Poly Sync 20 Personal Speaker

If you’re looking for a solution for mobile devices with inferior sound that performs just as well as a better audio system for portable devices that are usually office-bound, consider the Poly Sync 20 speaker.

The unit I tested is the limited edition pink version of the Poly Sync 20. The pink device has all the same features as the fabric and gray frame version, functioning as a personal speaker, speaker portable music player and a smartphone charger.

Aside from the unique pink fabric covering on the top of the Limited Edition, the standard color gray device pictured above won’t disappoint.

For every Pink Sync unit sold from October 1, 2022 through September 30, 2023, Poly will donate $10 to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. It is a noble incentive to consider purchasing this product.

The gray and pink editions are currently listed for $129.95. However, the costs range from $89.95 to $149.95, depending on special offers and optional features.

Hassle-free sound upgrade

I had no trouble connecting the portable multi-purpose speaker to all my devices. These include laptops running Windows, macOS, and Linux and full-size desktop computer setups.

In most cases, the device instantly defaulted to the Poly speaker when connected. Otherwise, I just had to select the sound card or speaker I wanted to connect to in the computer’s system settings.

The 28-inch USB Type-A cable is long enough to reach the host computer’s connection port if placed nearby. A second USB port allows you to use a longer cable if needed or other connectors to interface with devices such as Chromebooks. If you don’t need the supplied USB cable for a connection, you can wrap it around the underside of the base to conceal it.

Poly Sync 20 Pink USB/Bluetooth smart speaker (Image credit: Poly)

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The top front edge has five touch buttons marked with icons. On the far left is a rocket silhouette pointing to the programming button. You can program often-used function like music play/pause, last number redial and voice assistant.

At the top right is a phone icon on the button that answers (green glow) or ends (red) phone calls. In the center are buttons for volume down (-), volume up (+), and microphone mute/unmute (mic icon crossed out).

The right side of the speaker houses the Bluetooth pairing button on the left, the second USB port in the middle, and the power on/off button on the right. The speaker announces when it connects and disconnects to all devices.

Superb sound quality

When I’m away from my desktop’s impressive soundbar, I spend most of my time suffering from the poor sound reproduction of my portable equipment. Thus, I tolerated countless portable speakers on my travels.

Some were adequate, but rarely anything more than loud. So testing the Poly smart speaker was an unexpected treat.

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The impressive sound quality bathed my ears in deep base tones and rich highs. To confirm that my ears weren’t fooling me, I often clicked between tiny laptop speakers and the attached Poly speaker. Each time I marveled at the more than obvious sound upgrade that didn’t waver when I moved it between devices.

The Poly portable speaker sounded great whether I was on a phone call, video call, or playing audio files or music selections.

Useful and smart design

The Poly has a smart design, multiple connectivity options, and a set of additional features. It’s small with dimensions measuring 1.3″ x 3.7″ x 7.2″, lightweight at 12.7 ounces, and has several additional features that consolidate the tasks of multiple portable devices into one super convenient tool.

You can use the Poly speaker to share voices in a room during a call. It is also a convenient battery charger for a variety of mobile devices.

The Poly Sync 20 can charge a smartphone via USB (Image credit: Poly)

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It comes with a carrying case and lanyard. Besides protecting the speaker from dust and dirt while moving it, the fabric case has limited utility. The purpose of the lanyard remains a mystery.

The non-replaceable 3200 mAH lithium-ion battery takes approximately four hours to fully charge to provide 20 hours of talk time.

Other Noteworthy Specs

Poly packed this speaker with additional awesome components that deliver better than expected service:

• Bluetooth 5.1, multiple microphones that follow the speaker with a frequency response of 100 Hz to 6.7 kHz and a detection range of up to seven feet.
• Dynamic audio makes conference calls transparent and clear despite the mini speaker size (1.6″), which delivers a maximum audio output of 86dB SPL at 0.5m.
• Noise cancellation and echo reduction circuitry provides a significant improvement in performance over similar portable speaker products.

Poly provides separate purchase device management solutions for enterprise use. But I had more than a satisfactory experience for my solitary office needs.

Conclusion

The Poly Sync 20 speaker is a change of pace for the Poly line of webcams (see my Poly Studio P5 webcam review) that matches the company’s focus on the needs of remote and hybrid workers.

For many users, the Poly Sync 20 will prove superior to wearing a headset, especially on long phone calls. It also helps the user to not be seen wearing a headset when participating in business video calls.

Poly Sync 20 is compatible with the most popular meeting platforms including Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, Cisco, RingCentral and others.