Cambridge Audio Yoyo (S)
Cambridge Audio is a British manufacturer of high end audio equipment. It is founded in 1968 by a group of young technology graduates in Cambridge, England. And hence the name, Cambridge Audio. Though back then, it is known as Cambridge Consultants.
Yoyo is Cambridge Audio entry into the Bluetooth speakers market.
There are three variants of Yoyo, Small (S), Medium (M), and Large (L). In Singapore, Yoyo (S) is retailing for S$290, Yoyo (M) for S$550, and Yoyo (L) for S$650.
What I have with me is the Yoyo (S) which is a portable mono Bluetooth speaker. The Yoyo (M) is a portable stereo Bluetooth speaker while the Yoyo (L) is an all-in-one home audio system with Spotify built-in.
Yoyo (S) is available in four colors, Dark Grey, Light Grey, Blue, and Green.
Unboxing
You know you will be getting a premium product the moment you are paying S$290 for a Bluetooth speaker and that moment starts when you unboxed the Yoyo (S).
Design
Yoyo (S) is not small and light by any means. It measures 246 x 128 x 67 (mm) and weights 1.2 kg. Inside it houses two full range drivers, a subwoofer, and a passive bass radiator.
The speaker is wrapped in 100% worsted wool crafted by world-renowned Yorkshire weavers, Marton Mills. The Bird’s Eye fabric is acoustically-transparent and treated to repel dirt, water, and unnecessary wear and tear.
There is a few #TIL (Today I Learned) for me. Yorkshire is a historic county in northern England which has a famous history of weaving. Worsted wool is wool with fibers that run in the same direction. Bird’s Eye fabric is a type of fabric design that is distinguished by small, repetitive diamond shapes that resemble a bird’s eyes.
To keep up with the aesthetics look, Cambridge Audio hid all the ports (Power, 3.5mm, USB Port) right at the bottom of the Yoyo (S).
I find the cable guide at the bottom can be better. The opening is too big, and hence the cables will not stay in place. When I connect the power cable, I always have to adjust it before flipping back up the speakers. If not it will be standing on the power cable which makes it wobbly.
Yoyo (S) comes with an internal 1/4″ 20 UNC screw thread at the bottom. So you can mount the Yoyo (S) on speaker stands/mounts.
Features
The built-in rechargeable battery gives you 14 hours of music playback. You can even use it to charge your mobile device through its USB port at 5V/1A. Do note that the USB port is only used for charging.
After 30 minutes of inactivity, Yoyo (S) will automatically turn off itself to conserve power.
Regarding connectivity, it comes with Bluetooth 4.2, NFC to assist in Bluetooth pairing, and 3.5 mm auxiliary audio input jack.
Yoyo (S) doubles up as a speakerphone with a built-in microphone and a dedicated answer call button on the control panel. So you can use it to answer an incoming call from your mobile device.
One interesting and unique feature of the Yoyo (S) is the gesture control on the touch-sensitive control panel. Since there is no voice assistant built into the Yoyo (S), the gesture control might come in handy. Especially if your Yoyo (S) is placed in the kitchen and you are desperately trying to change songs with your dirty hands.
Swiping your hand across the control panel from left to right indicates a “Play” or a “Next.” Swiping from right to left indicates a “Pause.”
The gestures work as intended but I find it a little gimmicky. At times, it will fail to detect my gestures if I do it too fast.
Audio Quality
Because of its size and weight, Yoyo (S) is loud! At 75% volume, it can fill my living room (57 m2) with ease. Yoyo (S) has synchronized volume control with your mobile device, so you don’t have to adjust the volume on both devices seperately.
I am no audiophile by any means. Listening to my favorite test song, David Guetta – Titanium ft. Sia, I find that the bass is punchy and the mids are smooth.
Yoyo (S) has pretty good audio quality. Given the price and the company behind it, you should not expect anything less.
