Recommend a portable Bluetooth speaker?

goldtop

Being an old fart with two ears, I'm befuddled by modern yoofs' acceptance of a single Bluetooth speaker for stereo listening. But I find myself in need of one of these new-fangled battery-powered Bluetooth speakers. Some look like overs-zed pills, some are tiny. (shrug)

I don't need waterproofness, nor clever wifi-Alexa/hands-free/etc connectivity - just 3.5mm stereo and Bluetooth.

Budget: £80-120 and don't mind buying used.

Ideas?

equalsql

I've got this little Jam Heavy Metal speaker and the sound for its size is very impressive. It's a heavy little unit with a bass port and it has a firm rubber base to it so it doesn't slip. I normally have it in the kitchen but my wife brought it into the front room the other day to stream her music to it and we noticed just how impressively deep the ported bass is projected.

It's a really solid little bit of kit for the money

https://www.techadvisor.co.uk/cmsdata/reviews/3644329/jam_heavy_metal_reivew_05.jpg

BigBearKris

My vote goes for Anker Boost. £50 and performs really well - had it connected to the laptop for movies, taken it to the beach / garden, listened to music indoors - never had any issues.
I liked Bose Soundlink mini too - but you'd have to compare and assess if it's worth paying that much more for it. 

revsorg

UE Boom 3 or LG PK5.  If you want louder, the UE Megaboom 3.

Revolting1

 Minirig is a giant killer

                     

KrisGee

JBL Charge 2+. Bass line is so deep you could feel it in Jamaica.

TheMarlin

I’ve tried quite a few. My favourite by far is my little Anker Soundcore.  https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B016MO90GW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_ZBW.CbJEZZGRF

its not the best sounding one I’ve got, but it does sound pretty good. 
It plays plenty loud and never distorts. It’s a nice size, not to big, not heavy, connects to pretty much everything with ease...

It’s my favourite for one very special reason.  I’m going on holiday next month, the little Anker Soundcore will come with me. I know that I can use it every single day for pretty much as long as I want, and not worry about bringing a charger for it. It’ll do the entire holiday on a single charge.  In fact, the charge is so impressive on this thing that can honestly say that I have probably charged it less than ten times in the two years I’ve had it. And, even when it does need a charge, it just seems to go on, and on.....

i have UA’s, JBL’s, Roberts, and several others. The best sounding is probably the Bose Soundlink Mini, but all of these need charging within an hour, in some cases, constantly - their true portability is questionable. Not the Anker, it’s a little Trojan, I can always rely on it, it holds a legendary status in my household for never giving up, and tremendous reliability. 

I’ve not tried the other upmarket Anker speakers, the ‘Flare and Flare +’ are supposed to be excellent, but I use my hifi for detail, and the Anker for portability, it’s good enough for me. Absolutely love it.  

drofluf

Depends on how portable you want.  My constant travelling companion is a Juice Sound Square (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Juice-Square-Portable-Bluetooth-Speaker-Pink/dp/B00F3U1V8W/ref=sr_1_4?adgrpid=54801979364&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIt_Tot9Hg4gIVQuaaCh1lyg-nEAAYASAAEgJEJPD_BwE&hvadid=259005454212&hvdev=t&hvlocphy=1007196&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=17798919260256429058&hvtargid=aud-615477028278%3Akwd-315599921934&hydadcr=3733_1725847&keywords=sound+square&qid=1560228884&s=gateway&sr=8-4)

Technically a cube but great sound for its size, a claimed 6 hour battery life - certainly not an issue - and immensely portable, each side is bout 2.5”. My wife got my son one as a stocking filler one year and I was so impressed I went out and bought one for myself

stimpsonslostson

Another vote for Anker Soundcore. Excellent sound & battery life. 

Toms_Dad

We have had a Cambridge Audio Minx for 3 or 4 years in our kitchen.  The latest version is on sale at about your price range.  it's a bit bigger than ome or two of those mentioned, so probably not for carry on aeroplane baggage, but the sound quality is very good.  I am frequently amazed at how such a tiny box can fill a room with sound.

Budgie

Anker Soundcore here too. Completely excellent for the price.

cj73

another vote for the Anker Soundcore, amazing value for money

goldtop

Cool - some consensus on the Anker forming.

Another tFBer PMed me a link to this YT channel that does some useful comparisons: (EDIT - the YT link doesn't work) but it's a YTer called "clavinetjunkie"

From browsing Ebay, I think I'll skip buying used. Lots of "parts only" adverts so I wonder if they get abused. Better to buy with warranty, I think.

Danny1969

The biggest problem with BT speakers is most of them use a micro USB socket and these are easily damage (why someone thought this socket was a good idea to charge a device is beyond me) .... They ain't easy to replace either.

I had a House of Marley in for repair last week, that had the best bass response for a speaker of that size I have seen and the battery was easily replaceable compared to most 

smudge_lad

I love my Bose Soundlink 2

Snags

+1 Anker for decent quality on a budget. 

goldtop

Hmmm... after checking the Anker, the Jam, then the Tribit and then the others, I found this:

Riva S sounds good to my ears... about double the price of the Anker, though.

Jalapeno

Got a Sony SRS X11 - brilliant !

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Sony-SRS-X11-Portable-Wireless-Bluetooth-Black/dp/B00UGJQWXY

JezWynd

I’ve been very happy with an Anker Soundcore, it gets used daily and works flawlessly. Brilliant for spoken word and music. Incredible little device.

BRISTOL86

Another +1 for the soundcore. Does a brilliant job for next to no money. 

breakstuff

Been looking for a cheap Bluetooth speaker myself, so just ordered a Soundcore on the strength of this thread. 

Look forward to seeing if it's as good as the reviews say it is.