The central button is a responsive four-way rocker that
handles volume up/down, and track backward/forward.
Pressing it quickly controls playback, while longer
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central control is a Bluetooth pairing button. The
bottom panel is lined with a rubber footing to keep the
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PERFORMANCE
On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The
Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the Emberton delivers some full-
sounding bass for its size—at moderate volumes. When
you max out the volume, the DSP (digital signal
processing) kicks in and while the speaker still outputs
impressive volume, the bass hits thin out noticeably.
This is to be expected for the size, though for the price
you might want a little more bass oomph at top
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Emberton’s portability.
Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” a track with far less deep bass
in the mix, gives us a better sense of the general sound
signature. The drums on this track can sound
thunderous on bass-forward speakers, but through the
Emberton they sound full and natural at moderate
volumes, and a little thinner at top volumes. But at all
volumes, Callahan’s rich baritone gets plenty of low-mid
presence and some crisp treble edge to keep things
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presence.
So this is not a sound signature for purists, especially
because depending on the volume level, it changes
notably. But at all volume levels, the Emberton delivers
a clear, relatively balanced sound. At a few notches
below maximum volume, we found an ideal blend of
bass response and volume.
At a few
notches
below
maximum
volume, we
found an ideal
blend of bass
response and
volume.