AYL Mini Speaker System, Portable Plug-in Speaker with 3.5mm Aux Input & 3.5 mm Jack, External Audio for Laptop, MP3, iPhone – Small Wireless Bluetooth Speaker with Built-in Mic (Black)

I'll cover a fact or two that may not be apparent about the little wired speaker (AYL), but keep in mind that this speaker has been sold for several years, and from other reviews it is clear that it has undergone some design changes over that time - so everything here applies only to the one I happened to receive, in early December 2022. Also, bear in mind that I am not an audiophile, and am using the speaker on a QRP (low power) amateur radio that has a very small and inadequate built-in speaker, not for listening to music. Volume control: Mine has a traditional continuous control, zero to full volume, not the push or flick side-to-side volume control many others have reported. Either will work; I prefer this control. Charging port: USB C. The included short USB C cable is claimed to be only for charging, not data transfer. The speaker charges fine from other USB C charging cables & chargers intended for phones. The USB C port has an intriguing "CHARGE AUDIO" labeling on the device. Surely this doesn't mean it will accept USB audio input? I did not check. It probably is just an artifact of sharing parts with another model that does, or of carelessness in labeling. Perhaps some brave soul will test it and report back in a review or comment. It came with a microscopic instruction manual, written in "stiff" English. Also a greeting card from the USA seller, with phone # and web site. The "Aux" output jack (labeled "AUDIO" on the device), intended for daisy-chaining multiple speakers together to get more sound, appears to be a pass-through (it is active whether the speaker is on or off). Take Note: it can be used as an input as well. It is more handy for me to use a male-to-male (plug to plug) stereo 3.5 mm jumper cable to connect my audio to the speaker than to unfurl the short stereo cable and plug from its position tucked away on the bottom of the speaker (this plug/cable is labeled "AUX IN" on the device). A 3.5mm stereo extension cable (female to male / jack to plug) was included to help get that short plug/cable on the speaker bottom to an audio source more than a couple of inches away (I did not measure its length), but since I don't use that cable input, I simply tested this extension cable (it works fine) and stored it away with other audio cables and connectors. Some people have complained that the speaker will not stay "shut". Mine can be squeezed down to compress the accordion pleats and twisted to lock it into a compact ball. It will stay that way while handled. I did not feel the need for the extra bass the extension "pop-up" is intended to deliver. That might get music "thumbing" the bass rhythm, but for radio communications, it has plenty of bass when "closed". I expect the audio quality is fine for the kind of casual music listening for which it is intended. For any hams reading, the radio is a tr(uSDX), with its tiny, tinny speaker (better than nothing, but still). The AYL speaker gives great audio, with a decent range of volume, with the radio set to volume levels of 10 or so. You can turn up the volume on the radio without triggering feedback (owners will know what I mean), but at some point the little speaker will overload and start to distort. It should be enough volume for working outdoors in all but the very worst conditions. For those times, give up and use a headset. I don't have any experience on ruggedness, longevity, battery life, etc., though the battery seemed to be holding up fine for some extended listening, right out of the box, without charging it at all. The LED on the bottom is blue during operation, red during charging, and blue again when charging is complete. I don't know yet whether the LED somehow signals a low battery. (Hopefully, not with that creepy voice some reviews report!) The only thing I'd change is the top; it is too open for my taste, potentially allowing dirt and debris into the speaker diaphragm area. I'd prefer a fine screen. A very minor design complaint. It did not come with a bag or case, but I'll find something to keep it safe and clean during transport. If it fails early, or there is "news", I'll try to come back to this review and update it.

Excellent, I bought this to replace one that didn't last long. AYL Mini Speaker is sturdy, charge hold long, nice sound. I use it on be, perfectly for not disturbing no one. I definably will recommend this Mini Speaker, worth the money. By the way; I think this is my first review ever.

Great sound and compact for the money. At full volume charge only lasts for about 90-120min.

