The Xpedition 8 is a speaker manufactured by Altec Lansing. This speaker boasts a lot of great features, including that it is dustproof, waterproof, uses wireless connectivity, very portable, and many other features. If you are looking for speakers with such features and more. Then Altec Lansing Expedition 8 speaker is a wonderful option for you.
The Altec Lansing expedition 8 is a speaker that can get really loud. It also has a long-lasting battery that gives you a good listening experience.
Altec Lansing ALP-XP850 Expedition Xpedition 8 Portable Waterproof Wireless Bluetooth Indoor or Outdoor Speaker with Multi-Colored LED Light Show, Stereo Pairing, Everything Proof
Expedition 8 specifications
- Weighs 24 lbs
- Size: 28 x 13 x 15 inches (W x H x D)
- Bluetooth plus NFC pairing
- IP67 Certified
- Dustproof, waterproof and shockproof
- 15 hours battery life
- Dual 8″ woofers, three 1-inch tweeters
- LED lights and Strobe lights
- Aux connection
- 100 ft wireless range
- 5 hours charging time
- AC and DC power input
In the box, you will find a DC cable, an AC cable, the speaker, the manual and a warranty card.
Design
The Altec Lansing expedition 8 has a look like that of the XB90 by Sony. The difference is that, this speaker looks a little simpler than the Sony XB90.
The speaker has a protective grille that helps to keep the subwoofers and the tweeters well protected. It has a design that ensures that the sound produced is dispersed to produce great sounds. Behind the grilles, there are two 8inch subwoofers and three 1inch tweeters. The speaker’s grille is black in color.
On the front side of the speaker, there is a control panel. On the left and the right side. There are strobe lights that help to give the speaker a good visual experience. Each speaker has lights around it that give the speaker an attractive look and give it a good look for parties.
The speaker has a knob that is located in the middle of the control panel. This knob is used to adjust the volume as well as to when the battery status of your speaker. You use this knob by pressing it.
On the top of the panel, there is an NFC logo that allows you to easily pair to your devices that support NFC pairing. This will only take less than two seconds to pair and allows you to stream tracks from your device very easily.
The Xpedition 8 comes with 3 handles. There’s a handle on the right, left as well as on the top panel. These allow you to easily carry the speaker. This speaker only weighs about 25lbs.
The rear panel contains two passive bass radiators. One is on the right side of the waterproof cap, while the other is on the left side. The DC and the AC input are protected by a plastic cap. There is also a USB port and an Aux input that are all protected by a plastic cap making them waterproof. The speaker has a very durable design.
Controls
The Xpedition 8 has 6 buttons. Below the knob, there are 3 buttons. The other three are located above the knob. The buttons on the bottom are used to link the speaker to another speaker, set up the beast mode, and pair the speaker to your Bluetooth device. The buttons above the knob are for powering the speaker, turning on the lights, and a stove lights button.
The link button is what you will use in order to connect the expedition 8 to another Xpedition 8 speaker so that you get a louder sound and an enhanced experience.
The beast button is there to give you a more enhanced bass. This is great for people who like bass heavy music. It really changes the skin’s experience.
The Bluetooth button is used to pair your speaker to your smartphone, tablet, laptop or any other device that you will be streaming the music from.
Sound Performance
When it comes to the sound performance, expedition 8 performs very well. It is a great speaker to use when you are indoors as well as outdoors. It can get very loud, making it great for parties.
It also allows you to connect it to another expedition 8 speakers to give you a louder sound. It gives a bass that is very deep and punchy. The speaker has well-detailed molds and highs that are clear.
Build Quality
The speaker has an excellent build quality. It has an IP rating of IP67. This makes the speaker waterproof, shockproof, and even dustproof. This speaker can also float in water Not only that, this speaker can be immersed in water without getting damaged.
Battery Life
The Altec Lansing Xpedition gives you a battery life of up to 24 hours when fully charged. However, you will get a battery life that is less than 24 hours when the LED lights are on and when the volume is very high.
With the LED lights on and at 50% volume will get up to 12 hours of battery life. The speaker has a rechargeable battery of up to 5000mAh. The battery life can get as low as 5 hours when you have the lights on the whole time.
Features of the Altec Lansing Expedition 8
Good design: The speaker has a very good design that allows you to place it in a vertical or horizontal way. It has three tweeters, however, most of the time, only two are active. This also depends on how you have positioned the speaker.
Durability: The Xpedition 8 is durable and has a rugged design. It is waterproof as well as dustproof with a rating of IP67. This makes it a great speaker for outdoor use because you will use it without worrying about rain or any water splashes damaging your speaker. It can also withstand a lot of forces. This speaker can also float in water.
Wide wireless range: The Bluetooth range of this speaker is 100 feet. This is very good rage and let’s you use this speaker from a very long distance. This speaker is also compatible with NFC pairing. With this feature, you will be able to pair and stream music from your devices seamlessly.
Connections: Apart from Bluetooth connectivity. This speaker also has aux input that allows you to connect your non-Bluetooth devices to it.
Pair another Expedition speaker: With the expedition 8, you can pair it to another expedition 8 speakers to get a loud music experience. However, it doesn’t allow you to pair it to multiple speakers.
Rechargeable battery: This speaker has a built-in rechargeable battery. The batter is 5000mAh. It gives you a playtime of up to 24 hours which may decrease or increase depending on some factors like volume or LED lights.
Performance
The speaker has features that work very well. It’s build quality is excellent, it has a great design, and the IP67 rating works very well.
It has a control panel that is very easy to use, simple as well as intuitive. It allows you to control the lights on the woofers. You can turn them off or choose a color mode, this is done by pressing a button.
It also let’s you choose a color by pressing the volume knob and turning it in a clockwise direction. It also has strobe lights that can be turned on or off using the strobe buttons. It has very good sound quality with good bass amounts.
Pairing
Pairing this speaker to your devices is seamless. It has very good and strong connectivity. It makes use of Bluetooth connectivity. It also has NFC pairing support; therefore, it will pair to your devices that have NFC support very easily.
This speaker also allows you to connect your device to it via an aux connection. If you connect via Bluetooth and aux connection, the speaker prioritizes the aux connection.
The speaker has a very wide Bluetooth range of up to 100 feet. Therefore, you will be able to play your music without audio cuts even when your phone is at a distance from your speaker.
The sound that this speaker produces is more suited for outdoor use rather than indoors. When the beast mode is activated, you will still get very good sound quality but with more bass response.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- It can be paired with another Xpedition 8 speaker very quickly
- Very easy pairing process with your devices
- Waterproof, dustproof and shockproof
- Portable design
- Good sound quality
Cons
- Battery life does not last at maximum volume
- Lacks stereo mode
Conclusion
The Altec Lansing Xpedition 8 is an excellent speaker. It has an attractive design, it is durable, and boasts a lot of features. The speaker can survive being dipped in water and has a design that makes it dustproof.
It has a black grille that helps to protect the speaker’s subwoofers and tweeters. It produces sounds that can easily fill up a room. The bass produced is deep and punchy. It also delivers vocals that sound well. The speaker’s mids are very nice but not very detailed. It is worth giving this speaker a try if you are looking for a good-sounding speaker.
