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.
- Not a lot of compression at max volume.
- Doesn't get very loud.
- Lacks low-bass.
- 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.
- Not a lot of compression at max volume.
- Low latency via Bluetooth.
- Doesn't get very loud.
- Lacks low-bass.
- 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.
- Supports multi-device pairing.
- Not a lot of compression at max volume.
- Doesn't get very loud.
- 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 passable 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 the manufacturer advertises it as 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.
- 22-hour battery life (and more with solar recharging).
- Advertised water resistance.
- Supports multi-device pairing.
- Doesn't get very loud.
- Lacks low-bass.
- Poor soundstage performance.
Changelog
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Updated May 01, 2025:
We referenced the Lodge Solar Speaker 4 Series 2 in the Style box.
- Updated Sep 06, 2024: We've updated the Battery scores and text, as we've reevaluated how the Battery Life, Charge Time, and Power Saving scores are weighted. We've also updated the relevant usage boxes.
- Updated Sep 09, 2021: Updated the text to provide more information regarding its solar charging capabilities.
- Updated Mar 24, 2021: Updated battery life results.
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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 comments, and we'll update our review.
Popular Speaker Comparisons
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 our recommendations for the best Bluetooth speakers, the best Bluetooth speakers under $100, and the best waterproof Bluetooth speakers.
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 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 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.
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. It also has a solar panel on top, 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. If you're looking for a solar-powered speaker with a more traditional design, consider the Lodge Solar Speaker 4 Series 2.
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.
The Alpine Corporation Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker has good 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 the manufacturer advertises this Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker to last 10 hours off of a single charge, it lasted for over 22 hours in our tests when charged via USB. The Alpine Corporation Solar Bluetooth Rock Speaker has a solar panel that helps recharge the battery. 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. Then, we subsequently updated the results.
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. We performed another test to better understand its solar charging capabilities if the speaker is used nightly and left to charge wirelessly during the day. 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.