Time for an updated thread - best options for Bluetooth portable speaker

[Mat-with-one-t]

Hi all!

I am after a portable Bluetooth speaker to use in a work environment.  Not sure about budget, so open to suggestions (within reason!).

 

Needs:

- portable and small- (maybe less than 30cm wide with a small footprint)

- cleanable with a regular wipe-down

- doesn’t need to be waterproof, but may assist with washability?

- for use in rooms, say, about 5x5m to 15x15m.  Hard reflective walls and hard floors

- just for background (must allow people to talk over music easily)

- mostly jazz and classical, with occasional rock

- prefer “audiophile” over “slam”.  Needs good sound at low volumes

- preferably about 6+ hours battery life, maybe with plug-in option?

- reliable (possibly will get up to 40hrs use per week)

- don’t care about looks

- easy to use on/off and vol on unit itself

- easy to use any i-thing with something like Spotify or Tidal, or music library

 

I don’t expect to be wowed, and don’t expect anything approaching a proper stereo sound, but open to ideas?

 

Cheers,

Mat

 

 

 

[Auito]

Price range?

[Mat-with-one-t]

As per post:

 

"Not sure about budget, so open to suggestions (within reason!)"

[blybo]

This is where Bose excels in my opinion. I used to travel a fair bit for work using hotel rooms as showrooms and used 1 of these (probably ver. 1) and found it to be excellent for background music, controlled from the phone or laptop. It also used to get cranking from time to time as other exhibitors would come to my room after work for drinks.

 

https://www.bose.com.au/en_au/products/speakers/portable_speakers/soundlink_mini_ii_special.html#v=soundlink_mini_ii_special_luxe_silver

 

Depends how dusty your work is I guess with the mesh front and back. It is designed to sit on a shelf and use boundary gain to boost bass. It comes with a powered cradle or can sit all alone using internal battery.

 

I now use mine primarily in a caravan park environment so was considering selling mine and getting more of a "good sounding" party speaker. The caravan external speakers are rubbish and would keep kids awake inside anyway, so I don't use them at night.

Edited May 17, 2022 by blybo

[brumby]

I will be very interested in this topic.  We'll be going on the road in the caravan for an extended period in late June and I need a good bluetooth speaker or speakers to augment or take over from my not very good ceiling mounted ones.

[Rob Poort]

JBL charge, extreme or boombox depending on budget.

 

All sound great for what they are.

[blairy]

Bose Soundlink Revolve +.  One of my kids got one of these about 18 months ago.  I have been very impressed with the sound.  So much so, that my wife is getting one for her birthday 

[Mat-with-one-t]

Thanks Neil.  Yes, older Bose units always sounded ok to me.  Workplace is very clean, so dust not an issue.  One point of note is that it’ll most likely sit away from walls, so “bass reflex” kind of systems won’t benefir from placement.

 

thanks Rob.  Anyone had experience with the various “charge” line from JBL.  There seems to be a bunch of them, and a quick Google doesn’t make the differences obvious!

 

Ill have a look at the Rovolve Blairy.  I’d not heard of that one.

 

keep experiences coming and suggestions for my needs!  Mat

[Guest]

If very budget conscious, even the JBL Flip would tick the majority of your boxes. Beyond that, step up the range as the budget allows. We have multiple flips around the home, al fresco, garden etc. The kids carry them around wherever they go.

 

I recently got a Charge, and it's just a bigger brother to the Flip in every aspect. The Flip is small enough to throw in your overnight bag though and take away with you.

[Neo]

Got two Bang & Olufsen A1 gen2 in stereo. Amazing in terms of sound and the stereo pairing gives you a real spacious sound field. 
Neo

[brumby]

This is interesting

 

 

 

Certainly pricey as a Bluetooth speaker.  The best local price I can find is $699.

[Mat-with-one-t]

14 hours ago, brumby said:

This is interesting

 

 

 

Certainly pricey as a Bluetooth speaker.  The best local price I can find is $699.

Yeah.  When I wasn’t sure on budget, I reckon that’s getting a bit pricy!  Looking at it, it’s also pretty big!  It all helps though.  I wouldn’t totally discount it, but in general:

- probably twice as big as ideal

- would worry it wouldn’t meet my “wipable/cleanable” criteria

- probably twice as much as I’d likely want to pay

Most interesting.....

