Poca Audio has launched Pine Beat a high-performance portable speaker and power bank that has easily swappable batteries that extend both the life of the product and its off-grid playtime. Pine Beat and its accessories are made from sustainable materials including traceable ocean waste plastic, recycled aluminum, natural rubber, recycled silicone and organic cotton. The speaker is also serviceable and upgradable.
Every year, billions of obsolete or broken gadgets end up going to landfill, that figure includes countless portable speakers because many of them are typically sealed-plastic designs that can’t be serviced. The speakers tend to die when their battery can no longer hold a usable charge.
Poca Audio says it wants to stop electrical waste by designing a speaker that’s good for a long life. Bang & Olufsen has already been making moves in the direction of a cradle-to-cradle philosophy, but Poca Audio’s co-founder and product designer, Aaron Ox, says: “We can do all this without compromising quality. Sustainable never sounded so good.”
Rechargeable batteries are normally the first part to fail in many electronic devices so Poca Audio designed the Pine Beat speaker with user-swappable 2,600mAh batteries that can be swapped over in seconds. The new speaker is also serviceable and upgradeable. For example, the circuit board could to be updated with a future-generation of Bluetooth or even some other wireless technology that’s yet to be invented.
Pine Beat’s compact battery can be swapped over in seconds so its playtime is really only limited by the number of spare batteries a user wants to carry with on their adventures. Even a single battery charge can deliver up to 30 hours of playing time. If you were to carry a spare battery, you’d have enough power to play the Pine Beat for eight hours a day for an entire week.
The output of this portable speaker is an impressive 40W driven by Class D amplification. The output is shared between a 1.25-inch tweeter, a 2.5-inch woofer and a a 2-inch passive radiator.
The speaker’s go-anywhere design is rated as IP67 which makes it both sand-proof and waterproof. The Pine Beat also can be used with a range of performance-enhancing accessories from Poca Audio, all sustainably manufactured in the U.K.
Hang It! Stick It! Plant It!
A magnetic area on the base of the speaker can be placed on the adhesive stainless-steel disc which ships can with the Pine Beat and stuck anywhere the user wants to place it, whether that be a paddle board, kayak or bathroom shower. The base will also stick to any other magnetic surface.
The Cord is an adjustable-length lead made from recycled plastic bottles that can be screwed into the base of the Pine Beat and secured to just about anything using its carabiner. The speaker can be hung from a tent spar, the branch of a nearby tree, tied to a backpack or used to fashion a carry handle.
The Peg Stake is a durable spike that can be easily collapsed and stowed away on the side of Pine Beat when not in use. Like the Mag Base, Peg Stake is made from traceable fishing nets, collected and recycled in the U.K., it also includes recycled aluminum and silicone.
Pricing and Availability:
The POCA Pine Beat speaker is available now from the POCA audio website and is priced at £170 including a 30-month warranty. Extra batteries, plus all the accessory options, cost £25 each, with money-saving bundle deals available.
Tech Specs:
- Swappable battery: Yes.
- Power output: 40W Class D.
- Bluetooth: Version 5.3.
- Battery: 2,600mAh.
- Playing time: 30 hours.
- Rating: IP67.
- Aux connection: Yes.
- Frequency response: 58Hz – 20kHz.
- Multi-pairing: Up to 100 other Pine Beats.
- Power bank: Fast charging in and out.
- Dimensions: 178 x 80mm
- Weight: 676g.
- Warranty: 30 months.
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