Portable bluetooth speakers

[maverick786us]

I am looking into portable Bluetooth speakers, that I can connect with my iPhone and MacBook. I did my research on internet and came across these 2 speakers
1. Sonos Roam and
2. JBL Flip 6.

What's your suggestion on these speakers? I am open to go for something better in case you have something in mind.
Though portability is important, but sound, music quality, base and details are most important and for that if I have to go for something bit heavy to compromise portability I am OK with that. I will be buying a pair of these speakers and use them for stereo sound. For me smart speaker features like Apple play, Alexa and Google assistant are that that important, because I will be playing music for in house party using some DJ app and watch movies and Netflix

 

[UnknownSouljer]

It's pretty simple: size, sound quality, cost.
If you want better sound, expect increased size and cost.

Pick what you're willing to carry and spend, essentially. I've heard most every small portable bluetooth speaker and I will tell you straight up that none of them will replace a dedicated system. The limitations of a battery and the dimensions of the speakers themselves will always be the big limitations. You simply can't get as good a sound without an amp, and I'm referring to the internal amps that something like basic monitor speakers would have or something like Swan MK's. Similarly the dimensions of the cones themselves matter in terms of being able to reproduce tones. With small speakers never being able to adequately produce nice mids or lows.

That said the utility of a portable speaker mostly comes with the fact that it's... well... portable. The Flip 6 is more or less the generic choice to get, that is easily transportable and doesn't take too much space. The other major option is from UE with the "Boom" series. Both roughly sound the same, and generationaly they have traded blows. But at this point it's pretty level. I just wouldn't buy either with the expectation that they will "sound amazing", they will merely "get the job done", while hopefully sounding reasonably pleasant (non fatiguing). And I would definitely recommend never maxing out the volume on either as both will break up.

If you're trying to take your home audio or DJing "seriously", then I would look elsewhere for a loudspeaker and prepare to have a commensurate increase in price. A couple of bluetooth speakers will not fill a room when a party is raging and lots of convos are happening, but they will do a reasonable job for a dinner party where most people are having intimate conversation. In other words, enough for small to mid sized rooms and normal speaking tones, but not enough for people having a "par-tay" and jumping up and down or dancing.

I have heard the JBL BoomBox 3, and that will get you closer, it's basically an old school portable stereo "BoomBox" without the CD player/cassette deck. Gets louder, but again, not fantastic audio quality. JBL does make a loud speaker that's portable to meet your DJing use case called the Partybox. https://www.jbl.com/party-speakers/...TYBOX310-_color=Black-AM-Current&locale=en_US
The 310 looks like it's the actual size of a PA speaker that you would/could use for DJing if you had them in pairs. I think a standard PA speaker would cost less and likely sound better though without the need for the silly lights on the front.

Something like this: https://www.jbl.com/portable-pa-systems/EON710-NA-LS.html?cgid=portable-pa-systems
Or less if you can skip the "portable" moniker: https://www.jbl.com/powered-pa-spea...Black-GLOBAL-Current&cgid=powered-pa-speakers
JBL is after all one of the manufacturers of speaker equipment for concerts, venues, etc. The do have a range of professional loudspeakers that will reproduce sound significantly better than any standard small bluetooth speaker.

Anyway, that is a VERY short/small recap. With a wide range of costs and products. I'm not sure how seriously you're taking DJing or your home audio, suffice to say there are a lot of fantastic options, but it will come down to what you want to spend on this and what is reasonable for what you want to do. If you only want to spend $200 a speaker, then these last couple of options won't get you there, but I would probably look at Swans or similar for much better and louder sound for your home theater, doing double duty for house DJing.
Similarly the 530's go on sale often and if you're willing to invest in an AMP or receiver will do both home jobs nicely. https://www.jbl.com/loudspeakers/STUDIO+530BK.html?dwvar_STUDIO 530BK_color=Black-USA-Current&cgid=loudspeakers
They've been brought up in the deals section consistently and can go down to as low as $150 a speaker. Which is absolutely insane in terms of quality to performance.

 

[maverick786us]

It's pretty simple: size, sound quality, cost.
If you want better sound, expect increased size and cost.

Pick what you're willing to carry and spend, essentially. I've heard most every small portable bluetooth speaker and I will tell you straight up that none of them will replace a dedicated system. The limitations of a battery and the dimensions of the speakers themselves will always be the big limitations. You simply can't get as good a sound without an amp, and I'm referring to the internal amps that something like basic monitor speakers would have or something like Swan MK's. Similarly the dimensions of the cones themselves matter in terms of being able to reproduce tones. With small speakers never being able to adequately produce nice mids or lows.

That said the utility of a portable speaker mostly comes with the fact that it's... well... portable. The Flip 6 is more or less the generic choice to get, that is easily transportable and doesn't take too much space. The other major option is from UE with the "Boom" series. Both roughly sound the same, and generationaly they have traded blows. But at this point it's pretty level. I just wouldn't buy either with the expectation that they will "sound amazing", they will merely "get the job done", while hopefully sounding reasonably pleasant (non fatiguing). And I would definitely recommend never maxing out the volume on either as both will break up.

If you're trying to take your home audio or DJing "seriously", then I would look elsewhere for a loudspeaker and prepare to have a commensurate increase in price. A couple of bluetooth speakers will not fill a room when a party is raging and lots of convos are happening, but they will do a reasonable job for a dinner party where most people are having intimate conversation. In other words, enough for small to mid sized rooms and normal speaking tones, but not enough for people having a "par-tay" and jumping up and down or dancing.

