Review Nuforce CUBE-SPEAKER-BLACK Portable Speaker

The Nuforce CUBE portable speaker is tiny yet has a sound that will surprise you. The feature of this CUBE that most impresses me is that it has an internal USB DAC. A DAC (digital analog converter) is the technology that converts digital signals to analog signals. Usually the DAC that is built into a computer is not the best. Nuforce has a thing for DAC's and including one in this little speaker is what sets it apart from the pack.

What's Included:
-Nuforce Cube speaker
-USB-MiniUSB cable
-Storage bag

The speaker is quite small... only about 2 1/4 inches square and 2 3/8 inches deep. The case is well made and feels substantial in the hand although it only weighs 5.9 ounces. It's a combination of metal and plastic with a removable fabric speaker cover.

The speaker is very clean looking and in fact does not have any controls on it at all... no on/off button, no volume control, no switches or knobs, nothing at all. The speaker has 2 internal Li-ion batteriews with a total capacity of 1100mAh and will play for up to 8 hours. On the back of the speaker are 3 ports. From left to right: 3.5mm audio input, MiniUSB port, 3.5mm Headphone output.

For the best sound, you want to use the USB DAC. After you attach the USB cable to your computer, you need to specify that the USB should be the audio out on your computer. I've shown how this is done on a Mac in my video review. Using the USB DAC in the speaker bypasses the DAC of the computer and presumably will be better than the computer's DAC.

Another benefit of the USB DAC is that the improved audio will also be output through the 3.5mm Headphone jack on the speaker. So you can get the benefit of the CUBE's DAC when listening to wired headphones that are connected to the speaker.

You also have the option to use the 3.5mm audio cable to provide the input to the speaker.

There is no arguing that Bass is lacking in the sound. But other than the lack of bass, the sound is tight, crisp and pleasant. It's definitely way better than any built-in laptop speaker and better than most other small speakers that I've listened to.. But it's not just the sound... it's the USB DAC that also allows you to use wired headphones.

It's a great, high-quality little speaker. I like it a lot.

I was provided a sample for review.

Review from Mr Erb.Thanks for watching.