WOW WOW WOW, this little hamburger style speaker has GREAT sound. I have a few jbls which are def better BUT for what this offer and the fact is has a 3.5mm cord. Trust me its a very good speaker with bass. Your gonna say to yourself damn how does it sound that good ! It also comes with an extender 3.5mm cord. Amazing they thought of everything. USB C.. A plus ! Great product and price

I will say that I bought this product based upon its features, price and reviews, but I was a tad skeptical if it would meet my expectations. After all, it is less than $20. After receiving the AYL Mini Speaker System today, and immediately opening and testing it with my MP3 player, I have to say, I am blown away! This truly is an amazing little speaker! The company packaging was excellent and not wasteful at all, but provided protection for the enclosed unit to prevent damage. Very easy to open. The instructions are very clear and easy to understand. And then there are all the features you just can't beat! The compact size makes it very portable which I love. I use my MP3 for around the house, outside yard work, and long road trips, but when it comes to the latter, I had no way of continuing to use it. This little speaker has solved that issue since it fits nicely in the palm of your hand taking up minimal space. With a simple twist, you can open it up for more sound range, or not, as is your preference. Next, is its ability to be recharged directly through any USB port; this means I can use my phone charger in the wall to plug this little gem in and charge it, or use my laptop. USB cord is included. I LOVE not having to deal with batteries! Cords/plugs: The cord to plug this into your accessory wraps nicely on the underside, and is short, which I like, so I don't have a lot of extra to manage. BUT - it also comes with a longer accessory jack cord which is very nice! I like that the unit can be hooked up to multiple units with the accessory jack. This is great is you want more sound to fill a larger area, have a party, etc. The controls are simple and easy to understand; ie: volume, on/off. And the sound? Perfect! This little single unit plays better than my laptop speaker or my small Craig stereo speakers. Sharp, clear; no vibrations or issues of any kind. I was also impressed with the little 'Certificate of Appreciation' the company included. AYL (which I didn't pay attention to before the purchase) is a small, family owned American company. They provide you with a couple of means for contacting them should you have any issues. So the bottom line? Get one - right away! This is a must have if you love having hands free music while you play or work. You get a lot of 'bang' for your buck with the accessories, sound quality and styling. I am incredibly happy with this purchase and can see myself purchasing more AYL products in the future as the needs arise. Well done AYL! Bravo!

This little unit has really good volume levels, and the bass is deeply resonant. I love the slinky-like way it opens up and boosts the range significantly, and then folds back up for easy portability. Great investment!

I have purchased four of these speakers. One was a gift. I have used three of them. The first two developed issues with the cable - because it bends alot where it comes out of the speaker, the wire in the cable must have eventually broken. The speaker will still play but only if you jiggle the cable around so that the wire inside the cable is making contact on both sides of where it must have broken. That was the reason I bought the second one. I liked it otherwise and it was loud enough for me to listen to podcasts on my mp3 at night. The same thing happened with the 2nd one, so I got another one. The third one and current model for them, has the same thing with the cable so I guess it will also eventually have the same problem. I have it taped so it doesn't move alot at that point. The issue with this one is when you turn it on it announces pretty loudly: Speaker On. It will also announce: Battery Low. This wakes me up so I don't like that. The original two did not do this. Also, the indicator light on this one is blue when charged, and it flashes constantly when on. I use this when I am trying to drift off to sleep while I listen to a podcast, so I have to cover it so the light doesn't disturb me. The first two did not have this feature. So, I can at least listen to podcasts in bed, but I have to deal with these issues. I'll be ordering something different when this one needs replaced.

