Vox MICROSBA Micro Superbeetle Audio - Detachable Speaker Head w Built-in Battery Three Listening Modes and Bluetooth

I’ve been around VOX and other classic brands of combo stacks since my teens “back in the day”. I absolutely love the details on both the amp and speaker cabinet in this micro set. It looks just like the full-sized version and anyone who has been working around or been in bands that used these will love this as a gift. The head unit, like the full-sized version, is unattached to the bottom cab. If wanting to use this as a portable speaker you essentially use just the upper head unit on its own without the bottom cabinet. If wanting to use the bottom cabinet you will need to plug the head unit into the wall for power, but due to the overall total size of both items together I wouldn’t call it portable in that config. One other callout is the 1/4" ended cable that connects the head and cabinet together is way too long! I would definitely recommend (as another reviewer mentioned) getting much shorter 90-degree cable. The included straight cable will also prevent you from placing this next to a wall and needs about 5” between it and the wall. The sounds quality, is really just OK. You can tweak the sound dynamics via several tone pots on the top of the head unit. I think this has nice warm mid and high tones, but the lower is lacking. If you turn up the sub bass knob it just muddies the overall sound and is not what I would describe as pleasant. I would definitely not recommend this for bass heavy music like electro-whatever your flavor is, rap, newer rock, etc. I think it will shine with more natural flavors of music that don’t overly enhance the lower end. i.e. classic rock, "oldies" or anything acoustic. I think those genres of music will shine with the warmth of these speakers. Overall, I think this would make a great gift for any gear head and is very functional for the right genres of music. It is a very cool speaker set that looks awesome. Read more

The media could not be loaded. This bluetooth speaker has an incredibly nostalgic design, is crafted well, and can produce quality sound, however, you will need to have a good ear in order to dial in the equalizer to produce good sounding tones. This unit is two separate speakers; the top speaker is a standalone unit while the bottom speaker acts as the subwoofer. While the top speaker can be used by itself, it is definitely not recommended to do so as the tone without the bottom subwoofer decreases in quality quite drastically.’ The cabinet for each speakers has a really nice finish that looks fantastic. Also, the design of the speaker covers harkens back to nostalgic VOX cabinet speakers of yesteryear. It looks really, really sharp. The top speaker connects to the bottom speaker with a short 1/4-inch patch cord (included) to give a more genuine “cabinet speaker” experience. You also get three different modes: Hi-Fi, Bass Adapt, and Background. Each gives a different EQ mix to dial in the ambient sound for the situation you are using the speaker. *** FOR BEST SOUND, YOU WILL NEED TO DIAL IN THE EQ YOURSELF. CASUAL NON-MUSICIAN USERS MAY FIND THIS DIFFICULT TO DO CORRECTLY *** There are 4 different EQ knobs: SUB-BASS, BASS, MIDDLE, and TREBLE. Each controls a different frequency range for the sound. While you can just set each of these knobs at twelve O’ clock (pointing directly upward at the provided circles) this definitely will not give you the highest sound quality this speaker is capable of. It’s honestly a great inclusion and a very impractical inclusion. It’s fantastic for being able to adjust and dial in a great EQ for each and every album or band you love to listen to, however, for the casual user, it’s an unnecessary skill component. Basically, you have to have an ear for tone quality in order to effectively use this speaker. Overall, this speaker is very well designed and a wonderful nostalgic item for any aging musician who has dealt with VOX cabinets from the past or anyone that is really into the “vintage” look. It’s quite unique in this regard. The Bluetooth connects easily and this is capable of producing high quality sound. However, you will need to manually dial in the settings which not everyone has the know how and experience to do. Ultimately, let’s be real here for a second. You are paying for the “VOX” name and the vintage look for a really unique item. I personally love this thing but I have nostalgia on my side and as a 30-year musician, I have the experience to quickly dial in the tone quality to get the sounds I am looking for. Read more

This ended up being much larger than I expected. The word “micro” made me think it would be easy to move around, but it’s closer to the size of a big shoe box. It's not the sort of thing you'd toss in the car to take to the beach. It looks sharp and the sound quality is strong when the speaker head is plugged into the cabinet. Once it’s connected, the bass and clarity are great and it feels like a much more premium setup. The problem is that it’s not very portable. The speaker head has a battery, but it’s small and the sound gets weaker when it’s used by itself. The cabinet doesn’t run on battery at all. If you unplug the AC adapter from the head, the cabinet shuts off, which wasn’t explained anywhere. I first thought the cabinet was broken because the documentation never mentions this limit. The included speaker cable is also longer than it needs to be. The two jacks are only about six inches apart, but they packed in a three-foot cable. I ordered a short right-angle cable to clean up the setup because the default one looks messy. That's an odd choice for what is otherwise a premium product. Solid sound and design, but not as portable or clear-cut as I expected. Read more