SuperTooth Disco Twin Review

Introduction:

Introduced at last year’s CES, the SuperTooth Disco 2 differed greatly from its predecessor, as it employed a very stylish modern design that made it stood out over most other typical speaker designs. At the time, it was mentioned that the Disco 2 would offer some sort of stereo support, but unfortunately, that feature didn’t quite make it to the final product. Well, it’s finally here in another variant called the SuperTooth Disco Twin, which consists of two 16-watt Bluetooth speakers for true stereo left/right support. Some might think of it to be a novelty, but we’ll see whether or not it’s something that’s noteworthy enough to distance itself from SuperTooth’s last offering.



Design:

Frankly, there’s nothing different with the design of the SuperTooth Disco 2 from the previous effort, sad to say. We would’ve liked to see just a subtle change, but that’s not the case here. Nevertheless, we’ll still give it to the folks over at SuperTooth for having one of the modern looking designs out there to bless a speaker – especially when its outline is similar to that of a vase. For the most part, the speakers are comprised out of sturdy plastic, but upon holding them, we’re a little bit shocked to find that they’re somewhat weighty. It’s not a bad thing, since it merely adds to the solid build quality. Certainly, the aesthetics of the speaker help to draw out some of its finer characteristics, such as its harmonious lines, but as we’ve noted clearly already, there’s absolutely nothing new with it.

Along the top surface of the Disco 2, we’re once again greeted to its six physical buttons – these include the power, volume up, volume down, track forward, track reverse, and pause/play. Aside from the power button, which is recessed, all of the other buttons are lined up and flush to the surface. Despite the indistinct feel, they have an adequate amount of spring when pushed – plus, backlighting on them is aplenty.

On the façade, hidden behind the fabric grill, there are two speakers putting out a total of 16 watts – while in the rear, the bass reflux system helps to accompany its output with its subtle amount of bass. Considering we have two speakers with this setup, the SuperTooth Disco Twin essentially pumps out 32 watts of total RMS audio power. Finally, along the bottom edge of the rear, its power jack, LED light, and audio-in port are all situated in plain sight.

Performance:

Pairing up the SuperTooth Disco Twin is an effortless process. Well, we didn’t have any issue pairing it up to a Samsung Galaxy S4 and an iPhone 5, as it’s able to maintain its Bluetooth connectivity as far away as 30 feet. Upon turning on the master left speaker, it automatically connects to the paired smartphone – while the right speaker is connected as soon as it recognizes that the master one is powered on. Essentially, audible voices announce “left” and “right” as soon as they’re both in sequence.

It’s not much of a problem to some people, but we do realize that there’s a latency issue with the SuperTooth Disco Twin. If you’re not aware, it’s quite common amongst Bluetooth devices – wherein there’s a delay in its response. For example, if we’re typing something on the Samsung Galaxy S4 or iPhone 5 using their on-screen keyboard, the clicking sounds coming out of the SuperTooth Disco Twin are delayed slightly.

Knowing that this is essentially the SuperTooth Disco 2 from last year, its audio quality remains largely the same – albeit, there’s now a higher level of volume output, seeing that there are 2 speakers. Regardless of that, it still doesn’t quite have the same commanding presence of the original SuperTooth Disco speaker. However, it’s nice to find that there’s stereo support, which is made more prominent the further away we have the two speakers from one another. As a whole, the SuperTooth Disco Twin delivers some pungent audio that sounds most pleasant in the middle volume setting – whereas at the loudest, it can sound a tiny bit strained.

Battery:

Instead of worrying about having to charge a single device, we’re now faced with having to deal with two. Rather than having a single wall charger that can charge to two simultaneously, each one relies on its own separate wall charger – so yeah, it would’ve been useful to combine the two somehow. Still, with our normal usage, which consists of playing music at the middle-high setting, we’re able to get roughly 7 hours of playback before they’re tapped out.

Conclusion:

So let’s do the math here folks! Last year, the SuperTooth Disco 2 sported a price point of $100 when it launched. This time, with the SuperTooth Disco Twin, which consists of two speakers, you’re basically paying for an extra speaker. Altogether, the $200 price tag of the entire set seems a bit pricey considering there isn’t anything particularly new with the SuperTooth Disco Twin, except for its stereo support of course. Indeed, it’s a nice addition that we rarely find in portable Bluetooth speaker sets, but we were hoping to get more than that to differentiate it enough from SuperTooth’s previous offering.

SuperTooth Disco Twin Video Review: