EcoXgear Defender Review: Big Volume On A Budget

Bryn De Kocks | October 29, 2024

A Surprisingly Comfortable Marriage of Ruggedness and Fun

If you’re in the market for an extremely loud portable Bluetooth speaker that can handle harsh outdoor conditions, the EcoXgear Defender may be what you’re looking for. Unlike similar speakers, it doesn’t strip back features and functions in exchange for its durability, instead, it incorporates elements of other designs to create what could be considered the Swiss Army knife of Bluetooth speakers.

Pros

  • Gets extremely loud
  • Easily portable at just 10 lbs
  • Deep, powerful bass
  • Good value for money
  • IP67 Dust & waterproof

Cons

  • No stands on the back
  • It’s very limited in its spread of sound, with tight directionality
  • The mobile app only adjusts the colors
  • Plastic can be scratched relatively easily on harsh surfaces like gravel

Battery Life:Up to 25 Hours (6 hours at max volume)
Water Resistance:IP67
Wireless Stereo Pairing:Yes
Power Output: 100W
Bluetooth:5.1
Driver/Transducer:6×9″ Woofer, 1.7″ Tweeter
Charging Type:AC 100-240V
Charging Time:Approximately 5-6 Hours
Inputs:3.5mm Aux, 1/4″ Microphone
Outputs:USB-C Output
Mobile App:For Light Control Only (SoundExtreme)
Size:15.4 x 9.6 x 6.7″
Weight:10.1 lbs

What’s In The Box?

  • 1 x EcoXgear Defender Speaker
  • 1 x Charging Cable
  • 1 x User Guide
  • 1 x Warranty Card
  • 1x EcoXgear Sticker

A Promising Portable Powerhouse

Released in the second quarter of 2024, the EcoXgear Defender is a speaker made for outdoor enthusiasts, incorporating relatively high-quality build materials, modern Bluetooth technology, and plenty of features. But is it as impressive in practice as it is on paper? Keep reading as we dive into this portable powerhouse’s design, connectivity, and audio performance.

ecoxgear defender handles

Design & Build Quality

Summary: The speaker features an exclusively plastic and rubber exterior with comprehensive IP67 waterproofing. A cap at the back of the speaker ensures the ports are kept safe from water intrusion. At around 10 lbs, it’s relatively easy to move around. With a handle on each side, it can be carried by one hand, or two – catering to those with limited carrying capacity. Its size makes it well-suited for outdoor trips like camping or use by the pool.

Durability of Finish:

7.6

Feel of Buttons:

7.9

Weatherproofing:

8.7

The Defender has a relatively compact form factor, with a width of 15.4”, a depth of 6.7”, and a height of 9.6”. It would be hard to deny that the Turtlebox Gen 2 served as inspiration for the design, with a similar style and driver layout. Both speakers use a 6×9 woofer for the mids and lows, with a central tweeter for detail, which has its own benefits and drawbacks which we’ll discuss later. However, unlike the Turtlebox, the Defender has a handle on each side, instead of the lunchbox style design with the top handle.

At just over 10 lbs, it’s a relatively lightweight speaker that can be carried in one hand. If you find carrying it by one hand too taxing, just grab onto the second handle and it becomes even more manageable. 

An IP67 rating means this speaker can withstand splashes of water, pressurized sprays, and limited submergence for up to 30 minutes at under 1 meter. Additionally, it is also protected from dust intrusion. Because it’s waterproof, it is also very easy to clean – just use a hose pipe with gentle pressure and wash away any dirt.

Four large rubber base stands ensure the speaker stays stable, even at high volume levels. There are no stands on the back of the speaker, however, meaning it cannot be positioned with the driver facing upwards.

The front grille is made up of hexagonal cutouts and while the plastic feels durable enough to withstand more than just a few bumps, the size of the holes in the grille means one should always be mindful of small sticks poking through and damaging the driver when carrying it through bushes in an outdoor setting. The handles have a rubber material that helps grip, but it can still feel a little slippery when wet.

You cannot find any metal parts on the speaker’s outside, with the whole shell being made exclusively from plastic and rubber. This isn’t surprising given the Defender’s price point, and the speaker still feels rugged, for the most part. However, the plastic on the bottom of the speaker can be scratched, especially when lifting the speaker from a rough surface with just one of the handles.

Additionally, there are five LED indicator lights on the top front of the speaker that show the current battery life, making it easy to see the status.

Additional Features

Summary: There are several features on the Ecoxgear Defender including somewhat standard ones like lighting effects, to more novel features like the built-in flashlight and bottle opener.

The EcoXgear Defender has vibrant lighting effects that can be toggled on or off, and adjusted to different colors and movements using the SoundExtreme mobile app or by double-pressing the button to move between options. While LED lighting isn’t for everyone, the fact that it can be turned off at the touch of a button makes these effects a pleasant surprise, and one that we aren’t used to seeing on similar speakers.

