Portable Speaker suggestions

[Smudger]

Hi, It's wife's birthday time coming up, and I was thinking about getting her a new portable speaker. The one she's got (can't remember the brand) is tinny, and keeps beeping, so anyone know of a decent-sounding portable, bluetooth speaker? I'm not expecting hi-fi quality.

Had the UE Boom 2 recommended, and the JBL Charge, from online reviews, but I wondered if HExites had any personal faves?

Budget is up to £150

[AETAaAS]

I've got an AquaAudio Cube (http://amzn.eu/9Gm5rCz). Had it for nearly 2 years now and still impressed. It lives in my shower and pairs easily with my desktop in my bedroom, so when I go to use the bathroom, I turn it on and the audio automatically redirects from my PC.

It definitely is not tinny, with bass that I could feel on my table when I sat it down to test, and was better than a basic USB driven Creative 2.0 speaker set. It doesn't start to crackle or break up till it is very loud indeed.

The battery life is very good. I use it for 15-30 mins every day and I probably recharge it every couple of weeks. And I can't fault the waterproofing having survived the last 2 years in my shower. It feels robust too, with a hard plastic case.

It doesn't have any fancy engineering like bass tubes or dual speakers but I would encourage you to test it at the very least (with Amazon's generous return policy ).

[scaryjim]

I've bought a couple of AUKEY products off amazon recently and have been really impressed by them - one was just a bluetooth receiver to connect to an existing set of speakers/headphones, and the other was this battery/mains powered portable bluetooth speaker. The only downside is that I occasionally notice a very brief "drop out" on the speaker, but I'm yet to determine if that's the speaker, the device connected to it, or the fact that the house is already busy with wireless signals!

Battery life is good - the speaker's run for 4 - 5 hours at a time on occasion and I think I've only once heard the low battery warning sound. Sound is really impressive for the price and size, rich and full - basically think of the best you'd expect a £20 speaker to sound and it sounds like that

There's a decent range of Aukey products on amazon, and based on my experience with these two I'd suggest that any of them would be a decent buy.

[kopite]

We have a ue boom 2.

We where initially going to buy a digital radio for in the kitchen but after talking with the staff in John lewis they said that the bluetooth speakers will typically have a much better sound than a similarly priced digital radio and we could then use a radio app on our phones if we wanted.

The speaker is really well built and the charge lasts for ages. Sound is really good. Good bass event at high volume.

You are supposed to be able to daisy chain a few together(the assistant told us they went on a course about the speakers and the ppl from ue chained 40+ speakers all playing the same music.)

IMO its great for the price

Only issue is the charger is in the bottom of the unit so charging whilst playing would mean lying it on its side.

[Dooms]

I have both a UE Boom and UE Boom 2 and love them, they chain together so I can have one in the living room and the other in the kitchen when I'm doing chores and always on the move. Got a couple mates with UE products as well (Roll & Megaboom) and chaining them is fun in summer when large group heads to the park.

I think it says upto 12-15 hours but I usually get about 9 off mine which is good enough for the average day

The waterproofing on the UE Boom 2 is a great plus as well. I believe its sold as water resistant but I've had it fully submerged many times (long as the flaps are closed) and its still going strong... just not having to worry about dust, sand and spills is nice.

Only issue is the charger is in the bottom of the unit so charging whilst playing would mean lying it on its side.

Turn it upside down? Its flat on both ends haha.

[b0redom]

I'm sure someone asked this a little while ago......

http://forums.hexus.net/consumer-ele...h-speaker.html

[Smudger]

Ah yeah, but that was 2 years ago. That's like 100 years in techland...*

* 15 months, really...

[Smudger]

See, I was set on the UE Boom 2, but there seems to be a lot of 1 star reviews on Amazon, mainly with issues with the battery. So then I started looking at the JBL Flip, and the 3 is at quite a good price at the moment. But, there's a Flip4 coming out soon. Then there's the Charge 3, which gets good reviews and doesn't have any 1 star ratings on Amazon, but I'm not sure if it's too big...
Hmm, decisions.

[b0redom]

Really for speakers etc though, they're pretty subjective. Do what I did. Take a bluetooth source (phone/iPod/MP3 player) into somewhere like PC World and try some. That's the whole point after all!

[Smudger]

I might see if I can make a trip to C/PCW tomorrow...

[Disturbedguy]

I bought one of these - http://www.nudeaudio.com/products-super-m/ from Amazon and have been hugely impressed with it

[Biscuit]

They still do the JBL ones, albeit newer models, and I would be surprised if they arent very good. Even the bottom end one that's a tiny little square (JBL Go) is quite impressive for what you pay.

I have the Go and the Charge 2+, the missus has the Flip 2.

The Go has a home in my cable organiser and goes with me pretty much everywhere. The Charge 2 I use around the house including connecting via the Aux to my television in my bedroom to give me a better audio in there.

The flip 2 is my Missus' only speaker system and she uses it all the time.

[malfunction]

I've had a flip 3 for a while now and I'm very happy with it for what it is. Good volume and range for the size and cost and a good battery too, way better than I was expecting for the size of it. It's currently £69 on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/JBL-Bluetoo...dp/B010RWAIAC/

Was £54 just before xmas

[peterb]

I'm still using my JBL charge 2 and still very pleased with it - in fact I'm listening to BBC radio through it at the moment!

It probably has been replaced by a newer model, but I've never been let down by JBL kit.

[Smudger]

Well I've been to Currys and tried the JBL Flip 3 and Charge 3, as well as the UE Boom 2 and the next one up. THe bigger ones do sound better, but the are a fair bit larger, so it's between the Flip 3 and the UEB2 I think. But apparently, there's a Flip 4 coming out next week, so I'm wondering if I wait for that, whether the Flip3 will get cheaper...

[Dooms]

TheWirecutter go through a load of them and its been recently updated.

TLR they give it to the UE Roll 2.