We have seen some odd stuff at Trusted Reviews, wireless speakers shaped like a dog’s head and so on, but perhaps nothing quite as strange as this Bluetooth speaker collaboration between the Medicom Toy company Rinaro Acoustics.
You may be aware of Rinaro Acoustics, they frequently help out Meze Audio with their headphones such as the Liric. We wouldn’t be surprised if you were less aware of Medicom Toy, but they’re a Japanese company who’ve had some success with quite expensive, limited edition toys.
And so, Medicom and Rinaro have combined their expertise to create the BearBrick (or Be@rbrick) 400% portable Bluetooth speaker.
With 20W of power at its disposal, channelled through two tweeters and two woofers, the BearBrick features Rinaro’s Quad 360 technology, an omnidirectional sound technology developed exclusive by Rinaro for this product. Inside the BearBrick’s head is a 4 custom-engineered acoustic drivers that play in unison to generate a “seamless 360 degree” field of sound.
Operation of the speaker is via a single button that allows devices to connect to the speaker over Bluetooth. Volume and track selection controls are located in the left and right hands; a twist on the right hand skips tracks and a twist on the left changes the volume.
Two BearBrick audio speakers can be connected to create a stereo pair for a more immersive experience. Battery life is rated at six hours of playback though as usual the caveat is that this is dependant on what you’re playing and the volume level. The battery can be swapped if it needs replacing and there is fast-charging via a USB-C connections.
If you’re familiar with BearBrick collectibles, you’ll know they come with a hefty price tag and this Bluetooth speaker is no different, costing around the same as the Sonos Era 300 and Bluetooth Pulse M. No UK price has been announced but in the US it costs $499, and in Japan it is ¥70,000. The speaker goes on sale November 2023
