The best portable speakers for this summer: a review and comparison of URAL M-3 and M-4

While Russia is preparing for a parallel import of equipment, our companies are already offering almost domestic

gadgets. In particular, the brand "Ural" has a series of portable speakers with patriotic color names "Taiga" and "Spetsnaz".

This line includes several gadgets with memorable naming: M-1 - the simplest speakers, M-2 - a little larger, M-3 - higher quality, M-4 - large and M-5 - flagship with powerful speakers.

In the last article, we dismantled the Ural M-5 device.

The legendary Ural brand and its best portable speaker TT M‑5

From the leaders of the automotive audio market with fine-tuning the audio path of the MTUCI acoustic department.

The device turned out to be extremely interesting:low price in the current conditions, loud sound, interesting design. Moreover, this text was read significantly better than any other reviews, such as JBL or Harman. The interest was the highest. This makes me happy.

Of course, the top question was:“Is this a Chinese product masquerading as Russian?” Do we have domestic microelectronics? Today, almost everything in the world is assembled in China, and sometimes the components are from there. So, Ural is, of course, an OEM development. Moreover, the manufacturer himself does not hide that he is closely following the JBL brand, as he considers their devices to be reference ones, therefore he releases very similar gadgets. Another issue is the price. Speakers "Ural" are at least one and a half times cheaper.

This material is dedicated to portable speakers M-3 and M-4 - the most successful in terms of price and quality. At the end of the text I will give an example of the simplest, but original M-1 column for only 1,400 rubles.

The cost of the Ural M-3 model is 5,400 rubles, and the Ural M-4 model is 7,600 rubles.

Miscellaneous

Affiliate material

Reality and prospects of the IT professions market

What professions are the most popular and highly paid?

Saturday coffee #200

Pour a cup of fragrant Saturday coffee and get acquainted with the news of the week. Google introduced new products, Sony showed smartphones and headphones, and Xiaomi now costs more than 100,000 rubles in Russia ...

By Nissan to Karelia

In May of this year, Nissan announced the start of sales of the 2021 Nissan Qashqai and Nissan X-Trail crossovers in Russia. And in June we went to Karelia in updated crossovers…

Review of e-book Onyx Boox Lomonosov

E-book with an unusual screen format10.01 inches and Android 10 OS, aimed at those who need more screen, and named after the founder of domestic academic science. We dissect, analyze and summarize.

Options
Design
Buttons and connectors
About sound
Working hours</ p>
- Bonus - "Ural" M-1
Impression

Options

	Ural M-3	Ural M-4
Maximum output power, W	12.5 x 2	15 x 2
Frequency range, Hz, no more	65 - 20 000	60 - 20 000
Bluetooth version	5.0	4.2
Built-in battery capacity, mAh	2000	5000
Loudspeaker size, mm	2x45	2 x 63.5
The degree of protection of the housing against dust and moisture	IP67	IP67
Weight, g	560	1650
Contents of delivery	Acoustic system — 1 pc. 1 x MiniJack (3.5mm) to MiniJack (3.5mm) Audio Cable (50cm) USB to USB Type-C cable (50 cm) x 1 Operation manual — 1 pc. Packing — 1 pc. Shoulder strap for M-4 version only

Design

I got columns with the samea color called "Special Forces" is a material painted in black, gray and red. It looks bright, contrasting and clearly stands out against the background of the monochromatic painting of other columns.

By the way, the same devices are available, only underthe name "Taiga". This is when the casings of the devices are made in black, green and light green solutions. And for those who want something classic in terms of coloring, there are speakers in solid black and red.

Unlike the more expensive M-5 column, thedevices M-3 and M-4 design is slightly simpler. Here, under the M-3 brand, gadgets like JBL Flip are recognized, and M-4 - gadgets like JBL Charge. The saddest thing is that you can no longer buy a single device on the official JBL website. It is worth relying only on large stores.

The Ural M-3 device weighs only 560 grams, and its dimensions are 191 x 77 x 74 mm. Pretty compact speaker that fits even in the pocket of a light jacket.

The shape is in the form of a cylinder, at the end of whichthere are black plastic inserts in the form of ledges. It is on them that the column will be held on a flat surface. However, the gadget can be put on its side.

On the right and left, it is easy to notice passive radiators with glossy front panels and drawings of two inverted letters "T" - the logo of a series of portable speakers.

On the rim passes a translucent siliconeshock absorber insert. The backlight of the device shines through it. It smoothly shimmers with different colors. As far as I understand, it is impossible to choose any one color, well, there is no color music here.

The M-3 speaker is protected according to the IP67 standard, which is very good for such a small contraption.

The M-4 apparatus is equipped with a leg-stand from below.It is the most stable. There are also passive radiators on the right and left, but this time they are made in the form of concentric circles with the same patterns of two letters "T".

The case is plastic with a soft-touch coating. In my opinion, the solution is not the best: handprints on the surface are noticeable, and it looks somehow rustic.

On the top there are loops for attaching the strap. It is included.

The weight of the M-4 is quite decent - 1650 grams.As far as I understand, the speaker does not use neodymium speakers (probably with ferrite magnets). The dimensions of the apparatus are 270 x 109 x 114 mm. This is a pretty big column.

Separately, in the design, it is worth highlighting the following point: the URAL logo on the M-3 is glued to the front of the surface, and the logo on the M-4 is, as it were, recessed into the case - it looks a little more neat.

