I have used several small standalone Bluetooth speakers/speakerphones and I am still impressed with the fact that such small devices are able to deliver fairly loud sound. I find them very convenient to use, and a very attractive alternative to the headphones, particularly in situations where your music choices don’t bother those around you.

Brightech’s Remix5 is one of the midrange small Bluetooth speakers that I have tested. It is compact, user-friendly, and delivers decent sound. If you are an audiophile, of course, you will find a lot to complain about, but at this price range you won’t find many (if any) better alternatives. The speaker is perfect for casual listening, especially of pop music and other music genres that don’t put high demands on the quality and range of the sound.

The first thing that you will notice about Remix5 is that it’s completely rubberized on the outside. This speaker is intended for the outdoors use, and it’s supposedly both splash proof and impact proof. This means that you should not be dunking it into water for any extended period of time, but you don’t have to worry about it getting slightly wet. I also like the cube shape for the purpose of placing this speaker in my office. My office is already over-cluttered with all sorts of computers, gadgets and accessories, and something that is this efficiently shaped helps me ever so slightly to get organized.

The speaker was easy to pair with several devices that I tried to use it with: iPhone, iPad, and Galaxy S3. I have tested it as a speakerphone, but in general I am not a big fan of any Bluetooth headset/speakerphone, so I was not really impressed with this one either. The cell phone reception is still pretty spotty to begin with, and anything that makes the phone call harder to conduct should be avoided at any cost in my opinion.

Overall, this is a pretty good Bluetooth speaker, as long as you don’t expect to use it for your next block party.