Fender x Teufel Rockster Cross in the test: party animal with a powerful punch

A strong sense of trends has always been part of the Teufel DNA and one of the pillars of their success story. Already at the end of the 1970s, in the heyday of building your own loudspeakers, the Berliners were able to join in Loudspeaker kits celebrate your first successes.

In the 90s, Teufel recognized the home cinema trend and established itself with affordable ones THX certified surround sets. Teufel is now a fixture on the German hi-fi market and offers everything from smart speakers to noise-cancelling headphones and sound bars all modern device classes an.

That too Rock and PA are part of the devil’s DNAthe company already proved in 2015 with the party speaker “Rockster” and later with the man-high active speaker “Power HiFi”.

Let there be rock

With the AC/DC edition of the “Boomster”, Teufel has already brought a real rock giant on board. For the latest collaboration, Teufel was able to recruit none other than the cult brand Fender. Fender is one of the best-known and most renowned manufacturers of guitars and guitar amplifiers and enjoys a legendary reputation among musicians.

The result is the Fender x Teufel Rockster series.

In addition to the party speaker “Rockster Air 2” and the smaller “Rockster Go 2”, the “Rockster Cross” is also part of the series.

Technically, the Fender × Devil version is no different from the “normal” Rockster Cross, and that’s a good thing. It is housed in a robust, splash-proof plastic housing with a rubberized surface and an internal volume of 2 liters.

This is packed with contemporary components and houses two 20 mm fabric dome tweeters, a 120 mm mid-bass driver, two passive diaphragms for bass support and a 3-channel Class D amplifier.

The amplifier is powered by a lithium-ion battery that lasts a full 16 hours at medium volume and can also be used as a power bank via the USB-A port on the back.

It receives audio signals either digitally and wirelessly via Bluetooth in aptX coding or analogue via a 3.5 mm jack connection. With the perforated metal grille and the iconic Fender logo, the Teufel product designers have managed to give the otherwise modern look of the Rockster Cross a certain retro flair.

Let there be sound

Now the question arises as to whether the Rockster Cross also lives up to the cult status of the Fender brand in terms of sound. For the first listening test it should of course be rock and blues, appropriately. The blues classic “Hoochie Coochie Man” in the version of “Blackstone Cherryfrom the album “Back to the Blues“ is one of my personal favorite songs to test.

In order to really challenge the Rockster Cross, I naturally turn the volume to 11, i.e. to maximum. Because 11 is better than 10, as the inclined rocker has known since Spinal Tap at the latest.

At the first notes my jaw almost dropped. I was expecting a powerful, kick bass-heavy sound, but I wasn’t prepared for the power of this little powerhouse. The resulting forces from the woofer caused the housing of the Rockster Cross to wobble noticeably.

Okay, okay, then just a little quieter.

After I had digested the first little shock, I conjured up “After Dark“ von „Tito & Tarantula(both on the 1997 album “Tarantism” as well as on the soundtrack of “From Dusk Till Dawn“) a big grin on his face.

The clear and clean, tends to be a bit bright Fender-Sound However, with the Rockster Cross it was more likely to be heard at low to medium volumes. As the level increased, the playback became significantly warmer and more voluminous.

Overall, the Rockster Cross delivered a rich sound with a lot of punch and a clear emphasis in the upper bass and could also provide good sound for larger rooms.

Through the vote and the high dynamics The music literally jumped out at me. It seemed spectacular at first, especially given the genre of music that gave it its name, but it was a bit tiring in the long run. The Rockster Cross is not intended for long, highly concentrated listening to music, but rather as a level-fixed one Fun machine. And this concept really worked.

At full volume The sound seemed a bit thicker, but the explosive dynamics associated with it made it the most fun. I was quickly able to forgive the Prussian powerhouse’s somewhat inflated, no longer typical Fender sound.

Notes from the lab

At low volume (green), the frequency response of the Teufel/Fender smart speaker has a moderate loudness characteristic, which means that the mids sound relatively quiet in favor of better audibility of bass and treble. The frequency response is otherwise balanced and free of noticeable valleys and humps.

At higher volumes, the lower limit frequency increases moderately from the original 50 to around 70 Hz/-6 dB. In addition, the midrange depression disappears and the frequency response now falls evenly and gently from the bass to the treble. The bottom line of the second graphic shows the distortions that occur; they amount to an acceptable 6% at a sound pressure of 96 dBSPL (average value) or 102 dBSPL (maximum value).

Let there be fun.

Its impressive Punch to size ratio brings up associations with Mike Tyson. But that doesn’t really fit, because the infamous Iron Mike wasn’t exactly known as a joker in his best days.

Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao would be a better fit. Because of the size and the impressive but not devastating effect of his punches, but also because he was always up for a joke. He also hit harder than his weight class suggested. Manny boxed his way from flyweight to super welterweight and became world champion in these seven weight classes.

In contrast to the boxing legends mentioned, the Rockster Cross doesn’t want to defeat anyone, he just wants to play and have fun. The appropriate association would be the one mentioned at the beginning Drummer from the Muppet Show Band.

He was also difficult to control, sometimes had to be reined in a bit, hit the drums with such force that it was a real joy and in the end he just wanted to play, and music… The harder, the better.