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This unit is neither small or light. It is matt black and the sound that comes from it is great. When this unit arrived I plugged the 3.5mm jack into my stereo and the stereo plugs into the back of the unit. The setting was that I normally use to my pair of rather good speakers. I switched on the Parrot Boombox and then started a CD, immediately I went to turn the volume down as it was far higher that I found comfortable.

It is 39x22x15cm, there is a front plastic cover that can be removed if you prefer to see the five speakers it attaches magnetically to the face of the unit.

The rear has the two line in sockets and the mains lead input with an on/off switch beside it. On the top of the unit towards the front are three push buttons and two LED's that's all your controls.

See also: Speakers

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There is a small user manual but most will not need it as the three buttons are clearly labelled and just approaching with your mobile phone, Smartphone or PDA linking is all you need to do. For an iPod or MP3 player you will probably need to connect the supplied lead but then of course you do not need to link it so the time taken to connect is probably about the same.

It is also possible to stream music from a PC or notebook that is Bluetooth enabled supporting the advanced audio distribution profile (A2DP). There is a CD provided and one of the programs on it is a configuration tool that allows you to increase/decrease the volume from your PC. Two of the buttons on the Boombox are + and - that control the volume from the Boombox.

Should your player allow fast forward or rewind for your music they are still available when outputting through the Boombox. A lot of information about what device supports what and which devices support A2DP can be found at www.parrot.com and going to the support section.

The manual states that software updates are also available via Bluetooth for the devices that come out after the Boombox. This will need a PC connected to the Internet that is capable of linking to the Boombox via Bluetooth. If your PC is not capable of Bluetooth you can purchase a USB Bluetooth stick that gives it this function but almost all notebooks have Bluetooth functionality today.

As I found out when I first connected the Boombox there is a built in stereo audio amplifier and this can produce 60W. The frequency range is 80Hz-20kHz. The power supply will accept 110/220v with the voltage being switched automatically. There is a 7 baud equaliser and 32-bit digital sound processing.

All in all the sound quality both clarity and volume availability is excellent. Certainly anyone who normally listens to music via earbuds on a phone/MP3 player will be amazed at the quality their tracks have when played through the Boombox.

Returning to my audio system my normal output level would be between 12 and 15 (possible 60) and while it was set at 12 when I connected the Boombox I had to reduce it to 8 to get the same effect. Was it better than my normal speakers that is harder to say as my speakers are in two corners of the room giving a superb stereo sound the Boombox sits within reach of the headphone socket of the system. The sound is good and improves immeasurably that offered by almost any portable audio device. The only drawback I can see is the price, it is not cheap, but then quality never is.

Doing my Internet searches found the Parrot Boombox (Hi-Fi Wireless Sound Box) at a best price of £129.99 including free delivery from the first link below.

www.fonejuice.co.uk/products/productDetail.asp?productcode=PBB&fjc=PGrabber

http://www.parrot.com/uk/products/wirelessspeakers/parrotboombox