Klipsch Austin

Klipsch's $99 Austin is the smaller, more affordable counterpart to the $149 Nashville in its Music City series of Bluetooth speakers. It delivers rich low-mids and crisp highs from its single driver, and we’re fans of its outdoor-ready build, clear speakerphone mic, and handy built-in strap. That said, the $79 Anker Soundcore Motion 300 remains our Editors' Choice winner in this price range because it costs less, uses stereo drivers, has more useful onboard controls, and offers a more customizable in-app EQ.

Design: Durable, But Few Onboard Controls

At 4.2 by 4.2 by 1.7 inches (HWD) and 14 ounces, the Austin is significantly smaller and lighter than both the Klipsch Nashville (3.1 by 7.0 by 3.2 inches, 2.4 pounds) and the Soundcore Motion 300 (2.2 by 7.9 by 3.9 inches, 1.7 pounds). It's available only in black.

The Austin sports a matte silicone enclosure and a metallic grille on the front with the Klipsch logo. The left and bottom have a raised texture that helps stabilize the speaker when you position it upright, while the back has raised corners that act as feet when you place it flat. On the right, a snap-shut cover protects the USB-C charging port. Rounding out the design is a strap on the back; it snaps securely in place and stretches for a tight fit over bike handlebars or backpack straps.

(Credit: Tim Gideon)

Behind the grille, a 10-watt (W), 1.5-inch driver delivers a frequency range of 70Hz to 20kHz. Dual passive bass radiators add a little thump to the mix, while a smaller grille on the rear allows for better airflow. For comparison, the Soundcore Motion 300's dual-driver setup is more powerful at 30W. If you want more impressive sound, Broadcast mode allows you to configure multiple Austin speakers (or any other compatible Kilpsch model) to play the same mono audio. Alternatively, you can set up two Austin speakers as a left/right stereo pair.

As for connectivity, the Austin is compatible with Bluetooth 5.3 and supports only the default SBC codec. In addition to SBC, the Soundcore Motion 300 works with the Apple-friendly AAC and hi-res LDAC options.

On the top of the speaker is a control panel with four buttons for power, Bluetooth, and volume up and down. An LED battery life indicator, an LED status indicator, and a pinhole mic sit above the row of buttons. You don't get any track navigation controls here, let alone a play/pause button. Most competing speakers have a multifunction button that handles those tasks.

(Credit: Tim Gideon)

An excellent IP67 rating means the Austin is fully dustproof and can survive submersion at depths of up to a meter for 30 minutes. It's safe from heavy rain and poolside splashes, and you can stick it under a faucet for cleaning. The Soundcore Motion 300 has the same water-resistance rating but lacks official dust protection.

Klipsch estimates that the Austin can last roughly 12 hours per charge, but your typical volume levels will affect that. The battery takes around two hours to fully charge from empty via the included USB-C cable. Conveniently, the speaker supports reverse USB-C functionality for charging other devices at up to 10W.

App Experience

The Klipsch Connect app (available for Android and iOS) is simplistic but covers the basics. Below an image of the speaker and a battery life readout, the app displays playback and track navigation arrows on the main screen. I like that those controls are in the app, though I don't understand why they aren't on the speaker itself.

(Credit: Klipsch)

Three tiles are further down: Flat, Settings, and Help. Flat is the EQ section, and whatever preset you choose (such as Bass, Flat, Rock, Treble, or Vocal) shows up as the button label on the home screen. Just note that switching between presets causes a brief message to appear, as do any fader adjustments (bass, mid, treble) to the custom preset. EQ changes have just a subtle impact on the audio signature, which makes sense given the driver size. Lowering the bass and adjusting the treble in either direction makes the most impact.

In the Settings section, you can change the speaker’s name, install firmware updates, toggle function sounds, browse basic product information, and perform a factory reset. The Help section has a user guide, a full manual, a FAQ section, and a list of tips. A volume slider is at the very bottom of the app's main page.

Enjoyable Audio, Clear Mic Signal

I tried the various EQ modes throughout my review period, but set the speaker to its default Flat profile for testing.

On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the Austin produces appreciable low-frequency depth for its size. The thump sounds fairly full-bodied at moderate volumes, but digital signal processing (DSP) kicks in to prevent distortion at higher levels. I never actually hear distortion, though the radiators can vibrate dramatically on a track like this. Although the audio quality doesn't suffer too much, you should stick with lower volumes for the cleanest possible sound. If you want seriously deep bass, consider a much larger speaker like the $179.99 Soundcore Motion Boom Plus.

As expected, the Austin can't deliver the sub-bass at the 34-second mark of Kendrick Lamar’s “Loyalty.” The various vocals sound clear and detailed since there's very little in the way of competing bass depth.

(Credit: Tim Gideon)

The drums on Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” a track with far less deep bass, don’t sound particularly heavy, though Callahan’s baritone vocals receive a dose of low-mid richness. The higher-register brass, strings, and vocals are bright and crisp. If you don't like the speaker's combination of boosted low-mids, scooped mids, and crisp highs, you can experiment with EQ. Just keep your expectations in check.

On orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary, the speaker imbues the lower-register instrumentation with a bit more low-mid richness than necessary. The higher-register brass, strings, and vocals maintain a relatively crisp presence, but this presentation is not nearly accurate.

The speakerphone mic offers excellent intelligibility. I could easily understand every word from a test recording on my iPhone thanks to the clean signal and hint of additional bass depth.

The Verdict: Good Sound That Goes Anywhere

The Klipsch Austin presents audio with a pleasant blend of low-mid richness and bright highs, and we like that its companion app lets you adjust the sound signature to an extent. The speaker's compact size, IP67 rating, and crisp mic are all favorable aspects as well. We just would have liked a better set of onboard controls. Ultimately, the Anker Soundcore Motion 300 remains our Editors' Choice winner thanks to its lower price, stereo drivers, better controls, and more comprehensive in-app EQ. The Austin is smaller and dustproof, however, so outdoor adventurers in need of an especially compact, durable speaker may still want to consider it.