Logitech Speakers Blast Music, Conversation

Logitech's new Pure-Fi portable wireless speaker system lets owners crank up their music and personal phone conversations anywhere, to questionable effect.

If this whole trend of people unobtrusively listening to their own music in public with earbuds has you secretly wishing for the glory days of the 1980’s when shoulder-mounted boomboxes obnoxiously broadcasted beats for all to hear, Logitech has an answer for you (and a possible annoyance for everyone else). Its new Pure-Fi wireless speaker system not only uses Bluetooth to blast your music for all the world to hear, it will also double as a speakerphone to pump up the volume on your otherwise private conversations.

That volume comes from a combined array of two-inch active drivers and two-inch pressure drivers, which Logitech claims are noted for their bass delivery, although the company doesn’t provide much other data on the drivers to appease the audio folks. The system uses the stereo A2DP Bluetooth profile to pull music from compatible players within standard Bluetooth range of 33 feet, and can also play music through a USB connection and auxiliary 3.5mm inputs.

To accommodate those who want to use the Pure-Fi system as a speakerphone, it uses two integrated microphones to pick up voice and filter out background noise. Top-mounted buttons for answering and terminating calls allow users to initiate a shouting match with Grandma using one button, and passersby to cut if off when enough is enough using another button.

Logitech claims the internal rechargeable battery in the Pure-Fi system will last for 12 hours after a full charge, although we would be skeptical about that battery life if you plan on cranking your tunes loud enough for the whole playground to hear.

The Pure-Fi Mobile speaker system will debut in the United States and Europe this June, with an MSRP of $149.99.