Put it all together, and the moniker “Party Thunder Pro” seems like the perfect description for it. Highly recommended.

Setup is a breeze. Unbox, plug it in to get it charging, and you're ready to go. You'll also want to download Hisense's Connect Life app to your phone which allows you to control various Hisense products including the Party Thunder Pro. Rather than using the buttons on top of the unit, the app gives you the ability to change the LED light show or customize the color, change equalizer settings, play DJ sounds and karaoke options such as Vocal Fade. The unit is splashproof (not waterproof), its pretty tall at 27 inches and weighs 37 pounds so not a lightweight device. But thankfully Hisense has added roller wheels and a retractable handle to make it easily portable. Regarding the sound pumped out by the 620 watt Party Thunder Pro, it is incredible. The tower has 6 built-in speakers; 2 full-range speakers, two tweeters, and two woofers. The bass is booming, especially if you press the "Bass" button", and it gets VERY loud. I played it at full volume and could hear no distortion from the speakers. Then there's the light show from the tower, it is amazing. There are arrays of LED lights on all three sides of the speaker (just not on the rear side) as well as on top of the speaker near the controls. There are 5 different options for customizing the light show all of which sync to the music you're playing. It is awesome to watch, with Light Show #4 being my favorite. The documentation says the speaker will deliver 18 hours of battery life (at volume 11, lights and bass off). I haven't tested the battery's longevity but for a speaker this powerful that's very good. With the lights and bass on you should easily get a full evening's worth of use for a party, etc. The Party Thunder Pro comes with a wireless microphone and plug-in dongle for karaoke or if you want to play DJ. Both devices can be charged by USB-C, cable included. Just push the 'on' button on both the microphone and dongle and it pairs to the speaker automatically. When using the Karaoke functions, there is a button on the Party Thunder Pro called Vocal Fade. When you push it you can fade out the lead singer's voice when playing songs. If you use the app it gives you other options where you can fade out the rhythm, guitar, and male or female voices.  The Vocal Fade function for Vocals works remarkably well which makes the Party Thunder Pro a great device for karaoke. Fading out the Rhythm works pretty well so you only hear the lead singer vocals. Fading out the guitar didn't work as well as the other fade out options. I played a Led Zepplin song and I could hear everything Jimmy Page was playing, so fading out the guitar didn't really work so good. But as mentioned, fading out the vocals works great which makes it an excellent tool for karaoke. And the app gives you several options to change your voice sound to things like a baby, a male or female voice, electronica, and even a monster, so pretty fun. There is also an input for a quarter-inch guitar jack. I happen to play guitar so I tried out this feature and after plugging in my Stratocaster I found that while it works, the tone is pretty flat and bland sounding so I'll just stick to my guitar amplifier. However, plugging in my electric/acoustic guitar sounded pretty great! My guitar has a built-in EQ so the sound was much better and I could definitely see using this speaker with its microphone to do a little entertaining :)  Overall, the Hisense Party Thunder Pro is a fantastic party speaker/sound tower. It delivers incredible sound, awesome light shows, easy portability, and a ton of fun with the karaoke and DJ functions. Highly recommended! 

There are party speakers, and then there are party speakers! This thing thumps and chugs and does it well. This thing is a beast. This is not for the light hearted or weak! Be prepared to be blown away. The Hisense Party Thunder Pro is just that, a professional grade portable BT speaker. It is big and heavy! Yes, it has a handle and wheels and you will need them! Once in position and powers up, the sound blows you away. It is super powerful and loud. But loud in a good way in which it is clear and sounds amazing. All the genres of music I threw at it sounded great. Crisp highs and low lows. Voices cut through the mix and sounded great. Plug the wireless mic in and off you go to party heaven! The mic performed well and sounded great. Zero cutouts and connectivity was never an issue. Fun to sing along with your favorite musicians and songs! Some may not know, but this thing is also a powerful guitar speaker! I plugged my acoustic guitar in and boom! It sounded great. The volume is booming and the guitar sounded great!!!! I was shocked. The LEDs looks amazing for almost all settings and you can even turn them off. Battery life was excellent and it is rated for over 15 hours. Yes, it will last through the night and beyond!!! My only little complaints are few. I am shocked there is no slot or holder for the mic and mic receiver. They could have easily built in a drawer or slot to hold those items. So you will have to get a bag or mic holder pouch to store the items when not in use. That was a bummer for me. A small detail, but a separate bass, mid, and treble adjustment on the back panel would make this perfect. It does have an electronic EQ, but no individual adjustments. Bottom line is that this thing rocks!!! It is beyond powerful enough for any party or gathering. Just get it. This one is a no-brainer. It will blow just about every other Bluetooth speaker on the market away and leave them in the dust. Highly recommended!!!! Boom! Buy it! You will not regret it!!!!

I recently got the Hisense – Party Speaker – Black [Party Thunder Pro], and I am blown away at the value of this speaker and included mic accessories. I love the lights that are on the top, front, and the sides of the speaker. The top panel will show the volume level with the lights as you are adjusting it. That Is a nice touch. The bass and sound quality are great. I have no complaints. The microphone works well and turns the speaker into an instant karaoke machine. You can play your songs and sing along easily. It blends the two sounds together very well or you can press the “vocal fader” button on top display to remove the song vocals and then it will be all you (like true karaoke). There is a bass boost button so you can add or back off the bass if desired. The whole unit is rechargeable, that includes the speaker, mic, and dongle. This speaker can be paired with other Hisense speakers that have Auracast built in. There is also a guitar input included. I love the LED top display, and as I was going through the source button options, it surprised me with a tuner option. You can play radio stations from this speaker too! I love that! I also own a JBL 520 PartyBox and I was very curious to see how it compared to the Hisense. The Hisense Party Speaker is over half the price of the JBL 520. The JBL 520 did have a richer, deeper bass and was a bit louder on full blast than my Hisense, but for over double the price, it better be!! Additionally, the JBL 520 does not come with a mic and does not have a tuner option. I would have to pay over $100 to add a mic to my JBL, it also ONLY has lights on the front face. The Hisense kicks its butt with the light show on 4 sides, included mic, radio option, and at half the cost. My Hisense and JBL both have Auracast buttons, but they would not sync up with each other. I did discover a cool work around. I was able to play them simultaneously from my android through the media output option by checking both speakers. This speaker is a great value all around and if I had tried it before my JBL 520, I would have only needed the Hisense Party Speaker. The Hisense has great portability with a telescopic handle and wheels, and is not too big. The battery life indicator can be seen on the top panel and makes it easy to know when recharging is needed. The Hisense Party Speaker weighs about 40.5 pounds. I checked it on my scale. It is listed as 16.8 pounds on the website, which is not accurate. If you want extreme value with entertaining lights, high quality sound, and accessories, then this is the speaker for you.