Extra bass from a small player? We review the Majority Bard Internet Radio Music System

During the neon-infused 1980s, music was a hotbed of new sounds and new ideas. My recordings of the UK charts every Sunday included an eclectic mix of dance, new romantic, electro, punk and ska – but there was something of a music tech revolution going on too. I would gaze though the window of the local branch of Dixons at some the best speakers, hi-fi systems and – best of all – those portable tape decks with FM radio and an unhealthy amount of chrome trim. Back then, there was no cooler way to enjoy the Top 40. While this Majority Bard Internet Radio Music System doesn't have a handle and doesn't take batteries, it does put me in mind of those early blocky radio cassettes. As a diminutive all-in-one that twins stereo drivers (and a subwoofer) with the latest digital music sources, it's clearly aimed at those who like to keep things compact. But it's also for those who want more power and bass than the average small smart speaker or DAB radio can muster.

Looking at the specs for the Majority Bard, it's actually got a lot more to it than some of the brand's other audio devices. With Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, DAB and FM radio, and Spotify Connect built into it, this could well be the perfect partner for any good smartphone or tablet. I'm really impressed by Majority's specs for the Bard that boast a wooden construction – showing a real focus on the quality of the cabinet when it comes to speaker performance. I like it when a brand borrows design and build elements from bookshelf speakers like this, especially when it's packing 100 watts of power. The only question left for me was: Could this deliver dramatic soundstage that would make The Bard himself proud of the name? Let's find out.

First impressions of the Majority Bard Internet Radio Music System

I was immediately impressed by the weight of the Majority Bard when I lifted it from its box. Some of that weight is going to be the two speaker drivers and subwoofer of course, but this is also a wooden cabinet with a rear facing bass port for better acoustics. Make no mistake, this is a solid piece of kit – about as chunky as two volumes of the Complete Works of Shakespeare as it happens.

The slightly textured wraparound satin finish is pleasing too, bringing to mind the quality finish of standalone speaker cabinets. The trim on the side-facing speakers and square upward-firing subwoofer is gloss black, which I really like as a contrast. The whole of the front panel is, however, finished in a super-glossy black; Apart from being difficult to photograph without reflections, it is a bit of a fingerprint magnet. It might not bother some quite as much, but I might be encouraged to avoid the black version and go for the white option instead.

That aside, the front layout is classic Majority – a neat symmetrical arrangement of central display and volume control, flanked by six low-profile buttons. I really like the simplicity of design here, especially for a device that can handle so many audio sources. Elsewhere though there's a lot more going on control-wise. The included remote control has buttons for presets one-to-ten and EQ, muting and so on.

Around the back there's a central (passive) bass port, a USB port and headphone and auxiliary inputs. There's a nice rocker switch for powering the unit – a really nice touch that suggests a bit more power than your typical small portable speaker. Suitably intrigued, I plugged in and set things up.

Setting up the Majority Bard: Wi-Fi connection and auto-scanning

The setup was hassle-free thanks to guided voice prompts and messages from the Setup Wizard on the display. It picked up my home Wi-Fi network and connected easily. More usefully, I found that selecting each source prompted it to automatically scan for stations. With the DAB radio tuned and access to a huge list of the world's internet radio stations plus podcasts, I moved on to connecting my iPhone via Bluetooth which went just as smoothly.

With setup done, I powered off and on and noted that the boot time is quite fast – but it boots to internet radio mode by default. It took about 12 seconds to reconnect to my Wi-Fi and pull in the date and time. Not too long to wait, but I do wish it booted into whatever mode you left it in – for quick Bluetooth playback without needing to wait for Wi-Fi, for instance.

As a frequent DAB listener, I like being able to reorder the station list as well as use DRC (Dynamic Range Compression) from the menu to alter the sound – it makes quieter sounds easier to hear which is very useful for radio plays and other vocal content when listening at lower volumes.

While DAB+ and FM stations are displayed with station names, when adding an FM station to your list of presets it displays the radio frequency and not the station name which is a little odd. But, thankfully, I found that my DAB and internet radio presets were listed by name. Now, time for some music.

Testing the Majority Bard: Stations, podcasts and Spotify

Internet radio

Internet radio encourages you to explore based on country of origin, cities or even genres. I was able to easily find my favourite station, Planet Rock, and from there discover related stations from the same provider. I was able to search for my second favourite classic rock station, Big Hair Radio based out of North Carolina, USA. As a lesser known station, it's good to see it show up here.

