JBL OnBeat Xtreme Speaker Dock

Airplay & Bluetooth speaker devices has recently grown significantly due to rising popularity of wifi music systems. JBL’s OnBeat Xtreme is no less either in terms of price or features. This device comes in black with silver linings/buttons and features a special Weave design which is significantly different from the regular geometric shapes of competing docks. It has an unorthodox docking system with rotating device connector backed by two arms for holding the iPad or iPhone in any orientation as deemed fit.

OnBeat Xtreme has a set of silver buttons on its right end for controls. These constitutes the Power, Volume, Source Select and Bluetooth buttons which are backlit. While the device is docked the Source button is lit in white. This changes into blue when switched to Bluetooth mode. At the back of the device the connection ports for auxiliary, video-out, USB and power connection exists.

OnBeat Xtreme features JBL Ridge Tweeters with Atlas Woofers backed by four transducers that uses 30 amp watts for providing better audio quality. There is a beautifully crafted RF remote that can be used for playback & menu controls, though need of such remote reduces in functionality due to ease of using the device in wireless mode. The remote can be used to select between 5 equalizer mode of Music, Movies, Chat, Internet Radio or Game by clicking the center button and by carefully studying the LED light on the device.

The sound quality of OnBeat Xtreme is exceptional with stunning clarity at low volume and maintaining the same quality at high volume. There is hardly any distortion audible at high output levels even on high beats Hip-Hop tracks or high bass techno numbers. Although the device does so well as a party pumper, it does equally well with vocal solos that sounds crisp backed by well engineered trebles.

OnBeat Xtreme’s Bluetooth connection is the easiest to set and provides equally good quality audio as compared to the device when docked. Since this device is fully compatible with iDevices and features an inbuilt microphone, it provides handsfree calls without detaching the iPhone from the dock, though it entirely depends on the Bluetooth connectivity and not on any special property of the dock. It optionally needs the free OnBeat app to be downloaded on the iDevice from appstore which honestly  is far inferior than the original iOS music player.

The device carries a price tag of $500 and might easily become a benchmark for any competitor competing at this price range.