For a long time I’ve wanted to review something from Hator. In case anyone doesn’t know, Hator ─ is our Ukrainian brand, which is known for high-quality and affordable mechanical keyboards, mice, gaming chairs, headphones. Recently the guys have been expanding and supplementing their assortment. And here I have one of their novelties for review – a portable speaker Hator Aria Wireless. Having learnt the price of this speaker, at first I didn’t have high hopes for it. But when I personally tried and tested it, I was pleasantly surprised. Looking ahead, I will say that Hator Aria can become a worthy competitor to many famous brands. Why? I will tell you in the review. But first let’s go over the characteristics.
Hator Aria Wireless ─ so far the only portable speaker presented by Hator. Its regular full price is about $67. At the time of writing this review, the Hator Aria Wireless was on sale everywhere at a discounted price of $54. Taking into account the price and characteristics, we cannot say that this is a budget model. “Golden mean” – I think this definition is most suitable.
Hator Aria Wireless comes in a small cardboard box with dimensions 117×225×97 mm. The box is designed in the traditional Hator brand colour ─ yellow. On the front side we can see the name of the model and the picture, on the right and left sides the same, but there is also a QR code, by which you can go directly to the official site, to the product page. On the back on a black background technical specifications of the speaker in 3 languages: Ukrainian, Polish and English.
There’s a box waiting for us:
The package is simple, perhaps I would have liked to see some Hator branded promos and plushies like stickers, stickers, postcards, etc. in the kit. But usually this kind of stuffing can be found in a set with a keyboard or mice, so everything is expected here. Otherwise, there are no complaints about the package, the materials are of high quality, the box looks stylish, and everything is packed safely inside.
Let’s put all the stuffing back into the box and move on to the speaker itself. The design of Hator Aria is not bad, stylish, laconic, but without any zest. Most likely it’s because I got Aria Phantom Black for review – a speaker in restrained black colour. Speaking of colours, at the moment the Hator Aria speaker is presented only in two colour variants: Phantom Black (HTA-201) and Stormy Blue (HTA-202).
Hator Aria Stormy Blue looks a bit more interesting to me, sea blue colour, cool overall. And in general, it would be nice if Hator expanded the colour range of models, for example green, yellow, orange ─ would look cool. And also I personally would like to buy something in the corporate spirit of Hator, for example some Limited Edition in the corporate yellow-black colours. Okay, that’s just a thought out loud.
Let’s take a closer look at the speaker from all sides. On the front side we can see the main controls, stylised buttons: Bluetooth, volume, play, on/off. There is also a USB Type-C connector, an operation indicator and the name “HATOR ARIA”.
There is nothing on the back of the speaker except for the small 2 rubber feet that the speaker stands on when in a horizontal position.
There is a lanyard attached to the speaker cabinet. It is thick, sturdy, made of good materials, and it is securely fastened. With its help you can conveniently fix the speaker on your wrist or hang it on something. Or you can untie the lanyard at all, here who likes it. By the way, the lanyard was attached to the speaker originally, out of the box, as they say.
Let’s take a closer look at the left and right speakers. Actually, nothing interesting, but in general it looks good. By the way, the speaker is quite stable in a vertical position, regardless of which side you put it on. And the sound quality doesn’t change, but I’ll tell you about it a little later.
Hator Aria компактная и легкая колонка. Весит всего 620 г. Удобно помещается и лежит в руке. Колонку можно приобрести даже для ребенка.
The materials here are mostly plastic in the base of the cabinet, most of the speaker is covered with a mesh with a durable fabric cover. Materials are of high quality, plastic components are free of burrs, nicks and other defects. Plastic without a characteristic odour, does not smell Chinese. The assembly is qualitative, there are no backlashes and creaks of the case. The design looks reliable, strong, monolithic.
To summarise, I can say that in terms of design, ergonomics and assembly the Hator Aria Wireless is excellent.
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Hator Aria has 2 speakers 45 mm + 30 mm. The frequency range is 70Hz – 20kHz, impedance is 4 ohms, maximum power is 30W. Also, there are some interesting features that I would like to draw your attention to. Namely: two-channel playback system, separate speakers for high and low frequencies, TWS Pair-To-Play function. Let’s take a closer look at everything.
The Hator Aria Wireless features a dual channel sound reproduction system. This means that the speaker will produce a clear, balanced sound regardless of its position. That is, if you place the speaker vertically on the left or right side of the speakers – the sound, its quality and volume will not change at all. I checked this statement in practice and, indeed, did not notice any difference.