[Mat-with-one-t]

14 hours ago, Neo said:

Got two Bang & Olufsen A1 gen2 in stereo. Amazing in terms of sound and the stereo pairing gives you a real spacious sound field. 
Neo

Thanks - I had a read about them.  How does it go as a single unit?  Whilst I love the idea of pairing for stereo, I think in my case that a single unit is the only feasible solution.

[Mat-with-one-t]

15 hours ago, Marc said:

If very budget conscious, even the JBL Flip would tick the majority of your boxes. Beyond that, step up the range as the budget allows. We have multiple flips around the home, al fresco, garden etc. The kids carry them around wherever they go.

 

I recently got a Charge, and it's just a bigger brother to the Flip in every aspect. The Flip is small enough to throw in your overnight bag though and take away with you.

Thanks Marc.  The JBL range seems to be by far the most common, along with UE.  We have two UE units (I don’t know which models) at home - one barrel shaped and one flying-saucer shaped.  I find they are geared for boom, and as such they’re great for working out in the garden or shed, but a bit much after a while!  

Do you feel there’s a sweet spot up the JBL range within my listed criteria?  I’ll read up on the Flip!

[Neo]

15 minutes ago, Mat-with-one-t said:

Thanks - I had a read about them.  How does it go as a single unit?  Whilst I love the idea of pairing for stereo, I think in my case that a single unit is the only feasible solution.

Very good, to say the least full articulate sound that’s just a pleasure on the ears. There’s just something about the tuning of  Bang & Olufsen sound gear that is just plain right. 
So yes even one is highly recommended and I started with one. 
Neo

Edited May 18, 2022 by Neo

[brumby]

29 minutes ago, Mat-with-one-t said:

Yeah.  When I wasn’t sure on budget, I reckon that’s getting a bit pricy!  Looking at it, it’s also pretty big!  It all helps though.  I wouldn’t totally discount it, but in general:

- probably twice as big as ideal

- would worry it wouldn’t meet my “wipable/cleanable” criteria

- probably twice as much as I’d likely want to pay

Most interesting.....

Yep, champagne taste and a beer budget, that's me!  I'd like to compare the Dali with the much cheaper JBLs and Bose Revolve+ II/Flex and the Ultimate Ears Megaboom 3 (top pick on Tom's Hardware).  But there's no chance of that around here. 

[Mat-with-one-t]

All helpful guys!  This has helped me to narrow some further things:

 

- looks like a price range of about $120 to $240 covers most of the options I'd be looking at

- Size-wise, I would keep it down to the approx size of the JBL Flip or B&O A1.  I need to be able to easily move it about, change its placement, shove in a backpack

- durability and cleanability remain important

 

Problem:

- any review seems to bang on about bass and party volumes and whatnot.  I'm not surprised, as we aging audio enthusiasts are clearly not the target market!!  If I want party volumes, I have Osborns at 85kg each that'll manage that just fine!!  It's harder to find insights into the sort of sound we're talking about here - background balanced soundscape at volumes people can comfortably talk over in rooms about 5x5m to 15x15m.....

 

List:

So far, fitting these various criteria, we have:

- JBL Flip 5 (now up to Flip 6?  I can't keep up with all the JBL models!)

- B&O A1

- Marshall Emberton (anyone have experiences with this one?)

- Bose Soundlink Revolve 2

- Bose Soundlink Mini 2

- Bose Soundlink Flex

- UE Megaboom 3

 

 

 

Edited May 18, 2022 by Mat-with-one-t

[blybo]

8 minutes ago, Mat-with-one-t said:

It's harder to find insights into the sort of sound we're talking about here - background balanced soundscape at volumes people can comfortably talk over in rooms about 5x5m to 15x15m.....

 

That's where the Bose Soundlink Mini II excels. It's widely regarded as the best SQ in their stable. I demo'ed the whole range in a Myer store, so a large open plan space, and I preferred the mini SQ to any of the others, even larger more pricey models. I used mine for work in a similar situation as you, usually just sitting on the kitchen dividing shelf of the hotel suites I stayed in, and used as background music while presenting products to clients. I bought an after market carry case for mine which just slipped into the briefcase bag for travel. The new version claims to only be around 0.7kg, I'd imagine that's lighter than mine is, I certainly notice mine being a solid little unit.