Separate from the lighting effects inside the grille,  is a white LED light on the top right of the speaker that can be used as a torch and has three different brightness levels to choose from. Tapping the LED button above the panel switches between these levels. This can be used while camping, helping to illuminate your tent or assist in traversing the darkness to your camping spot.

Another feature of the Defender is its ability to be tied down using the holes on each handle. These can be used to strap it to boats, jeeps or even just to fasten it in the back of a pickup.

Finally, on the lower right handle is a bottle opener (we weren’t kidding about this speaker being a Swiss army knife). While novel, this added quality-of-life feature can prove a valuable tool when sitting around the campfire.

Controls & Connectivity

Summary: There are comprehensive on-speaker controls, meaning you don’t need to reach for your phone constantly to adjust the track, volume, or pairing. Wired inputs include a 3.5mm aux-in and ¼” microphone input. Additionally, a USB-C output can be used to charge your devices. The wireless connectivity is good, but not outstanding with the Bluetooth range being around 18 to 25 meters in our testing.

Bluetooth Version: 5.1
Bluetooth Range: Up to 30 meters

In recent years we’ve seen more and more manufacturers water down their on-speaker controls in favor of using one’s phone, but the EcoXgear Defender opts for the inverse, featuring a total of 9 buttons (10 if you include the flashlight), some of which are split into two functions. Here’s what you’ll get from this speaker:

  • Power
  • Pairing
  • Track Skip (Forward and backward)
  • Volume (Up and down)
  • Play/Pause
  • Microphone Volume (Up and down)
  • Ecocast & Aux In
  • LEDCast
  • ecoEQ

This covers just about everything you’d need and while it can look a little overwhelming at first, the controls are relatively simple and intuitive. Some have secondary functions but these are mapped out in the user guide. The buttons become backlit for several seconds after pressing any button, but I couldn’t find an option to enable them to remain backlit. This means you’ll still need to find the buttons in the dark. I’d have liked for the app to provide a toggle for backlighting on the buttons.

Overall, the buttons feel nice to press, they’re made from a soft rubber and give a noticeable click when activated.

EcoXgear Defender Review: Big Volume On A Budget 4

Wired Connections (Inputs & Outputs)

Opening up the waterproof seal on the back of the speaker exposes several wired connection options. A 3.5mm auxiliary input lets you connect a source device directly to the speaker without the need for Bluetooth. A ¼” microphone input allows you to use the Defender as a karaoke speaker and even lets you adjust the microphone volume separately.

A USB-C charging output is a welcome feature that lets you charge your mobile device using the speaker’s built-in battery. We still see many manufacturers lagging behind and incorporating a USB-A output for charging when USB-C has become standard at this point.

Finally, this is also where you’ll find the 18V DC input for charging the speaker.

Keep in mind that when any of these ports are being used the speaker is no longer waterproof, so always be sure to seal it back up before introducing it into wet conditions.

EcoXgear Defender Review: Big Volume On A Budget 5

Wireless Connectivity

For its wireless connectivity, it uses Bluetooth 5.1, which while not the latest in Bluetooth versions, is fairly recent and remains a reliable option for any Bluetooth speaker. During our testing, we found that it retained a stable connection for more than 15 meters with a direct line of sight, but encountered some jitters at 10 meters with a wall between the source device and speaker.

In addition to basic wireless connectivity, the Defender also has multi-speaker pairing using EcoXgear’s EcoCast, which supports up to 100 speakers and can split audio into left and right channels, creating a true wireless stereo connection.

Sound Quality

Summary: Sound quality is impressive, particularly because the three preset EQs you can toggle between cover most use scenarios. The bass can get very deep and powerful, particularly when using the standard EQ. There are also indoor and outdoor EQ presets which add more warmth and prominence in the highs, respectively. It can get extremely loud, able to fill a medium to large-sized room with sound. However, it suffers from a lack of dispersion, with the best sound quality being heard by those directly in front of the speaker rather than off to the sides.

Bass:

8

Mid-tone:

6.8

Treble:

7.2

Volume:

8.3

Balanced Sound:

6.8

Frequency Response Tests

EcoXgear Defender Review: Big Volume On A Budget 6

Standard EQ

EcoXgear Defender Review: Big Volume On A Budget 7

Indoor EQ

EcoXgear Defender Review: Big Volume On A Budget 8

Outdoor EQ

The EcoXgear Defender’s sound varies greatly between the ecoEQ setting you choose to use. There are three EQ profiles: Default/Standard, Indoors, and Outdoors. The default profile has a very deep and powerful bass which excels for genres like hip-hop and dance music. The indoor setting elevates the mids, balancing out the bass and making it better for indoor areas with more complex acoustics. Finally, an outdoor setting has more focus on the highs, which helps to improve vocal clarity, especially in windy conditions where these details may be lost.

Bass

The EcoXgear has impressive bass potential, depending on the EQ setting you use. In its default EQ, the bass is particularly deep and at lower volume levels can sometimes sound a little too overpowering. I’d recommend using the indoor ecoEQ profile for lower volume levels, especially indoors – as it strikes a good balance between bass and clarity of higher frequencies like female vocals.

