House of Marley Solo is like a cheaper, better-looking, Bluetooth Sonos One
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You’ve probably heard of the environmentally conscious audio manufacturer House of Marley – yes, made in collaboration with Bob Marley’s real-life family. If not, the company’s Rebel and Liberate Air earbuds are a good place to start.
And while the Liberate Air didn’t exactly get a rave review from this publication, the audio specialist just released a project that could well be the song of redemption.
The new Just come together (opens in new tab) (Is it possible to get together solo? And if so, could you be loved?) is the House of Marley signature speaker, reinvented. It’s essentially an all-new portable speaker with up to 25 hours of playtime.
Get Together Solo speaker is a two-way design with 3.5-inch and 0.75-inch drivers, but while it looks like half of a great stereo speaker pair, it likes to go solo, with Bluetooth 5.1, plus RCA and AUX connectivity . And in true Marley style, this new addition takes sustainability seriously. It’s made from bamboo and the company’s proprietary REWIND fabric; a balanced blend of 30% reclaimed organic cotton, 30% reclaimed hemp and 40% recycled plastic bottles.
As one of the world’s fastest growing plants, bamboo is an eco-friendly alternative to most materials – making it a much greener option than the Sonos One.
Opinion: Greener doesn’t have to mean uglier – House of Marley’s Solo proves it
Perhaps, when we imagine recycled plastic bottles and hemp by-products, we imagine a cloudy brown material that resembles a bag. This is not what the House of Marley Get Together Solo is telling us. Not at all.
Its glorious bamboo baffle, curved edges, drivers and handy top plate control panel suggest ambitious hi-fi, and I personally had to double check the price given the Bluetooth and connections on the back.
House of Marley also tells us that you can seamlessly pair two Get Together Solo speakers to form stereo sound, and For a simple, wireless, eco-conscious turntable setup, you can also pair the Get Together Solo with the House of Marley’s Stir It Up Wireless Turntable (currently on sale for just £219.99 (opens in new tab) from £249.99, which is about $246 or AU$390) for a remarkably affordable system.
Having recently tried the Victrola Stream Carbon (which hooked up to my Sonos Five, a treat with no extra amps or phono stages), I’m a wireless turntable convert – and House of Marley’s proposal is tempting.
The House of Marley Get Together Solo is for sale at House of Marley (opens in new tab) now, and will be available on Amazon (opens in new tab) and HMV (opens in new tab) by the end of the month, priced £99.99 (about $111, AU$175, though we’re waiting for official pricing there) – but House of Marley has kindly told us it will be a Black Friday promo in the UK, for just £79.99.
At that price, even the best Bluetooth speakers should sit up and take notice, because that saving on an already affordable speaker makes us feel like the sun is shining, and the weather is sweet, yeah…