With so many bluetooth speakers on the market these days, it’s important for a speaker to stand out from the crowd. The Hercules Wae Neo has this covered with it’s unique lighting system around the perimeter of the speaker. The LED lights are capable of producing over 16million colours which beat sensitive and also controllable with a smartphone app.
There have been other Bluetooth speakers that have incorporated a sound sensitive LED display such as the JBL Pulse however the Hercules Wae Neo manages to incorporate this feature far more subtly by limiting it to the speakers trim. The addition of the smartphone app gives a much greater flexibility to the LED display options, which can, of course, be disabled in order to extend the battery life of the speaker.
The Design / Build quality
The Hercules Wao Neo is a well built speaker measuring 13″ x 5.5″ x 5″. Its overall weight is around 2kg which isn’t too much of a hassle to carry around thanks to it’s well-designed handle which incorporates the backlit square power and volume buttons on its front face.
The sides and top of the Hercules speaker body is made from a glossy plastic which I’m personally not a fan of, as this type of finish often becomes a fingerprint magnet. That being said, due to the inch wide carry handle, there would be little reason to put your greasy mits on the sides, so this shouldn’t be much of a concern. The front and rear of the speaker feature a metal chequered design, which has a nice extruded detail on the rear and holes in the front over a course black fabric grill.
The Features / Functions
The Hercules Wae Neo offer Bluetooth 3.0 A2DP connectivity with NFC to automatically connect to nearby devices. The battery life is an impressive 15 hours with the lights off and 8 hours with them on, which should be more than enough time for most parties. The built-in lithium-ion batteries are recharged via a USB port on the back which can also be used as a mains power supply.
The WAE Music app is compatible with Andriod and iOS devices. The app makes it easy to control the lighting effects and can also give you options to adjust the speakers sound with it’s built-in equaliser. The WAE Music app integrates with all the major online music services and allows you to create playlists from multiple sources.
Sound Quality
The Wae Neo has 2 wideband drivers each capable of a 15W output (total 30W) which produce a surprisingly strong and clear sound quality. The bass feels powerful for a speaker of this size and is definitely the noticeable feature, this or course can be adjusted with the app’s equaliser settings if it’s not to your taste. While this the Wae Neo isn’t the loudest speaker of its size I’ve tested, it certainly is loud enough to fill an average sized room without any distortion. The treble and mid-range are adequate enough especially for a Bluetooth speaker but nothing to write home about.
In Summary
The Hercules Wae Neo Bluetooth speaker has a decent sound quality and it’s smartphone app-controlled lighting effects are a really nice feature. Although it may not be suitable for an audiophile who demands a perfectly balanced sound, for most people it’s more than adequate. The LED lights are great for getting into the party spirit and I would recommend the Hercules to anyone who wants to inject a bit of colour into their lives.
Price / Availability
The Hercules is available to buy online at Amazon and is priced at $163.15 in the US and £159.55 in the UK.
