The Alpine Corporation Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker is a Bluetooth speaker with a rock-like design that's intended for outdoor use. It comes with a solar panel on top, which you can use to charge its battery while it's playing. It has an incredibly long-lasting battery life, and you can pair it with up to two devices at the same time. Unfortunately, its sound profile is quite uneven, so vocals and lead instruments are honky and harsh while it struggles to reproduce a thumpy low-bass. There aren't any sound customization features available, unfortunately.
Our Verdict
The Alpine Corporation Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker is disappointing for music. Its sound profile is quite uneven, and it lacks a lot of low-bass, so you don't feel the thump and punch in your audio. Its mid-range is overemphasized, so vocals and lead instruments are forward, boxy, and honky in the mix, while sibilants like S and T sounds are dull and dark. Unfortunately, there aren't any sound customization features available, and its soundstage performance is poor. It doesn't get very loud, either, but at least there isn't a lot of compression when you play it at max volume.
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Not a lot of compression at max volume.
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Doesn't get very loud.
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Lacks low-bass.
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Poor soundstage performance.
The Alpine Corporation Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker is poor for videos and movies. It struggles to reproduce low-bass, so you don't feel the thumps and rumbles in action-packed scenes. Dialogue can also sound forward and harsh due to the overemphasized mid-range. Its soundstage performance is poor, and it has to downmix stereo content into mono, so you don't feel very immersed in your videos. On the upside, its low latency with iOS and Android devices via Bluetooth is suitable for movies, but some apps compensate for latency differently.
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Not a lot of compression at max volume.
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Low latency via Bluetooth.
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Doesn't get very loud.
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Lacks low-bass.
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Poor soundstage performance.
The Alpine Corporation Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker is fair for podcasts. You can pair it with up to two devices at the same time, which is handy if you like to switch your audio source frequently. However, its sound profile is a bit uneven, especially in the mid-range where vocals are reproduced, so they can sound forward, boxy, and even harsh. This speaker also doesn't get very loud, but on the upside, there isn't a lot of compression present at max volume.
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Supports multi-device pairing.
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Not a lot of compression at max volume.
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Doesn't get very loud.
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Poor soundstage performance.
The Alpine Corporation Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker doesn't have a microphone and doesn't support voice assistants.
The Alpine Corporation Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker is acceptable for outdoor use. It's battery-powered, so you can use it outside without having to plug it into an outlet, and it has long-lasting battery life. You can also charge it via its built-in solar panel. It has a decent build quality, and it's also advertised to be water-resistant. However, it doesn't get very loud, and its poor soundstage performance means that audio doesn't really sound clear from all angles. It also isn't very portable.
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Incredible 22-hour battery life.
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Advertised water resistance.
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Supports multi-device pairing.
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Doesn't get very loud.
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Lacks low-bass.
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Poor soundstage performance.
- 5.3 Music
- 5.3 Videos/Movies
- 6.5 Podcasts
- 2.5 Voice Assistant
- 6.1 Outdoors
- Updated Sep 09, 2021: Updated the text to provide more information regarding its solar charging capabilities.
- Updated Mar 24, 2021: Updated battery life results.
- Updated Mar 24, 2021: Review published.
- Updated Mar 19, 2021: Early access published.
- Updated Mar 15, 2021: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated Mar 12, 2021: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
- Updated Mar 07, 2021: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Alpine Corporation Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker comes in 'Grey' and 'Brown' color variants. We tested the 'Grey' variant, and you can see the label for the model we tested here. We expect both color variants to perform similarly.
If you come across another version, let us know in the discussions so we can update our review.
Compared To Other Speakers
The Alpine Corporation Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker is a budget-friendly outdoor speaker with a very unique, rock-like design that can help it blend in with your landscaping. It has an exceptionally long battery life that's suitable for long days outside, and there's also a built-in solar panel to charge it. That said, its sound profile is quite uneven and may not be ideal for fans of a more neutral sound. See also our recommendations for the best Bluetooth speakers, the best Bluetooth speakers under $100, and the best waterproof Bluetooth speakers.
The JBL Xtreme 3 is a better speaker than the Alpine Corporation Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker. The JBL is better-built, is more portable, and can play stereo content without downmixing it to mono. Also, its out-of-the-box sound profile is more neutral, and it reproduces a more extended low-bass. That said, some listeners may prefer the Alpine Corporation's rock-like design for their outdoor decor, and it also has a longer battery life.
The JBL PartyBox 310 is better than the Alpine Corporation Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker. The JBL has a more neutral, balanced sound profile and can play stereo content without downmixing it to mono. It has lots of inputs for guitars and microphones, and it can get much louder. Some listeners may prefer the Alpine Corporation's outdoor-friendly, rock-like design with a built-in solar panel. It also has a longer battery life than the JBL.
