As the days here in the Northern hemisphere grow longer and warmer, our thoughts turn to beaches, hiking, fishing, outdoor parties and barbecues. Before we know it, Summer will be here, and when it is, the Soulra XL Solar-Powered iPod Dock will be a welcome addition to your entertainment arsenal, particularly if you enjoy listening to your music on the go, and like the idea of a portable entertainment system that gets its power from the sun.
It's Got Soul
Before getting into the details, I first must commend the makers (etón Corporation) for the cleverness of the name. Of course, it is a play on words, but it works on many levels. Soul-Ra sounds like Solar but also "soul" represents the musical aspect, as well as appealing to the environmentally conscious (oh, it's got soul, that's for sure). And "Ra" is the Egyptian god of sun.
The "XL" part of the model name comes from the fact that it's a larger, more powerful version of the company's standard Soulra solar-powered dock. This new model features larger speakers, more power and, perhaps most importantly, a much larger solar panel: it's 6 inches by 12 inches for 72 square inches of sun-soaking goodness. This larger panel allows the Soulra XL to charge its internal batteries, as well as a connected iPod or iPhone, much faster than its little brother and to extend the usable playtime of the speakers when used in bright sunlight.
Not Your Average iPod Dock
The Soulra XL is a powered speaker system with an internal rechargeable Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) battery, and four speakers (two woofers, two tweeters), plus 4 passive radiators to enhance bass response. In addition to its integrated iPod/iPhone dock, the unit offers a standard 3.5mm stereo line input to connect virtually any other device: a smart phone, tablet, laptop or portable gaming system, to name but a few. The dock itself is fronted by a flip up smoked plastic cover which allows you to see what's displayed on your iPhone or iPod while protecting the connected player from the rays of the sun. iPod/iPhone owners know how hot their device can get in the sun so this is a nice touch. The Soulra itself does get pretty warm if left in the sun all day, but in upstate NY with mid-day temps never exceeding 85 degrees, the unit never got too hot to handle.
What makes the Soulra XL unique is the large integrated solar panel which is hinged to allow it to face the rear or the front of the unit for ideal exposure to the available sunlight at any time of day. The unit can be charged via the attached solar panel or by plugging the included AC adapter into the wall. If plugged in, you can get a full charge in less than 5 hours. If charged via the solar panel, the charging rate is heavily dependent on the strength of available sunlight and whether you are also trying to charge a docked iPhone or iPod. If you use the device in a brightly sunlit location, the solar panels help provide a trickle charge that will extend the usable playback time.
Plug In and Play
Although the company recommends charging the unit directly from an AC outlet before first use, I decided to see how it would do without that. The unit must ship with a residual charge on the internal battery as I brought it outside, in good sunlight and played Pandora from my docked iPhone for a good hour and a half without any visible loss of power or performance. After that first listening session, I did plug the unit in for a few hours to give it full juice. But oddly the connected iPod Touch did not charge while docked, while the unit was plugged in. This is actually a feature, but it's one that can be adjusted, based on your needs.
The "Charge On/Off" button should be set to "On" when you want to charge an attached iPod or iPhone, or set to "Off" when you either don't want to charge the docked device or there is no docked device, as when you use the SoulRa XL with a non-Apple device via the auxiliary line input. In the "Off" state the battery power is dedicated to the onboard amplified speakers and does not route power to the device attached to the dock.
Autonomous Entertainment?
Although the unit behaved mostly as expected during our review, playing tunes at decent volume levels and with fairly extended bass, considering its size, there was one odd behavioral quirk that came up a couple of times. When it was connected to wall power overnight, with the iPod in pause mode, the Soulra turned itself on, and started belting out tunes: once with Pandora and once on an iTunes playlist. Once it happened at 2:00 AM in an empty living room and once we came home to it rocking out AC/DC all by its lonesome. I'm not sure if this occurred when the internal battery reached full charge or just when the Soulra decided it was party time, but it did occur a couple of times so maybe it's best to keep the volume down low before powering it down for a charge.
On a fine sunny day, with a full charge, I brought the unit outside in the late afternoon while there was some sun and left it playing at a moderate volume. Six and a half hours later, the Soulra XL was still going strong, long after the sun had gone down and our kids had gone to bed. Using it around the campfire was particularly fun as I placed it about 10 feet behind us and adjusted the song playback and volume with the included IR remote. Properly charged, the unit will last longer than the rated five hours, if kept at a fairly reasonable volume.
However, with the unit's battery nearly fully depleted, you are not going to be able to get any action out of the Soulra XL without waiting for the sun to build up a residual charge or plugging it into an AC power jack. In other words, if the battery is totally dead, you won't be able to listen to music right away, even in bright sunlight, unless it's plugged in. On an overcast day, with the sun poking through some trees, I left the unit outside for a good three hours and it still would not make a peep, nor had it built up any charge on the connected iPod Touch. So if you're camping deep in the woods, or are hit with bad weather on an outing, don't expect miracles.
The Sound
The most important aspect of the Soulra XL (to me, at least) is its sound quality. As an audiophile, I tend to be a bit picky about sound. And I'm happy to report that the Soulra XL creates a nicely detailed sound with decent bass response and smooth midrange at least at moderate listening levels. The bass boost switch was pretty much always engaged in my listening as the sound was thin and anemic without it. High frequencies are detailed without being excessively harsh or sibilant. It's certainly on par with or slightly better than other comparably priced portable systems I've listened to, but not as refined or accurate as a nice pair of powered monitors such as NHT's M00 powered speakers.
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Final Thoughts
While the Soulra XL can't work miracles, it does effectively use the sun to power your outdoor musical entertainment. On a bright sunny day, you can get hours of sonic enjoyment while being completely off the grid. Also, the remote is a nice touch so you can still adjust volume and playback while your iPod or iPhone is safely tucked away in its dock. If you are willing to take a break from the music, the integrated 72 square-inch solar panel can charge your iPhone or iPod while camping or canoeing or hiking or otherwise soaking up some rays. If you're an environmentally conscious aficionado of music and outdoor fun, we think you're going to like the Soulra XL.
Manufacturer's Specs/Features (Eton Soulra XL)
Manufacturer's Contact Information:
etón Corporationph: 1.650.903.3866
on the web: www.etoncorp.com
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