Hator Aria has separate speakers for high and low frequencies: 10 + 20 watts. A 32-bit DSP processor is responsible for sound quality. According to Hator’s statement, Hator Aria processors are tuned in an acoustic laboratory. I don’t know if this is true or not, but in practice the sound quality is excellent. I clearly hear low and mid frequencies, clearly hear bass. The bass does not muffle everything else, as it happens in some portable speakers. The sound is not mixed in a mess, if you want to hear each instrument separately. It is especially noticeable on rock compositions, where usually 2-3 guitars, bass, drums, vocals and some additional sounds (keys, synthesiser effects, for example) are in the background.
An interesting feature that allows you to combine two Hator Aria speakers into a single system, thus increasing the volume and surround sound. Unfortunately, I can’t check how it all works and sounds in practice. But I think that in a company on holiday or at a picnic this function can show itself 100%. It would be interesting to try it.
Like many portable wireless speakers, the Hator Aria is IPx7 waterproof. IPx7 ─ protection class for partial or short-term immersion in water up to a depth of 1 metre. Hator Aria is not afraid of water and moisture. In theory, you can even swim with it in a swimming pool or at sea. But I would like to draw your attention to the wording “partial or short-term immersion”, so keep this in mind.
The Hator Aria connects using the latest version of the Bluetooth 5.3 protocol. This provides a wide range of devices to which the speaker can be connected and minimal signal delay (<180ms by specification). It also has a good signal range. What does this mean in practice? I’ve connected the Hator Aria to everything I can connect the speaker to in the house (iOS and Android smartphones, laptop, desktop PC) and I’ve never once had a problem with connectivity or stability. A 55m² flat – I carried the speaker all over the flat, the signal source was in a completely different room, sometimes behind a closed door, and there were no problems with signal stability either. In short, as you can see, the Hator Aria’s range and connection quality are also good.
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We listened to and tested Hator Aria in connection with iPhone 11 Pro Max, we chose music from Apple Music with Dolby Atmos and in Lossless format. As test songs we tried to choose music of different genres: pop, club, electro, drum and bass. And of course rock with its subgenres. From technically simple: pop-rock, punk, pop-punk, post-rock, grunge. And to more complex ones: heavy, thrash, black, death metal, grindcore.
All music, all musical genres on Hator Aria sounded decent. The sound is not flat, you can feel a little bit of volume. The volume is well adjustable, the maximum volume level, in my opinion, the Hator Aria has enough. The bass is clear, but it doesn’t drown out everything else, as it sometimes happens on other portable wireless speakers. I’d say the bass is moderate, and the overall sound is balanced. Thanks to the two-channel system, no matter how I placed the speaker, the sound was the same, without distortion.
The only thing I could have a problem with, and this is purely personal subjective opinion, is the way my favourite Behemoth sounds on Hator Aria. The sound is decent in principle, but here I already lacked the volume of sound. In general, no portable speaker, even the most top-notch one, can fully reveal such music. Such music should be listened to either on vinyl with a good acoustic system or in good headphones. Otherwise, the sound of Hator Aria is really wonderful.
In addition to music, we also connected the Hator Aria to a laptop and simply watched films. The standard speakers and volume level of a laptop are often not enough. That’s when a portable wireless speaker comes in handy. The sound quality was also excellent. Not like a home theatre, of course, but still much better than the flat sound from the standard laptop speakers.
For the sake of interest, I compared the sound with the JBL Charge 4 I have at home. Of course, the comparison is inappropriate, because Charge 4 costs almost twice as much. But I should note that Hator Aria is not too much inferior to JBL in terms of sound quality. To me, the bass, and low frequencies in general, on JBL are predominant. Sometimes you get the impression that the bass drowns out everything else. But on Hator Aria there is no such thing, everything is more or less balanced. I like this sound better. JBL is certainly louder in terms of volume, but again, it costs twice as much and is bigger. Can I consider the Hator Aria as a more affordable alternative? Yes, you can!
The Hator Aria has a 5200 mAh battery. According to the manufacturer’s claims, a full battery charge will last for 16 hours of playback or 300 days in standby mode. Fast charging is supported. Full charge time to 100% is about 2.5 hours.
I listened to the speaker on a single charge several evenings in a row for several hours at a time, and never fully planted it. So I believe, I think, that the actual autonomy is very close to the claimed one.
Hator Aria Wireless is an excellent, inexpensive portable speaker that can easily compete with more established brands. If you don’t go into technical specifications and detailed comparisons, but just listen to it, you can even say that Aria surpasses them in some aspects. Or, at least, it keeps up to the level. At the same time, it costs less. Can I recommend Hator Aria for purchase? Yes, you can! And if not to recommend it, then at least to consider it as an option.
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