COMPARING THE SOUNDBOKS (GEN. 2) TO SOUNDBOKS (GEN. 3)

The SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 3) is an improvement on the SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 2) in nearly every way. Many elements have been re-designed and optimized to create a speaker that is revolutionary. In this article, we’ll run down how we have improved the SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 3).

CABINET MATERIALS

The SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 3)'s cabinet is now made from poplar plywood, while the cabinet on the SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 2) was designed from birch plywood. The decision to change to poplar plywood was based on the reduced weight, while still maintaining a very high level of durability. While the overall weight of the SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 3) is very similar to the SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 2), the reduced cabinet weight allowed us to include much more functionality without drastically affecting the overall weight.

BALL CORNERS

We have chosen to redesign the iconic ball corners that have been a staple on both the SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 1) and (Gen. 2). The SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 3) now has silicone rubber ball corners, designed to make greater impacts. The silicone rubber material used, absorbs any impacts, reducing the strain on the main body of the SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 3). Unlike the SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 2), the silicone rubber balls are not painted, so they won’t get scratched during use. The new ball corners also absorb vibrations that come from the sound being emitted from the SOUNDBOKS into the surface it is placed on.

Read more about the durability of SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 3) here.

PULSE REFLEX PORT

The Pulse Reflex Port which goes through the SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 3) consists of the handle ports on each side of the speaker, with a perforated mesh tube in the middle. Air passes back and forth through the Ports and through the mesh, this is part of the acoustical system which allows the SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 3) to play higher-quality bass.

The SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 2) had its bass ports in the front of the SOUNDBOKS. We needed to increase the size of the ports in the SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 3), so we have moved them to the center of the handles. This redesign has also improved the durability of the SOUNDBOKS(Gen. 3) , as there are now no openings on the SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 3). The new design also keeps 80% airflow for great acoustic port functionality.

THE GRILL

The new grill has been designed with the perfect air-flow to strength ratio in mind. The SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 3) grill features a honeycomb design that provides this increased performance. The newly designed grill is completely removable to enable easy customization. You will be provided with a 4.5mm hex key which you can use to remove the grill and make your new SOUNDBOKS yours.

TOP HAT

The top hat, also known as the pole mount, has been improved in the SOUNDBOKS(Gen. 3). We focused on making the top hat more durable by increasing the thickness of the plastic and using quality ABS plastic. The top hat still has the universal size, that fits with any 35mm speaker tripod. 

USER INTERFACE PANEL

The SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 3) features a completely redesigned User interface panel. We have replaced the dials and knobs with buttons and an aluminum volume dial. The volume dial now has an infinity spin feature to reduce the risk of breaking.

Unlike the SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 2), the SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 3) does not have an indoor or outdoor mode. For the SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 3), we wanted to create a better sound experience so we went back to the drawing board and that did not involve having a physical button/knob on the product but rather built into the overall sound experience. 

TWEETER

The SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 3) has a 1” tweeter, the same size as the SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 2). But, the SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 3) now has a large tweeter horn which makes the tweeter appear considerably larger. The horn effectively amplifies and disperses the sound produced by the tweeter driver more efficiently, making the SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 3) sound better at long and wide distances.  We have also transitioned from a soft dome tweeter in the SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 2) to a compression driver tweeter in the SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 3) which is more tuned for premium audio at high volumes resulting in less distortion at maximum volume. 

WOOFERS

The SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 3) uses 2 10" woofers and is designed with a 2.5-way system. With the SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 2), both 10" woofers would play only lows, however with the setup of the SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 3), the top woofer plays mids and lows and the bottom woofer plays only lows.  This creates a more full sound profile.  

LOUDNESS

The SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 3) can reach the volume level of 126 dB, an increase of 4 dB compared to the SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 2). The measurement is taken using the peak value of a pink noise signal measured at a 1-meter distance (C-weighted).

Read more about acoustics & frequency here.

PRO PANEL

The SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 3) has a completely new feature specifically designed to increase the compatibility of the SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 3): the Pro Panel. The Pro Panel has 2x 'XLR/6.35mm Jack' combo inputs (CH1 & CH2), 1x 3.5mm AUX input, and 1x 3.5mm AUX output. With the inputs, you can directly connect a variety of devices to the SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 3).

For more information on the Pro Panel, read here.

WIRELESS SKAA CONNECTION

The SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 3) allows for up to 4 other SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 3) speakers to be wirelessly connected simultaneously. With the new ‘TeamUP’ button, you can select one SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 3) and set it as the HOST. You can connect other SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 3) speakers to this HOST speaker by pressing the orange TeamUP button and putting them on JOIN mode. This will automatically connect the other SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 3) speakers to the nearby HOST.

For more information on the TeamUP, read here.

BLUETOOTH

The SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 3) uses Bluetooth 5.0 and also features Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) which enables the remote control on the SOUNDBOKS app.

Read more about the current functionalities of the SOUNDBOKS Support App here.