Haven’t dabbled into portable bluetooth speakers before. However, I want to buy a speaker for my sister-in-law. She listens to music, but is really not into a sitting and listening to speakers experience. More of take the music on the go.
Some of the options that I have heard are decent are:
Sonos Roam
Marshall (Emberton, Killburn 2, Stockwell 2)
JBL Extreme 2
Any thoughts or experiences are welcomed to help with making a decision are much appreciated.
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It’s tough to find legit audiophile opinions on this segment. Most info is very consumer based because that is generally the market for these products. I think many either sound too small or try to compensate by boosting the bass up so much that it drowns other frequencies out. I’m kinda in the market for one as well, for the use case of dragging back and forth to the office or hanging out outside.
I’ve been impressed with how big Sonos speakers can sound for their small size. They are always used in restaurants and shops that I walk into and they do an admirable job of filling a space with background music. Not sure how that would translate to the pint-sized bluetooth model but it’s an interesting option to me.
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Thank you for your thoughts. Yeah, I am a little stressed from having researched this endeavor. I am also to the point of thinking of just getting her some AKG bluetooth headphones and calling it day. It seems any remotely decent bluetooth speakers cost a fortune. Trying to find anything in around the $200-250 price range is a nightmare. Another thing that gives me pause of choosing the Sonos is the reviews on Amazon. People have had quality control issues and have said that Sonos is a nightmare to work with.
Thanks again for help and insights.
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Might check out Edifier. Their Bluetooth speakers are pretty good with multiple input options.
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For an audiophile-ish sound over practicallity >250 I think edifier r1700bt is the way to go (non portable)
Portably I like either 2 UE booms or 2 JBL flips connected through the app, I think stereo sound gives them a big advantage over any single bt speaker Ive heard
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iLoud Micro Monitors are somewhat portable
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Don’t shoot me but for portable Bluetooth speaker I like Bose. I also have a Marshall in the kitchen that sounds very nice, Audio Pro also has decent offering in my book.
Note that I don’t care about detail or fidelity in a Bluetooth speaker, it just needs to sound fun, full and a decent low end.
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This is my take on portable Bluetooth speakers as well.
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I have a Jawbone Jambox speaker that I bought probably 6 years ago or so that I should dig out of whatever closet it’s hiding in to see if I can recommend it, lol. I definitely couldn’t tell you how it sounds from memory, but I remember it serving me decently well at the time?
(EDIT: Found it. The model number actually says it’s from 2011. o.o)
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I’ve got a few friends with the JBL partybox 310, its got a handle, not sure if it still fits ‘portable’ but they seem to be able to drag it along. I was like, what have you bought now but I’ve thrown a few things at it and it really is worth its money actually. It is a big sounding party speaker with a fat, full sound that digs low and goes loud. It will damage your ears if you crank that up in a normal room.
There are also the smaller JBL flip and charge, is suspect its the same with other brands, these smaller bluetooth speakers just sound very thin, DSP can only bring you that far. We put them in a wooden box to give some more weight to the sound but they don’t sound nice, they just produce ‘sound’.
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I like my Minirig.
UE Megaboom actually quite decent sound for a waterproof Bluetooth party speaker.
For real portability you can’t beat the JBL Charge series of speakers imo. Suuuuuper solid, they can get crazy loud or as low as needed with no drawbacks in sound quality, tonal balance and general timbre characteristics are pretty spot on too. Punch, detail everything is just right and it’s fully portable, great battery, easy to use and even fully waterproof!
Sorry for making it sound like an ad lol but i legit have zero problems with it and generally enjoy it alot. I’ve taken it to many places to do kickboxing then brought it back home where it serves as the general house speaker. If you want something that’s more audiophile you generally would need stereo speakers and those are only transportable, not reasonable for portable use.
Honestly, I’ve had a few years experience with JBL Pulse speakers, and it’s been horrible. Not only was it expensive ($170), but the battery started having trouble charging and retaining charge(dies in like an hour with lights off), the sound isn’t super good (flat, unrealistic/plastic-sounding highs, little bass despite statements to the contrary. Sounds like $20 earbuds or phones), and… Years ago I advised someone who was looking for a cheap, fun, portable speaker and theirs died, as well. We also had ours replaced because of the battery issue, and the replacement ALSO died inside a year.
I just busted mine our for this post, and right now it takes about 2 hours to charge full and dies inside like 45 mins of use. Using the (quite cool, actually) LED effects on it drains it even faster.
Best thing about the Pulse is the lights, lol.
And now, the Klipsch!! 
We bought a Klipsch portable ‘Heritage Groove’ for our daughter, which is a bit weak on the bass side of things but is surprisingly loud, clean, and bright overall. This thing charges in less than an hour and lasts for like 8 over Bluetooth.
And for our kitchen we have a Klipsch ‘The One’, which is a quite loud, surprisingly bassy portable / Bluetooth hifi speaker. I would call this the very lowest end Klipsch hifi in this category. This speaker has sometimes annoying Bluetooth controls and pairing, but is generally trouble free, holds a charge, charges quickly, and plays for 6-8 hours on a charge. This speaker has an internal stereo pair, while the Groove is mono/combined. The One actually fills out kitchen with musical sound and the bass sounds like it’s coming from a pair of 6inchers or something. We love The One as our main portable / bt speaker.
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