Get Up and Go

Mitchell Acoustics uStream Go Stereo Speakers Sound Great and are Solidly Built

By Jeremy Glowacki

The mission of Mitchell Acoustics founder Paul Mitchell is to bring high-quality stereo sound to both casual and serious music lovers at an affordable price point. A British audio specialist and professional producer/musician, Mitchell partnered with audio engineer Alex Leung to add the uStream Go line of premier Bluetooth stereo speakers to their lineup of products.

The first thing I noticed after unboxing the Mitchell Acoustics uStream Go was that the pair of speakers, though fairly small in size (cubes measuring 4.5 inches in each direction), were very solidly built with all-metal cabinets and a seemingly impenetrable round front grill and rubber feet for stability.

Each Mitchell Acoustics uStream Go speaker ($449/pair) was fully charged out of the box. Following the directions in the manual, I pressed the power button on the rear of each speaker. Each speaker acknowledged the button press with an audible “Power On” voice in the British accent of company founder Paul Mitchell himself, followed by the word, “Bluetooth.”

Mitchell believes that the introduction of his company’s products into the U.S. marketplace gives the American audio consumer something they’ve been missing for a long time. “Many consumers who stream music use the standalone mono speakers that are popular today,” he explained. “They are primarily used out of convenience, but there is no way they can produce true, high-quality stereo sound. Our uStream series retains the convenience of these standalone devices but produce beautiful stereo sound, reminiscent of what Hi-Fi was like years ago. They can exploit all streaming options and deliver sound much closer to what the artists and producers intended.”

I positioned Mitchell Acoustics uStream Go speakers at the far corners of the desk. With Spotify as my source, I was blown away by the musical dynamics of the speakers. The stereo imaging, even with only about four feet of distance between them, never fails to surprise me. As I sit typing at my computer, the phantom image seems to come directly from my monitor screen.

A true test of a smaller speaker is its ability to reproduce bass, and the Mitchell Acoustics uStream Go speakers are solid performers when it comes to low-end, thanks the bass reflex driver on the bottom of each speaker. The speakers are officially rated at 30W RMS (15w RMS per channel, 18w peak power per channel) with a frequency range of 50Hz-18kHz and an impedance of 4 ohms. While the bass is not going rumble your windows, but the frequency range is more than healthy enough to meet the expectations I have for many familiar songs.

Buttons on the back enable you to increase or lower speaker volume directly on the device (though volume controls on the side of your phone will get used more often). A 3.5mm stereo jack socket allows wired source connections, if preferred, and play/pause can also be controlled by the back panel.

When the speakers go too long without music playing, a default setting turns them off automatically with an always-startling “Power off!” declaration from Paul Mitchell’s recorded voice. I haven’t officially timed the period of time before the automatic powering down, but it feels like about 15 minutes (or just when you’ve forgotten you left them on.)

I have absolutely no complaints about the musicality of the uStream Go speakers, their ability to quickly and easily connect via Bluetooth to my mobile phone, or the life of the 7.4V/8000mAh lithium-ion battery that can be charged via an included 5v USB-2.0 to twin USB-C “Y” cable after 30 hours of continuous use. My only complaint — and it could be a big one for many use cases — is the limited range of the Bluetooth signal between speakers.

As much as I love the “near-field monitor” setup on my office desk, when I’ve wanted to see what the speakers sounded like when placed farther apart in my office, the connection between the speakers quickly drops. Four feet is very limited range for Bluetooth, so this is likely a production flaw in my particular speaker samples. Just be warned that your mileage may vary when it comes to stereo separation with these speakers.

Otherwise, I wholeheartedly recommend Mitchell Acoustics uStream Go for their musicality, build quality, and power efficiency. They are a great desktop audio solution for your home office or in your teenager’s room. x