Spotify Connect

The Bard's Spotify integration is definitely the way to go for playing your favourite music on-demand, with an easy interface for connecting your mobile device's Spotify app. I used my iPhone to control my playlists and browse my album collection. As a Spotify Premium member I get a higher bitrate than the standard free version, which provided a step up in quality from the compression that comes with all internet radio and DAB broadcasts.

Podcasts

Podcast mode helpfully lists the UK-based ones first, but with the ability to easily search for whatever you like. I found one of my favourites, Podcast UFO, and set about listening. I really like the Majority Bard's audio profile for spoken word content. It's highly listenable and the subwoofer adds the depth you often miss from smaller speakers.

If you hit a preset key on the remote (more on those, below), it will play that source but keep you in the current menu. So, I could listen to Absolute 80s while continuing to happily browse through the world's selection of podcasts.

You can of course cast your favourite podcasts to the Bard via your phone's Bluetooth connection. But, by using Podcast mode you can save presets and also sign up to a favourites manager courtesy of airable.fm. I've used this before, but didn't need to here as I'm happy using the Bard's presets to find my most frequent shows.

USB and Bluetooth

USB playback was as easy as plugging in and selecting the Music Player mode. This comes with familiar options like repeat and shuffle modes. I quickly found that the buttons on the remote for play/pause and track navigation came in very handy. Bluetooth connection to my phone was fast and easy too, with flawless playback from apps like Tidal.

Saving your favourites: Usable space for presets

Setting presets is simple, which is something of a relief. I've tested quite a few radios where this function is needlessly complex and unintuitive. Holding down a number button on the remote is enough to set one. All of the presets are available while listening to any source – other than DAB, which threw me at first. Having set up my presets with a mixture of DAB, podcasts, internet stations and FM, if you then switch to DAB mode you get a brand new list. But I think this makes sense as it avoids running out of space for storing the best of those stations. I do wish that the same feature existed for the internet radio presets though, as it seems that those ten slots are shared with all of the other sources.

Lastly, I really love the display options on the Majority Bard. If you want more info such as DAB station track titles or show names, running time of podcasts and MP3 files and more, you absolutely can. But my favourite is the full-colour artwork that accompanies whatever you're playing. Cycling through the options can leave you with just the artwork on display.

The sound: Does that 'Xtra Bass' deliver?

Bass is very well delivered thanks to that top-mounted subwoofer with what Majority call its 'Xtra Bass' feature. But, as good as it is, I found it can drown out the midrange. The end result can be a sound profile that's a little thin in the middle, but that's not a deal breaker – especially when you consider that both internet radio sources, DAB (and good old analogue FM) are hardly the best for compression and fidelity. The Bard's bass is very good indeed for its size, but it won't shake the floorboards like some of the (more costly) best Bluetooth speaks for bass can.

Testing higher quality sources via Spotify, Bluetooth and USB stick was a better test, with less bass-heavy genres performing especially well, such as Blue Oyster Cult's Don't Fear The Reaper. I did find that tracks with famously deep basslines, like Hysteria by Muse, prompted me to tweak the EQ of the Majority Bard to avoid overpowering those slightly muddied mids though.

The display reports a maximum volume of 32, which is of course an arbitrary number. In person this is loud enough to drown out your speech in a small to medium-sized room. Thankfully, these higher volumes didn't create ugly distortions that some other small speakers can – but that's not to say that it's desirable. I found the sound profile to be more nuanced at medium volumes.

Top marks though for the separation that the two side facing speakers create from what is quite a compact unit, and that upwards-firing subwoofer and rear bass port give this more low frequency heft than most other music players this size.

Despite having presets for several genres like Rock and Pop (and a custom setting), there's only one active EQ for the whole device. I think it's unfortunate that you can't set one up for each source, but at least there's that quick access to EQs via the remote. I did find that the Loudness option was really useful for making the Majority Bard project its audio that little bit more. It'll depend on what you're listening to, but is provided a welcome boost that didn't break the sound.

Controls: Front panel and an invaluable remote

As someone who often listens to podcasts at night, I really appreciate the remote's Sleep Mode button to automatically turn the radio off after a set period. An alarm function is there too, for those who want to wake up to their favourite station (handy, but I'm not sure if I could cope with heavy metal at 6AM...) with two alarms available if you need it.

I really like the central volume dial on the front panel. It's nice and weighty with good feedback. Rotating to cycle through modes and pressing it to select the current option is intuitive. The other six buttons give easy access to navigation, tuning, modes, favourites and menus.

