Honeywell Trueno U300 Review: Surprisingly Punchy & Premium-Like, Delightfully Easy On Pockets
The sub-Rs 2,500 20W Bluetooth speaker segment is pretty saturated. However, Honeywell certainly has a fine-looking disruptor in the Trueno U300.
Honeywell Trueno U300 Review: When it comes to 20W Bluetooth speakers, you might have several options to choose from, but nearly all products will either look like they would look more at home at a college dorm party (with their irritating LED lights) or flat bars that look more like mini soundbars rather than anything else. So, if you have a tight budget, and aspire to get a speaker that not only packs a punch but also brings a premium-esque look to your tabletop, Honeywell Trueno U300 could be worth checking out.
Honeywell Trueno U300 Review: Quick Pointers
What we love:
- Punchy sound without adding unnecessary bass
- Premium tabletop design
- Plethora of connectivity options
- IPX6 water resistance
What we don’t:
- Exposed bass radiators
- Pretty heavy for a ‘portable’ speaker
- Rear rubber covering is pretty flimsy
No-Fuss, Clean Sound
Usually, when it comes to budget speakers, the drivers are generally tuned to deliver a lot of bass - even if you don’t like it. Sure, punchy bass might work well in certain scenarios, or if there is a certain genre of music you prefer to listen to. However, for someone like me, who almost always leans on classic rock playlists or even classical music (when working), a cleaner sound signature with a wide soundscape, where I can listen to the different instruments or sound sources, is always preferred.
When I played The Beatles’ ‘Blackbird’ on the U300, I was happy to instantly hear Paul McCartney’s boots stomping to keep a count of the beats as he played his iconic guitar riff. Most speakers at this price point would simply dampen this sound to push the treble-heavy guitars forward.
Of course, when you are throwing a house party, sombre acoustic rock might not always cut it. When you are playing dance or R&B numbers, if you crank the volume all the way up to 11, your room soon turns into a thumping club, with a solid sound signature all across the space, no matter where you place your speaker. Some speakers tend to throw the clearest sound right in front. However, thanks to the rear placement of the dual twin bass radiators (pictured above) and the angular shape of the speaker, the sound gets bounced around nicely, leaving no blank spots in a sizeable room.
Of course, the Trueno U300’s sound takes its complete shape when the volume is notched up to the max. So, be it The Weeknd’s sonorous synth in “Save Your Tears” or Billie Eilish’s gurgling vocals in “Lunch”, you are sure to get a clear sound signature (clean mids and trebles), without having to rely too heavily on bass beats.
The Trueno U300 comes with Bluetooth v5.3, which gives a comfortable range of nearly 15 metres for your connected devices. For me, I could easily move away a couple of rooms from the speakers, while my phone was still connected to the speaker and there were no interruptions in playback.
Honeywell claims the speaker comes with dual pairing as well, but ABP Live was unable to test it.
Good Looks, Good Looks, Good Looks
Yes, when it comes to gadgets, I do tend to become Kareena Kapoor Khan’s ‘Poo’ from ‘K3G’. If it doesn’t look good, I can’t be bothered. As mentioned earlier, at this price point the most you will get from rivals are tumbler speakers, or cylinders, or even flat bars.
Honeywell Trueno U300, on the other hand, clearly takes its inspiration from premium offerings such as the Bose Soundlinks or Marshall Woburn. It sits pretty on almost any tabletop you can imagine - be it a coffee table or your workbench.
Given its IPX6 resistance to water splashes, you can also put it up on the corner of your shower, in case you need some tunes to go along with your bathroom-singing sessions.
The open-rear twin bass radiators, too, look premium. They especially look good when they thud along to your music, giving you the feeling of owning a top-class audio product that spared not much expense.
The front grille that houses the dual 78mm drivers carries a threaded texture that gives a great touch-feel as well.
The top end features four contoured buttons for volume, playback, and pairing controls, which merge seamlessly into the body, adding to the minimalistic design of Trueno U300.
Packing A Punch, And Some Power
The Honeywell Trueno U300 speaker comes with a 4,500mAh battery that lasted for a little over 12 hours on full charge, as per our tests. Charging was pretty fast too, as the USB Type-C port took nearly 3 hours to fully juice up the speaker.
Of course, if you don’t let it discharge, you can continue using the speaker while charging as well without any hitch.
Pretty Bulky For A Portable Speaker
There was one element that I found a bit confusing. The Trueno U300 comes with a premium cloth band on the side, that is meant for you to carry the speaker along when you go outdoors, perhaps for a walk in the park or a hike through the hills.
Now, when I did swing the speaker around with the band, I realised two things. First, the band is pretty solid and would take quite a force to rip apart no matter what you do. Secondly, the Trueno U300 is pretty heavy.
At around 1.5kg, it is definitely heavier than smaller speakers out there. I don’t expect a 20W speaker with dual drivers and dual radiators to be lightweight either. So, if you are looking for a travel speaker for walks or hikes, the Honeywell Trueno U300 might seem a little bulkier than you would like. However, given its premium looks, I was happy to keep it cosy (and pretty) on my coffee table rather than take it out for excursions.
Also, the rear panel comes with all sorts of connectivity options, which is a great thing. From microSD card to USB playback and even aux, you won’t run out of alternatives any time soon.
The box comes with a 3.5mm aux cable as well, which can come in handy with older laptops or PCs. The Trueno comes with a USB Type-C charger as well in the box.
However, the rear rubber panel that covers the connectivity ports felt pretty flimsy to me and wasn’t sticking to its hinges properly most times. Although this isn’t a dealbreaker, given the overall premium aesthetics of the speaker, a little finesse would have been appreciated.
Lastly, the rear-firing radiators are also suspended in the air, as any bass radiators should. This added to my portability concerns a bit as well. What if I pack the speaker too tightly and harm the rear radiators? The best solution would be to carry the box with you everywhere, which is not great for tightly packed travel bags anyway.
Considering all of the above, I decided that the Trueno U300 works best as a standalone home speaker, rather than a portable one.
Honeywell Trueno U300 Review: Final Verdict
The sub-Rs 2,500 20W Bluetooth speaker segment is pretty saturated with your usual players such as Boat and Portronics. However, Honeywell certainly has a fine-looking disruptor in the Trueno U300.
Priced at Rs 2,499 on Amazon, the Honeywell Trueno U300 brings a solid sound signature that can suit your every mood. It looks great on the corner of your table. And it does not carry unnecessarily blinding LED lights. For me, strategic minimalism is always a winner, and hence the Trueno U300 wins enough brownie points for a casual listening experience.
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