Mids

Much of the midrange is handled by the 1.7” tweeter, which has benefits and drawbacks. On one hand, it does a really good job of covering these frequencies and the vocals sound clear and well-defined. When using the default EQ, they can sometimes sound a bit overpowered by the deep bass, but with the indoor EQ enabled, it creates a more balanced sound where the midrange sounds particularly good. The downside is that because a single central tweeter is producing a lot of the midrange, the directivity is limited and a lot of the midrange clarity is lost if the speaker isn’t facing directly towards you.

Highs

Subtle details in the highs are well produced with the Defender’s high-quality tweeter. Sibilance is minimal and instead sharp consonants sound precise. It can breathe life into electronic music, where these subtle details are more noticeable. However, because there is only a single tweeter instead of a dual tweeter setup, panning between channels can be lost unless you’re using two Defenders in a TWS connection.

Dynamics & Soundstage

Despite its sound being better than expected, soundstage is an area where it struggles. This is inherent to this type of design, and the similar Turtlebox struggles in the same way. Dual tweeters would improve the soundstage, by increasing the width of sound and making instruments sound better placed. 

This is also heavily influenced by the limited directionality of the Defender. It sounds great when you’re facing the speaker directly, but even moving slightly off-center reduces the clarity and detail. The further away from the drivers you move, the more the audio sounds like it’s being delivered to one of your ears and creates a hollow sound.

EcoXgear Defender Review: Big Volume On A Budget 9

102dB measured at a distance of 1 meter

In contrast, the dynamics are very impressive and it can get extremely loud with minimal loss of quality. It’s advertised as producing up to 121 dB, and in our testing environment, we were able to measure an SPL of 102 dB at a standard measuring distance of 1 meter with the speaker using its battery. While short of the advertised 121 dB, one must keep in mind that many of the volume capability claims made in the Bluetooth speaker market don’t align with the results found in third-party testing. This is true for the Turtlebox and Soundboks Go as well. 

Still, this is an incredibly loud speaker for its size and can easily go toe to toe with the Turtlebox in volume performance.

Battery Performance

Charging Type: AC
Manufacturer Playtime: Up to 25 hours (Up to 6 hours at max volume)
Playtime at 30% (Tested): 28 Hours
Charging Time: 5 Hours 49 Minutes

The EcoXgear Defender has a built-in rechargeable battery and it is advertised to provide up to 25 hours of playtime at 50% volume, or 6 hours at full volume. This is the same estimates found on the Turtlebox 2.

In our testing environment, we were able to use the speaker all day (9 hours) at around 30% volume without depleting even 20% of its battery. For most users, you’re unlikely to use this speaker at maximum volume, and even at 75% it’s loud enough to fill a relatively large room with sound. It lasted slightly longer than our Turtlebox 2 tests.

This lengthy battery life is excellent for camping, where you’re afforded plenty of listening time without having to constantly find a charging area.

It uses an 8V/1A AC charger which can charge the speaker from 0% to 100% in around 6 hours.

Mobile App Support

The EcoXgear uses the SoundExtreme app, which unfortunately gives very little control over the speaker, other than allowing you to change the lighting effects. You can toggle between scenes, adjusting how the light rhythms and colors, but there’s no EQ, no battery indicator, or multispeaker pairing options.

Available on Android & Apple.

Conclusion

Overall, with a price tag of just $250 the EcoXgear Defender punches above its weight, directly competing with speakers nearly twice its price. It’s able to reach incredibly loud volume levels and has plenty of quality-of-life features, from comprehensive controls and lighting to a built-in flashlight and even a bottle opener. It has impressive audio that can be easily adjusted using the EQ button, allowing you to toggle between different sounds. You can choose to go with a bass-heavy sound or opt for more clarity in the mids and highs. 

Areas for improvement include the limited directionality and lack of mobile app features. The soundstage is limited primarily by the driver design which sees sound blasted directly out the center of the speaker with little spread.

EcoXgear Defender
EcoXgear Defender Review: Big Volume On A Budget 15

Looking for a rugged Bluetooth speaker packed with power? The Defender may be the speaker for you. Keep reading to see what our tests revealed.

Product Brand: ecoXgear

Editor's Rating:
4.2

Pros

  • Gets extremely loud
  • Easily portable at just 10 lbs
  • Deep, powerful bass
  • Good value for money
  • IP67 Dust & waterproof
  • Cons

Cons

  • No stands on the back
  • It's very limited in its spread of sound, with tight directionality
  • The mobile app only adjusts the colors
  • Plastic can be scratched relatively easily on harsh surfaces like gravel
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Author: Bryn De Kocks

Bryn has worked in the field for several years, writing in-depth speaker reviews for various audio publications. His work has historically focused on headphones and Bluetooth speakers, while incorporating his understanding of the Bluetooth speaker market to help educate potential buyers.

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