Installation, Testing and Comparison
One of the first things Ewoo mentions in their manual is how to properly position the Efizz. They recommend placing the eFizz against a wall to reinforce the bass and to limit the reflection of the 80 to 200 Hz soundwaves.
Setup of the eFizz involves plugging the AC adapter into the bottom of the speaker system. Next place the remote into the charging dock. Ewoo recommends charging the remote for one hour prior to initial use.
Once the remote is charged, press the volume buttons on the eFizz simultaneously to put it into pairing mode. Turn on the remote by pressing the select button. A language screen will appear on screen; after you make that selection the device will go into pairing mode. The remote should read “found eFizz attach device?” Click yes and you are almost ready to use the eFizz speaker system.
Place the proper iPod adapter into the eFizz followed by the iPod. If you should choose, you can also connect an audio system via the analog or digital input to the eFizz instead of an iPod.
When the iPod is docked, the screen will change to an Ewoo logo, indicating it is ready to be controlled via the remote.
On the remote’s screen, we see the signal strength, the time and a battery power indicator on the top bar of the remote. In the main part of the remote’s screen is a list similar to the iPod’s main screen – Music, Jukebox, eFizz, Settings, Shuffle Songs and Now Playing.
Jukebox mode functions basically the same as creating an “On the Go” playlist on the iPod. While scrolling through your song list, press and hold the select button and the song is added to the playlist.
The eFizz option allows the user to select the input used by the eFizz, put the device to sleep, set an alarm or synchronize the time with the iPod. The Setting menu lets the user select languages discover devices, reset to factory settings, select a device, run an equalizer and detect the remotes and eFizz’s firmware version. As with the eFizz Travel, Ewoo offers downloadable firmware that adds features to the remote and dock, so the eFizz will only get better as time goes on.
To navigate between these selections, the user uses the touch zone to scroll through the list and the center button to make selections. This is the same way the newer iPods are navigated. In fact, if you are well versed in using the iPod, then the remote controller will seem very familiar. There are shortcuts for easier navigation of the iPod such as when in the music selection screens, pressing the play pause button activates the alphabetical search.
I was able to play with the eFizz for several weeks and was able to use my iPod Video 5th Gen and iPhone 3G with the device. As with the HandMusic, the iPhone displayed the “This Accessory does not work with Airplane Mode Do you want to turn Airplane Mode on?” message. Otherwise, the eFizz worked fine with the iPhone 3G.
Let me say right off the bat, which the eFizz is one of the best sounding iPod speakers that I have encountered. It has a beautiful sound stage and provides a rich three dimensional audio experience. It blows away the Bose SoundDock that I have used to compare all other iPod speaker systems.
Of course, this is a 2.1 system, while most others are just 2.0 stereo set ups, so the eFizz does have an advantage in that respect. The built in subwoofer, provides a warm bottom that most other iPod speakers lack. The front speakers also hold their own providing excellent mids and highs. If you don’t care for the sound coming out of the eFizz or feel it needs tweaking, using the remote’s equalizer option, you can fine tune the sound of the speaker.
However, all is not perfect with the eFizz. The remotes layout is the same as the HandMusic, so the buttons (play/pause, back, forward and menu) on the scroll wheel area of the touch zone continue to affect the smooth scrolling around the scroll wheel. Scrolling to the bottom of pages or raising and lower volume becomes a herky jerky affair at times. Also, I had some connection issues, where the remote was unresponsive for over ten seconds or more and the display seemed frozen on the remote. Resetting the remote did resolve these issues, but they seem to reappear from time to time.
Another issue is the eFizz is big and heavy. It measures 11” x 16” x 12” and I estimate it weighs around twenty pounds. Plus the iPod sits recessed in the speaker, so you will need to keep the speaker lower down to have access to it .
When connected via a USB cable to a PC, the speaker can have its firmware updated. As of the writing of this review, a firmware upgrade for the eFizz was not yet available on the Ewoo site. If you wish to connect another device to the eFizz for it to provide audio output such as a gaming console or DVD, just hook the device via the analog or digital connection and set the proper input on the Ewoo remote.
The final issue I had with the eFizz is the lack of a power button on the speaker. Keeping the iPod housed within the speaker will continually charge it and this seems to be the quickest way to kill the iPod’s battery life.