This is a new one for me. A portable speaker. I didn’t actually own one until now. And now I wonder why not. This thing is great. i can set it up on the fly to run whatever I want direct from my phone. Latency is a non issue, and the sound quality is better than pretty much every television I have ever listened to. I really didn’t expect to get such a rich sound out of a portable speaker, and I think it is all down to the sub woofer here. You get an impressive amount of bass out of it. The Officially licensed NCAA Nebraska Cornhuskers Portable Speaker is an impressive piece of kit, but is it the right product for you? That’s what we’re here to find out.
Don’t worry all you non Nebraska fans out there, NIMA, the company behind the speaker tech here, have a whole suite of speakers branded to however you like. There’s NCAA and NFL currently, with plans to expand the range into NBA and MLB. I can see who this product is for right off the bat, or should I say right at the whistle?, regardless, we need to check out a few things before I can sign off on recommending it.
NCAA Nebraska Cornhuskers Portable Speaker Design and Build Quality
First things first, the aesthetics. It’s not often in a product review that this section has as much importance as it does here, but it is a welcome change of pace. the product comes in three sizes, I got a look at the medium build. They are all in the shape of a football helmet, and they are all branded appropriately. In terms of pure looks, I am not a fan. I don’t follow football, but the look of the build is not being marketed at me, is it? Of course it isn’t For football fans this is the perfect shape to to symbolize your love of the game.
Onto the build quality, and I have to say, I am impressed. I like my electronics to have a bit of heft to them, and the medium here, weighing in at a little under 7 pounds, feels fantastic. There is little chance of this thing sliding anywhere, and I find that reassuring. The outer casing is a hard plastic, more than up to the occasional bump and drop, and if you use it for what I suggest that is a possibility.
Overall, this is a well designed and well put together piece of kit. In terms of holding and looking at the very least. But it could be the sturdiest and prettiest thing in all the land for all the good it would do it where it to lack in the features department. So onward to testing.
NCAA Nebraska Cornhuskers Portable Speaker Testing
At it’s core, this is a speaker. So what better way to test a speaker than to turn the bass up max on a brostep song and see if it blows out. I did just that, and the clarity was fantastic. It took me pushing this little sub woofer to the absolute max before I got too much distortion for the song to be unrecognizable. So far so good. I next put on some multi channel tracks, to see how it dealt with multiple audio streams hitting it at once, and found it easy to distinguish all the different instruments and sections. Granted, I had to mess around with the settings a little to filter out distortion, but I was still impressed.
The settings are robust here. I love the interconnectedness of things that is happening these days, and the fact that the NCAA Nebraska Cornhuskers Portable Speaker comes with an app is amazing. Just sync up your phone to the speaker and you can play whatever song you like and, more importantly, tweak the audio settings on the fly. The NIMA app requires very little set up, just searching for broadcast Bluetooth devices and pressing the sync button is enough to give you access. Anyone with the app can access as well, assuming they are within 65 feet, and you let them sync to the speaker. I am a big fan of having meticulous control over my electronics, and being allowed to do pretty much whatever I want to this speaker is a welcome addition to an already fine package. Lastly I checked the loudness on offer. Doing so inside would defeat the purpose of it, so I took a stroll to the park, turned it up full blast and felt a wave of embarrassment as the sounds of unnecessarily loud mid nineties punk music filled pretty much everyone’s ears. I was impressed.
All in all, the audio quality matches the build quality. You can get excellent sound quality with the most raucous of tracks, and perfect clarity for the subtle ones. The NIMA app is well put together, and very intuitive. Now we have to talk about the price, and who this product is for.
NCAA Nebraska Cornhuskers Portable Speaker Conclusion
The NCAA Nebraska Cornhuskers Portable Speaker comes in three sizes, and each is slightly louder than the last. The medium’s full blast volume is impressive, and I shudder to think how my park test would have went with the full sized beast. They are all slightly more expensive than the last as well. The smallest size is $119.95, the medium is $219.95 and the large is $319.95. Any of the sizes works well, but I think the medium is the best value for money. You get the power, the form factor and the price all rolled into one, but it really depends on your needs.
I can see this product being perfect for tailgating. Setting up shop with an open air barbecue, clear blue skies, the smell of meat and the sounds of the game blasting forth from your branded speaker. Times are moving forward, and there is little that we can add to the experience of tailgating to improve it, but I feel that this is the way forward. Obviously it is not limited to that, and for fans of the Cornhuskers you would be proud to whip out your speaker at any party or get together, having everyone join in, sending tracks to enjoy, or mock if that’s your thing.
Overall an excellent little product. Remember that the firm produces versions for most major teams in the NCAA and the NFL, so if the Cornhuskers aren’t you jam, they have you covered. Be sure to check back with them over the next few months as they will be adding products in the NBA and MLB range.