Samsung Level Box Slim: Honesty Rewarded

Ergonomics

What makes the Level Box Slim its "ultraportable" speaker status is that it fits easily into a pocket. Indeed, if its volume does not seem particularly compact, the distribution of the latter makes it very practical.

At the front of the speaker, the speakers, protected by an acoustic fabric, are overhung by the gap inconspicuous logo.

The rear face of the enclosure, like the periphery, is coated with a soft-touch, smooth and robust material, adorned with a foot allowing it to be positioned vertically - or more precisely at a zenith angle of about thirty degrees.

The set benefits from IPX7 certification, that is to say protection against the effects of temporary underwater immersion (up to 1 m), in other words "waterproof".

On the top edge of the speaker are the power on / off, play / pause, volume control, and skip to the next / previous track controls by pressing and holding the volume buttons - a choice more and more widespread among the manufacturers of nomadic enclosures and which one always has difficulty understanding. A short press on the ignition button indicates the remaining battery level on four LEDs located on the left side.

The Samsung Level application, available only on Android, allows you to pair two Slim Boxes for a more powerful and wider rendering, manage your notifications (calls, alarm, calendar, messages, ...) and select your favorite applications in order to view their shortcuts when a Samsung Level device is connected.

Finally, the connectors, reduced to their simplest expression, are on the right flank. No mini-jack point, the audio connection is only via Bluetooth. And in terms of power, it is done via a micro-USB port, through which it is also possible to charge your smartphone ... provided you have the appropriate connection - or the appropriate adapter! Indeed, a USB-A / micro-USB cable is provided, as well as a double micro-USB. The autonomy, promised to a gargantuan value of thirty hours on the site and a dozen hours on the press release, amounts in fact to a dozen hours.

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Audio

We rarely wander among ultraportables for sound quality, and even less for bass power. This time again, on the bass side, we are served: below 200 Hz, do not expect anything. But what we like about the Level Box Slim is that it doesn't pretend to do more than it can do - there is no passive radiator, no "X-tra Bass" mode. or others - but that the rest, she does it well.

The mediums are well reproduced, offering a beautiful richness and a real presence to all the instruments playing in their courtyard: the voices are defined, the clarinets are soft, the pianos are dense, and more generally, the timbres are well transcribed, clean and dynamic. The reactivity of the membranes throughout the upper half of the spectrum is entirely acceptable, as long as the orchestration is not too rich. It is easy to spot the parts mixed in the background (the choirs, the beds of strings and other accompaniments), while the main actor enjoys a beautiful expressiveness. However, when the frequency spectrum is saturated, these same membranes are quickly overflowed, generating in particular fairly chemical trebles. The violins can then become aggressive and the cymbals particularly acidic.

The power is more than correct for a speaker of this size (8 W), allowing good proximity listening or the sound of a small room. However, as soon as the volume teases the maximum level, we find this discomfort in the treble. The stereophonic field - when you don't pair the speaker to one of its sisters via the application - is pleasant, without significantly exceeding the limits of the speaker. The latency, finally, is excellent: with a measurement of less than 100 milliseconds, the Level Box even allows you to view videos without feeling any annoying sound / image lag.

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Conclusion

The Level Box Slim keeps all its promises. Truly waterproof, its clever and compact design allows it to slip easily into a pocket or to be positioned on multiple surfaces. The possibility of recharging your smartphone is always appreciable and the sound performance is quite honest for a speaker of this size.

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