The Ultimate Ears MEGABOOM 3 is a better speaker than the Alpine Corporation Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker overall. The Ultimate Ears can play stereo content without downmixing it to mono, which is more immersive. It has amazing directivity thanks to its 360-degree design, resulting in a wider and more open-sounding soundstage. You can also tweak its sound to your liking thanks to the graphic EQ and presets in its companion app. That said, some listeners may prefer the Alpine Corporation's outdoor-friendly, rock-like design with a built-in solar panel.
The JBL Xtreme 2 is a better overall speaker than the Alpine Corporation Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker. The JBL can produce a more extended low-bass than the Alpine, has a better-balanced sound profile overall, and can get louder. It can also play stereo content without downmixing it to mono, resulting in a more immersive soundstage. That said, some users may prefer the Alpine Corporation's rock-like design for their outdoor decor. It also has longer-lasting battery life, though this can depend on your usage.
Depending on your listening habits, you may prefer either the JBL Flip 5 or the Alpine Corporation Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker. The JBL is smaller, more portable, and offers a better-balanced sound profile that can produce a more extended low-bass. It also has better directivity, resulting in a more natural-sounding soundstage than the Alpine. The Alpine Corporation can get louder and has an outdoor-friendly, rock-like design with a built-in solar panel. It also has a longer-lasting battery life, though this can depend on your usage.
The Sony SRS-XB33 is a better speaker than the Alpine Corporation Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker overall. It can produce a more extended low-bass, and you can customize its sound to your liking thanks to the graphic EQ featured in its companion app. It can play stereo content without downmixing it to mono, which is more immersive. It also supports voice assistants through your smartphone, though its performance isn't very good. However, the Alpine has less compression present at max volume, resulting in cleaner audio at louder volumes. Some users may also prefer its more outdoor-friendly rock-like design, and its built-in solar panel.
The Ultimate Ears HYPERBOOM is a better speaker than the Alpine Corporation Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker. The Ultimate Ears can play stereo content without downmixing it to mono, resulting in a more immersive soundstage. It also has a more neutral and better-balanced sound profile, suitable for a wide variety of audio content. You can customize its sound thanks to the graphic EQ and presets featured in its companion app. It can get louder, and its built-in carrying handle also makes it more portable. That said, this rock-like speaker is designed to better blend in with outdoor landscaping, which some users may prefer.
The Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 2 is a better overall speaker than the Alpine Corporation Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker. The Ultimate Ears is smaller, more portable, and better-built. It has a more neutral sound profile, it can play stereo content without downmixing it into mono, and it has a better soundstage performance. It also gets louder. That said, some listeners may prefer the Alpine Corporation's outdoor-friendly, rock-like design and its built-in solar panel for charging. It also has a longer battery life than the Ultimate Ears.
The JBL Boombox 2 is a better speaker than the Alpine Corporation Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker. The JBL offers a better-balanced sound profile that can produce a deeper low-bass than that of the Alpine. It can also get louder and can play stereo content without downmixing it to mono, which is more immersive. That said, some users may prefer the Alpine's outdoor-friendly, rock-like design and its built-in solar panel for charging.
The Alpine Corporation Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker is a slightly better speaker than the Theater Solutions B83GR. Though they're both designed to look like rocks to blend with outdoor landscapes, the Alpine Corporation is slightly better built, has somewhat of a more balanced sound profile, and has a significantly longer battery life than the B83GR. That said, the B83GR has a larger Bluetooth range and can link to up to 99 additional speakers of the same model, which can be useful for those with a large outdoor space.
The Pohopa EF-B210G speakers are better for the outdoors than the Alpine Corporation Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker overall. They come in a pair of two speakers that can be paired together. They also have unique lantern designs with LED lights that alternate colors to the beat of your music. Unlike the Alpine, they can play stereo content without downmixing it to mono. They also get louder and have a more extended low bass, though their sound profile is a bit uneven. They're also rated IP54 for dust and water resistance. However, the Alpine has better latency performance with iOS and Android devices than the Pohopa speakers, and some users may prefer its rock-like design with a built-in solar panel.
The Sony SRS-XB12 is a better overall speaker than the Alpine Corporation Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker. The Sony is smaller, more portable, and better-built. It has a more neutral sound profile and a better soundstage performance. It also supports voice assistants from your paired smartphone, which is handy. However, the Alpine Corporation has an outdoor-friendly, rock-like design with a built-in solar panel, and it has a longer battery life and gets louder.
