4 ms·

I would be in the market for a powered/bluetooth speaker that doesn't sound like shit. For the price I'd expect (near) audiophile sound, however little in the m

by jascii 6y ago

I would be in the market for a powered/bluetooth speaker that doesn't sound like shit. For the price I'd expect (near) audiophile sound, however little in the marketing even seems to mention sound quality, it just seems very gimmicky. Does anyone have any recommendations for a semi portable powered/bluetooth speaker that focuses on accurate sound reproduction (within the limits physics puts on a smaller enclosure)?

nomadtwin 6y ago
I bought an Ikea Eneby 20 about three years ago (there's a dual speaker version available). It's my travel companion. Still in use. Almost daily. Indoor. Outdoor. Techno, Rock, Spotify...it just sounds good (bass a little prominent but can be fixed trough EQing or a piece of cloth) It looks good (not like a plastic toy) and sounds absolutely great. Paid $40 back then. (last time I checked it was 50€+ in EU right now). You absolutely can pay >400 and it might be accurate hifi, but what you really want from a speaker is joy :)
Guest19023892 6y ago
What about KEF LSX or LS50? Or Devialet Reactors?
- pvarangot 6y ago
  I wouldn't call that semi-portable.
  - Guest19023892 6y ago
    The LS50's are a little large, but the others I would consider semi-portable. Look at the below image, the Reactor is the size of a small toaster and you just need to plug in a power cord. You could easily move that to different rooms, plug it in on the terrace, bring it to a friend's house, etc. If that's not at least semi-portable, I don't know what is. https://i.imgur.com/V1fEu7h.jpg https://i.imgur.com/V1fEu7h.jpg https://i.imgur.com/7dSAtEY.jpg https://i.imgur.com/7dSAtEY.jpg
nitrogen 6y ago
I've never used them, but a friend used to run engineering at Braven. He's no longer there, so I don't know what that company's current status is, but he was a serious audio guy who made sure that every product he designed or sourced was high quality once all of the marketing-mandated boost features were turned off. Do let us know if you give them a listen, and whether they are as good as I expect.
- samatman 6y ago
  My old Braven, the one that looks like an OG cheesegrater Mac Pro, was the best sound per cubic centimeter I've owned. Not really in the market for a portable speaker anymore, but if that changes, I'd most likely just get another of the same unit. So yeah. Next time you see your buddy, tell him some rando on the Internet thinks he did a good job.
jakear 6y ago
I've had good experience with the JBL lineup... I'm on the largest (boombox), and I find the quality acceptable (I don't find the quality of most audio products acceptable). The convenience OTOH is phenomenal -- it comes with me biking, kayaking, (it's submergible) and camping to charge devices and play music, and the charge can last >week. I can only remember it dying on me 2 times in the months I've owned it, and I rarely charge it. One consideration is that it's much too large for backpacking or hiking. I wouldn't necessarily classify myself as an audiophile, though I do care more about accuracy of reproduction than most I meet.
- d0mdo0ss 6y ago
  I own an JBL charge 2. These are probably aimed for people who prefer high bass over a balanced sound (balanced they are not). Worst- the bluetooth connection is unstable even in direct sight, within 5-20 cm, with android/mac/raspberry. I realize everyone has different tastes but I would not recommend JBL.
  - jakear 6y ago
    Interesting you had issues with bluetooth -- I use it as my car stereo (car is too old to have bluetooth), and often leave it running with the car shut and I can walk all the way from my garage to the house and still hear the music chugging along just fine. As for the bass, I agree its a bit boomy, I use EQ at the source to compensate.
- andmarios 6y ago
  I have an xtreme 2 and it's a very convenient and enjoyable device. My pet-peeve is that when I bought it, its sound-signature was very close to my JBL studio monitors. I was astounded by the quality. It could give you goose-bumps. Unfortunately people started complaining that it does not have enough bass and with every firmware update since then, JBL increases the bass response and destroys everything else. There is no way to downgrade the firmware. It's still a good speaker but nowhere near what it can do when tuned for fidelity instead of bass. :(
  - 6y ago
jensgk 6y ago
This comes to mind: https://www.bang-olufsen.com/en/speakers/filter/bluetooth https://www.bang-olufsen.com/en/speakers/filter/bluetooth I have the A1 (1.gen.), which have mostly received good reviews.
- jensgk 6y ago
  Also this: https://www.dynaudio.com/home-audio/music/music-3 https://www.dynaudio.com/home-audio/music/music-3
- AMD_DRIVERS 6y ago
  +1 on the A1. I also own a 1st Gen, and the sound that it produces still surprises me.
chendragon 6y ago
When it comes to anything Bluetooth and speakers I tend to look at Oluv's Gadgets on YouTube first, since that guy actually posts frequency response measurements of a wide variety of speakers. Seems like there is a wide variety of products featured but it is biased towards lower cost options.
kbouck 6y ago
minirigs are surprisingly good for their size. they are modular speakers and speakers subwoofers that you can use individually or link together. a 2.1 setup will bring way more bass that you would expect from looking at it. plenty of reviews on youtube comparing the sound profile to competitors. https://minirigs.co.uk/ https://minirigs.co.uk/
AMD_DRIVERS 6y ago
Maybe something from Bang & Olufsen's Beoplay line, possibly a Beolit 17?
mark-r 6y ago
Bluetooth isn't really compatible with accurate sound reproduction. The bandwidth is limited so the audio spec mandates lossy compression. An update to the original allows different options for the compression, so if you're starting with a compressed source you might be able to avoid double losses, but I doubt that any software does it that way because you'd lose the ability to do e.g. volume control.
PaulDavisThe1st 6y ago
Minirig It's the best. End of story. A little expensive. Absurd low end for such a small device. Two different gain level wired inputs plus BT. Can be paired, and even extended to the sub. Just a customer, along with everyone in my family.
elliottkember 6y ago
I've really enjoyed my UE Boom. It's totally waterproof and shockproof, great sound, battery life is good - it's been just about perfect for me.