I have heard the JBL BoomBox 3, and that will get you closer, it's basically an old school portable stereo "BoomBox" without the CD player/cassette deck. Gets louder, but again, not fantastic audio quality. JBL does make a loud speaker that's portable to meet your DJing use case called the Partybox. https://www.jbl.com/party-speakers/...TYBOX310-_color=Black-AM-Current&locale=en_US
The 310 looks like it's the actual size of a PA speaker that you would/could use for DJing if you had them in pairs. I think a standard PA speaker would cost less and likely sound better though without the need for the silly lights on the front.

Something like this: https://www.jbl.com/portable-pa-systems/EON710-NA-LS.html?cgid=portable-pa-systems
Or less if you can skip the "portable" moniker: https://www.jbl.com/powered-pa-spea...Black-GLOBAL-Current&cgid=powered-pa-speakers
JBL is after all one of the manufacturers of speaker equipment for concerts, venues, etc. The do have a range of professional loudspeakers that will reproduce sound significantly better than any standard small bluetooth speaker.

Anyway, that is a VERY short/small recap. With a wide range of costs and products. I'm not sure how seriously you're taking DJing or your home audio, suffice to say there are a lot of fantastic options, but it will come down to what you want to spend on this and what is reasonable for what you want to do. If you only want to spend $200 a speaker, then these last couple of options won't get you there, but I would probably look at Swans or similar for much better and louder sound for your home theater, doing double duty for house DJing.
Similarly the 530's go on sale often and if you're willing to invest in an AMP or receiver will do both home jobs nicely. https://www.jbl.com/loudspeakers/STUDIO+530BK.html?dwvar_STUDIO 530BK_color=Black-USA-Current&cgid=loudspeakers
They've been brought up in the deals section consistently and can go down to as low as $150 a speaker. Which is absolutely insane in terms of quality to performance.

Ok I just went through the review of JBL 310. Like I said I am ready to compromise size, weight and battery for better, louder sound with deep bass and details. So yes I do like 310 and the price looks great. Now I am a layman in this domain. I have small to medium sized room, Do I need a to buy a pair of these 310s to actually feel play the music in stereo or do these gigantic speakers have some 360 degree stereo sound in single speaker mode?

 

[UnknownSouljer]

Ok I just went through the review of JBL 310. Like I said I am ready to compromise size, weight and battery for better, louder sound with deep bass and details. So yes I do like 310 and the price looks great. Now I am a layman in this domain. I have small to medium sized room, Do I need a to buy a pair of these 310s to actually feel play the music in stereo or do these gigantic speakers have some 360 degree stereo sound in single speaker mode?

It is possible to pair two of the same model of JBL PartyBox speakers together through TWS (True Wireless Stereo) mode.

PartyBox On-The-Go/100:
Connect just the left PartyBox with the chosen device first, with the right PartyBox turned off. The speaker that is connected first will automatically be the left channel. Now turn the right PartyBox on and continue with TWS pairing (detailed below).

PartyBox 200/300/1000:
A button (L/R) on the rear of the speakers is used to assign the correct channel to the speakers after pairing is made.
In order to activate TWS mode, press and hold the Bluetooth button on the first speaker until the notification chime sounds, about 5 seconds. Then press and hold the Bluetooth button on the second speaker until the notification chime sounds (as seen below). TWS mode is now activated. To disable TWS, press and hold the Bluetooth button on either speaker, or power off one speaker.

Partybox 110/310/710/Encore/Essential:
Press the buttons labelled TWS on both speakers to connect the speakers in TWS mode (pictured in item 2 in the image below, with two speakers on the button).

TWS can be activated and deactivated remotely in the JBL Partybox app, in addition to assigning the left and right channels to the correct speakers.
Once the TWS connection is setup, it will be in Stereo mode by default if both speakers are the same model, otherwise the speakers will be in Party mode by default if different Partybox models are used. You can also switch between Stereo and Party mode in the JBL PartyBox app if two of the same Partybox models are used.

Please note: In order to achieve TWS mode, the speaker must be the same model with the exception of the PartyBox 200 and PartyBox 300 which can be paired together via TWS. You cannot achieve TWS with a PartyBox 1000 and a PartyBox 300. You cannot achieve TWS with a PartyBox 100 and PartyBox 200. However, it is possible to connect a maximum of two of either the Partybox 110, 310, 710 or Encore/Essential together in Party mode - the two speakers then do not need to be the same model, but Stereo mode will not be possible.

 

[UnknownSouljer]

Ok I just went through the review of JBL 310. Like I said I am ready to compromise size, weight and battery for better, louder sound with deep bass and details. So yes I do like 310 and the price looks great. Now I am a layman in this domain. I have small to medium sized room, Do I need a to buy a pair of these 310s to actually feel play the music in stereo

How much "stereo sound" matters for a party is... well up to debate. You likely don't "need" two. No one listening to this is going to be focused on stereo separation while at a party.

or do these gigantic speakers have some 360 degree stereo sound in single speaker mode?

The speakers are on one side of the enclosure, by definition it is directional. Sticking one in a corner is likely "good enough" for a small to medium sized room to get the whole room. If you want more and stereo, you can do that, but it's not necessary.

 

[maverick786us]

How much "stereo sound" matters for a party is... well up to debate. You likely don't "need" two. No one listening to this is going to be focused on stereo separation while at a party.

The speakers are on one side of the enclosure, by definition it is directional. Sticking one in a corner is likely "good enough" for a small to medium sized room to get the whole room. If you want more and stereo, you can do that, but it's not necessary.

Thanks, this weekend I will go and check it before finally making up my mind