Best portable bluetooth speaker

Best portable bluetooth speaker

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Discussion

J012E

Original Poster:

91 posts

130 months

Thursday 21st May 2015
quotequote all
Evening all,

Looking to be a 'mid' sized portable bluetooth speaker and having done a fair amount of research, it is between

1) Cambridge audio go v2
2) Sony srs x5
3) Bose soundlink mini

They all seem comparable on review sites and youtube Bose is a fair amount more (40% more expensive). I have heard any of them myself as not one retailer stocks all 3.

So have any of you guys got any experience with any of these or all 3 ideally? Thanks for the help

talkssense

1,336 posts

201 months

Friday 22nd May 2015
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Link is to AUS apple store as no one has reviewed in the Uk one yet. £299

http://store.apple.com/au/product/HH022X/A/bo-beop...

petop

2,135 posts

165 months

Tuesday 26th May 2015
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I have a Bose one out here in Afghanistan. Use it in the office and then take it out into the 4x4 on the dashboard to provide some tunes. Its gets thrown around, covered in dust and generally has some dodgy music go through it but its still going strong. Apparently you can also buy offline some different covers for it to give it some protection and colour change. Yes its a little more expensive although out here im buying it for about 110 pounds.

toon10

6,140 posts

156 months

Wednesday 27th May 2015
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I got the Bose in the States last year. It's a brilliant piece of kit for it's size. Sound quality, volume and bass are very impresssive. A bit higher up the ladder is the new B&W but it's just a bit too big to be truly portable for travelling for my taste. I can't comment on your other options unfortunately. The Bose is definately worth the money if that helps. I use it a lot. In fact I use it in the bedroom instead of a hi-fi and take it into the bathroom for a quick music fix when having a long bath.

Edited by toon10 on Wednesday 27th May 13:11

Zoon

6,654 posts

120 months

Wednesday 27th May 2015
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Have a look at Denon Avaya, I have the smaller one and it sounds great.
Waterproof as well.

willyjc

328 posts

188 months

Wednesday 27th May 2015
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Possibly another suggestion...I bought a JBL Charge whilst in the States on a trip and it's great - sonically it outperforms my (7 yr old) Bose Sound-dock. Has a USB port on the back which allows you to charge another device of it should a) the need arrive and b) you have the appropriate lead. Thought it was a gimmick but actually found myself using it when stuck at an airport recently and couldn't get near my (packed) adaptor.

http://www.techradar.com/reviews/gadgets/ipods-and...

surfymark

886 posts

230 months

Monday 1st June 2015
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I have a Cambridge Audio Go V2 and it is absolutely brilliant!

It also has the USB port on the back to charge another device and the battery lasts for a very long time (takes quite a while to charge but that doesn't matter really).

I find the audio quality pretty good and it is fairly loud (loud enough for a moderately large room).

HTH
M

bigdom

2,072 posts

144 months

Monday 1st June 2015
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I have the original minirig, I just cable or use a Bluetooth receiver - awesome little thing. They now do a BT version. They can be daisy chained, they also do a separate sub, which takes portable speakers to another level.

http://minirigs.co.uk/portable-speaker

RammyMP

6,729 posts

152 months

Monday 1st June 2015
quotequote all
willyjc said:
Possibly another suggestion...I bought a JBL Charge whilst in the States on a trip and it's great - sonically it outperforms my (7 yr old) Bose Sound-dock. Has a USB port on the back which allows you to charge another device of it should a) the need arrive and b) you have the appropriate lead. Thought it was a gimmick but actually found myself using it when stuck at an airport recently and couldn't get near my (packed) adaptor.

http://www.techradar.com/reviews/gadgets/ipods-and...
After reading the reviews on the Techradar website I might invest in a UE Mini Boom for my holidays.

FuzzyLogic

1,636 posts

237 months

Tuesday 2nd June 2015
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J012E said:
Evening all,

Looking to be a 'mid' sized portable bluetooth speaker and having done a fair amount of research, it is between

1) Cambridge audio go v2
2) Sony srs x5
3) Bose soundlink mini

They all seem comparable on review sites and youtube Bose is a fair amount more (40% more expensive). I have heard any of them myself as not one retailer stocks all 3.

So have any of you guys got any experience with any of these or all 3 ideally? Thanks for the help
I think you also need to consider the UE (Ultimate Ears) Boom. I spent a lot of time listening and comparing the UE Boom, Bose soundlink and the Cambridge.. I went with the UE Boom. Nice and portable, standalone (doesn't have a base / docking unit), sounds extremely good, battery lasts 6+ hours on one charge and you can also pair them up using the UE app. The app also gives you a remote method of controlling the equalisation / bass / treble etc. The UE also goes louder without distortion and the sound is more 'surrounding' than the rather 'directional' sound from the Bose.

You can buy them for a lot less at a 'travel Dixons' at most airports than you can online. Find a Currys or similar and take some music you know well & test them back to back.. Its personal preference at the end of the day



StuH

2,557 posts

272 months

Tuesday 2nd June 2015
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Zoon said:
Have a look at Denon Avaya, I have the smaller one and it sounds great.
Waterproof as well.
yes

Fantastic value at 119! Blows my previous Bose soundlink and Cambridge go into the weeds!

kazste

5,663 posts

197 months

Wednesday 3rd June 2015
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Another one here who has bose soundlink mini very impressed with both sound and looks.