This Panasonic SC-ALL05 speaker makes bath time more fun than ever before! From when they were born, we used music to soothe our children to sleep or when engaging playtime with them. Now you can bring this waterproof, wireless speaker to utilise the joy of music for bath time or even me time! It can handle splash damage or even accidentally dropping the speaker in the water. This is highly versatile as there are no wires attached and so you can move it around the house wherever you go.
This speaker SC-ALL05 is part of the multi room wireless audio range that allows you to stream music from almost any source to every room in your home. Inside this box, it comes with the speaker, power adaptor and instructions. The speaker looks very stylish in white with the smooth surface control panel. I like that the speaker feels quite heavy as it sit sturdily on any flat surface and shouldn’t be too easy to knock over.
Before you turn on the speaker, you have to download the free Panasonic Music Streaming app on your smartphone/tablet to set up the Wi-Fi. Next open up the app, follow the instructions and key in your Wi-Fi passcode. It synchronised very quickly for me and only took less than a minute to set up. Once set up, this device will be available to anyone else on the same Wi-Fi as long as they download the app. It doesn’t require any further set up by user.
Through the app, you can check your speaker’s battery life, make your own song playlists, add your favourite internet radio stations and many more. This speaker is compatible with these online music services: Spotify (Premium user only), Napster, AUPEO! And AllPlay Radio. Personally, I have downloaded the AllPlay Radio app and it is very easy to navigate and add my favourite radio stations.
I like the sensitivity of the control panel which is easy to control and use. Occasional water splashes on the panel may trigger the buttons. To prevent this from happening or from children changing your channel, you may use the volume buttons to lock or unlock the buttons. If the NET button is lit up, it means it is using the network. If the Bluetooth button is lit up, it is using the Bluetooth feature. This speaker has six preset buttons for internet radio which is more than I need. But when the children get older, they might want to set their own channels too!
Now you would probably want to know how the battery life is. I find that if I turn off the standby mode, the battery life lasts longer. For the first few days, the speaker simply couldn’t hold the battery for a day even when not in use. It wasn’t until my husband pointed out the instructions mentions it’s best to take off standby mode to save the battery life and it has helped a lot! If you take off the standby mode, it means each time you have to physically turn on the speaker before you get it connected. Of course, if you leave it on standby, it will connect instantly but the battery won’t last as long.
This speaker takes approximately 3.5 hours to charge and it will last 8.5 hours for using the net or 9 hours for using via Bluetooth. To charge the speaker, you have to unlock the terminal cover. Once the cover is unlocked, it is no longer waterproof until it is closed. If at any time, the speaker is not working correctly, the reset button is just next to the LAN terminal which can be found inside the terminal cover.
This speaker can be fully submerged for 30 minutes to a depth of 1 metre of room temperature tap water. If it is dropped in the water, quickly take it out and dry it with a towel. The speaker cannot be exposed to soap water, shampoo, detergent, pool water, seawater, hot water and hot spring water. If any of that does happen, quickly rinse it under a low flow of room temperature tap water first, and then wipe it. The speaker comes with two water drain holes on the side of the base.
The sound quality is decent enough. I do find that the sound seems a bit muffled when the VOICE button is not used. It is recommended that you use the VOICE button to enhance the sound quality if this speaker is in used in the bathroom or kitchen. Turning on the VOICE button makes the sound much clearer in my opinion. This is great for watching my favourite TV dramas or movies!
Overall I am very pleased with this speaker. It is very easy to set up and get connected. It is portable, waterproof and looks stylish. Also, it’s nice to not worry if children were to touch it with their dirty and wet hands! This is available to buy from Panasonic, Argos, Tesco, Curry and Amazon.
Disclosure: We received the sample for the purposes of writing this review, however all thoughts and opinions remain our own.