Hi all.
I’ve been looking for a pretty idiosyncratic Bluetooth speaker. Something that sounds good, isn’t in any way smart, and is just mains-powered.
Basically, I want something small for my small bedroom. No batteries to die, no unnecessary “smart” nonsense, just a fairly decent sound to listen to music/radio or podcasts from my laptop or phone.
Any suggestions?
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They’re actually small enough that they’d work for what I want, and the reviews seem promising. Only issue is they aren’t available in the uk… however, that’s close enough for me to look for something similar, thanks!
I work in audio/music production and even to me it sounds like you’ve recommended a mix between a guitar amp and a spaceship
I’m not a particular audiophile, but I’ve been impressed with the sound from my little Klipsch The One II
That looks like exactly what I’m talking about! Aesthetics aside, it looks very similar indeed to my Riva Turbo+, but without the battery. Unlike a lot of these things, that looks like quite a big lad, with room for some proper bass. How’s it sound?
I’ve been very impressed with the richness of the sound that comes out of such a moderately sized box. It’s certainly not a hifi surround system, but it’s a huge upgrade from the little rechargeable unit i had before.
Overall, very happy with it.
I have been using these for a while, and I love them.
Little monitors are a good shout. I’ll probably have to find something with forward-facing ports, as space won’t allow me to have any space behind them, but I think there’s a few that’ll fit the bill
Anker Soundcore 3 is a good choice (even if it’s battery powered you can just leave it plugged in).
If you don’t mind using Wi-Fi, a used Sonos One (or Play:1) might work well for you.
I don’t mind Wi-Fi etc, it’s the “oops, it turns out our employees have been listening to all your conversations, and having a good laugh while they do, and we’re using them to train our ai too” part of smart speakers I dislike. A used Sonos might be fairly good actually. How do you rate their sound, and do they run Spotify/apple play on them do you know? Playing music over Wi-Fi, and just controlling it via Bluetooth is definitely better for sound quality!
The Sonos sound quality is quite good. You can even use your phone to “tune” it with their app.
You can control most Sonos remotely with Spotify Connect or Apple AirPlay. If you use the Sonos app you can integrate all of your music streaming services and do it from there as well.
There’s a way to turn the mic off, but some models don’t have a mic (cheaper too) - the Sonos One SL doesn’t have a microphone.
Something by Edifier or Micca with an inbuilt amplifier. You can also check Creative Labs desktop multimedia speakers.
The no battery and mains powered pretty much nukes all good options I know, including the small one I actually bought for my own use (Marshall Emberton II).
Best regards.
I would suggest you get something like a 2.0 fossi amp and some cheap Edifier bookshelf speakers if portability isn’t needed.
They’re all pretty budget but will sound better for the price than integrated stuff is. Plus you can later use the speakers or the amp for other things.
Buying amps and speakers separately generally gives more bang for buck and choices.
That would be my normal route, but until I get to doing some remodelling, my bedroom is pretty tiny, and I generally won’t be using this for anything except quiet soundtrack while I read, or podcasts etc. I’ve got a lovely pair of Mission bookshelf speakers to go in eventually, but at the moment between them, the amp, and the cabling, it would be messy and inconvenient. I couldn’t separate them much either, so the soundstage wouldn’t be great. I’m just after something small to keep me sane before I can fit them in!
Yeah ok. I remain eternally sceptical than any Bluetooth integrated budget offerings are gonna be worth the landfill space they’ll fill later on but I’m curious if anyone here can recommend something that isn’t arse as I wouldn’t mind something for podcasts while cooking myself.
I’m not too bothered about it being all that budget, though if I can find something like the Klipsch The One ii suggested below for a nice price 2nd hand I’d be happy. Going down a bit of a rabbit hole reading about the Klipsch job has also led me to look at the B&W a5. They come up at good used prices by the look of things, and get stellar reviews for sound quality. I also have a really fussy mate that has one of their portable jobs, and he loves that. Like his living room is full of Focal gear, but he’s happy using the B&W portable in his kitchen. I’ll see what I end up getting, and let you know how I like it
Soundcore Motion+ or one of the other speakers in their line. It’s an Anker-owned company, the specs fit your list of requirements and it does still have a beefy battery if you decide you need it temporarily. USB C for power and can be run from a USB power brick. I think mine sounds pretty good for what it is.
I only make this recommendation because you asked for a speaker (singular). I agree with the other recommendations though. Dedicated speakers and an amp with Bluetooth input would probably be better.
I’ve got an old Riva Turbo+, which was excellent, but the Bluetooth’s got janky, and the battery is pretty much useless. I don’t find myself using it as a mobile speaker ever, as I have a Dewalt one that runs off my tool batteries. Rather than own another chunk of slowly deteriorating lithium that I don’t need, I was really hoping to find something without batteries in.
