Sengled’s light bulb combined with dual stereo speakers serves no purpose other than novelty

THIS looks like a normal light bulb. It makes the room bright. But it’s got a second hidden feature not usually seen on a light. What were they thinking?

REVIEW:

HAVE you ever contemplated how much better your life would be if you had a light bulb equipped with dual stereo speakers?

Well, obviously some people have entertained the idea because an innovative lighting company has created that very product.

With a goal to revolutionise the lighting industry by transforming your house into a connected home, Sengled has created some great products including WI-FI extending and outdoor monitoring smart bulbs.

However, it’s the company’s Pulse Solo smart bulb that really grabbed my attention (and maybe for the wrong reasons).

“Pulse Solo is a smart bulb that combines the energy efficiency of a dimmable LED light with the high-quality audio of JBL Bluetooth speaker to provide you a premier home entertainment experience that you can easily control,” the website description reads.

“Experience the soaring highs and the rich stereo sound of JBL combined with warm, dimmable lighting, without the fuss of speaker wires, power cords, or an independent remote control.”

My first thought was there was no possible need to ever combine those two objects, but in the name of fairness I thought I should at least try the product before condemning it.

With the gadget in hand, I made my way home to find somewhere to perch myself so I could listen to some quality gangster rap from the very source offering me illumination.

It seemed like a simple task.

Until I realised I had was the Edison screw model and not the bayonet mount, which would have been more suited to all of the light sockets in my house.

After close to half an hour of searching every light socket in my humble abode, I finally located a portable lamp that was designed to house my latest toy.

The brightness of the light and volume can be controlled via a smartphone app.

As the smart bulb is combined with dual 3-watt speakers, it is far heavier than your standard light, which meant I was worried the lamp might tip — thankfully it didn’t and I was good to go.

With the light bulb shining bright, I synched my phone via Bluetooth and started blasting out the sounds of Dr Dre throughout my house.

The music was turned full blast in order to test the power of the speakers, but unfortunately the sound was very tinny and offered no bass at all.

In order to fix the sound quality, I had to knock the volume down by a substantial amount, which made me question if I would have been better to just play the album straight from my phone instead of using the light.

However, for a little extra cost you can upgrade to the Pulse set, which includes a subwoofer module to bring the bass.

After a few songs were played, I decided the light bulb was too bright so I went to turn it off at the wall, only to realise this stopped the speakers from working.

Luckily, there is an app available which allows you to dim the brightness of your light from your smartphone, while continuing to play music — a feature that could be helpful when preparing for a romantic encounter.

After another couple of songs, I decided I had seen all I needed to make an objective decision on the gadget.

And let’s just say I would find it hard to recommend the product to anyone looking for a good quality wireless speaker (given you can get a better quality product for the $AU123 you would spend buying this one).

Unless you’re buying it for the good two minutes of laughter that comes from showing your mates you have a light bulb that can play music, there is no real need for this product.

The Australian branch of the company has since said they disagree with the “home-entertainment” description detailed on the Sengled website.

“The Pulse solo lamp is designed to be used in a small room in a bedside lamp, office, kids room or bathroom to listen to the radio or watch a movie on the iPad,” they told news.com.au