Review: Sharp GX-BT 480 Bluetooth Wireless Speaker

Stephen Watson
August 6, 2019

Available from Amazon for £99

The Sharp GX-BT 480 is the biggest of a trio of wireless speakers that Sharp brought out as we have reviewed both the GX-BT180 & GX-BT 280. The GX-BT 480 as you may have guessed is the biggest in the range,

Its designed for the outdoors with its IP65 rating meaning is splash proof and dust proof meaning its the perfect partner for the beach or by the pool. This speaker also has the power to kick ass at a party.

The GX-BT 480 like its little brothers come in four colours such as Black, Red, Blue & Grey and has that rugged look like its brothers with a belnd of mesh around the speaker and rubber on the sides. The key difference to its smaller siblings is the two 20W drivers face forward compared to either end. 

This speaker is big and you would not be trying to fit this into your bag you will have to carry this speaker. You do get given a carrying strap which is ideal for taking it to the beach of the park. 

In the box you get the following 3.5 mm AUX cable for a wired connection you also get a power adaptor with plugs to cover most parts of the world including the US, EU & Austrilian connectors making this an ideal travel partner.

There is also fuctions on both sides of the speaker.  On left side is a rubber cover lift that up and you will find the MicroSD Slot, AUX inport for that wired connection and the micro USB port for charging all very standard for a speaker like this. The cover is handy to keep away water or dust when the speaker in use.

The right end of the speaker has a few more controls such as the power, track controls buttons and and the EQ controls which allows switch between three sound profiles: Standard Listening, Bass Boost and movie setting if you want to use the speaker as a soundbar.

On the top of the speaker you have the play/pause and volume controls but you can also control this via your phone but a nice touch all the same.

You also get a rubber base with the sharp branding this is a good idea as it keeps the speaker off the ground so you dont lose out on any of that sound.

What I really like about this speaker is it comes with a strap that you can pop on your shoulder and carry with you meaning it does not feel so bulky. Here a picture of my lovely lady modelling the speaker.

Performance-wise this speaker has some fantastic high frequencies that allow for a delicate audio detail and also has a 100-decibel audio output and can really shake a room. However, the louder this speaker got you could clearly hear its struggles. The high and low frequencies seem all over the place. However, most people don’t need to crack this speaker all the way up I noticed at 50% volume that was more than enough for a room full of people to enjoy. Plus if you put on the EQ option bass boost this would give a better over all sound.

This Speaker also allows you to use your smart assistant by pressing the play button twice it will pause the music and allow you to use Siri or Google Assistant however at times it did not hear me so I had to repeat myself and then when it did take the command the took a few seconds to kick in. 

Now, this speaker has an impressive 20-hour battery life which is great for taking to the beach or having it poolside. Now the annoying thing for me is this speaker needs a 3.5 hour charge time so make sure your speaker fully charged before you head out for a fun day out.

Overall, The Sharp GX-BT480  is a great speaker that is ideal for when you have friends round or simply want to take it to the beach or have it poolside. It benefits from IP65 rating meaning its both splashproof and dustproof.  Sound-wise it’s not bad its better then I expected it would be. However, if you are a lover of bass you will hate this speaker as even with the bass boost it’s not great but take that away and you have a decent sounding speaker especially with an impressive 100db output. What I liked the most about this speaker it gives you a lot of accessories such as the carry strap and international plug options this is a great speaker to take on holiday with you even if its a little on the large size.

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