Customer Ratings & Reviews

Bought this to use around the dock at the lake. Sound is powerful. Gets wet all the time with water splashing and no problems at all.

What an amazing waterproof speaker and clearly soothing sound quality and it never breaks or pinches to your hearing

This speaker sounds incredible for its size. Its water tight and easy to use. Great for the kayak and fir camping.

Great little speaker! Sound quality is good. Battery charge seems to last forever!!! Am looking at buying another!

It's not the quality of their Bose equivalents, but as a source of music on my deck while grilling, it's fine. Good fidelity with Rock, Country, and some Jazz. Don't expect the fullness of sound if playing Mahler.

Awesome product that I use all the time. Battery lasts a long time and the sound is amazing

Aquaphonics AQ10 is a waterproof (rated for 30 minutes at 3 feet) Bluetooth speaker. It has an interesting form factor, brick like. The unit is well built and seems like it could really taking a beating, it comes from the people that make Otterbox and Lifeproof phone cases, as such I would expect the same durability against the elements. However it just seems clunky and over designed. The manual that was provided with the device has the typical multilingual/pictures but no real detail on how to operate the device. There is a dry, waterproof compartment where you can store a few, very small items (the compartment is about the size of an iPhone 5), most phones won’t fit in it, a few dollars, maybe keys and whatever else small you want to keep from the elements. There are also ports (USB) that can be used to charge other devices (even while using the speaker) and an auxiliary input input jack. There are big plastic/rubber control buttons which seem built for abuse. The one big negative to me is that you apparently have to use the dedicated AC adaptor to charge the device, getting away from the standard mini usb jack, used for charging many devices (and the flexibility of using the same USB pluggable charging block). So if you go on vacation, make sure you bring the non-descriptive, looks like every other AC adapter with you. As for the audio, I wouldn’t call it hi fidelity, the tonal quality is pretty good, especially in the high and mid-range, the lows leave a little to be desired and require some graphic equalizer tweaking if your playback app provides that capability. It also can get fairly loud if you need it to. A positive in the area of sound it does have two separate front facing drivers, so you do have true stereo sound. This is a pleasant surprise as the trend these days is to build a single omnidirectional speaker. Overall this is a pretty good portable speaker with some limitations. Pros: - Gets loud - Battery life - Device charging abilities - Waterproof, rugged - Microphone for speakerphone capabilities Cons: - Sound needs a little tweaking, with a playback app with a graphic equalizer - requires a specific AC adapter (supplied) for charging (as opposed to a generic charger) - clunky

Good sound quality, waterproof and all around easy to use.

Weather proof, floats, 50 hours of charge - amazing. Great value as well.

The sound is so clear.. the best feature is that it is life proof

This LifeProof - Aquaphonics AQ10 portable bluetooth speaker was very nice. The sound was great and loud. It was very easy to use and hook up to my Iphone really easy. I would recommend this bluetooth speaker to everyone. The value for what I paid was excellent too.

Perfect for my golf cart and puts out good sound for size

So I liked the idea of a waterproof speaker to use around the pool and my prior experiences with Lifeproof made this speaker a top contender. First the good: 1. The design aesthetic is very nice. Large, easy to use backlit buttons, built-in "handles" for ease of grabbing and moving around especially when holding other items, and rugged, all-weather look. 2. Lock-out switch for the buttons to keep prying hands (i.e. kids and annoying neighbors) from fiddling with the controls. 3. It's waterproof and it floats. I tried it by tossing in the pool and the speaker kept right on playing. 4. Long battery life means no need to be tethered to a power supply or risk running out of music before the party is over. 5. It has a power-out USB port so you can charge your phone/tablet/whatever if need be. 6. The dry box is a novelty for me as it's not large enough for a phone or wallet. Might come in handy if you're headed to a public place and want to stash a few bucks or a credit card in there. 7. Double sided speakers means you can set this thing down and not have to be concerned about getting the "front" facing a certain direction...less "dead spots" in the music. Now the bad: 1. The sound quality is mediocre, at best. It can crank up fairly loud, but there is absolutely zero bottom end and the highs get muddy at higher volumes. Far below the sound quality from lesser-priced rivals in the portable speaker market. Although there seem to be many more pros than cons, the lack of decent sound quality far outweighs all those potential positives. Bottom line, if you are looking for a waterproof speaker that puts out some noise, this would be perfect. If you care at all about making that noise sound like music, look elsewhere.

Sound quality was very tinny, no bass control and lack of base overall several models at a lower price with better sound and additional base .

Nice, holds a charge a long time and very loud and tough

Love the product, rugged and light weight only cons I got is the battery life is terrible and it does not come with a aux cord

Tough, good sound, perfect for a construction site

I was purchasing this speaker because it's water proof and can be poolside. I brought it home and decided to jump online to look at the reviews. I just wasn't sure about it and after spending $200 I wanted to make sure I didn't get junk. Well after pouring through the reviews I discovered my first inclination was correct, it's not a great speaker. I returned it and bought a different water proof speaker.

