Exercise and music go together like cereal and milk. While many people use wireless headphones during workout sessions, new portable Bluetooth speakers are catering to fitness crowds.
I’m reviewing Raycon The Fitness speaker. This is a waterproof Bluetooth speaker with a rugged build and powerful sound. I’ve also reviewed Raycon The Boombox speaker and Raycon The Power Speaker. I’m interested in how it compares to those other speakers and how it distinguishes itself as a fitness speaker. Is it all marketing hype or is there some truth to being a fitness speaker? Let’s find out.
Notable Specs: Raycon Fitness
- Built-in mic for hands-free calling
- IPX7 water resistance rating, fully waterproof
- NFC and Aux-in ready
- 12 hours of playtime
Design of the Raycon Fitness
The Fitness Speaker by Raycon sports a rugged, waterproof design that enables it to work in virtually any environment. With its cylinder shape, it measures approximately 11” x 4.5” x 4.5” (WHD) and weighs a little under 4 lb.
The Raycon Fitness Speaker has rubber feet that place it securely on any surface. There are also smaller rubber feet on each end of the subwoofers. This allows it to sit upright vertically. Still, it’s really designed to sit horizontally so the bass can travel from both ends.
On the top of the speaker are large touch controls for power and volume. There are also small hooks on each side. This is to clip on the included shoulder strap. It’s very easy to carry over the shoulder and makes it extremely portable. Without the straps, it’s awkward to carry as there is no handle design.
A rubber flap is located on the back. This houses the USB-C charging port, a microSD card slot, and AUX-in port. Next to that is the multi-link button and the NFC logo for quick pairing. To achieve waterproof status, the rubber flap sits securely in place to protect the ports inside. With freshly cut fingernails, I had a hard time opening it.
Pairing to mobile devices
The Raycon Fitness speaker supports the latest Bluetooth standard, Bluetooth 5. The pairing to my smartphone was super easy. After pressing the power button, the female choir sings “Raycon”. This is a common feature in all Raycon speakers. From there, it automatically enters pairing mode.
Unlike the other Raycon speakers I’ve reviewed, the Raycon Fitness is NFC-ready. This makes pairing even easier. Users just need to tap their smartphone to the NFC logo to establish a Bluetooth connection.
One thing notably missing is dual Bluetooth pairing. This allows two devices to connect to a speaker at the same time. As a fitness speaker, this would have been a good feature to include. It’s perfect in group fitness classes settings, where two people could share DJ duties.
Using the Raycon Fitness
It seemed both fitting and purposeful to test the Raycon Fitness speaker during an exercise session. I took it outside and used it during my morning jump rope workout. The sound was loud and powerful with plenty of bass. With its rubber feet pad on the bottom, it doesn’t produce a full 360-degree sound but it’s pretty darn close. It really doesn’t matter where you place it, the sound travels in all directions.
I’m the type of person who jumps rope rain or shine. I usually wear headphones in the rain because it never occurred to me that I could use a waterproof Bluetooth speaker in the rain. With an IPX7 water resistance rating, this is not an issue with Raycon Fitness. In fact, it can be submerged in 1 meter of water.
The sound quality of Raycon Fitness
I listen to the same music every time I jump rope so it’s easy for me to compare the sound quality of different Bluetooth speakers. The first thing that stood out was the bass. It has a lot of thumping low-end. This is great for jump rope because it makes it easy to jump to the beat of the music.
Like other Raycon speakers, the Fitness speaker has three different sound profiles: Balanced, Bass, and Pure sound. This is accessed by tapping the power button and toggling between the three. With the previous speakers, I preferred the Balanced sound profile. As much as I like the extra bass, it comes at the cost of brightness in the high-end.
From what I can tell, the Pure sound profile was created by Raycon sound engineers. It sounds very bright, but there are not many low-end frequencies. Thus, the Balanced sound seems to be in the middle of the two sound profile extremes. Once set, I doubt people will switch between them again.
Final Thoughts
I’m glad I reviewed other Raycon speakers before the Raycon Fitness. It gives me a good understanding of this company’s approach to creating Bluetooth speakers.
The Raycon Boombox is geared to people who want an old-school speaker design with modern connectivity. The Raycon Power is made for outdoor social gatherings and impromptu karaoke parties. Finally, Raycon Fitness caters to those who want to listen to music while exercising.
The big question is, what makes this a fitness speaker? The answer is not much. It’s a great speaker to use while exercising, but it does not have any inherent fitness features. The shoulder strap makes it easy to carry, but the Raycon Boombox also has a strap.
One thing I thought they could have included was a visual countdown timer that beeps after a set time. Users could use it for circuit training. When they hear the beep, they go on to the next exercise while music is still playing.
Without any inherent fitness features, Raycon could have easily called this a beach speaker. The IPX7 design is great, as it can withstand rain and water submersion. As a fitness speaker, my one concern is size. Some people might feel it’s too big. I suggest Raycon make a mini version that is the same dimensions as a workout water bottle. That would make it easier to carry in a gym bag. Without the straps, it’s hard to carry because it does not have a built-in handle.
That said, I very much enjoyed jumping rope with this speaker. With its waterproof design, I would have no hesitation using this outside in the rain. It’s rugged, reliable, and powerful. If you want background music while exercising by yourself or in group settings, the Raycon Fitness Bluetooth speaker will not disappoint. You can find your own Raycon Fitness speaker at Best Buy.
