My first experience with the House of Marley audio product line was with the Chant Bluetooth speaker. The design and sound was fantastic, and House of Marley’s commitment to providing superior quality and Earth-friendly products is definitely something a bit different in the industry. House of Marley has added to the Chant lineup, and our Chant Sport review takes a look at the new water resistant big brother of the Chant.
Specifications
The House of Marley Chant Sport Bluetooth speaker features the following specifications:
- 2 x 4.5W 1.75″ drivers + 2 x passive radiator
- Blended bio-plastic, silicone, and recyclable aluminum housings
- Bluetooth 4.0, A2DP mono audio
- Built in microphone
- IP67 water and dust resistant rating
- Up to 8 hours of wireless play
- 1800 mAh Lithium-ion battery
- Designed to float
What’s in the Box
The Chant Sport speaker includes:
- 1 House of Marley Chant Sport Bluetooth Speaker
- 1 Micro USB to USB cable
- 1 Carabiner Clip
Design
The Chant Sport is constructed with a grey and brown flecked blended bio-plastic shell. The upper portion of the speaker is wrapped in a black speaker grill with a silver House of Marley logo attached to the front of the grill. A thin silver strip frames the top and bottom of the speaker grill and ties in nicely with the House of Marley logo. The two 4.5W drivers are barely visible through the grill on each side of the HoM logo.
The top of the speaker contains the power, volume control, and Bluetooth pairing button under a silicone surface with two lights to indicate Bluetooth connection and power. A tiny hole near the front of the top houses the microphone. The back of the speaker has a small strap near the top to connect the included carabiner clip. Below that, near the bottom of the speaker, is a black silicone tab which covers the micro USB and 3.5mm auxiliary ports.
The size and design of the Chant Sport allows you to place it in a cup holder or a water bottle holder on a bike. While I prefer the look of the Chant speaker, with it’s wood finish and cloth pouch, it’s obvious the material change was necessary to be able to make the Chant Sport weather resistant. Another quick note, while the Chant included a whopping 130+ page instruction booklet, House of Marley has dialed it way back with a small folded two page instruction leaflet, which much better aligns with their Earth-friendly mantra.
Ease of Use
Pairing to a Bluetooth device was simple as expected, and the speaker connected with no problems each time it was powered on. The volume controls responded well, however they only controlled the volume and like other speakers don’t allow you to skip tracks and you have to use your phone to skip to the next or previous song. You can, however, play or pause the current track by pressing the Bluetooth button, which also allows you to answer and hang up a call.
Sound
As with its smaller sibling, the Chant Sport sounds fantastic for a smaller speaker. A wide range of music styles sound great, with treble through bass coming in crisp and clear with very little distortion when the volume was cranked to full blast. I found it was enjoyable and loud enough between 50-75% volume, and at this level the speaker sounded great when listening to everything from rock to rap and yes, even reggae.
Call Quality
The call I tested the speaker on worked just fine. Answering was easy and it wasn’t an issue hearing the other party. The other party had no issues hearing my responses when I was a couple of feet from the speaker.
Battery Life
One of my main complaints about the House of Marley Chant was the 6 hour battery life. Being a bit bigger, House of Marley has upped the battery life in the Chant Sport to around 8 hours on a single charge. This change is definitely a welcome upgrade as the Chant Sport now lasts most of the day on a single charge.
Price/Value
Priced at $119.99, the Chant Sport does offer value for the price. If you can get it at Amazon’s current price of $79.99USD (at the time of this review), you are definitely getting a great little speaker for what you spend.
Wrap-up
If you’re looking for a small, portable, weather resistant Bluetooth speaker, the Chant Sport offers great sound in a small package. It also has the added bonus of being crafted with recycled and Earth-friendly materials. You can’t pass it up for value at the current Amazon sale price either.
[rwp-review id=”0″]*We were sent a demo unit of the House of Marley Chant Sport Bluetooth Speaker for the purposes of this review.
Last Updated on November 27, 2018.