Its great sound for the price. Would by again. :) Its great sound for the price. Would by again. :)

I’ve reviewed a handful of bluetooth speakers and headphones—and I tend to rate them all against one another, as it tends to be objective about audio without some sort of reference point. For example—if the only audio devices you’ve ever listened to are Bose products, then listening to something of objectively lower quality will tend to disappoint; likewise, if you live in the budget audio market for both speakers and headphones, then a slight bump to the quality (even if the device you’re listening to is not objectively higher quality), you will think it the best product out there. We are all unfortunately swayed by our opinions of past performance, and I’m no different—so my goal for this review is to compare the product against some other mainstream devices to determine whether or not I think it’s a good purchase—or if you should save your money. The Lifeproof Aquaphonics AQ10 speaker is presented as a bluetooth speaker that is waterproof, dirt proof, snow proof and drop proof—above all other features. I’ve tested most of those things, except for the snow proof part…it may be May in Cleveland, but surprisingly we’ve had no snow this month. Oh, and it gets loud (at least according to the back of the box). This is not the first waterproof speaker I’ve owned or reviewed, and it definitely lives up to its marketing, but not in any impressive way: it is only waterproof. It also floats, which is nice in case it falls off your boat or into the pool, as it would be easy to retrieve without damage. But beyond that, it is useless in water. This may seem to be a weird thing to complain about, but let me explain: The notion of waterproof electronics loses its excitement as more and more devices are released that are waterproof. IP67 water resistance is becoming the norm, which is great, but devices that survive submersion, versus devices that are usable during submersion are significantly different. For example, the iPhone 7 can be submerged, finally, but the fingerprint reader and screen become all but useless under water; this means that the water resistance on the iPhone 7 is a precaution, or a safety mechanism, NOT necessarily a feature. In a more practical sense, it’s not so easy to take pictures under water, unless you launch the camera app before submersion and then use the side buttons to take the picture. Yes, I know this review isn’t about the iPhone, but I’m trying to prove a point. A speaker that can float should be usable during floatation; that would make it a truly impressive product. I don’t want a speaker I can use by the pool; I want one that I can use IN the pool. Otherwise, it’s water resistance and ability to float is nothing more than a safety precaution. So, you may be asking—can you use this during floatation? Short answer is no; unfortunately the speaker is top heavy and flips upside-down while floating, which completely submerges the speaker grills and essentially mutes the sound. Next let’s review the sound quality; after all, this is the reason you want a speaker. Sadly, I was pretty disappointed with this device when it came to sound output. Later in the review I will compare to other devices, but first, here’s a quick overview of it’s performance: * Lows: Don’t even bother. The bass on this was speaker was the most disappointing part. On a mid-size speaker in the $200 price range, I expect some bass, but this was virtually non-existent. Even with the device placed on a corner table, the best possible placement to allow for sound reflection, the bass on this was absent. * Mids: The sound profile for this device seems to be heavily weighted in this area. It did a fine job at low and medium volumes, but the sound starts to get very blatty at higher volumes. * Highs: This was OK—but even at middle volumes, the highs started to split audibly and become distorted. Another integral component to a good portable speaker is its battery life. I didn’t drain this speaker entirely nor charge it up fully, but during the two-week test period I used it without charging it, only utilizing the out-of-box charge that the device came with. One thing to note on this device, though, is that it comes with two USB out ports for charging, meaning some of the juice being used by its onboard battery (which boasts 13 hours of use) is transferrable to a USB device, be it your phone or MP3 player. You might be wondering why I bring up MP3 players…since no one really has dedicated MP3 players anymore. One of the more interesting features on this product (and it’s older brother, the AQ11) is a dry box compartment on the bottom of the speaker that keeps whatever you can fit in there completely dry, even during submersion. I tested this with a piece of tissue that would very obviously show signs of dampness should it come into contact with any water—and surprisingly found the dry box to perform well. So then, what can you fit into the dry box? Maybe a couple of credit cards and your car key (as long as you don’t have a thick fob attached), and a little cash. Or, perhaps a small MP3 player, like an iPod nano? One of the USB out ports for charging, as well as one of the two aux line-in ports, are inside the dry box as well, meaning with short enough cables you could create an all-inclusive audio package that will stay safe in any element. Not necessarily a reason to buy it, but certainly a cool feature. And real quick—let’s talk about buttons. Bluetooth speakers tend to have a minimal button set and tend to use combo buttons, with gestures, for basic control. The AQ10, on the other hand, has quite a few buttons, almost to the point where it seems excessive. The play and previous/next track buttons are all distinct, plus a bluetooth button to enter pairing mode, a source switch button, volume up and down, AND a separate power button. There are a lot of buttons…if you’re into that sort of thing, that’s another tick mark in the positive column. The AQ10 is regular price $200, which puts it up against speakers like the Sonos Play 1, the new Bose Soundlink Revolve and Soundlink Mini II, the Sony HG1 and the JBL Pulse 2. None of those competitors will provide the durability that the AQ10 does, but every single one of them will outperform the AQ10 from a sound quality perspective. What this means is the durability of the device is far more important from a marketing perspective than the sound is. I think a big competitor for this device is the UE Wonderboom, which is half the price and offers better sound quality and most of the durability features that the AQ10 offers (no dry box, though). The AQ10 is a little louder than the Wonderboom, but that additional volume doesn’t do much good for the audio quality. Maybe the most ideal use case for this speaker is someone who spends a lot of time on the water canoeing or kayaking. You can leave a few important items in the dry box without fear of anything getting wet, but still have your tunes out on the water. A larger boat would be too loud and would drown out the audio, with the exception of a fishing boat that sits more quietly. The sound is adequate enough for a small area provided you are looking for some background noise, but won’t provide much entertainment at a pool party. It’s maybe not a bad choice for a small patio gathering in your back yard, and works just fine indoors for a single-room deployment. I like any waterproof speaker for use in the bathroom, since you can be close to your sound without fear of damaging the speaker. In general, I’m not totally sold on this one—at its price point, I’d expect the audio performance to be a little bit better. Right now you can only really find this device at Best Buy, who has a 10% sale on it right now, but even at $179 I’m not convinced this is a good purchase decision. At higher discounts—maybe 25% or higher—this might be a good purchase purely for it’s durability. Otherwise, I think it might be wise to pass on this one.