Portable Travel Speaker

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Geektastic

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#220135 27-Jul-2017 13:39

I'm considering buying a portable speaker to stick in my luggage when I travel, for use with music from phone, laptop and that kind of thing.

There's heaps of rubbish ones but I want something that sounds good (main music types would be AOR, Yacht Rock, chill out and jazz) and will last. No need for ludicrous bass levels or massive volumes - I rarely listen to loud music these days.

Ideally it would charge from a charger I have to carry anyway, so USB rather than some special mains adapter.

It should be reasonably light (750g max I would say), sound good, be well made, reliable, use APT-X if possible and easily packed. Does not have to be waterproof but that never hurts if it's an option.

My shortlist (based on reviews rather than listening) is

Bose Soundlink Mini II
Bose Revolve
Riva Audio S
UE Boom II

Does anyone have any recommendations, comments or alternatives to suggest?

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#1832252 27-Jul-2017 13:47

I have one of these.

http://www.harveynorman.co.nz/phone-and-gps/portable-speakers/jbl-charge-3-bluetooth-speaker.html

waterproof, decent battery for charging devices and it sounds decent for what it is.

shk292

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#1832256 27-Jul-2017 13:54

I have the original JBL charge, bought it 3 years ago and it's been great. My kids have the UE Boom 2, quite comparable except that is waterproof. I wouldn't want to go bigger or heavier than these for travel.

To me they sound comparable and are certainly good enough for casual music listening

alasta

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#1832271 27-Jul-2017 14:16

I have a Bose Soundlink - the bigger one that was superceded by the Revolve.

It's a little bassy and not hugely detailed but overall it's still impressive for its size. I would recommend.

macuser

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#1832276 27-Jul-2017 14:21

I have the JBL Charge 3, I love it.

xpd

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#1832290 27-Jul-2017 14:48

I have one of the early Charges as well, great little unit and can charge (as the name implies) other USB devices from its battery.

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Geektastic

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#1832452 27-Jul-2017 19:00

The Charge 3 is interesting although physically bigger than the Soundlink Mini.

Those passive radiators on the ends look like the sort of thing that would get stuffed in by the contents of your case etc - just how tough are they IRL?

Disrespective

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#1832713 28-Jul-2017 10:32

I've got a very well loved UE Boom II and it works great still. Battery life after a couple of years on a work site is still decent (although I haven't used it recently, it used to last most of a working day). I'll be taking it on holiday in a couple of months, and it now tends to live in the travel pack for road trips away too.

Sound quality is plenty good enough for general listening. It's not super loud, or at least you shouldn't listen to it at loud volumes, but we like to be able to talk to each other while it's going so volume is never very high. I've been tempted at times to pick up another one to do a stereo pair, but that's only if I can find one cheap.

Overall very happy with it.

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Satch

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#1832830 28-Jul-2017 12:36

Get the Bose Revolve, hands down the best sounding speaker on your list. I upgraded from a UE Boom to a Bose Soundlink II which was a noticeable upgrade. Then upgraded again from the Soundlink II to the Bose Revolve+ which was another noticeable incremental step up. The Revolve+ may be getting a little big for your criteria so the Revolve would be more appropriate.

Geektastic

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#1833033 28-Jul-2017 17:22

Satch:

Get the Bose Revolve, hands down the best sounding speaker on your list. I upgraded from a UE Boom to a Bose Soundlink II which was a noticeable upgrade. Then upgraded again from the Soundlink II to the Bose Revolve+ which was another noticeable incremental step up. The Revolve+ may be getting a little big for your criteria so the Revolve would be more appropriate.

Is it not odd with no proper stereo?

Wade

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#1833050 28-Jul-2017 18:29

http://themoduleproject.com/decibel/

I stumbled upon this last night, is a Kiwi based project that might be worth keeping an eye on

driller2000

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#1833085 28-Jul-2017 20:36

Geektastic:

Satch:

Get the Bose Revolve, hands down the best sounding speaker on your list. I upgraded from a UE Boom to a Bose Soundlink II which was a noticeable upgrade. Then upgraded again from the Soundlink II to the Bose Revolve+ which was another noticeable incremental step up. The Revolve+ may be getting a little big for your criteria so the Revolve would be more appropriate.

Is it not odd with no proper stereo?

The size/width of these things mean your physical separation of the drivers is bugger all - so the stereo image would be piss poor to non-existent on all of them.

Furthermore - they are all based on small speakers - with tiny amps - with far too much plastic construction - so they will only ever sound so-so.

As to BT speakers:

Friends have the Bose Soundlink III and yeah its OK...but it is expensive @ $450 for what it is.

Whereas I have an Ali express special and it is nowhere near as good as the Bose - but it costs 1/10th of the Bose and the Bose is NOT 10 times better.

Personally I think a decent set of headphones and portable amp ( I like my Fiio) would be a far better investment and experience if one was looking at spending Bose level money....but each to their own. :)

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#1833107 28-Jul-2017 21:30

alasta:

I have a Bose Soundlink - the bigger one that was superceded by the Revolve.

It's a little bassy and not hugely detailed but overall it's still impressive for its size. I would recommend.

+1 very small

Elmoz

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#1833117 28-Jul-2017 21:47

Bought a UE Wonderboom while on holiday recently. Rugged design and sounds great. Is also waterproof. Compact for travelling.

Linuxluver

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#1833118 28-Jul-2017 21:54

Geektastic:

I'm considering buying a portable speaker to stick in my luggage when I travel, for use with music from phone, laptop and that kind of thing.

There's heaps of rubbish ones but I want something that sounds good (main music types would be AOR, Yacht Rock, chill out and jazz) and will last. No need for ludicrous bass levels or massive volumes - I rarely listen to loud music these days.

Ideally it would charge from a charger I have to carry anyway, so USB rather than some special mains adapter.

It should be reasonably light (750g max I would say), sound good, be well made, reliable, use APT-X if possible and easily packed. Does not have to be waterproof but that never hurts if it's an option.

My shortlist (based on reviews rather than listening) is

Bose Soundlink Mini II
Bose Revolve
Riva Audio S
UE Boom II

Does anyone have any recommendations, comments or alternatives to suggest?

I have a UE Boom II. I use it mainly when painting the house as the sound quality is great and it projects sound well through spaces.

But for travelling? I'd go for great headphones. No one else wants to hear my music....unless you're going to be both alone and not sharing walls with people who may want to sleep or do their own thing. Maybe I'm too considerate.....

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Geektastic

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#1833123 28-Jul-2017 22:23

I have headphones - Sony MDR 1000x - for flying, public spaces etc.

Perhaps I should be more specific. When I say travel, I mean for use in hotel rooms and I rarely play it beyond gentle background levels - no louder than the TV would be in the room next door in a hotel scenario. It's not about loudness, it's about sound quality. I simply do not always want to be wearing headphones.

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