Out of the box, I thought this device was going to be great: The designer made the correct decision about the value of stereo sound when your dual sound sources are only inches apart. No one can hear the wonderful stereo effects; and no one cares. So save half the production cost, and pass the saving on to the consumer. Good decision. Good choice. But then we find some bad choices: The designer wanted to automatically distinguish between whether this tiny multi-milliwatt device had a microphone plugged into it to use it as a micro-PA system. Hey, Mr. Microphone works better! Anyway, this meant that use of the 3mm socket was dedicated to determining whether an external mic was plugged into the device to use it as a PA system. So the designer was left with the choice of providing a male 3mm audio plug to receive the audio signal from the host phone or computer's AUX audio port. Unfortunately cables integral to a small device like this are unwieldy. So the designer opted for a tiny stub of an audio output cable permanently attached to the bottom of the product, and wound in a circle around the base. This cable looks exactly like many that are spring-loaded, and you simply pull them, and they unwind out of the device to be used. I tried that immediately after removing this product from its box. And, BINGO! I had pulled the wire, and broken its internal electrical connection. So I got another one. I was careful NOT to pull the cable off of this one. Actually, it's lucky I did damage the first one, because I would have never found out that the bass in the first one was severely broken. I thought it was just a junk audio design: The spectrum is anything but flat. The treble is severely attenuated when the "bass resonator" ("slinky in a tent") is unleashed. Unfortunately, in the first instance of this device that I had, any bass signal reproduced at more than half-volume BUZZED. It turns out that in the 2nd instance of this device that I got, the bass DID NOT BUZZ. Great, I thought. This thing had a problem I didn't even know about, and now it works better than I expected. BUT WAIT: It turns out the speaker is often the source of noisy digital audio hash. But not always. The fact that it is sometimes quiet demonstrates that the designers have included some kind of "squelch" circuit which suppresses the digital hash noise when the music is not playing. Unfortunately this almost certainly means the noise is still there distorting the music you are attempting to reproduce and listen to. It's just that you can't easily hear the noise underneath the music when the music is loud. (Great!) Now for the worst part: I suspect this is related to YouTube "breaking the rules," and burrowing down into the detailed nuts & bolts of the audio facilities of its users. Or maybe it happens with other sources, as well, although I have seen this typically only when people try to use YouTube: The audio squelch is defeated by some activity YouTube inserts into audio which should be silence. This causes the device -- this AYL external amplifier in particular -- to remove its squelch, allowing digital hash noise to be amplified up to a loud level while NOTHING ELSE is playing. This is an amateur error. Live & learn, guys. Fix your squelch conditions so they are compatible with YouTube. Or, better yet, design an audio circuit which doesn't insert all that digital hash into the program audio in the first place!!! We've all been there. Done that. Decades ago. But it's kiddyland at Amazon, today!!! Then there's just the inconvenience of trying to find the controls which, with the power cable, audio cable, and PA connector, are spaced all the way around the black 360 degree circular device to confuse your fingers while searching for the audio volume control knob and the on/off switch (usually resulting in your perfectly set audio level blasting your significant other awake in the other room.) It seems obvious to me it would have saved money, a machining operation, and operational complexity iff the designer had used a volume control with a built-in on/off switch at the end of the low volume travel. Again, who knows why they did not? Perhaps they didn't know such a component existed. Later edit: It turns out perhaps the worst problems are caused by this manufacturer's selection of a low quality USB A --> USB C charging cable. Just breathing on (and often when it is just sitting there), the poor USB A connector makes intermittent contact, and inserts transients into EVERYTHING. This appears to be the source of erroneous instructions which causes the speaker to lose its squelch. It's a wonder this thing can work or charge at all. This conclusion is only based on 2 cases, but BOTH of the supplied charging cables are dangerous. Thank god neither inserted sufficient or the right transients into my computer (hosting the charging session) to crash it! Of course, these days, how can I tell if it is actually performing correctly or executing a portion of random instructions??? There's nothing wrong with hobbiests attempting to build a product. That's how we all learn. But next time, I recommend you test the actual configuration you are shipping before you sell a ton of them. "The future is a place where nothing works."

Es muy básico, no es bluetooth ni wireless como dice la descripción