Treblab’s HD-360 stands out from the crowd with its visually striking design, featuring four visible drivers that wrap around the perimeter of the speaker. The idea is that the spread in driver placement helps create an even dispersion of sound, no matter which direction the listener is sitting in. Let’s look at how well the design performs in practice and whether the HD-360 is viable for your next Bluetooth speaker.
Treblab HD-360
The Bottom Line
The HD-360 is a speaker that is best suited for indoor use. While still suitable for some outdoor spaces, the glass touch panel controls make it vulnerable. Still, the speaker has IPX4 water resistance and a durable metal shell that covers the lower two-thirds of the speaker. Its booming deep bass makes it especially well-suited to electronic music, though the balanced EQ preset sounds good with a wider variety of genres.
What’s In The Box?
- TREBLAB HD-360 Speaker
- 3.5mm AUX cable
- Type-C Charging Cable
- User Manual
- Catalog & Warranty card
Introducing The Treblab HD-360
Treblab is a company that specializes in Bluetooth speakers, earbuds, and headphones. Over the last several years, Treblab has released several iterations of speakers, ranging from the highly portable and affordable HD-Mini to the more extravagant HD-360 I’m covering in this review. The HD-360 was released in May 2023, making it one of their newer releases.
Design & Build Quality
The build of the HD-360 is unique and innovative but also, at times, a little hard to understand. The lower portion of the speaker is made from a durable metal that adds weight and extra protection, making it seem like it’s built for outdoor use. On the other hand, the top panel is glass and highly fragile, making it risky to transport the speaker in the same way you would with a traditional design.
Durability of Finish: 7.1/10
Feel of Buttons: 8.8/10
Touch Panel Response: 6.7/10
Weatherproofing: 6/10
Visually, the HD-360 looks unlike any speaker I’ve reviewed. It has a wide cylindrical shape, with the lower two-thirds of the speaker comprising a metal shell with four vertically oblong cut-outs that showcase the speaker’s drivers. These drivers are located every 90 degrees around the speaker, with the intent to distribute audio equally in all directions.
The upper third of the speaker is wrapped in a mesh fabric and complimented with a touch display at the top. The touch panel is aesthetically pleasing, with a subtle Treblab branding that doesn’t come across as tacky. However, I did find sometimes the speaker would require multiple taps on the screen before it would respond from a sleep state.
It isn’t the easiest speaker to carry, weighing 5.72 lbs and not incorporating a built-in handle. The lack of a handle ensures a cleaner aesthetic but makes the speaker particularly challenging to carry with one hand. This lack of easy portability makes the HD-360 better suited for home and garden use than for outdoor adventures away from home.
The IPX4 water resistance allows the speaker to be used around water and placed alongside your swimming pool. However, ensure that it doesn’t come into direct contact with water, as it doesn’t have protection against submergence.
Controls & Connectivity
The Treblab HD-360 has a luxurious glass control panel spanning the speaker’s top. It allows for track control, volume control, and pairing. It must be noted that this beautiful display opens up the possibility of damage when used in specific outdoor environments. Additionally, because there isn’t a companion app for the speaker, you’ll need to use the speaker to adjust EQ profiles and perform TWS pairing.
Bluetooth Profiles: Unspecified
Bluetooth Version: 5.0
Bluetooth Range: 10 meters
Frequency Response Range: 20Hz – 18kHz
On the lower back of the speaker is a port cover, which, when pressed on the far right for 2 seconds, will turn the speaker on. You can also open the port and press the button directly. This is also where the USB-C charging port and auxiliary input are located. The rubber cover seals these ports, protecting them from water intrusion. The left side of the port seal remains pushed out of the speaker slightly to make it easier to open.
When the speaker is turned on, it will automatically enter pairing mode. Alternatively, you can place your NFC-enabled phone on top of the speaker for a few seconds to begin pairing. Including NFC pairing is an awesome addition, making the initial setup phase even quicker and allowing you to jump into playing your music right away. It’s helpful to note that some phone covers may block the NFC connection process.
The Treblab HD-360’s control panel consists of a volume control that runs along the lower perimeter of the screen with a play/pause touch area in the center of the display. The volume controls double as track controls, while the play/pause button can also be used to toggle between EQ profiles.
Three additional LED icons appear on the control panel: a chain link button that can be used for pairing, including TWS; an NFC icon in the center; and a microphone icon on the right for call management.
Using this touch panel has both benefits and drawbacks. On one hand, the stylish design feels luxurious and classy. On the other hand, it is easy to touch buttons when handling the speaker accidentally. To help prevent this, the screen will automatically enter a power-saving mode that also makes it a bit tougher to trigger a button accidentally.
Once the control screen has dimmed, you can activate it again by double-tapping it. Another consideration one needs to keep in mind is that the screen is going to be prone to damage; avoid damaging the speaker by taking care of the kinds of activities occurring close to the speaker. A simple drop could end in disaster.
Additionally, in bright sunlight the screen can be quite difficult to read, as it doesn’t have an automatic brightness adjustment based on the ambient lighting.
When you change the volume on your phone, it doesn’t change the volume level on the speaker itself. For this reason, it is often better to keep the speaker volume at maximum and use your phone or tablet to make adjustments.
With Bluetooth 5.0, I was hoping for a reliable connection over an extended area but was left disappointed when I started encountering connection drop-off at around 10 meters in direct line of sight and just 7 meters with a single wall between the phone and the speaker. This falls behind the expectations set by other modern Bluetooth speakers I’ve recently reviewed, such as the Soundcore Motion X500, and is something Treblab should focus on improving.
