Bluetooth Speaker Reviews

[Sheboat]

I am looking at purchasing a Bluetooth portable speaker with good enough sound to play at a campground or on the back of the swim deck. I liked the sound of the JBL Charge but not sure it has the power to hear while you are splashing in the water 15' behind the boat. Then I listened to the Klipsch KMC 3 which had amazing sound and would definitely be heard well by swimmers but is twice the price. Does anyone here use a portable speaker off the swim deck they use? I would love to get some feedback on what products you prefer.
Thanks,
Amy

 

[GiddYupJoe]

We have the jawbone jam box (I have never used it on the boat) it sounds great for the size and ease of portability. I would imagine the portable Bose units are of equal or greater quality. Looking at the price of the kmc3 though.... If you already like the quality of that unit Im not sure if you will find the quality you are looking at under$200. But I guess that's why you asked the question!

 

[Murf'n'surf]

The KMC3 is a nice unit but does not have recharge capabilities. You might end up spending a pretty penny on batteries unless you are using an inverter on the boat.

 

[Master-Spud]

Love my bose soundlink... Has decent battery life, sounds great for its size and is nice and portable. Just a little on the expensive side, but would still buy it again.

 

[mark_m]

We use the big jambox by jawbone. It is excellent for use in the boat. Pair with a phone streaming pandora all day on the water! Works great. It has worked well enough for me to defer buying a house battery... For now

 

[ratchetdu]

We were at a BBQ this past weekend and they had one made by ion. He picked it up at sams club for $100. It sounded awesome and was still loud clear late in the day. Says he's taken it camping and to the lake, and used all weekend. 50hrs battery life claim and he hasn't ran it dead after a weekend. I'm considering one myself to replace my homemade cooler stereo...

 

[txav8r]

Don't spend big bucks on a water environment unit. All the fancy delay and frequency separation that Bose, Yamaha, and other companies do, is for taking advantage of a "room", not for open air reproduction. A nice pair of BT patio speakers might do pretty well, but again, the environment on the back of boat is significantly different than a patio. I think wanting first hand reports is a great way to go!

 

[Paulie]

I use an Altec Lansing imt 800 for camping and outdoor parties. I always look for people to challenge its sound quality. I have yet to be beaten. It blows away any of the Bose units. But it is not Bluetooth. With that being said, I have listened to the Klipsch KMC 3 and it is the closest thing in quality to my AL unit that I have found. That is the unit I would buy if I was looking for a replacement. It's also down to $199 on amazon currently. The batteries you will replace will be worth the improvement in sound quality.

 

[mark_m]

We use the big jambox by jawbone. It is excellent for use in the boat. Pair with a phone streaming pandora all day on the water! Works great. It has worked well enough for me to defer buying a house battery... For now

Seriously the big jambox is excellent, sound quality is 8.5 / 10 it has great miss and highs the low end drops out with increased volume. I picked up the white unit from Amazon for 219 on special last May. Love it.

It features full duplex speakerphone capabilities and is a snap to pair with Bluetooth. My wife uses it on the treadmill in lieu of home theater setup in basement because of easy pairing with her iphone.

Rarely does it need to be recharged definitely seems like two days use no problem between charges. We used it tailgating and had no problem running all day and night.


http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0061JPXLU

Let me know if you have any specific questions or want pics, etc

Mark

 

[Zarrella]

I have a Bose unit and it sounds awesome!

 

[Gumbeaux]

I have the JBL charge and it is indeed nice, but if I had to do it over I would spring for the Bose. The sound is much much bigger. If it were likely to get wet, I would find another option...

 

[PaulyB]

http://www.ionaudio.com/products/details/block-rocker-bluetooth-ipa56c these things are awesome, they last forever and put out all the sound you will need. A few of my friends and I went to Jamaica for vacation last year and took one of these as our "carry on" luggage... Most people at our resort loved it when we showed up to the beach or the pool bar.....

 

[kthrash]

Love my bose soundlink... Has decent battery life, sounds great for its size and is nice and portable. Just a little on the expensive side, but would still buy it again.

Second the Bose Soundlink..

 

[Seadeals]

I have a pair of Jam2 speakers for portable audio needs (frequently used around a campfire). They pair to each other for true stereo sound when placing them apart. My sound system on the boat works for swimming but these do fit in cup holders well. You may want something more powerful for daytime party music; but for evening chill time, they are great and a very cheap way to try out Bluetooth audio.

 

[soggyshoes]

My wife has the Logitech UE Boom. We really like it. It is omnidirectional which can be great of bad depending on the situation. We have gotten our wet from rain and splashing and it hasn't missed a beat. In the store we had the sales lady walk all around the store with every Bluetooth speaker they had including the Bose and we liked the sound of the UE Boom better especially at a distance. It also maintained streaming connection for a longer distance. They are also rugged. Ours has taken a good 5 foot fall onto a stone patio with no problem.
This moght be helpful. It is a C-net list of all their reviewed speakers. http://www.cnet.com/topics/speakers/best-speakers/bluetooth/