“Do you need a speaker, auntie baby?” the text message read.
The speaker in question was the Fisher FBX262 Wireless Speaker. Once again, my wonderful aunt found a good deal and wanted to pass it on to me. Although I’ve had tons of reservations about wireless audio equipment in the past, I gratefully accepted her offer. By the end of the week, I was completely sold on the speaker and ready to go wireless on everything.
Unboxing & Appearance
The Fisher FBX262 comes in a square box roughly the same size as the speaker itself. Small pieces of tape, which are easily cut through, hold down each of the box’s flaps.
Inside the box, the speaker is wrapped in a plastic bag, with Styrofoam pieces fitted onto all four edges to prevent damage. Once I removed the Styrofoam, I lifted the speaker out of the plastic by its handle. A 3.5mm audio cord (for AUX mode) and a microUSB cord (for charging) are also included in the box.
The FBX262 adds some stylish flourishes to the usual speaker look. It has a lot of angular edges, and its square shape is broken up by a slightly tapered middle section. A sturdy, non-adjustable handle sprouts from the sides and curves over the top. The entire front is covered by a blue grill. It’s cute but not too flashy.
A nice touch are the lights that come to life when you boot up the speaker. The lights illuminate the grill, circulating through the colors of the rainbow as the music plays. As enjoyable as the light show is, you have zero control over it. The lights pulse in a pre-programmed sequence, you can’t customize the colors (as far as I can tell), and you can’t turn them off completely. Furthermore, I wonder how much these lights affect the speaker’s overall battery life.
Sound & Usage
I call the cubby-like area on top of the speaker the control center. All of the ports and buttons associated with the radio, USB, microSD/TF slot, and AUX modes reside there. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to have so many different ways to play music. It’s a pleasant surprise.
The FBX262’s power knob is, of course, located in the control center. You turn the knob downwards to turn the speaker on and upwards to turn it off. The knob also handles the volume. This dual-function design choice ends up being more awkward than practical. I frequently turn the knob too far north, accidentally turning the speaker off instead of lowering its volume.
Having seldom used Bluetooth before, I wasn’t sure how to connect my devices to the FBX262. I found out through the excellent instruction manual that Bluetooth is automatically enabled from jump. The pairing process is painless on every platform I used (Windows, iOS, and Android). The speaker makes an adorable little chirp when you pair with a device and plays a brief tune when you unpair them.
Power-wise, the 15W speaker handles itself well despite its inherent limitations. I played several bass-heavy K-Pop songs like Kard’s “Dumb Litty,” NCT 127’s “Sit Down!,” and HyunA’s “Roll Deep.” It sounds great. The vocals are clear. The bass is decent—not wall-rattling, but hard-hitting enough to satisfy my ears. Unfortunately, little details that I usually hear, like certain background vocals and sound effects, are often diminished or missing altogether.
All of the non-Bluetooth modes work well and exactly as you’d expect. There are a couple of snags for me personally, though. For example, the USB and microSD slot modes only work with MP3 files. As I learned when I was loading tunes onto our new car’s stereo system, my music library contains a ton of AAC-formatted songs that I’d have to convert. Needless to say, I probably won’t be using those modes much.
Battery Life
The most disappointing aspect of the speaker is how often you’ll have to charge it. The manual says it only lasts 1.5-2 hours. In my experience, two hours is about right. The speaker will warn you when the battery is about to die: a red battery icon flashes on the display and the speaker beeps at regular intervals until the unit shuts itself off.
It’s also disappointing how long it takes the speaker to charge. Once again, the manual’s estimate of 3.5 hours is accurate. That’s crazy! I mean, it takes more time to charge the speaker than the amount of time you get to listen to it.
And as much as I appreciate the speaker coming with a microUSB cord, the cord is too short (~19.5 inches). It arches out of the control center, so it can only reach an outlet in my house if I put the speaker on the floor. I swapped it out for my own longer cord so I could sit it on a proper table.
Verdict
The Fisher FBX262 Wireless Speaker is a joy to use. I get a little giddy every time I fire it up and connect a device to it. Not having to deal with cords is so freeing! If it had more power, I might be tempted to dump my main stereo for it.
Its most damning feature is that minuscule battery life. What is the intended usage scenario here? Where can you use the speaker knowing that it will only last a couple of hours? Not a party or the beach probably.
In my experience, it is best used as an auxiliary stereo. I keep the FBX262 in the living room and kitchen areas to use while I’m cleaning up or washing dishes. I’m done with those activities by the time the speaker dies, so it works out perfectly for me.