EcoPebble
A pint-sized speaker with punch
$60, www.ecoxgear.com
Bluetooth technology has changed the marine-stereo game in recent years by allowing you to sync your boat’s sound system to your smartphone with a few swipes. Then there are companies like Fusion that allow you to dock your phone or MP3 player inside a weather-tight housing (pretty slick). The EcoPebble from EcoXGear is neither designed nor intended to replace your boat’s onboard sound system, but rather to keep the tunes close by wherever your party may roam. Measuring only 2.9 by 2.9 inches and weighing just 8 ounces, this floating bluetooth speaker is well-suited for the dinghy or the beach, even if you’re swimming for it. We tested the EcoPebble aboard our Grand Banks 42 project boat, Arawak, recently, and found the sound quality to be strong. The 5-watt speaker was window-rattlingly loud and the music was crisp and clear. And when arguments over song selection broke out, as they tend to do, switching the controlling device was painless (unlike my crewmates’ taste in tunes, but I digress). Battery life was approximately 6.5 hours and charging time via micro USB was about two hours. All in all, this speaker proved to be a durable little device that we were glad to have aboard.
This article originally appeared in the June 2016 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.
