Named after a traditional Mexican dish, the I-Venstar Taco is promised to bring the same delicious taste to music lovers for the price of a few real tacos. What can you expect from the Bluetooth speaker?
Unboxing & Sound Test
Design & Features
The speaker has the shape of a taco with the black shell wrapping around the red filling. At first, I thought that the red part might have drivers inside, however, the drivers are actually located on the front grille. Unlike some other round-shaped speakers like UE Boom, the Venstar Taco has only one placement with controls headed up.
I’m really surprised with build quality of the speaker. It doesn’t feel cheap like other Bluetooth speakers in the price range. You can see it has rubberized exterior and the combination of red and black color looks just awesome.
Besides, it is also equipped with NFC, built-in microphone and Bluetooth 3.0. The wireless range is said to reach 30 ft but I started seeing more hiccups at just 15 ft. Noticeably, the sound also got interrupted sometimes even when I placed it next to my phone.
The battery life of the Venstar is rated at 8 hours and the statement seems to be true. I managed to use the speaker for a week without the need of charging.
Audio Quality
I set my expectation bar very low when testing the speaker because the cheap speaker used just two 3W drivers. You can check out the sound test in the video on top to have an idea of the sound.
The Taco produces a mediocre sound, even when compared to other speakers at the same size. The bass is not as booming and deep as $100 Bluetooth speakers while the treble is also poorly presented. An advantage is that the mids and lower mids are quite clear.
However, I’m quite disappointed with the maximum volume of the speaker. It is quite low even when I use it indoors and turn up the volume on both my phone and the speaker itself. Having said that, this is still a huge upgrade from the built-in loudspeaker of your phone.
Conclusion
Pros
- Great build quality
- Low price
Cons
- Just acceptable sound
The Venstar Taco is among the cheapest Bluetooth speakers on the market. It has an attractive design and produces an acceptable sound for the price of 4 tacos you can buy at Chipotle, so this might be a great gift in the holiday season.
