Most of these uses mean it’s bound for a stationary place inside the home. But the speaker does have a handle and a battery that should provide around 10 hours of listening time. It can be as mobile as you need it to be. That all means there’s no one specific type of person Soundstage 3 Portable is for. It’s an interesting solution for those who want more than a generic Bluetooth speaker.
TL;DR
Pros:
Lots of connectivity optionsMinimal design resembles a classic speaker
Cons:
No volume indicator and separate volume control from input sourceHandle feels a little flimsy
Buy at Monoprice.
The Versatility of the Soundstage 3 Portable Speaker
The Monoprice Soundstage 3 Portable speaker sounded crisp with instruments well-defined when I listened to “Fallacy Actually” by Night Moves, a band with a nostalgic classic rock vibe. The kick drum and bass guitar weren’t overpowering when the song was playing, but they were distinct and present. A lot of that is thanks to the speaker’s configuration with a woofer and dual tweeters in the front and bass ported around the back.
As I listened to song after song from my Bluetooth-connected phone, across various genres, the results were the same: a full sound with identifiable bass, a midrange presence and robust high frequencies. The bass wasn’t overpowering, but it was noticeable. Once I was satisfied with the default, wireless performance, I decided to dig into the speaker’s real value: its ports.
I connected my turntable, through a preamp, and was instantly impressed by the speaker’s performance. Even without turning up the volume past the midway point, the punch from J Dilla’s Donuts album was fantastic.
On the back of the speaker are RCA and 3.5 mm analog connections. These can be used for a whole host of devices. The inclusion of these ports means that this speaker should be relevant long into the future and could even possibly outlive the usefulness of Bluetooth 4.2. The optical port might not be able to provide the latest Dolby Atmos TV audio specs, but it would allow for a wide range of connectivity for a while.
If you want to get real fancy, there’s even an output for a dedicated subwoofer. This port feels a little strange to me on this $250 speaker. If you don’t already have a sub, I probably wouldn’t spend more money on one specifically for this speaker. But if you do have one not being utilized, there’s now an easy way to connect it.
At 10 pounds, the Soundstage 3 is easy enough to carry, but since it’s not water- or dust-resistant you might not want to take it on any adventures beyond the patio. I found the top hand strap to be a little flimsy. It worked fine the times I moved it around, but I was always worried that it might tear around the parts where it attached to the speaker.
Last on the notable features list is a USB-A charging port on the back that can be used to plug in a phone or other small electronic device. I don’t have many USB-A cables lying around anymore, so I didn’t use the port beyond testing it once. It worked as advertised.
The Problem With the Soundstage 3 Portable
The first time I connected the Monoprice Soundstage 3 Portable wirelessly to my phone and started listening to a song, I was surprised I needed to raise the volume on my source device to 75 percent to hear the music well. Eventually, after connecting the speaker to other devices, I realized its volume was separate from the source’s volume level.
I’m hoping there’s a technical reason for this, but even if there is, it’s unfortunate and degrades the overall experience. Even worse, however, is the speaker’s lack of a visual volume indicator. I clicked the violently loud button with the plus sign for more than 15 seconds until I was sure it couldn’t go any higher. But since there’s no display for volume, I couldn’t be sure that switching between sources didn’t reset the level.
This design detail almost ruins an otherwise practical and great-sounding speaker. Not only do you waste a lot of time figuring out where you are in the volume spectrum, but the lack of context causes question about whether you’re listening at a suboptimal setting.
Should You Buy Monoprice Soundstage 3 Portable?
The Soundstage 3 Portable reminds me of gadgets from a decade ago. It does more than it needs to, simply because it can—or because someone might need the functionality at some point. (The assumption has been that the speaker should have an auxiliary input.) As a portable Bluetooth speaker with 10 hours of battery life, it has a great sound, but I might opt for something more rugged for use outdoors or stylish for use indoors.
If, however, you have any need for additional ports and connectivity beyond Bluetooth, then the value of the Soundstage 3 Portable is tremendous. Knowing it could be a speaker for my turntable or for my TV—and could do either of those things running on battery power if needed—is a big win.
Buy at Monoprice for $249.99.
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