Frequently Asked Questions
Powering
Do you mean what’s the lifespan of the batteries? They are rated for at least 500 charge/discharge cycles before they lose 10% of their power. In practice, this will last you several years.
Ah! There is no industry standard we can use to compare us against other manufacturers, and most quoted specs are misleading and have no bearing on what you’ll experience.
So what we did was connect a SoundBucket to our favourite radio station – BBC 6 music, and play it at maximum until it ran out of battery power. We got 12 hours at maximum, and 40 hours at two volume notches down. In our experience, this trumps most other speakers
Yes. The batteries are rechargable and can be charged quickly via our own supplier recharger for maximum charge. They can also be charged by a USB power source if needed, although this is slower and won’t charge it as fully as the mains charger (USB supplies just don’t have the juice).
At the end of their life, we can replace the rechargable batteries, so your SoundBucket can live forever!
Yes it comes as standard with your SoundBucket
Yes! When connected, it will charge the SoundBucket up, even if you’re playing music at the same time. When the SoundBucket is fully charged, it will automatically turn off the mains charger, reducing the standby power to less than 0.25W.
Our charger works anywhere in the world, you just need a power socket adapter to connect it to the local mains. You can also charge it ( slowly) from any USB power source.
Like all things, if you misuse or over stress a battery it can get hot and explode. That’s any battery, not just Li-ions. But a SoundBucket is really well protected, because we a) use expensive quality batteries from a reliable source, not cheap knock offs, b) we have added multiple inbuilt protection circuits that monitor the battery at all times, c) we undercharge the battery to prolong it’s life and stress it less. Oh and d) the SoundBucket is made of metal, so it’s inherently stronger than the plastic box speakers.
Environment
You can’t go swimming with a SoundBucket, but a little bit of water won’t do it any harm, so feel free to take it outdoors and to the beach etc.
There’s nothing electrically or mechanically that will stop it from working, but note that batteries hate extreme cold or heat, and lose their power in these environments. For this reason always charge your SoundBucket at room temperature.
As an aside, there are protection sensors in the SoundBucket, so if it gets too hot, it will turn off to protect itself.
It is a sealed box, so while sand might get everywhere, if you dry it off, you can shake off the sand without problem. It’s always worth not actively pouring sand into the connector holes however!
Yes, it’s the same as any portable electronic device, although you should check the current rules with your airline before flying.
Physical
Oviously a SoundBucket, but also a cloth carry bag, mains power charger, aux lead, USB emergency charge lead, quick start guide and leather travel bung.
It’s 12cm high by 14cm diameter and weighs 700g.
In old fashioned money, that’s roughly 5″ high by 6″ diameter, weighing about 2lbs