Club Benefits
Marshall might be making waves with its audio products like the Marshall Milton ANC, but it’s not the only instrument maker-turned-electronics manufacturer in town — the Fender brand also has a new suite of Bluetooth speakers that allows you to take your music (and guitars) anywhere and everywhere you want to go.
The most affordable entry in the two-piece ensemble is the ELIE 6, a $299 portable Bluetooth speaker that was developed by the Fender Audio team. It features a quarter-inch XLR port for music instruments, which I’ve been using with my Ibanez bass.
Is $300 a bit too much to spend on a portable Bluetooth speaker when you can get louder, more competent models like the LG Xboom Grab and Ultimate Ears Boom 4 for half the price? Yeah, probably. But having a portable speaker that doubles as an amp is certainly handy for vagabonding musicians looking to take their music on the road.
It's a decent little Bluetooth speaker
Although it doubles as an amp, the ELIE 6 is a Bluetooth speaker first and foremost — and it does a competent job in this role. It doesn’t bring the wall-shaking party the same way the JBL Xtreme 4 does, nor does it have the Sony Ult Field 5’s lightshow, but the sound profile is refined and relatively bassy.
In terms of size, it's not all that big. It's only 7.7 x 4.8 x 4.1 inches, so it's easy to throw in a bag.
To put it through its paces, I used my usual speaker testing playlist that includes songs from Paramore, Eminem, Jimi Hendrix and John Williams.
By and large, the highs and mids are clear and precise at a moderate volume level and only begin to distort as you push it to 11... I mean full volume. (Sadly there's no actual 11...)
It's bass levels that are very underserved in this speaker, though it's not for a lack of trying. There's a woofer at the bottom of the speaker that does its best to produce low-end frequencies, but the small form factor prevents it from reaching any form of meaty sub-bass.
If you want to double your output, you can sync up a second ELIE 6 speaker in either stereo, or round up a whole group of speakers if you want to turn your garage into a Guitar Center.
Personally, the ELIE 6 isn't going to replace my critical listening open-back headphones anytime in the near future, but for small gatherings, it's perfect.
A portable amp you'll want to bring everywhere
Whatever you feel about the speaker's sound quality, it's not the whole reason to buy an ELIE 6. You're choosing it over the competition because it doubles as a portable amplifier.
Now, I’ve never been a road musician, but I’ve carried my fair share of amps for friends and my older brother. Compared to schlepping a traditional 40-pound amplifier around, however, moving the 4-pound ELIE 6 around is a breeze.
Connecting my Ibanez bass was as simple as plugging in the jack, and volume is controlled by the knob on the right of the controls.
There is a very specific kind of person out there that's going to love this speaker.
I was able to play a few renditions of my favorite Red Hot Chili Pepper songs, and the sound quality was good. Again, there was no floor-shaking rumble to it, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the amp likely serves guitarists better than bassists.
Overall, the ELIE 6 is the perfect size and volume level take outside to a park and play for some friends.
Is the Fender ELIE 6 worth $300?
There is a very specific kind of person out there that's going to love this speaker.
It's not the person who wants crystalline-clear sound quality. It's not the person who wants all-day battery life. (Fender says the ELIE 6 is good for about 18 hours of playback, which felt right given my two days of testing.) But it's very appealing for someone who just wants one speaker that doubles as a Bluetooth device and an amp.
If that's you, rock on. Fender Audio's got you covered.
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