Otone Aporto portable speaker review

A portable speaker with a twist, the Otone Aporto is hoping to break the mould


Reasons to buy

  • +

    Detachable speakers

  • +

    Great price

  • +

    Above par sound quality

Reasons to avoid

  • -

    Glossy plastic body

  • -

    Lack of Bluetooth

  • -

    Flimsy speaker wires

The Otone Aporto looks just like any other portable speaker, it runs off batteries or through USB 2.0. It does however have an ace up its sleeve

Otone has set itself apart from the pack with the Aporto portable speaker. In fact Otone is aiming to set itself apart with almost all of the speakers it produces, and in a market which is certainly not lacking in choice this can only be a good thing.

The Aporto's trump card is impressively simple, by pulling the speakers away from the central base the retractable cord hidden within allows them to become a pair of laptop speakers, powered either via batteries or via the USB 2.0 connection.

Of course having a trump card is great, but that doesn't guarantee that it'll actually be any good so we put it through its paces.

Otone Aporto: Build

Otone's main focus is building products that look as premium as possible while still being able to keep the cost down. In this case it has been well executed.

That said the Aporto's glossy black body is a fingerprint magnet. It's something that will either really bother you or will result in a shrug of the shoulders.

This aside it feels sturdy and reliable with the large speaker grills conveying the impression that these can output some serious noise.

Otone Aporto: Features

First up are the detachable speaker modules, pulling away from the body thanks to a non-tangle cable that will reel itself in when reconnecting them.

It's a great system and is more than just a gimmick when it comes to sound quality, we do wonder however if the cables could have been a bit thicker but this is more a grumble than anything else.

On the back there's a mini-USB socket that, when connected to a laptop will allow the computer to both power the speakers and also provide audio at the same time.

There's also a normal 3.5mm audio socket as well. Worth noting is the fact that Otone has also provided cables for both these sockets, with each being completely adjustable in length.

It's a small gesture but one that we think more audio companies should take note of.

Otone Aporto: Audio quality

The Aporto is first and foremost a portable speaker, as such you'll find a 3W speaker in each module and while they won't blow you away they're certainly better than you'd expect. The sound quality is crisp and clear and will only become distorted if you turn the source volume too high.

Detach the speaker modules and you'll notice a significant boost in bass response and an increase in warmth of tone.

Either way you decide to use it the Aporto is a more than capable outdoor speaker and travel speaker.

Otone Aporto: Verdict

At £34.99 the Otone Aporto is superbly priced, while both looking and feeling like a premium product it can output sound which is worthy of speakers that would cost considerably more.