iFans – Review: Acase Black Diamond III – Speaker and Lightshow in One

Acase | Speaker | $ 120

Lights… Camera… Act… Audio! The Acase Black Diamond III is a new Speaker by Acase that doesn’t just play your music, it gives you a nice light show to go along with it. Inside this plastic, crystal ball are 2 speakers and a number of LEDs that will light up your night and flicker to your music. It’s visually, but also sonically, stimulating.

In the Box

Black Diamond III
Remote Control
USB Cable Power Cable with 3.5 mm Split Jack
USB AC Power

Design

The design of the Black Diamond is going to be the first thing that catches your eye; I know it’s the first thing that caught mine. Upon looking at it without power, it looks like a dull crystalline figure that isn’t too special. Once plugged in, the light show begins and the speaker can be customized to function its lights in different manners. There are a number of modes to run at, some that go to the beat of your songs, some that just sit like a lamp. Regardless, the design aspects of the Black Diamond are absolutely beautiful and stunning to look at, regardless what mode you’re in; assuming the lights are running.

Design: ★★★★★

Audio

Users have choice of how they want to run their audio, through a direct analog connection, or through BT. The better choice here would be to use an analog connection which results in much better sub-bass response. The sound generally hangs towards the midrange, it isn’t special, but also not entirely bad either.

Bass

Regardless of what mode you are using, BT or analog, you’ll quickly find that this speaker wasn’t made to be a sub-woofer. The depth of the bass simply won’t be enough to properly reproduce songs. Texturing isn’t entirely killed though. Impacts are barely strong enough to convey themselves. Punches have a light tightness to them, but like the impacts, just aren’t strong enough. The main areas that are problematic in the bass really spreads through.

Bass: ★★★

Mids

The midrange is where these speakers will shine the best overall. They have a really clear, sweet sound to them that focuses on the upper mids. That said, they hold strong instrumental clarity as well as a beautiful sweetness to vocals that lift nicely. Although it misses a few micro-details, it still does a decent job retrieving the details. The vocals do lack lushness to them. The midrange does good for itself, but it’s really a give some, take some sort of deal.

Mids: ★★★★½

Highs

The treble takes from the midrange as well being a little better than the bass. They have very strong detailing throughout the entire treble range; from the low-highs to the upper highs. A slight sibilance and metallic sound can come from the upper treble, but the separation is still nicely portrayed while the lower snaps have a strong extension and presence. The highs don’t extend as far as they should though, but do go enough to create a sense of air.

Highs: ★★★★½

Audio: ★★★★

Build

The build quality of the speaker doesn’t really suffer since its use is really stationary. It’s not meant to be used as a portable, so no case is included. Overall, the build is positive though.

The shell of the speaker is very large and made from a thicker plastic that is well polished and feels strong. The crystal dome looks like is’s very tough alone. The cables included are very thick with more than ample strain reliefs behind them, which is also a huge plus. The headphone jack is straight, so if I were to be picky, that’d be it. There really isn’t much to say, I wouldn’t change too much of the build myself.

Build: ★★★★½

Value

Bluetooth speakers do run you quite a bit nowadays. This one will run you about 120 dollars, which isn’t bad, but it’s still not the best. The sound quality is really restricted by the size of the actual speakers that are about 30 mm. Some headphones I have contain larger drivers. However, for what they give you, wireless system, very beautiful design, strong build, it does hold quite a bit of value behind it.

Value: ★★★★

Final Thoughts

This speaker is such a beautiful piece of art. The crystalline structure of the speakers looks strong. Once it lights up, the inner beauty begins to show. The gorgeous light and design is what will really sell this speaker. For the size of the drivers, they do provide decent audio quality.

I’d like to thank Pedro for the product sample.

Overall Score

Acase Black Diamond III

† All prices are in US currency.
This review was written by the iFans.com Review Team. Cumulative scores are rounded to the nearest half or full star.
This accessory, product, or app was received as a sample. Thanks Pedro for the product sample.

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