The Pulse 1 is a portable party speaker from Majority. It’s the smallest of the Pulse range at half the size of the other 4 speakers currently available. This speaker retails at around £99.99 in the UK, although at the time of writing, Currys are offering it for just £69.99.
Despite its smaller stature, is the Pulse 1 still a great option for parties? Let’s find out.
Disco On The Go
Design
Standing at just over 32cm tall and 24cm wide and deep, the Pulse 1 is a short and stocky speaker. It’s not overly large as to impact portability and weighs just over 3kg. During my time with it, I’ve found it very easy to pick up and carry, thanks to the built in handle, which gives generous clearance even for larger hands.
The top of the speaker features a control panel for adjusting the volume and other settings. There’s a small LCD screen on the front that displays the current connection mode and battery life. The remainder of the front is dedicated to the grill, behind and alongside which sits the 80W, 6.5 inch bass driver and a series of LED lights. The input ports are situated around the back, neatly tucked away from view.
My favourite design feature, though, is a ridge that sits on the top between the handle and controls. This trench runs 6.5″ across the width of the speaker and is perfectly placed and sized to hold a phone or small tablet. This comes in very handy to display videos and lyrics for an impromptu karaoke session.
Features
Karaoke is a nice segue to discuss a feature of the Pulse 1 because the speaker comes packaged with a wired microphone. Unfortunately, it’s not of fantastic quality. However, that might be a solid design choice, depending on who decides to get up to attempt an Adele song.
Unless you have your mouth pressed directly to the head of the mic, your voice is not going to register. When it does, you’ll more likely than not sound like Ray Von of Phoenix Nights fame. You can adjust the mic volume and echo amount in the settings, but neither really makes up for the microphone quality.
Lighting Up The Party
Bringing visual style to the audio delivery, the Pulse 1 features LED lighting, housed around the bass driver. These lights have 6 different pre-sets which you can cycle through, including one which reacts to the music playing on the speaker. Although these are headlined as ‘AI’ lights, they’re simply run-of-the-mill visualisations you find on RGB keyboards and fans.
While the LED light is great for parties, there’s a really bright, white rectangular light pulsing every couple of seconds that doesn’t change pattern and can’t be turned off independently of the other lights. This is a shame because it’s really too bright and distracting, taking away from the other effects.
The speaker claims 10 hours of battery life, though I assume that’s under specific use cases. I ran the speaker for about 5 hours from full battery indicator on arrival to low battery notification. This was utilising Bluetooth connection, LEDs on and Bass Boost applied. You’d likely get longer use on a wired connection with the LEDs off.
Making Connections
You can deliver your music to the Pulse 1 in 4 different ways. Namely Bluetooth (v5.4), Aux In (3.5mm), MicroSD Card, and USB (2.0). In terms of file formats supported, if you want to put your music on a USB drive or MicroSD, MP3, WAV, and FLAC will work. A notable limitation for these options is a max of 64GB storage size.
If you have the funds and the desire, you can hook two speakers up together for a better stereo experience. We’ve only got one speaker to test with, so I’ve not tried this, but the manual makes the process seem fairly simple.
Performance
The Pulse 1 is a party speaker by nature: the portability, the disco lights, the simple interface. Given that, audiophiles probably wouldn’t be impressed with the sound quality. It’s not bad by any stretch, but the focus here is on giving a loud and clear output, rather than delivering small nuances in the music.
Having said that, I was impressed with the consistency in sound. This was true even when pumping the volume up loud enough for it to be heard outside my house from inside. The Pulse 1 certainly packs a punch. The bass boost came in useful too, adding extra depth to the music.
Conclusion
I wish I’d had the chance to take the Pulse 1 for a spin in the Summer. Its size and power make it a perfect option for barbecues and picnics. Battery life is decent, and the USB-C charging port means power banks are an option to power you for longer should you need it. With a wide range of connection options, you’re covered for many options, though Bluetooth is so widely adopted that all you’ll probably need.
If you’re specifically looking for a karaoke experience, there are likely better options available. However, as an out-and-out portable, powerful speaker, its great.
Given that, the Majority Pulse 1 receives a Thumb Culture Gold Award.
Disclaimer: The product was received in order to write this review.
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