Boat Pitcher Review: Playful Design but a Tad Expensive

In a market already crowded with wacky and colourful portable Bluetooth speakers, the entry of another upstart is not really surprising anymore;everyone wants a share of the pie.  The Boat brand has been launched in India in partnership with Imagine Marketing, the company which also sells House of Marley products here. The Pitcher is the only Bluetooth speaker available under the Boat brand at the moment. The Pitcher needs to prove its mettle considering it is going up against products from established brands such as JBL, Creative and Logitech.

Design and specifications
If the name wasn't indication enough, the shape of the Boat Pitcher drives home the point that this Bluetooth speaker looks like a pitcher. We got a blue unit for review but it is also available in black, and mint green. We quite like the design of the Boat Pitcher as it feels fresh and playful. Additionally, the build quality of the speaker is also pretty good. The Pitcher measures 110x110x113mm and weighs 1.02kg, so it is slightly on the chunkier side.

The outer shell is made of tough plastic and has curves just like an actual pitcher does. A handle-like extension pops out from the front. The button on top can be used to play/pause music and accept calls. Volume up and down buttons are right below it. A microphone sits near the bottom of the handle, surrounded by an LED indicator ring which turns blue (colour coordinated with the outer shell) when the speaker is turned on or is in pairing mode. The speaker grill is on top with a 'Boat' logo imprinted on a metal plate bang in the center. The bottom of the speaker has a rubbery surface that ensures that the Pitcher doesn't topple over easily. The on/off switch is also on the bottom.

Internally, the Pitcher has a single dynamic driver which is apparently "heavy duty". No details about its size are available anywhere. The pitcher also has a built-in amplifier and can operate in the frequency range of 65Hz to 18KHz, which means that it cannot organically hit sub-bass frequencies below 60Hz in a song.

Sound Quality
We paired the Boat Pitcher with a Macbook Air and an iPhone 5c over Bluetooth, which was a fairly easy process. We also connected devices to it physically using the provided 3.5mm Aux cable to test the sound quality. We played songs across various genres and also video files to hear how the Pitcher sounds in use.

You and I by Ingrid Michaelson is an acoustic song for the most part and mainly consists of Michaelson's raspy vocals accompanied by a guitar. The Pitcher reproduces the mid-range frequencies in this song very well and the crisp vocals were a marked departure from the muddy mids we've experienced from many other Bluetooth speakers in the same price range. The problem arises when the song reaches its crescendo - the Pitcher struggles badly to create an adequate soundstage for each individual sound to shine when the percussion kicks in. This is also the reason that our experience with the rock song Do I Wanna Know by the Arctic Monkeys wasn't so good on this speaker.

Despite the presence of 'dynamic bass', we weren't particularly satisfied with the overall performance of the bass in the two tracks that we tested. A song like BTSTU by Jai Paul, which focuses on sub-bass sounds, stresses the speaker. The thin bass frequencies emanating from the Pitcher were disappointing. We'd suggest you look at other options if you are an EDM fan. Continuing the trend, the treble isn't too powerful either. We played The Cymbal Song by Gavin Harrison of Porcupine Tree fame and noticed that the treble didn't realise its potential at all; it sounded tinny and artificial.

The Pitcher can get loud enough to fill a 150 sq.ft. room but the problem is that it fires sound upwards. If you are someone who watches a lot of TV shows on a laptop, the Pitcher could be a great option for you as the depth of vocal sounds is really good. On the flip side, action movies don't sound that great. The microphone on the Pitcher did a decent job of picking up our voices. The Pitcher promises 10 hours of playback but in our run-through we only managed somewhere around 8 hours, which is pretty average.

Verdict
Priced at Rs. 3,990, the Boat Pitcher might be asking for a little more than it actually deserves. We say this because even micro-sized Bluetooth speakers such as the Logitech X100 and JBL Clip have warmer sound signatures and tighter bass. The JBL Flip II is available for just around Rs. 1,000 more. If you are looking for something with a more sprightly sound signature we'd suggest that you take a look at the Creative Muvo 10 or the bigger, better Muvo 20.

The Boat Pitcher doesn't do anything out of the ordinary to create a distinction for itself when compared with the competition. Even so, it is not a bad product by any means. It looks good and produces better-than-average sound, which is more than many other products can pull off.

Price: Rs. 3,990

Pros

• Rich mid-range response
  
• Colourful design
  

Cons

• Sub-bass sounds are absent
  
• Soundstaging is not good
  

Ratings (Out of 5)

• Design: 4
• Performance: 3
  
• Value For money: 3.5
  
• Overall: 3.5