MPow FreeBang Bluetooth Speaker

 I own quite a few Bluetooth speakers and the MPow FreeBang did not let me down. I would like to start by saying that this speaker does have some weight to it, coming in at about 4 pounds. The speaker has a nice rubberized feel to it and the handle is made from a durable silicone rubber, there is only one flap and it is on the back of the speaker. Open the flap and you will see three ports, from left to right, 3.5mm audio input, micro USB port used to charge the speaker and a full size USB port to charge your phone or other device. The two smaller holes are the microphone(to the left of the 3.5mm port) and the LED light(between the USB ports). It has a 4400mAh battery which depending on how loud you turn the speaker up and how far away your device is from the speaker you can get 10 hours of play time. I will say that the first time that I charged the speaker, I was able to get about9 to 9 1/2 hours of play time that improved after charging it for the second time.
Charging time for me was about 7 hours which is about right for the size of the battery. Pairing the speaker is easy, turn it on and you will see a blue LED light flash, look for MBS8, choose that and your done. MPow says that the Bluetooth range is about 30 feet, I was able to get about 35 feet before the signal started to drop, even when I went into the basement or other rooms I never noticed signal drop. You get two cables with the FreeBang, a USB to micro USB for charging the speaker and a 3.5mm cable to connect your device straight into the speaker.
The FreeBang has two 5 watt speakers and a 4 1/2 inch by 2 inch bass port to give quite an enjoyable listening experience. On top of the speaker is where you will find the controls, power, back skip, forward skip, down volume, up volume and the pause button. Each button has a mild "click" to them, I counted 14 clicks from no sound to full volume. At full volume I really had to listen for any distortion, I did not hear any. Since the FreeBang has two speakers, and a good sized bass port, I found that the highs were crystal clear, sharp and defined, the mids had a nice punch that was crisp and the bass was a delight to hear, no muddy sounds just a nice tight thump, just listen to Jungle Boogie through it and you will know what I mean!
All my devices pair easily to the speaker, as always each device does affect what you hear, for example my iPod Touch is not as loud as my Nokia Lumia 520 and my Nexus 7(2013) has more bass in the playback than my iPod. I found an old LG phone from Trac Fone(LG800GHL) and it had no problem pairing to the FreeBang. I own the MPow Armor speaker and I love it but the FreeBang beats it hands down, it has a better bass response and longer batter life. The overall volume of this speaker is quite loud, not for a tailgate but loud enough for a BBQ or birthday party. The charging port is a 1 amp charger, it will charge your device but not as fast as a 2.4 amp so keep that in mind. The only thing that can make this speaker better is an LED indicator for the battery, yes the speaker does beep when it is getting low but having a gauge to let you know how much charge it has would be nice. Is the MPow FreeBang worth the money??? I would have to say yes, you get great sound and a power bank all for the asking price, you just cannot go wrong.