The Alpine Corporation Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker is slightly better for outdoor use than the Limitless Innovations TikiTunes. The Alpine Corporation gets louder with less compression at max volume, has a longer battery life, and supports multi-device pairing. Some listeners may prefer its rock-like design, which comes with a built-in solar panel, while others may prefer the torch light style of the TikiTunes. The TikiTunes is also smaller and more portable, and its 360-degree design offers better directivity for its soundstage.
Test Results
The Alpine Corporation Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker is a speaker intended for outdoor use with a unique design that makes it look like a rock. There's also a solar panel on top of the speaker, which you can use to charge it. It should easily blend into your outdoor landscaping. You can buy it in 'Grey' or 'Brown' color variants.
The Alpine Corporation Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker is decently portable. It's big, so you can't really carry it with one hand. That said, it's battery-powered, so you can use it outside without having to plug it into an outlet.
The Alpine Corporation Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker has a decent build quality. It's mostly made of a hard plastic coating. The speaker is covered by a metal grille, which helps to protect the drivers. There's also a solar panel on top, but it's a bit smudged from the sealing glue around it.
Note:The manufacturer advertises this speaker as water-resistant, though they don't specify an IP rating. Since it's meant to be used outdoors, we also expect it to be water-resistant, though we don't currently test for this.
The controls are poor. There's only a power button to help you turn the speaker on and off, but there aren't physical buttons to help you adjust the volume or skip tracks. That said, there's also a charging light indicator that's red when the speaker is charging and green when it's fully charged. The Bluetooth indicator light also flashes different colors when it's in pairing mode and when it's paired with another device. The speaker beeps to let you know when you're adjusting the volume, and there are even specific beep tones for when you reach min and max volume.
- Alpine Corporation Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker speaker
- Micro-USB charging cable
- Owner's manual
The Alpine Corporation Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker has disappointing frequency response accuracy. It really struggles to reproduce low-bass, so you don't feel the deep thump and punch in bass-heavy music or action-packed videos. While vocals and lead instruments are present in the mix, they can also sound forward, boxy, and harsh due to the overemphasized mid-range. Sibilants like cymbals can also sound a bit dull or dark. Unfortunately, there aren't any features to help you customize its sound.
The Alpine Corporation Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker has poor soundstage performance. Its directivity is sub-par, resulting in a narrow and directional soundstage that doesn't really make your audio sound clear from all angles. It also has to downmix stereo content into mono to play it, which isn't as immersive-sounding. If you're looking for outdoor speakers that can play stereo content, check out the Pohopa EF-B210G lantern speakers.
The Alpine Corporation Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker has a decent dynamics performance. While it doesn't get very loud, there isn't a lot of compression at max volume, so your audio is clear and pure. That said, it probably isn't suitable to use at parties.
Update 09/09/2021: Thanks to user feedback, we tested this speaker's solar charging capabilities and updated the text to provide more information regarding this.
Update 03/24/2021: The Alpine Corporation Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker comes with a solar panel that helps recharge the battery. To get a more accurate battery life result when charging via USB, we retested the battery life with the solar panel taped up and with the speaker placed in a box to prevent any light from coming in. We've updated our results accordingly.
The Alpine Corporation Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker has a decent battery performance. That said, there isn't a power-saving feature to help conserve battery life when not in use, so you should remember to turn it off manually. It's also important to note that battery life and performance can vary depending on usage, so your real-world experience may differ. Though this Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker is advertised to last for ten hours off of a single charge, it lasted for over 22 hours in our tests, when charged via USB.
To test its solar charging capabilities, we first set the speaker by a window and let it play at a moderate volume level to test its ability to play and charge simultaneously. This resulted in 46.5 hours of continuous playtime. To better understand its solar charging capabilities, should the speaker be used nightly and left to charge wirelessly during the day, we performed another test. We began by fully charging the speaker via USB and placing it in a dark box to let it play at a moderate volume level for around six hours to mimic nighttime. In the morning, we took the speaker out of the box and placed it by a window with its solar panel exposed so it could charge, without playing any audio. We later placed it back inside the box to play for another six hours and repeated this process for a week. At the end of the week, we finally let it play in the dark box until its battery ran out, which resulted in just under 16 hours of playtime, meaning the speaker doesn't reach a complete charge if played for at least six hours daily via its solar panel.
The Alpine Corporation Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker doesn't have any wired inputs. While it comes with a micro-USB cable, that's just for charging the speaker.
The Alpine Corporation Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker has satisfactory Bluetooth connectivity. Its range is disappointing, so it has trouble staying connected to a paired device that's far away from it. That said, this Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker has low latency with iOS and Android devices, making it a suitable choice for watching videos and movies. That said, some apps compensate for latency differently, so your real-world experience may vary. If you're looking for a similar rock-like speaker with a better Bluetooth range, check out the Theater Solutions B83GR.