GGMM E3 Wi-Fi Speaker

Rating: 4/5

Review:
Good, but not portable and slightly disappointing bass

This GGMM E3 wi-fi speaker was sent to me for review.  I think it is good, but I have a couple of reservations about it.

The speaker comes very nicely boxed and is plainly a well made unit with good build quality.  With it you get a power supply and a good quality jack lead for wired connection, and the whole thing has a pleasing air of quality about it.  The controls are well placed and set out on the top, with less commonly used controls on the back – although the positioning of the alarm control here isn't ideal.

Note that this unit does not have an internal battery – it's mains power only.  This may not be a problem for you, but part of the point of wi-fi speakers is that you can move them to anywhere where your wi-fi gives a signal, so this does seem a weakness to me.

Downloading the app and setting up is pretty simple if you're reasonably technologically savvy, although it might be intimidating for a novice, I think. Once set up, the app gives excellent, simple control and allows you to stream music from various sites and to play your own music stored on your device.  You can also control multiple speakers if you have them.  Bluetooth was also easy to pair (standard pairing, though, with no NFC) and AUX input also works fine.  I can't hear any difference in sound quality between the three modes, which is a good sign.

The sound is good, but not fantastic.  It is a nice, balanced sound in tops and middles, but I do find the bass a little weak.  I have listened to a good deal of music through the E3, including my Test Playlist which I use to assess all audio products.  It's perfectly adequate, but at this price I think I'd expect low symphonic strings to sound fuller and better defined, rock to have a little more of a kick in the bass and that fabulous deep bass in the second half of London Grammar's Hey Now to come through a little better.

For me, the August WS300 at a similar price is a better bet: it has no alarm/clock function but it has an internal battery so it's truly portable, it has NFC and – importantly – the sound is very significantly better to my ears.  All that said, though, this is a good quality unit and the clock/alarm function will be very useful for many people, so if you're looking for a static wi-fi speaker this is well worth a look. 

Amazon page HERE