A childhood dream made real

There’s something magical about a robot that can transform into a car, tank, or plane. It seems Hollywood agrees as there are several major franchises based on that concept. As someone who grew up in the 80s and 90s, Transformers holds a special place in my heart, despite Michael Bay’s best efforts to tarnish its legacy. As a kid I spent countless hours playing with plastic figures from Hasbro and Takara, but there was one type of toy I always wanted but never got: a robot that could transform on its own like the ones I saw on TV. That changed a few years ago when RoboSense launched its own series of officially licensed auto-converting models, and from what I’ve seen, its latest release featuring Soundwave may be the best yet.

robocen/engadget

For anyone fond of old-school Transformers, Robosen’s auto-converting Soundwave is a child’s dream come true. The only real downside is that it’s too expensive for any child.

Pros

• It actually transforms and runs on its own!!!
• High quality G1-inspired design
• Voice lines by Frank Welker
• Functions as a Bluetooth speaker and recorder
• The mobile app is well designed and easy to use

Shortcoming

• it’s really expensive
• Did I mention it costs $1,400?
• Voice recognition can be hit or miss
• mediocre audio quality

Design: more than meets the eye

As a follow-up to previous bots featuring Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee, Grimlock, and others, Soundwave was a better choice, and RoboSen has done a respectable job of bringing him to life. Not only can he spit out the classic lines performed by original voice actor Frank Welker, but both his robot and alt modes are straight out of the vision of the first generation (G1) cartoon. Everywhere you look, there are lots of lovingly crafted details like a working eject button for the cassette slot and all kinds of lights. Robosen’s head sculpt is fantastic, and also includes additional LEDs for his eyes and shoulder cannon. Granted, there’s a little bit of kibble (aka what fans call parts left over from the transformation), like the hands that don’t fold properly when Soundwave turns into a boombox, but that’s really nitpicking. Between their incredibly precise design, vocoder-powered vocals, and an impressive stature of nearly 14 inches tall, there’s no way you can call this rendition of Soundwave anything other than ethereal.

However, the real magic happens when you turn it on (there’s a little button on the back) and say “Hey, Soundwave.” From here, you can use over 50 different voice commands to dominate him as if you’re the leader of the Decepticons. This includes asking him to say iconic lines, respond to an Autobot attack, or wish someone a happy birthday. Naturally, the most impressive request is asking him to transform, at which point 28 high-precision servo motors and multiple motion sensors coordinate. This allows Soundwave to transform from boombox mode to robot and back again with the required sound effects. Even as a tired adult, seeing the Transformers actually transform on their own is still incredibly mesmerizing. But that pales in comparison to the unique reaction my four-year-old son gave me when I repeated the process for him. There was joy on his face, I’m not sure an adult can really express it, because he had this experience without realizing that this bot cost $1,400.

While testing Soundwave’s various commands, I noticed that his voice recognition can be somewhat hit or miss. I found that even a little background noise can cause problems. To be consistently heard, you have to speak louder than you think. The real key to properly activating Soundwave’s wake phrase is being very deliberate with a sharp “hi” or “hey.” Alternatively, if you prefer not to yell at your robot, there is also a free companion app that allows you to send commands with just the press of a button, which was very easy to set up and quickly became my favorite control scheme.

In addition to making Soundwave easier to move around (it’s more fun to use a virtual D-pad than yelling “move forward” all the time), the app also offers a more simple way to find out what he can do while reducing the ambiguity of voice commands. There are useful buttons for all of her voice lines and poses, as well as a toolkit for creating some lines of your own. You can also download more from the app, although there weren’t any for me to test as Soundwave wasn’t officially available yet at the time of writing. There’s also a Mini Theater mode that allows the bot to present short skits, and if you’re lucky enough to own some of RoboScene’s other Transformers toys, like Megatron, some of these scenes can be performed together as well.

One odd thing about RoboOne’s more sophisticated approach to toy robots is that Soundwave loses some of his structural integrity when his motors are turned off. For example, when you power him up in robot mode, he leans backwards and gets stuck halfway between his humanoid and boombox forms. I believe this is to prevent him from falling, which is a good thing; This seems a bit strange. On the other hand, if you pick him up in stereo mode, his arms and legs bend. However, perhaps the biggest downside to the Soundwave is an aspect inherent in its design. Because his alt mode is a boombox rather than a vehicle like Optimus, Bumblebee and others, he cannot pull double duty as a remote control car. But what Soundwave lacks in mobility, it makes up for with its distinctive acoustic prowess.

Audio: Not just a bot, he’s a real boombox

Turning the Soundwave into a boombox that can’t play music wouldn’t make any sense. Thankfully, this is not an issue as the buttons on this bot are not just for show. Hitting play lets you listen to the original track from the G1 cartoon, complete with the ability to pause or skip to the next track. You can also hold down the record button to save individual messages for later, although I found this feature to have a bit of a learning curve as Soundwave cuts off a second or two from the beginning and end of the clip.

Most importantly, if you want the Soundwave to play other tunes, you can pair it with your phone or any other mobile device and use it just like a normal Bluetooth speaker. Now it’ll probably come as no surprise when I say that the Soundwave’s audio quality is mediocre at best. With all the various sensors, motors, and moving parts, there probably isn’t a ton of room for fancy drivers, so things feel thin and flat. But in a way, it’s pretty sweet because most portable speakers in the 80’s didn’t even sound that good. One thing I wish Robosen had included was a proper cassette player to really take advantage of the Soundwave’s classic audio capabilities. That said, even though I still have stacks of CDs and DVDs in my house, I don’t have any tapes (despite their resurgence), so I don’t know why this feature didn’t come.

battery life

The Soundwave comes with a built-in 1,650mAh battery that takes about 120 minutes to charge from dead to full and gives about 60 minutes of standby time. During my testing, I found that you can get a solid 20 to 30 minutes of play time out of it, which seems like a lot. Of course, this depends a lot on how much you ask him to move around. And while it’s certainly not authentic, I really appreciate the inclusion of a USB-C port for charging.

wrap up

The funny thing about Robosen’s Soundwave is that a toy like this would have been invaluable to me as a kid. But now that I have grown up and have to attach a value that is higher than its original price, things have become much trickier.

I like Robosen’s attention to detail. The figure looks incredible and getting the voice lines from the original actor shows that there’s more to the robot’s design than meets the eye. But most importantly, seeing Soundwave transform on his own and move around like he does in the show will never get old.

On the other hand, $1,400 can buy the whole family a nice three-day vacation or two dozen regular Transformers toys. This kind of math makes it difficult to add this Cybertronian to the domestic register. But for anyone with the same budget as a Michael Bay film, this version of Soundwave really sounds like a dream come true. Unlike some of RoboScene’s other products, this robot is definitely made of tough stuff.