Dillinger Labs “Death From Below” Wireless Subwoofer Review

Video Review

First Impressions / Setting up

This is a portable yet quite substantial subwoofer, with two recessed bass speakers hidden behind chunky protective metal grills, although they are still exposed somewhat. Unlike a lot of subwoofers, it is quite flat/slim, and so easier to carry or store upright. The overall build quality in painted wood is excellent.

The small control panel has LED readouts, a bonding/pairing button for the wireless, which also doubles as a volume button, and a simple multifunction on/off button.

There are handy cutouts in the sides with finger indentations, making it easier to pick it up with two hands, and a DC power input that works with the supplied power brick for charging its internal battery. Overall, the unit is well built, portable, and pretty sharp looking.

There are no wired audio ins and outs here. This is purely made as a SKAA speaker, SKAA being the wireless protocol pioneered by the company that makes the speaker. Interestingly, though, if you want to pair it with a SKAA-compatible full-range speaker to get a complete “speaker plus subwoofer” set-up, the only company currently making them is Soundboks, and it pairs well with the larger Soundboks speakers or (as tested here by me) with the smaller Soundboks Go.

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Pop a pole between them, charge them, turn them on, and set up a SKAA transmitter (you need to buy one separately from Dillinger Labs) attached to your DJ gear, and the units will automatically find and join it, with even less fuss than the typical Bluetooth pair up. But unlike Bluetooth, this system offers (in pro mode) 19ms latency across up to 50 metres, with very high quality, 16-bit/48kHz audio, making it suitable for DJing with.

And that’s it. Adjust the volume controls on your subwoofer and top speaker, and you’re good to go.

In Use

There are lots of ways this speaker can be used, and I’ve seen people using it in production settings, where for whatever reason they don’t want a wired subwoofer, as well as just casual users who are hell bent on getting the most bass possible alongside their Soundboks speakers.

However, I had a very specific use case, which was to give me great portable sound from one subwoofer and one Soundboks Go speaker for my boutique seven-inch DJ set-up, which is a battery-powered, two-turntable-and-basic-mixer system that I use to DJ with 45s exclusively.

My whole set-up is relatively lightweight, portable, and fully battery powered, and I love the idea of having a cable-free speaker as well – hence the Soundboks Go – and now with the DFB, it’s possible to add a subwoofer.

Whether using it on my balcony at home, which has a great backdrop for livestreaming, or in the pubs nearby on their terraces, it’s a simple set-up to wheel in, get going with a minimum of fuss, and sound amazing in use.

And it achieves all of these things. The speaker isolates well, with its big honeycomb rubber feet, and it is well designed with the pole mount for the top-end speaker. It’s also very safe to use, as it’s stable with the Soundboks Go mounted over it, and doesn’t have any cables to hide/secure as trip hazards whatsoever.

And despite only being a 70-watt amplifier (which is necessary for the battery to last more than about five minutes), because of the two large, efficient speakers, it’s fine for small venues/crowds, or for small terrace gigs at pubs and lounges and so on. For me, it is more than enough paired with a single Soundbox Go.

Indeed, pairing it with the smaller of the two Soundboks speakers makes sense because the one place that the smaller speaker struggles is in the bass, and this obviously solves that issue well.

It is possible to fine-tune the SKAA speaker with five EQ modes, including an outdoor mode that takes away the very lowest bass but lets it go louder for longer, and it’s worth experimenting with these settings, because other settings are tuned for electronic music, for more mid-range music like country and rock, and so on, so you can find the one that works for your music and environment.

Equally, there are settings that let you alter the audio delay and the phasing to make it suit exactly your needs, because the thing with bass speakers like this – especially when they’re wireless – is that positioning is not as important as with high-end speakers, so you may want to put it a bit away from you and then tune it accordingly.

Straight out of the box, though, it sounds great. I got 15 hours (and going strong) battery life from it, and they say up to 40 at lower listening levels. It’s the convenience factor that I find the most beguiling because it’s so quick to get it going, and it always surprises people to see the simplicity of the set-up when you explain how it’s all working.

Conclusion

As of now, this is a pretty niche product.

Firstly, not everyone “gets” wireless DJing, and I understand that. It’s totally fine if you don’t get it, or it’s not for you. But even if you do, it’s one of a few wireless systems available, and so you might decide to go for one of the others, such as the AlphaTheta Wave Eight, which in some ways is even more convenient (transmitters come with those speakers).

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And of course, even if you do like the idea of DFB, SKAA and Dillinger Labs, unless you’re prepared to have wired main speakers (which wouldn’t really make sense), you’re only going to be interested in this if you also like the Soundboks brand and one of its models, the only current partner that makes sense for DFB (it appears the company is also about to start selling some SKAA speakers of its own, but even when they arrive, the choice is still very limited at the moment).

However, if all of those things are true for you (and a LOT of people do like the Soundboks speakers, myself included – I think they’re incredible), then actually it’s a bit of a no-brainer to add one of these subs to your existing Soundboks system.

Even if you don’t own a SKAA transmitter or intend to DJ through it, and just want to Bluetooth from your phone, it’s possible to do so into the Soundboks speaker, which can then handle the connection with the Dillinger sub. Result: Probably the most awesome wireless, battery speaker set-up in the world.

But for DJs, investing in a Dillinger Dani transmitter as well (that also has a long-life battery, and can plug simply into the output from your DJ gear) will give you a truly wireless portable system, as I demoed in the accompanying review video.

Such a system will definitely get people talking, will be really simple to set up and break down, will sound amazing, and will please you every time you use it – I guarantee that. It certainly does me. If this niche case is you, then definitely get one – you won’t regret it.