Philips TAX 2208 review: a budget-friendly party speaker

Published On: 12 October 2024 | 08:30 IST

Party speakers are always a hit. After experiencing the LG XBOOM XL7S (review) and Sony ULT Tower 10 (overview), I can confidently say they elevate any gathering. Their powerful, thumping sound, impressive volume, and versatile input options for external microphones and instruments really brings oarties to life. However, their bulky design makes them less convenient to carry. Philips has addressed that problem with its TAX 2208 party speaker, offering a relatively compact and lightweight design for easy portability. However, this comes with a few trade-offs, which I’ll explore in this review. Read on.

Table of Contents

What works

Lightweight design

The form factor is one of the USPs of the Philips TAX 2208 party speaker. The speaker is relatively compact, measuring 24.89 x 24.89 x 34.19 cm, and is quite lightweight too. The speaker boasts a plastic build, which keeps its weight in check at 2.82 kg, making it easy to carry wherever the party is. To assist you in carrying the speaker around, there is a handle on the top edge of the Philips TAX 2208 – just behind the control panel. This panel provides a combination of tactile buttons and rotating knobs for all the essential functions, from power on/off to play/ pause music, change track, bass boost, adjust volume, and more. The panel also offers input options such as a USB Type-C charging port, USB Type-A port, Audio in, and Mic in, providing versatile connectivity. While the buttons and knobs are functional, feedback remains unsatisfactory which can be let go given the price of the speaker.

Moving on, the Philips TAX 2208 comes in a trapezoid design that lets you place the speaker either horizontally or vertically. However, unlike the bottom edge, the sides of the speaker do not have anti-skid foam, leaving them prone to scratches and offering less grip. Placing the speaker horizontally doesn’t make much of a difference. Moreover, placing the speaker vertically provides users with a convenient spot to mount their smartphones between the handle and the control panel.

Good sound

The Philips TAX 2208 delivers 30W sound output, which, while not the most powerful at this price point, comes with a useful option: you can link a second TAX 2208 speaker to boost the overall sound. For this review, we tested just one speaker. Enhancing the 30W output is the Dynamic Bass Boost (DBB) feature, designed to enrich low-frequency sounds, especially at lower volumes, and it does. If you prefer a more balanced audio profile, you can easily disable DBB using the physical toggle on the control panel, allowing the speaker to revert to its standard sound. Speaking of which, the Philips TAX 2208 offers a bass-forward sound profile.

The audio distorts slightly at maximum volume, especially with bass-heavy tracks like Believer by Imagine Dragons, Taki Taki by DJ Snake, and 52 Bars by Karak Aujila. However, at 70-80 percent volume, the performance is respectable for the price. I streamed my go-to tracks, such as Chhaiya Chhaiya and White Brown Black, on the device. While they sound very detailed or balanced, they were still fun to listen to. The speaker also gets sufficiently loud for an average-sized room or hall and should comfortably cater to a gathering of 5-10 people.

Battery life

The Philips TAX 2208 party speaker is equipped with a 3,000mAh battery, which delivers up to seven hours of playtime depending on usage. My experience typically yielded similar results, with average volume levels of 60–70 percent and multi-colour LED lights. The LED lights can be turned off to further enhance battery life. The TAX 2208 also features a smart functionality that detects the audio source; if no music is playing, it will automatically enter sleep mode. Moreover, the speaker supports reverse wireless charging, allowing it to be used as a power bank to recharge devices such as smartphones.

Decent battery features

The battery status of the Philips party speaker can be monitored through the four LED lights on the control panel, which illuminate as the battery level decreases. Included with the device is a USB Type-A to C charging cable that can be connected to any compatible adaptor for recharging the TAX 2208 speaker. While it takes approximately 2 to 2.5 hours to recharge from 0 to 100 percent, the speaker conveniently allows music playback during charging.

Affordable

Price is another aspect that makes this speaker worth considering. The Phillips TAX 2208 comes with a sticker price of Rs 5,490; however, at the time of writing this review, the speaker was available on Amazon for as low as Rs 3,500. That’s a great deal for a portable party speaker, which offers respectable sound quality, decent battery life, and microphone input for karaoke.

What doesn’t work

Lacks thump

Party speakers are renowned for their booming volume and deep bass, energising any gathering. However, the Philips TAX 2208 falls short in this aspect. Its compact design, centred around an 8-inch woofer, limits its performance. While the woofer is adequately sized, the absence of both a tweeter and subwoofer leaves the sound lacking depth and missing that rich, punchy thump that immerses you and makes you want to move to the beats. Even with Dynamic Bass Boost (DBB), the Philips TAX 2208 misses out on that oomph. As a result, songs like Obsessed by Riar Saab and Abhijay Sharma and Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes, which have a lot of bass may not sound fuller.

Sub-par codec support

The Philips TAX 2208 supports only the subband codec (SBC) for music streaming. While this codec is widely used, it compresses audio files, resulting in a loss of detail. Furthermore, it is less efficient and does not support bit rates higher than 328 kbps, which can compromise the listening experience. There is also a slight latency in music playback; however, this will be barely noticeable for general users.

No app support

Another downside of this budget-friendly party speaker is the absence of app support. The Philips TAX 2208 lacks a companion app both for Android and iOS to adjust its settings and customise sound.

Verdict

The TAX 2208 is Philips’ most affordable party speaker in India. For under Rs 6,000, the speaker offers a solid blend of portability, affordability, and decent sound quality for casual gatherings. However, options from boAt, Zebornics, and Portronics offer more powerful sound at least for a similar price. A handful of them also come with a mic bundled.

Be that as it may, the Philips TAX 2208’s battery backup is superior to its competitors. Moreover, its compact and lightweight design, combined with versatile input options, make it a convenient choice for on-the-go use. While it lacks deep bass, wide codec support, and a companion app, the Philips TAX 2208 is a good option for those looking for a portable speaker for smaller parties without compromising too much on performance.