As bedside alarm clocks go this is a nicely designed option that will allow you to charge your phone as well as act as a Bluetooth speaker and speakerphone. While it doesn’t have earth shattering sound quality, for its price it competes well with rivals and is a good option as a small room speaker.
Mixx Audio S3 review
Bluetooth speakers have always struggled to remain a permanent fixture in my life. While they do occasionally become useful they invariably get packed up in a drawer somewhere and forgotten about.
The Mixx Audio S3 aims to combat this by not only working as a Bluetooth speaker, but also fulfilling a useful purpose when it’s not being used; namely as an alarm clock.
The natural home for the S3 is on the bedside table, offering a clear readout of the time but without over illuminating the area and getting in the way of your night’s sleep. You also have the option to set two different alarms to go off every day.
Unlike with, for example, a smartphone you don’t have the ability to set an alarm that will only go off on specific days so if you’re looking for a lie in on the weekends you will have to remember to turn it off before you turn in. For this reason we’d still recommend you stick to using an alarm on your phone.
Thankfully, this won’t mean you need to use another power socket as the S3 has a USB slot you can use to charge your phone through – although this won’t support fast charging features so you may still want your phone plugged in the usual way.
A built-in mic also means you can use the S3 as a speakerphone, offering a much better sound than a phone’s speakers.
Design
We were pleasantly surprised by the look of the S3 as in our experience neither Bluetooth speakers nor alarm clocks are well known for their subtle or classy designs. The S3 isn’t spectacular but it is nicely understated and wouldn’t look out of place in a modern bedroom.
Build quality is good; it isn’t made with especially premium materials but this isn’t a major problem or a surprise at this price point.
Battery life
As well as working when plugged in, the S3 has a built-in battery that claims up to 7 hours of music playback, freeing you to take it out and around the house or garden and it should survive a decent amount of use.
Sound quality
Sound quality is pretty good and while it won’t compete with the top end Bluetooth speakers it does very well when stacked up against similarly priced rivals. It contains two 3W speakers so don’t expect a lot of power but one of these is dedicated to bass so it does have a bit more oomph than average.
Clarity is OK, although it does get a bit muddy with more complex tracks – it struggled with busy parts of classical music, for example, making it difficult to pick out individual instruments. Saying that it’s not something all Bluetooth speakers don’t have issues with – just don’t expect it to replace a full hifi system.
Price
At £40 it may be a little more expensive than the average alarm clock but it is in the mid to lower range of Bluetooth speakers. For the quality on offer we think this is a very reasonable price. If you want a dedicated speaker for your home for listening to music there are better options out there but they will invariably cost a fair bit more than the S3.
Verdict
If you’re looking for an alarm clock and Bluetooth speaker this is a great option to get both for a reasonable price. It’s not the kind of speaker that you could have a house party around but is more than good enough to play some music while you get ready in your bedroom.