Review: The Eton Rukus Solar Is The Perfect Outdoor New music Companion

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The venerable Will Smith said it best, “ Summer, summer, summertime. Time to unwind and unwind. ” The sunshine is out and the tunes should be blaring. That ’ s where the Eton Rukus Solar can be found in. This speaker system streams new music from your phone by means of Bluetooth or 3.5 mm cable television while keeping its battery charged with an enormous solar panel collection. What ’ s more, a USB port allows the Rukus Solar to charge your phone, too.

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The Rukus Solar is a superb outdoor sound system. Well, that is, apart from 2 interested design decisions.

Build quality

Like many Eton products, the Rukus Solar feels like it ’ s built to last. It ’ s built out of hard plastic and the front-side buttons are incredibly durable. The speakers are shielded by strong grills, and there are bits of rubber put strategically around the system so the plastic shouldn ’ t get scuffed up.

The front display is of the e-ink range. As such the screen can be seen in direct sunlight, and when in use, doesn ’ t consume as much energy as a traditional LCD screen.

The solar variety takes up most the leading panel. It ’ s significant. Eton claims that the solar panel can recharge the device in 6 hours. Nonetheless, unless there isn ’ t a cloud in the sky, I located that the panel is best utilized to keep the Rukus Solar charged during usage. It was much easier and quicker to give the speaker a cost with the consisted of AC plug, then take the unit outside and let the sunshine maintain the cost. As previously mentioned, a USB port permits the Rukus Solar to charge a phone, too.

Audio quality

Sound is streamed to the Rukus Solar with Bluetooth. The audio quality is sufficient for the $ 150 rate point, however not extremely outstanding overall. The audio is full and sports a bit of bass. The treble is a little sharp while the mid-range is about right. It falls squarely in the “ really good adequate ” classification.

Don ’ t expect the Rukus Solar to pound. It often tends to eliminate at high volume although I must acknowledge that the speaker system can easily hold its own against sound docks in the same price selection. It ’ s not a party speaker but is more than adequate for a couple of tunes while getting a kick out of some sun.

Two inquisitive defects

The Rukus Solar features a built-in cellular phone owner. However it ’ s on the bottom of the gadget. And it ’ s merely a piece of elastic. I don ’ t trust it.

Of course thanks to Bluetooth ’ s range, owners do not have to use this holder. The connected phone could be securely stashed away in a bag or pocket and the Rukus Solar would still playback the popular music. But it would be good if the speaker system had a more secure, beach-friendly owner. A straightforward tray or compartment would certainly be sufficient, deliver more protection and permit the Rukus Solar to live up to its full potential as an outdoor device ready for some ruckus.

The Rukus Solar lacks an FM radio, which as I ’ ve concluded after examining over a dozen audio docks, is an unfortunate indication of the times. FM/AM radio still appeals to me. When you merely need some random new music, it ’ s just so much simpler to simply activate a radio than discovering your phone, loading the app then locating an album/streaming station.

There was a time when almost every home object featured a radio tuner. You might nearly walk into the kitchen and tune to AM 760 from the toaster. Now, with the Rukus Solar and its hundreds of equivalents, audio is only delivered by a mobile phone or Bluetooth-equipped media player.

Conclusion

In my mind the Rukus Solar is a near-perfect outdoor gadget. It ’ s constructed to last and makes it easy to bring popular music outside. Even with the two interested oversights it ’ s a great device and well worth the $ 150 MSRP (Amazon sells it for $ 130). The device can be found in black, green and white.

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