If I had to use one word to describe the engineers at Morel who worked on the BIGGIE it would be disciplined. Morel’s BIGGIE Bluetooth speaker knows precisely what lane it was built to be in, and it stays there.

I’m Jason Methfessel, and many of the products that I review for THE ABSOLUTE SOUND are what we consider to be options for individuals who are just entering the world of foreground music listening.

So, stay tuned for a glimpse of what I heard when reviewing the Morel Högtalare BIGGIE Bluetooth speaker.

OVERVIEW

First, I just want to comment on something that is clearly subjective – and that would be the BIGGIE’s aesthetic appeal. I feel I need to comment on this because I find the Morel BIGGIE to be an extremely attractive Bluetooth speaker; with its removable leather-like handle and lighted buttons behind the acoustically transparent front cover – which is held in place with magnets, so it too can be easily removed – the Morel BIGGIE offers a chic, modern design available in 9 finishes.

Morel sent us a pair of BIGGIEs to audition; one, in denim sky and the other in cosmic black.

The BIGGIE is modestly sized at 7 by 7 inches and 4 and a half inches deep and weighs a little over 5 and a half pounds.

Charging the 2600 milliampere-hour battery is done conveniently through USB-C. At 50% volume the battery is rated to last up to 20 hours. I started reviewing the BIGGIEs with the batteries topped off and have yet to charge them – so I contest that the rated battery life is accurate if not understated.

Additionally, there’s an AUX 3.5 mil input – if you’re inclined toward a wired connection.

Now, before I get into sound quality, let’s get the price out of the way; The BIGGIE retails for $299 US each – so, if you’re looking to dip your toes into foreground listening with an easy to use set up, you’re looking at 600 bucks; which is a bargain for the experience that the BIGGIEs offer, as we’ll soon see.

HOW’S IT SOUND

After unboxing the BIGGIEs, I fired one up, simply connected via Bluetooth, and started listening. At first listen, there wasn’t really anything that stood out as special to me. The frequency balance was relatively flat – which is nice – and there was a pleasant clarity right in the vocal sweet spot (300 Hz – 3kHz) – an area where many Bluetooth speakers tend to get a bit cloudy or confused. On a bookshelf or kitchen counter, a lone BIGGIE would be a nice choice for some higher quality background listening while reading, working, or doing some household chores. It isn’t aggressive or annoyingly distorted.

Here at The Absolute Sound, we tend to focus most on foreground or dedicated listening; so, I grabbed a single speaker for a careful solo audition.

Frankly, it was a bit disappointing. At volumes necessary for extracting low-level detail, the BIGGIE was on the edge of being over-driven, causing a fair amount of ‘chuffing’ from the cabinet port and yielding a slightly bland sound.

But wait, there’s more.

I then connected the second speaker in stereo – a relatively straightforward task using the pairing button on the front face of the speakers.

When I heard the BIGGIEs in this configuration – after the initial “what the heck?” – I got pretty excited.

As this is the configuration we felt would be most appropriate for our viewers, my detailed notes on sound quality that follow will reference the Morel BIGGIE paired in stereo via Bluetooth.

So, how does it sound as a stereo pair?

Warm, like a nice dark roast black coffee. There’s a pleasant level of detail down to the lower midrange. It’s not until you get into the range of the cabinet port where things start to get a little creamy (sub 100 Hz) and given the speaker’s dimensions this is impressive.

I see Morel’s decision to slightly elevate the lower end to be astute given anticipated playback via Bluetooth, which due to technical limitations of the standard struggles to handle data in the upper frequency range.

I’d say the Biggie’s have solid output down to 60 Hz.

Bluetooth complaints aside, the 25-mil soft dome tweeter coupled to Morel’s customized DSP offer a pleasantly natural clarity in the treble range.

All of this comes together nicely – and with 60 watts per channel, dynamics are impressively punchy and bring beautiful contrast and resolution to the music.

As a stereo pair, I had the BIGGIEs on stands about 5 feet apart and the soundspace did feel mildly miniaturized – that’s a difficult challenge to overcome with Bluetooth technology.

But, the soundstage, now that was wide and deep. One of the first songs I queued up when listening to the BIGGIEs as a stereo pair was Zach Bryan’s single, Something in the Orange.

When Read Connolly comes in with his Lap Steel, my jaw dropped; the stage was set, and the BIGGIEs disappeared. I’ve heard systems at 10X this price that don’t do that.

A track that really drew-out the comparison of soundstage to soundspace was the overture to Rameau’s 18^th century opera, Zais.

Within the suite of performers, each instruments section is clearly defined on stage – and in the case of the BIGGIEs, that stage is relatively large.

However, the perceived space within which that stage is placed, sounded inauthentically small. This is what we mean when comparing soundstage to soundspace.

Another recording where performer placement was resolute is the opening track on Irene Sorozabal’s Album, Kurkuma recorded by TRPTK, that’s T-R-P-T-K.

If you’re not familiar with TRPTK, their recording technique is quite groundbreaking creatively speaking. They use what they have dubbed their Optimized Omnidirectional Array held centered-within and aloft the performers.

The way the BIGGIEs image this recording you can follow drummer, George Hadow, as he works his way across the kit – from the listener’s perspective – some light taps on the crash cymbal on the right; over to ride on the left; then, down onto the snare, just right of center.

In addition to the imaging on this track another noteworthy sonic quality that the BIGGIEs recreated nicely was the decay of the cymbals and the delicate details in Irene’s voice and breath, something lacking in many speakers in this category.

SUMMARY

With its pleasant aesthetic, freedom from wires, and finely tuned sound, the Morel Högtalare BIGGIE offers a really nice option for those looking to get into foreground listening when purchased as a pair.

There’s a detail and clarity present where you’re likely to hear previously unheard elements in a recording, and this is one of the qualities that makes High Fidelity playback so fun.

So, make listening fun again!