The column "Ural" M-4 also has a degree of protection IP67.

Buttons and connectors

For version M-3, the main elements are at the bottom:

Nutrition
Volume up/down
stereo pair
Bluetooth connection

Behind a dense thick plug is a USB Type-C and an AUX connector.

Elements of the M-4 device - from above:

Bluetooth pairing
stereo pair
Power button
Volume control up/down

A little higher is the LED indicator of the device in the form of a strip. A little lower is the power indicator (round red LEDs).

On the reverse side, behind a thick 25 mm rubber plug, there are: USB Type-C for charging the battery, AUX and USB Type-A for recharging external gadgets (powerbank function).

About sound

I was asked to compare the sound of the Ural M-3 and M-4 withsimilar devices from JBL. However, in the current conditions, it is almost impossible to get gadgets of a well-known brand. However, there are still several comparison videos on the Ural channel on YouTube.

In my subjective opinion, JBL play with a littlemore pronounced low frequencies, but the volume uniformity is so-so. That is, when the “bottom” prevails in the sound, the speakers begin to play much quieter.

Columns "Ural" M-3 and M-4 focus on"middle" and at high frequencies with a uniform loudness. Surprisingly, the M-4 reproduces sound even a little more interesting (two stereo speakers inside) than the M-5: the former boasts pleasant low frequencies, and the latter boasts high volume.

If we compare the M-4 with JBL, then this is the Charge 3/4 level. The Charge 5 model still has a richer sound, however, and it costs almost 5,000 rubles more than the Ural M-4.

Gadgets

As an advertisement

Acer ES series 1 electric scooter review (AES001)

Acer has made its debut on the Russian market of electric scooters, and we are in a hurry to share our impressions of riding on the base model. Can the simplest solution be the best choice?

Acer

Ten reasons to buy Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra

Here are ten reasons why you might want to buy the Galaxy S22 Ultra, the ultimate smartphone on the market.

Lenovo Yoga Tab 13 review: a very large tablet

A large tablet for cozy New Year holidays.

GravaStar Mars Pro Review - Gravitational Vacuum Star

A unique portable speaker in the shape of a space crab alien…

The M-3 is the JBL Flip 5 level.The difference with the Ural is only 2,000 rubles. However, the M-3 has two stereo speakers. Let me remind you that there is only one speaker in Flip 5. Therefore, "Ural" M-3 plays brighter, richer, more pleasant to the ear. Bass plus or minus is the same.

In general, I can say that I was pleasantly surprised by the sound quality of the M-3 and M-4. For their money, they show the maximum possible.

The little M-3 was especially pleased:sounds clear, without overload, loud, low frequencies are present, the “middle” is perfectly audible. It is good to take it with you on bike rides, scooters or just listen in the background with friends.

Column M-4 is already much more serious. Here the volume is high, and the sound is cooler. This is rather an option for a relatively large company somewhere in nature or in a large house, in the country.

Do not forget that the speakers are not afraid of sand or water - you can safely take it to the beach or hang out near the pool.

Working hours

The younger version of the Ural M-3 is capable of pumping people for 6-7 hours at an average volume level (2000 mAh battery). At the same time, it charges quickly - in about 1.5 hours.

The older version of the Ural M-4 works for about 10-15 hours at an average volume level (5000 mAh battery). But it takes a long time to charge - about 5 hours.

Bonus - "Ural" M-1

A very strange portable speaker in terms of appearance for 1,400 rubles. Reminds me of the outer part of a professional respirator filter.

The speaker is equipped with one 5W speaker and a 45mm driver. As well as more expensive "relatives", it has an IP67 degree of protection.

It plays loudly, but not for very long - a maximum of 5 hours. If again compared with JBL, then this is an analogue of JBL Go 3, which can now be bought from as much as 3,000 rubles.

Impression

Unfortunately or fortunately, the time has come for rational purchases. The time when you need to choose a technique in which price and quality will go side by side.

I would gladly recommend taking JBL / Harman brand devices if you have extra money and if the name of the company still matters to you.

It seems to me that the Ural brand is actively and on timebegan to occupy a certain niche in the portable acoustics market. The point here is not so much in better prices, but in positioning: firstly, this is a Russian brand, and secondly, loud patriotic names - "Cannon", "Katyusha", "Taiga", "Spetsnaz", "Gromoboy" and etc.

From the point of view of sound, the Ural speakers are very good devices. Sound calibration is different from that of JBL equipment, but the quality is definitely not worse.

Gadgets, of course, have disadvantages:plastic is simple both in appearance and to the touch, I would like more time to work, well, the price has somehow jumped up lately. Let me remind you that the M-3 model costs 5,400 rubles, the M-4 model costs 7,600 rubles, and the small M-1 costs around 1,400 rubles.

I named competitors along the way - this is JBL Charge 5, it costs about 12,000 rubles, JBL Flip 6 - about 10,000 rubles, Flip 5 - about 7,500 rubles, Go 3 - from 3,000 rubles.

And in the Telegram chat Mobile-Review is activewrote about Tronsmart speakers. Well, I cite the T6 Plus model for 5,500 rubles as an example. But this is from the category “I don’t care about your positioning and brand - I want cheap and cheerful.” Tronsmart has not met with this, but I do not blame. ????

And they also wrote to me, they say, the Ural company shouldwas to produce columns in the style of "Soviet retro". The option is interesting. However, if you are counting on sales, then you need to take into account a wide audience and create devices in a modern, recognizable style.