Was thinking of getting some type of speaker for my H now that he is newly retired. He likes to listen to sports talk and some podcasts. I don’t want to spend too much because he will ask and if it’s much, he will insist he doesn’t need it and want to return it. Trust me on this one.
I want him to be able to listen to audio from either his phone or laptop in a 2ish room radius in the house. Or perhaps through his phone when he is working in the garage (though there may not be wireless out there).
Under $50 would be tough! Most of those have very poor sound quality. Like your cell in a speaker mode, just louder. Kid got a Jambox as a gift and really liked it. Kind of like this:
Biggest problem with bluetooth is the range and what is between the blue tooth transmitter and receiver, walls and such between the transmitter and receiver can degrade the quality easily. In general, closer the speaker is to the sending unit the better the sound is going to be. There is a higher power bluetooth standard out there, but not a lot as far as I know have employed it.
I can have my laptop in one room and the speaker in another and the sound is fine.
The speaker can definitely be heard a room away.
On the other hand, this isn’t a little thing you can slip in your pocket. It’s probably about 8 x 4 x 2. The really small ones have much poorer sound. That was what I was originally considering, but the sound was lousy. This is still easily portable. And it plays for hours before running out of juice.
I have a Bose mIni soundlink. It is just okay. My sister got it for me at Costco; I think it was about $125 or so. To me, it seems crazy expensive, given the sound quality, which to me sounds about like a clock radio. I’m always frustrated by it because it never quite works the way it is supposed to work. But it is okay.
I confess that I went to BestBuy and a few other stores and listened to a bunch of speakers before buying mine online. I’d suggest doing that. I rejected the Jambox, amongst others, as a result.
I highly recommend getting this gift from a place that has a good return policy! The quality of sound varies significantly, and because we all fall on the audio spectrum anywhere from “anything will do” to “finest symphonic concert hall quality,” what works for one person could sound horrible to another (or vice versa - a great sound machine could be an overkill $$).
@BunsenBurner gives good advice. Some people are very particular about what is good sound. Others like me aren’t picky at all. It’s like TV picture quality. I find my TV perfectly fine but my kids all hate the color quality.
My H has a nice Bose that the kids gave him last year for his birthday. He uses it when he washes the car or cleans the pool. He would have never spent the money on it for himself. He had bought from Staples one that I think was about $20. It had some irritating qualities but he felt it was good enough. I drew the line when I felt how hot the unit and charger got when plugged in to charge. It went back to Staples no questions asked even though it was slightly past the return policy timeframe. Inexpensive is fine but fire hazard had to go.
I also like when buying a gift for it to be something the recipient would enjoy but wouldn’t buy for themselves. https://www.bose.com/en_us/products/speakers/wireless_speakers/soundlink-color-bluetooth-speaker-ii.html#v=soundlink_color_ii_blue
The above is the one the kids bought H. I think I saw it recently at Costco.
We bought an UE Boom on Black Friday and I love it. The only issue is when two phones connect and playback from one overrides another.
However, we usually bring it to the room where we are. It’s not small, but certainly portable.
I do not recommend going cheap because there are too many compromises built in. You need to balance battery life, sound quality, size, and durability. If you have an iPhone the other option is an Airplay compatible receiver (Pioneer, Onlyo, Denon) which are easy to control from your phone. Another option are the Sonos wifi speakers which you can place anywhere in the house and play individually or as a group. They are designed to be plugged in, but work great with computers and phones.
Some of my favorites:
Fugoo - they have several models and cases for the beach or to mount on a bike. The battery life is really amazing - around 40 hours- and they sound pretty good. Waterproof. Charges vis USB. Very durable.
Harmon Kardon Onyx - The best sounding bluetooth speaker that I have found. Battery life is short though.
JBL Charge / Xtreme - JBL has many models but I like the charge and xtreme because they can charge your phone. If you get 2 you can have nice stereo sound. Bass on the Xtreme is good for a bluetooth portable. Requires a proprietary charger (included).
Sonos - The cadillac of wireless speakers. Get a few Sonos 1’s an place them around your house, you can stream music from any device.
I’d also go to Costco because they have many units (Bose, Marshall) on display and a good return policy. The Marshall’s are supposed to be good but I haven’t tried them, they look like a miniature guitar amp.
My daughter’s roommate has one and D says it’s very easy to use and the sound is great - and it gets plenty loud. I like that it’s small and portable. You can even clip it on your belt or whatever if you’re working outside and want the sound near you (which H would often do when working in the garage or whatever). I got the bright red so that if he misplaces it it will be easier to find!
I notice they have been selling like hotcakes on Amazon the last couple of days - the colors available has dwindled!
Does this need to be bluetooth connection? I have Sonos Play 3 wireless speakers connected via wifi, and I have Apple Airport Extreme router. The sound quality is fantastic, and I can control the sound with my phone from any room / floor or from outdoors (and I have thick brick and stone walls). I realize that Sonos are expensive, but my point is that wifi connection with good airport will give superior sound compared to bluetooth (I am not a techie person, so I hope I explained it correctly)
ETA - sorry, I did not read the entire thread, and it looks like other posters already offered the same advice. Too late for the OP, but perhaps others may find it useful - these speakers made a huge difference in my music listening experience.