The HD-360’s Design Ensures Broad Sound Coverage
This speaker’s unique approach to equal sound dispersion in every direction is a feature that makes it ideal for use at a picnic, games night, or next to the bonfire. The deep bass creates depth while being well-suited for electronic music genres, although it can sometimes be overpowering. Using the balanced EQ profile gives a neutral frequency response that adds clarity to the music, while the 3D-Surround mode adds nuance to the treble by adopting a more V-shaped sound signature.
Bass Performance: 7.4/10
Mid-tone Performance: 7/10
Treble Performance: 6.8/10
Volume: 7.9/10
Balanced Sound: 6.4/10
The sound quality of the HD-360 varies greatly between EQ profiles, with some creating a deep booming low end that can obscure the midrange, while others are bright, vibrant, and suitable for a broader range of music genres.
Bass Performance
The HD-360 produces deep lows that add extra depth to your music; it’s great for electronic music, where the low rumbles form a key part of the production. However, it isn’t very punchy and could do with a bit more elevation in the mid and upper bass. Still, the depth is something we rarely find on portable Bluetooth speakers of this size.
Bass Boost Mode
For powerful, enhanced low-end, the bass boost profile has you covered. In this setting, the speaker adopts a deep and substantial bass. It’s not ideal for music that requires midrange clarity, as the bass overpowers the mids, leading to a muddy sound. This setting is best for electronic tracks where bass is the primary focus.
Midrange Performance
Out of the three primary frequency ranges, the midrange is most affected by the EQ profiles. The Treblab HD-360 has mediocre midrange performance in the Bass Boost and 3D-Surround modes, where it sounds recessed and unbalanced. In contrast, it sounds accurate and detailed in the “Balanced Sound” mode.
Balanced Sound Mode
Indicated by a single flash of the LED indicator light every 10 seconds, the balanced sound profile provides a vibrant and bright sound with more clarity in the vocals than in other modes. It has a particularly pleasant midrange while still retaining deep bass.
Treble Performance
The treble of the HD-360 is decent but not great. When activating the 3D-Surround mode, it becomes enhanced and improves the listening experience, but overall, the treble sometimes has a hard time competing with the rumbling low-end, especially in the bass boost mode.
3D-Surround Mode
The 3D Surround setting adds more treble, bringing out subtle details in the upper frequencies with a little more bass over the balanced setting. It provides a more traditional V-shaped sound. The LED light will blink twice every 10 seconds to indicate you’re on the 3D Surround setting.
Sound Dispersion & Dynamics
With the HD-360’s core focus being the way it disperses sound in every direction, it was important to test this feature comprehensively. I placed the speaker one meter away from a measuring mic and measured the SPL of the speaker, rotating it 90 degrees before capturing the next set of data.
No matter which direction the speaker was facing, I was measured between 87.3 and 87.9 dB SPL, indicating very little variability. This even sound dispersion in every direction lends itself brilliantly to situations where listeners may be seated around the speaker, such as using it on a table or at a bonfire.
At full volume, the Treblab HD-360 produces up to 89.5 dB of volume at 1 meter.
The dynamics of the speaker are mediocre to decent, with degradation and lack of detail noticeable towards the last 10 to 15% of the volume range. It sounds best in the 75% range.
Battery Performance
The HD-360 is advertised to provide up to 12 hours of playtime, but during our testing at 40% volume, we got 8 hours of playtime. The charging time was slightly lower than Treblab estimated, at 3 hours and 47 minutes. At high volume levels, the HD-360’s battery depletes relatively quickly, which doesn’t suit extended outdoor use. Still, it performs within the range of market standards.
Charging Type: USB-C
Estimated Playtime: Up to 12 hours
Playtime at 50-60%: 7 Hours 52 Minutes
Charging Time: 3 Hours 47 Minutes
The Treblab HD-360 is rated for up to 20 hours of playtime on a single charge. In my testing, I kept the speaker at 40% volume and could edge out 12 hours of playtime. While falling short of the advertised potential, it’s always important to note that the volume levels manufacturers use for testing vary significantly between brands and models. Twenty hours is achievable at low volume levels, but the battery drains quickly as you increase the volume.
Some owners are unhappy with the overall performance of the battery. Still, I recently experienced a similar disparity when testing the Soundcore Motion X500, which was able to do decently but not great in its battery performance. The HD-360 comes out slightly ahead in this regard, with the X500 only giving 8 hours of performance compared to the 12 hours of advertised playtime. It also takes up to 4 hours to charge.
Still, one needs to be aware of these limitations, and if a long battery life is essential to you, consider something like the Megaboom 3 from Ultimate Ears, which produces around 18 hours of playtime from a single charge.
App Support
Unfortunately, the HD-360 doesn’t have a companion app with additional features. You’ll need to use the speaker itself to perform true wireless pairing and change EQ profiles.
Final Thoughts On The Treblab HD-360
The HD-360 sports a bold and brave design that separates it from most other speakers on the market. The driver placement effectively creates a broad sound that can be heard with equal quality no matter which side of the speaker you’re situated. It has a booming bass with an EQ toggle, allowing you to pick the best sound for the music genre you’re listening to. While it has its strengths, it also has limitations, most notably in Bluetooth connectivity and sometimes overwhelming bass.