There are 5 drivers inside the speaker, one large woofer, two mid drivers, and two tweeters. This is a large configuration for a single speaker, and the fact there are two midrange drivers, and two tweeters makes the sound kinda spacey, rather than a fully mono speaker that sounds entirely mono, like the Yamaha WX021 Music Cast 20 was. There is also an EQ built in the speaker, and I managed to get a tuning that I consider sounded best with it, regardless of the location you're listening to it from.

The midrange is clearly not a central point to the sound, as it doesn’t have the texture, or detail that you’ll probably want from a speaker, but it pairs beautifully with the bass, and provides a loud, clear, and hard-hitting overall experience. Having two midrange drivers also provides something of a wide, space-y sound, but it won’t be fully stereo, unless you will be standing very far from the speaker, and somehow right in front of it, leaving enough space for a bit of a soundstage to shape up. The detail is fair, much better than Edifier E25 Luna, which I reviewed before, but still below Edifier S1000 DB, which is about 450 USD at the moment of writing the review. Nevertheless, the speaker “Exos-9” is to be understood as an homage to the best Aiwa times. For us, this is reason enough to take a close look at the device, which was released in 2015 and is currently on the upswing again. Design and WorkmanshipBose SoundTouch 30 and Exos-9 have similar design and size (but SoundTouch 30 is much heavier). They both support Bluetooth wireless streaming and that’s about it when it comes to similarities. Exos-9 is also louder but you can only pair two Exos-9 speakers together while you can pair up to 100 JBL Boomboxes. Exos-9 features EQ settings and JBL Boombox doesn’t. On the rear panel, you will find a carrying handle (at the top), large bass reflex port (for improved bass response), battery compartment, and input ports. Aiwa Exos-9 is a nice-looking and quite large Bluetooth speaker. It’s portable and you can use it outdoors but be aware that it’s not rugged or waterproof.

The JBL Partybox works more like a portable PA speaker system with the ability to plug in microphones and music instruments. It has a power rating of 120 watts which is pretty massive, although nowhere close to the Aiwa Exos 9. Do note that JBL has released a newer JBL Partybox version (JBL Partybox 1000) which has 1000 watts of output power, and you can read more about it in our loudest Bluetooth speakers review article.

Key specs

AIWA is actually a pretty well established company with a large product offer, which includes headphones, like the ARC-1 Bluetooth headset that I reviewed before, and the pretty new EXOS 8 Party speaker, and the Prodigy Air TWS Earbuds. They are quite reliable and will provide proper warranty and support for you, although they are also sold a lot in stores that aren’t necessarily audio stores. Those stores should also offer a pretty excellent overall warranty and support, and you won’t have to rely on Aiwa alone, so if you see them being sold in your favorite electronics shop, you should totally go for their products, as they are quite reliable. I should also mention that after having had their ARC-1 Bluetooth headphones for almost a year now, I can confirm that they didn’t break so far. While we listened to considerably more songs than those named in this playlist, those are excellent for identifying certain aspects of the sound, like PRaT, Texturization, Detail, Resolution, Dynamics, Impact, and overall tonality. We recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you're searching for new most, most of them being rather catchy.

If you have a dime to spare, please donate, and help us! It would make the day brighter for me and my wife- Most of our complaints are related to build quality (too much plastic) and to control panel design. The USB powebank port can be used for charging phones or tablets. Assuming that the capacity of the battery is 15,600mAh, you can fully recharge Samsung S9 or iPhone X 5 times. Overall, this is a case where the entire product description, design and aesthetics make it look and feel like it was made to be portable, pretty much like the AIWA EXOS 8, but instead, it is very much a speaker you'll mostly leave and use at home. Just like the Vifa Copenhagen 2.0, it is not intended to leave your room, although if you really want and try to, you will be able to take it on a little trip with you, if you'll be able to bear the weight. The most amazing part of music is the emotional response it’s able to trigger. With that being said, feeling the power and dynamics of the music seriously helps with that response. That’s probably why you’re here in the first place.But if you want to become nostalgic, you’ll have to take a little hit: The original manufacturer was sold to Sony in 2002 and ceased operations in 2006. In 2013, the brand rights were sold to “River West Brands”, which cooperated with “Hale Devices”. The latter company subsequently renamed itself “Aiwa” and is responsible for the device we tested. It should be noted that I have absolutely no affiliation with AIWA, I am not receiving any incentive for this review or to sweeten things out. I'd like to thank AIWA for providing the sample for this review. This review reflects my personal experience with AIWA EXOS 9. Every opinion expressed is mine and I stand by it, the purpose of this review is to help those interested in AIWA EXOS 9 find their next music companion. Aiwa speakers are a good choice for anyone looking for a quality sound system. The company has a long history of producing quality audio equipment, and their speakers are no exception. They offer a wide range of models to choose from, so you can find the perfect set of speakers for your needs. Whether you’re looking for a simple stereo system or a high-end surround sound setup, Aiwa has a speaker system that will suit your needs. Considering the size and number of drivers inside the speaker and the playtime, 15,600mAh seems more believable. 2,600mAh is simply to small for this kind of speaker. Besides, USB powerbank port would be useless if this was the actual battery capacity. To put things in perspective, Samsung S9 features 3,000mAh battery while iPhone X features 2,700mAh battery.