The Vifa Oslo Portable Speaker Packs High-End Audio into a Minimalist Design

By Kris Wouk Published January 30, 2017

Unless you’re very into audio gear, the name Vifa might not ring a bell to you, but that doesn’t mean you haven’t encountered the company’s products before.

For some time now, Vifa has provided drivers to manufacturers of high-end audio equipment. That’s all well and good, but if you’d rather see what a product designed from the ground up by the company looks like, meet the Vifa Oslo Bluetooth speaker.

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While a lot of Bluetooth speakers loudly exclaim exactly what they are to anyone giving them even a cursory glance, Vifa has taken a much more subdued approach to the Oslo. The understated minimalist design sees nearly the entire speaker covered in fabric — available in multiple colors including Anthracite Grey, Pebble Grey, Sand Yellow, Ocean Blue, Ice Blue, and Pine Green — with a handle on top for easy portability. A small panel on the back houses the power button, auxiliary jack, and AC adapter connector.

Inside, a pair of 50-mm full-range drivers with aluminum cones and neodymium magnets are complemented by dual 65-mm woofers, which are mounted opposite each other, back to back. A pair of passive radiators provide extra low end. A DSP crossover keeps the drivers working together in sync, keeping distortion low.

For connectivity, the Oslo uses Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX, though it keeps things fairly simple, with no NFC or speakerphone functionality — this speaker is built solely for music. The included rechargeable lithium battery offers a claimed eight hours of playback time. Charging can only be done via the included AC adapter, so you won’t be able to charge this speaker via Micro USB.

The Vifa Oslo has been available in Europe for a while now, but those of us based in the U.S. can now find the speaker for sale via retailers like fancy, selling for $550. For more information on the Vifa Oslo, see the company’s website.

A version of this article originally appeared at our “brother site,” Digital Trends.

Kris Wouk is a tech writer, gadget reviewer, blogger, and whatever it's called when someone makes videos for the web. In his…

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