Navigation and menus

As for those menus, they're nice and responsive to use, as is the remote. As I mentioned when I tested the USB playback, I think the remote's play/pause and track control make the Bard a really user-friendly media player. Also, I was glad to find that pressing the track control buttons while listening to DAB would move from station to station. However, with FM or internet radio this doesn't work. I did find myself wishing I could use those buttons to flick through the other stations on the list.

One other navigation niggle I have is that there's no fast way of getting back to the main menu. Once you've selected any of the listening modes the remote's Menu button won't send you there. You have to scroll to the bottom of the current menu and select the Main Menu option. Perhaps Majority will change this in a future firmware update.

Comparing the Majority Bard to other internet radios

The Majority Bard isn't alone in the category of compact internet radios with decent speakers. The Philips R8805/10 Internet Radio with DAB+ and FM is a great alternative for a similar price. While it lacks the power and subwoofer of the Bard, it does however have an almost identical set of features, plus wireless charging for compatible phones and a rechargeable battery. What you won't get, however, is that Majority 'Xtra Bass' feature.

If you have a bit less room in your budget, we think that the Pure ELAN CONNECT+ All-In One Internet Radio is a brilliant affordable Bard alternative. It has DAB, FM, Bluetooth and of course Wi-Fi connectivity for those internet radio stations. While it won't have the range of the Majority Bard (or Spotify integration), it is truly portable thanks to being powered by four AA batteries as well as mains adapter.

Who is it for?

Although there's a part of me that desperately wants this to have a rechargeable battery and a handle, I'm also a bit relieved that it doesn't. This isn't just another water-resistant portable boombox. Instead, it's for those who want something to fill that small space on a bookshelf or at the end of their desk. A speaker that can do more than just receive DAB radio and pump out budget Bluetooth sound. It's a halfway house between a portable wireless speaker (which doesn't normally feature internet radio or a large full-colour display) and something more capable sound-wise (and more expensive) that you can use Spotify and the internet with – much like the Bose Soundlink Max we reviewed.

I think it's ideal for smaller rooms like a home office or study, allowing you to really crank up the volume and bass when your favourite tracks come on. It won't shake the room, but the Majority Bard will outperform many radios of a similar size in those two areas.

Verdict

Using this for a couple of weeks was a bit of a familiar experience. I already own a Majority Fitzwilliam II internet radio, which is designed as a hi-fi separate that connects to an amplifier. Both it and the Bard share an almost identical internet radio interface, so I found navigating it easier than it may be for newcomers. It does seem like the sort of product that could (should?) have a smart voice assistant like Alexa built into it, but perhaps that will come in a later version. The bass and stereo separation are excellent from such a small wooden enclosure, but turn the up bass too high and the midrange can become a little lost compared to larger and more capable streaming speakers and so on.

This is definitely less of a boombox and more of a compact system with extra bass in terms of the sound. Personally, I find the Majority Bard to be a capable wireless audio player that definitely slots into a niche in the market, and is probably one of the best Majority speakers we've tested for its size. It won't outperform the likes of speakers from Marshall in terms of soundstage and musicality, but it's not priced that way either. Ultimately, if you love your existing portable DAB radio and wish it had Bluetooth, internet radio reception, a remote control and a bit more oomph, the Majority Bard is for you.

Other internet radios to consider

How we tested the Majority Bard Internet Radio Music Player

I tested the Majority Bard Internet Radio Music Player for around two weeks. It was placed in my home office on a desk, in the conservatory so that it could be heard in the garden, and in a kitchen. It was connected to my home network via Wi-Fi, an iPhone via Bluetooth, and DAB/FM reception over the built-in aerial. I tested the Bard with a range of content, including podcasts, MP3 files from a USB stick, Spotify, music from iPhone apps over Bluetooth, and internet radio stations – including Planet Rock, BBC Radio 6, and Big Hair Radio.

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Chris Duffill is a Senior Tech Writer and Reviewer for What's The Best, Empire, Yours, Closer, Heat and other brands.

He specialises in home entertainment and audiovisual tech, including speakers, amplifiers, turntables, streaming media players, and TVs. He is also one of our resident experts in computing (PCs, tablets, smartphones, smartwatches), DSLR photography and all kinds of digital cameras. He also writes about retro gaming, game consoles and various electronic gadgets. If it plugs in, lights up or makes a noise, he’ll write about it. His background includes writing, editorial, marketing, design, video production and photography.

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