In-Depth Review of the Ortizan X10 Portable Bluetooth Speaker

bluetooth speakers have come a long way over the last decade. Gone are the days of clunky, battery-guzzling, clanking designs. Today, there are literally hundreds of different makes/models to choose from; everything from name brands to cheap imitations. from ten dollars to several hundred, there is something for everyone.

If you’re like most, you may have already visited Amazon. It’s a great place to start if you’re looking for a new bluetooth speaker on the market. One of the latest trending speakers that we have noticed gaining traction is the Ortiz X10 Portable Bluetooth Speaker. It’s quite affordable and is currently labeled an “Amazon Pick” as one of the best options in the sub-$40 price range. Today, we’ll take a closer look at it. we’re here to examine its features and just how “good” it really is. Does it really deserve the “Amazon’s Choice” badge or is it a cheap knockoff that should be avoided? let’s find out.

first look

At first glance, you will notice the round and cylindrical shape of the Ortiz X10 bluetooth speaker. Weighing just over 1 pound and about 9 inches tall with a 3-inch diameter, it’s fairly similar in size and shape to a “tall can.” holding it in your hand, it has a nice, solid feel made up mostly of woven fabric and sturdy plastic. On the side are five separate buttons along with a single LED. At the top is a radiator-style subwoofer that is combined with LED lights for a unique touch.

Pairing it with your smartphone or other bluetooth-enabled device is simple. turn it on and instantly, the led will start flashing intermittently. at this time, the speaker is ready to pair. select “ortizan” in your smartphone’s bluetooth settings and you’re good to go.

sound quality

When playing music through the x10 speaker for the first time, we were quite surprised. the internal 24w driver seems to put out a lot of power, considering its size. At first, we opted to play our favorite Spotify playlist. this shuffled through a wide variety of genres, from bass-heavy hip hop to old-school jazz music. surprisingly, sound quality was nice and crisp. high and mid tones were favorable with a good separation between the two. when it came to low bass tones, they felt present, but not super vivid or rich. clarity was right where we wanted it to be, but low tones could have shimmered a bit better.

There seemed to be a lot of power. 24w doesn’t sound like much, but the volume it’s capable of is downright impressive. you can turn it up pretty high, but you may experience a bit of distortion. honestly we only had issues with distortion in the top 10% of the volume range. so as long as you don’t turn it up to the absolute maximum volume, you’ll probably never notice it.

ortizan claims to have 360 ​​degree sound, however we feel a bit “cheated” actually. what we mean by this is that about 1/4 of the speaker doesn’t really output sound in that specific direction. for example, where the row of buttons is, the sound doesn’t seem as powerful in that direction. we would say that it provides a 270 degree sound, not a true 360 ​​degree. if you want true 360-degree sound, you’ll probably have to spend a bit more. Check out the new Tribit Stormbox Pro. yes, it’s much more expensive, but the sound you get is much more vivid and goes out in all directions.

equivalent function

one of the side buttons is the “eq” button. press it and it will toggle between three different equalizer settings. these are; vocal, 3d deep bass and extra bass. each offers its own unique touch that lets vocals shine or gives the sound an extra bass effect. we could definitely tell the difference between each, but we opted to keep it on “extra bass” most of the time. it seemed to give the low tones a deeper resonance, while the vocal EQ would boost the high and mid tones a bit more.

hold the eq button for three seconds and it will activate siri or google assistant, depending on which smartphone you have it paired with. once you activate it, you can verbally command the speaker to play certain tracks, adjust the volume, etc. It’s a pretty standard feature these days, so it’s good to see Ortiz included it. It’s not something we use a lot, but it’s definitely nice to have.

tws function

a cool feature of the ortizan x10 is the tws function. allows you to pair two ortizan speakers together so sound is output from both, simultaneously. this way you can place one speaker in one corner of the room and the other on the opposite side. this will give you a sound that really comes from all directions. there is only one caveat; you must buy two speakers.

We tried the tws function and felt it was a nice addition. but at that point, you’re spending upwards of $80, where you could simply spend that on a single, higher quality speaker and probably be happier. for example, the tronsmart mega pro is another option that costs around $50. with it, you get a much more powerful speaker, although it’s not as compact.

led light show

one of the first unique features of the x10 is the colored led. located at the top and bottom is a set of leds that emit all the colors of the rainbow. it brings a fun touch to the table that seems to set it apart from similar speakers in the same price range.

the led function is quite good. you can switch between a wide variety of presets that pulse and shimmer to the beat of whatever song you’re playing. it plays in a way that matches the beat while giving off a glow that almost gives off a futuristic party vibe. Long story short, it’s not revolutionary, but it’s definitely a nice addition that makes it stand out. At least it’s a good topic of conversation!

battery life & loading

Although the actual capacity of the internal battery is unclear, Ortiz claims that it can achieve 30 hours of playback on a single charge. To test this, we fully charged the speaker and let it play music all day. at the end of the 24 hour period, we hear a “low battery” warning. after 25 hours the speaker was dead, no juice left in the battery. to be clear, we left the volume around 50% and let it repeat our long playlist a little over twice. Knowing this, it’s probably not at all likely that you’ll be able to pull off a full 30 hours, but still; 24 hours of game time is pretty good.

Note, however, that you will get less battery life if you play music at a high volume. In addition, cold ambient temperatures can also have a negative effect on battery performance. Something to take into account; cold weather won’t necessarily permanently damage the rechargeable battery, but it will shorten its playback time before you need to charge it again.

durability

holding the ortizan portable speaker in your hands, it feels solid, well-built, and pleasing. there really isn’t anything that gives it a cheap or low-quality feel. the buttons are responsive, the outer fabric material seems durable, and the radiator on top feels as it should, a bit flimsy. realistically, the radiator is recessed and never seems to get in the way, but you’ll want to avoid touching it.

Because it’s ipx7 rated, it’s fully waterproof. what this means is that it has been rated to protect against the ingress of moisture, dust and dirt. In fact, IPX7 literally means you can submerge it in water up to 3 feet deep for 30 minutes. While we don’t recommend using it underwater, you can drop it in a puddle or shallow lake and not worry about it. By taking him outside with you, you’ll feel good knowing you don’t have to “pamper” him too much.

One thing that is not included that we would have liked to see is a carrying case or bag. it would have been a nice addition to the whole package to have a dedicated way to store it while transporting it or while not in use. however, it is not that important.

final words

As you can see, the Ortiz X10 Portable Bluetooth Speaker is a decent and affordable option. you’re getting a lot of favorable features with acceptable sound quality for the money. yes, the sound tends to get distorted at the highest volume level and we wouldn’t call it “true 360 ​​degree sound”, however, the sound is good enough for the price of under $40.

It’s well built and feels solid with no cheap or tacky qualities. battery life isn’t as good as “30 hours”, but we still think 24 hours of actual operation is quite acceptable. With the led light show feature and tws capability you get some extra extra features that we don’t usually find in this price range.

For an affordable, feature-rich portable speaker, the Ortizan seems to deliver on most fronts. We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone looking for good sound on a budget.