by jascii 6y ago

nomadtwin 6y ago

I bought an Ikea Eneby 20 about three years ago (there's a dual speaker version available). It's my travel companion. Still in use. Almost daily. Indoor. Outdoor. Techno, Rock, Spotify...it just sounds good (bass a little prominent but can be fixed trough EQing or a piece of cloth) It looks good (not like a plastic toy) and sounds absolutely great. Paid $40 back then. (last time I checked it was 50€+ in EU right now). You absolutely can pay >400 and it might be accurate hifi, but what you really want from a speaker is joy :)

Guest19023892 6y ago

What about KEF LSX or LS50? Or Devialet Reactors?

pvarangot 6y ago
I wouldn't call that semi-portable.
- Guest19023892 6y ago
  The LS50's are a little large, but the others I would consider semi-portable. Look at the below image, the Reactor is the size of a small toaster and you just need to plug in a power cord. You could easily move that to different rooms, plug it in on the terrace, bring it to a friend's house, etc. If that's not at least semi-portable, I don't know what is. https://i.imgur.com/V1fEu7h.jpg https://i.imgur.com/V1fEu7h.jpg https://i.imgur.com/7dSAtEY.jpg https://i.imgur.com/7dSAtEY.jpg

nitrogen 6y ago

I've never used them, but a friend used to run engineering at Braven. He's no longer there, so I don't know what that company's current status is, but he was a serious audio guy who made sure that every product he designed or sourced was high quality once all of the marketing-mandated boost features were turned off. Do let us know if you give them a listen, and whether they are as good as I expect.

samatman 6y ago
My old Braven, the one that looks like an OG cheesegrater Mac Pro, was the best sound per cubic centimeter I've owned. Not really in the market for a portable speaker anymore, but if that changes, I'd most likely just get another of the same unit. So yeah. Next time you see your buddy, tell him some rando on the Internet thinks he did a good job.

jakear 6y ago

I've had good experience with the JBL lineup... I'm on the largest (boombox), and I find the quality acceptable (I don't find the quality of most audio products acceptable). The convenience OTOH is phenomenal -- it comes with me biking, kayaking, (it's submergible) and camping to charge devices and play music, and the charge can last >week. I can only remember it dying on me 2 times in the months I've owned it, and I rarely charge it. One consideration is that it's much too large for backpacking or hiking. I wouldn't necessarily classify myself as an audiophile, though I do care more about accuracy of reproduction than most I meet.

d0mdo0ss 6y ago
I own an JBL charge 2. These are probably aimed for people who prefer high bass over a balanced sound (balanced they are not). Worst- the bluetooth connection is unstable even in direct sight, within 5-20 cm, with android/mac/raspberry. I realize everyone has different tastes but I would not recommend JBL.
- jakear 6y ago
  Interesting you had issues with bluetooth -- I use it as my car stereo (car is too old to have bluetooth), and often leave it running with the car shut and I can walk all the way from my garage to the house and still hear the music chugging along just fine. As for the bass, I agree its a bit boomy, I use EQ at the source to compensate.
andmarios 6y ago
I have an xtreme 2 and it's a very convenient and enjoyable device. My pet-peeve is that when I bought it, its sound-signature was very close to my JBL studio monitors. I was astounded by the quality. It could give you goose-bumps. Unfortunately people started complaining that it does not have enough bass and with every firmware update since then, JBL increases the bass response and destroys everything else. There is no way to downgrade the firmware. It's still a good speaker but nowhere near what it can do when tuned for fidelity instead of bass. :(
- 6y ago

jensgk 6y ago

This comes to mind: https://www.bang-olufsen.com/en/speakers/filter/bluetooth https://www.bang-olufsen.com/en/speakers/filter/bluetooth I have the A1 (1.gen.), which have mostly received good reviews.

jensgk 6y ago
Also this: https://www.dynaudio.com/home-audio/music/music-3 https://www.dynaudio.com/home-audio/music/music-3
AMD_DRIVERS 6y ago
+1 on the A1. I also own a 1st Gen, and the sound that it produces still surprises me.

chendragon 6y ago

When it comes to anything Bluetooth and speakers I tend to look at Oluv's Gadgets on YouTube first, since that guy actually posts frequency response measurements of a wide variety of speakers. Seems like there is a wide variety of products featured but it is biased towards lower cost options.

kbouck 6y ago

minirigs are surprisingly good for their size. they are modular speakers and speakers subwoofers that you can use individually or link together. a 2.1 setup will bring way more bass that you would expect from looking at it. plenty of reviews on youtube comparing the sound profile to competitors. https://minirigs.co.uk/ https://minirigs.co.uk/

AMD_DRIVERS 6y ago

Maybe something from Bang & Olufsen's Beoplay line, possibly a Beolit 17?

mark-r 6y ago

Bluetooth isn't really compatible with accurate sound reproduction. The bandwidth is limited so the audio spec mandates lossy compression. An update to the original allows different options for the compression, so if you're starting with a compressed source you might be able to avoid double losses, but I doubt that any software does it that way because you'd lose the ability to do e.g. volume control.

PaulDavisThe1st 6y ago

Minirig It's the best. End of story. A little expensive. Absurd low end for such a small device. Two different gain level wired inputs plus BT. Can be paired, and even extended to the sub. Just a customer, along with everyone in my family.

elliottkember 6y ago

I've really enjoyed my UE Boom. It's totally waterproof and shockproof, great sound, battery life is good - it's been just about perfect for me.