 

I think the Revolve is more of a younger gen mini party speaker but probably still sounds quite good. Although I mentioned boundary gain effect, it's not mandatory to use in that manner, it just boosts bass by a few db, but not necessary for background use.

 

Mine is vers. 1, the new vers. 2 just adds usb-c charging and a mic for voice control and phonecalls

[Mat-with-one-t]

44 minutes ago, blybo said:

 

That's where the Bose Soundlink Mini II excels. It's widely regarded as the best SQ in their stable. I demo'ed the whole range in a Myer store, so a large open plan space, and I preferred the mini SQ to any of the others, even larger more pricey models. I used mine for work in a similar situation as you, usually just sitting on the kitchen dividing shelf of the hotel suites I stayed in, and used as background music while presenting products to clients. I bought an after market carry case for mine which just slipped into the briefcase bag for travel. The new version claims to only be around 0.7kg, I'd imagine that's lighter than mine is, I certainly notice mine being a solid little unit.

 

I think the Revolve is more of a younger gen mini party speaker but probably still sounds quite good. Although I mentioned boundary gain effect, it's not mandatory to use in that manner, it just boosts bass by a few db, but not necessary for background use.

 

Mine is vers. 1, the new vers. 2 just adds usb-c charging and a mic for voice control and phonecalls

Yeah workmates have often had the 1st version - nice little unit that has been around a long time and well proven.  I don't need the phone call/mic stuff, however USB C charging is handy.....

Is it getting a bit on the old side compared to others here?  I really like the low/sleek design over the "rubber tube" approach, however how cleanable is it?  Is it getting a bit too expensive compared to other offerings?

Edited May 18, 2022 by Mat-with-one-t

[blybo]

43 minutes ago, Mat-with-one-t said:

how cleanable is it?

What are we cleaning off it? Vers 1 is a full metal case with a finely textured powder coat type of finish. Wipe down with a damp cloth and good to go, or a mild cleaner like spray and wipe. I think I've only ever needed to dusted mine down with a microfibre cloth as it's never had any spills or overly greasy fingers on it.

 

The fact this design has survived the test of time is probably a testament to the success of the original design, just with tech upgrades as they become available. You've clearly heard the vers. 1 so know what it offers SQ wise, and it's certainly a convenient form factor.

[Mat-with-one-t]

6 minutes ago, blybo said:

What are we cleaning off it? Vers 1 is a full metal case with a finely textured powder coat type of finish. Wipe down with a damp cloth and good to go, or a mild cleaner like spray and wipe. I think I've only ever needed to dusted mine down with a microfibre cloth as it's never had any spills or overly greasy fingers on it.

 

The fact this design has survived the test of time is probably a testament to the success of the original design, just with tech upgrades as they become available. You've clearly heard the vers. 1 so know what it offers SQ wise, and it's certainly a convenient form factor.

Cheers. Yes - I would be interested to hear from anyone who is quite familiar with these units and in direct comparison with the newer "Flex" unit.  In terms of cleaning, I'd need to give it a regular (at least daily) proper wipe over with at least damp cloth, and sometimes with a disinfectant.  I suspect the more "outdoorsy/rubbery" style units might be better suited to this?

[Mat-with-one-t]

So any experience with the Bose Flex?

[Gerbi]

I'm happy with my Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2. Rugged and waterproof and sounds decent for what it is. The wife liked mine so I bought her one as well.

[aussievintage]

On 17/05/2022 at 6:15 PM, Mat-with-one-t said:

Anyone had experience with the various “charge” line from JBL.

 

I have a Charge 3.  They go forever with their big batteries.  Tough too, I have dropped mine a couple of times.

 

I like the sound, though I might describe it as a bit bass heavy - but that's what eqs are for.

[LogicprObe]

 

Great Bluetooth player!

 

https://www.positivegrid.com/spark?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=fatherday_2022june&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuqPugLmE-AIViHwrCh3LNgJAEAAYASAAEgLj3fD_BwE

 

Also doubles as a guitar amp!