Hi all, I've got a budget of upto a ton on a bluetooth speaker or something like a Sonos Play 1 even however I'm not really sure what my choices are. We already have a £15 tinny little git and would like something better now. The criteria I need to meet are: - Not Beats. - Don't want a 'portable' device, this isn't for use on the go. Being a rechargeable unit that we can use around the house is a plus though. - Only really require it to be available as bluetooth speaker as it'll be used with Apple Music/Siri to provide music and voice control. - Good sound through and through, nice bass response and good mid-range/treble. So far I've seen the Bose Soundlink Mini II which is £20 off and save 10% with a first order at Very, so will end up at £125. That's got reasonably good reviews if lacking a little punch in the bass end. Thanks in advance
The missus has UE Boom 2 she uses to teach dance classes - it's very much a portable device, in the sense it's waterproof and very rugged, but it's very compact so can be hidden away. Sound is actually quite good, plenty of volume and good bass. They can also be paired up if you have multiple speakers to create a stereo setup, or if you're mental can go up to 50 connected speakers. Battery life is surprisingly good too, easily in double figures (hours) before needing a recharge. Realising i'm sounding like a salesman, so i'll shut up now hah.
I have a Pure Jongo S3. They seem to be maybe discontinued now but you can find them on eBay. I'm no audiophile so have nothing of worth to say about the quality of its bass output etc., but it has a decent battery life so can be carried around the house or into the garden. Also, if you're streaming to it over wifi using the associated app, you can sync multiple Jongos to play at the same time. I've only one so far though, so haven't tried that. In general I haven't used the app that much because it has a pretty basic file navigation system, and is too slow to make up for the basicness. At least, it was last time I tried it (over a year ago), but I doubt they've updated the app if they've discontinued the Jongo line.
Get an Amazon Echo so you can talk to it as well about the same price on very as the soundlink, but admittedly, not as good as the soundlink. Just realised though no battery.... you can get plug in batteries though for the echo. but it's not the best speaker ever. Ignore my suggestions I'll crawl back into the cave from which I came.
I have the original Bose Soundlink Mini and it's very impressive. The battery life isn't the best of the bluetooth speakers but the sound is remarkably good for its size, better than some much, much larger setups. The II includes USB charging and a mic for handsfree calls which is nice. I use mine around the house too and it does a great job, and it's good if you want to watch a movie when away from home without headphones. The vanilla Bose Soundlink also sounds excellent, better than the Mini, but it's also much larger (but still easily moved around) and much more expensive. Personally I'd go into a shop and listen to them, the Bose's strengths are its clarity and volume with decent bass at all volumes.
I have a UE Megaboom which I got new for not very much money - I think it must have fallen off the back of a lorry. It's very impressive. Not sure I could stomach parting with the full asking price though.
Those are great! I have one in a server room at one of my clients, I didn't know what it was called, nor did I know how much they cost! now I'm especially surprised that it's just sat there. It's great to use when I am there as well though
I'm a recent Sonos convert, I have 2 Play 1's and the connect hooked up to Rotel Pre/Power/Power combo, can't really fault them and the 1's kick out a fair bit of sound.
Is there any way to use more than one Bluetooth speaker at the same time, apart from like Sonos? I'll admit, I'm that guy and I have an orange Pill with the Pills Dude. I have no complaints, but I should point out it's a Jekyll, so probably sounds better than the real thing. I'd just like to be able to stream music to it, and my hifi I built so I could use it in more than one room.
Play:1 gets my vote, unless it HAS to be bluetooth. I've tried various of the BOSE stuff and it's alright, I've got a Soundlink Colour for holiday etc and I'm quite impressed with it. Not really 'home audio' standard, mind!
My wife would beat me senseless if I suggested a blue tooth device. She use to work for a firm that developed wireless audio is keenly aware of the audio quality limitation with blue tooth. The product appears to have spun off to a new line link. I am not familiar with these products and in no way endorsing them (down side is they do use an external dongle). I have a pair of Sonos Play 1s, they are fantastic little speakers, I was impressed with their sound. While they require mains power they are easily moved around the house, provided you have an open outlet.
I have a sony and razer blue tooth for carrying around the place and both are good for what they are. I would say the Sony produces better sound the razer I got free when I bought the laptop. At home I have a set up of 6 Naim Muso Qb's these for the home are imho the best thing on the market.
Thanks to all for the suggestions, from research the Cambridge Audio Go is probably leading cost vs function on paper. I will pop down to my local Currys and RicherSounds to try a few and make a call after that!
I have tried around 12 devices, including the UE Boom 2 and a couple Sony options, from £70 to £120 and nothing was anywhere close to the standard of the Bose Soundlink Mini. I was resigned to saving a little more until I went in to my local CEX. They had one un-boxed secondhand for £100. I just happened to be trading in a couple old gadgets too so the Bose ended up at £50. I am immensely happy with this end result. Unfortunately I didn't get to try the Cambridge Audio Go nor the Creative set as I couldn't easily get to a stockist but thank you all for the advice nonetheless.
Mini rig every time, by far the best speaker at this price point and every independent review I've ever seen agrees...Plus it's a beautiful bit of British engineering from an SME.
