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Topic: What's the least bad portable speaker you've come across? (Read 14099 times) previous topic - next topic
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What's the least bad portable speaker you've come across?

Sometimes when I'm hanging with my friends, I'd like to listen to music, but can't afford really nice big speakers that also aren't portable. What's the least bad iPod doc or portable speaker you've come across? I realize none will be that great. By portable I mean under 2 feet by a foot.

What's the least bad portable speaker you've come across?

Reply #1 –
I suggest you go to a retail store and listen to some speakers.

What's your budget?

There are lots of small studio monitors but they generally start at around $100 USD a pair.  Also, most monitors are AC powered and I don't know if you'd consider AC powered speakers "portable".

What's the least bad portable speaker you've come across?

Reply #2 –
What do you consider "least bad" or, equivalently, best? Do you want flat frequency response? My impression is that highly portable speakers such as the Soundlink Mini aren't designed to deliver that.

EDIT: I also would rule out docks. You said you want to use these when hanging around with friends. I recommend a Bluetooth-enabled portable speaker so that everyone around can play a tune from their smartphone.

What's the least bad portable speaker you've come across?

Reply #3 –
Quote from: peterh on
Sometimes when I'm hanging with my friends, I'd like to listen to music, but can't afford really nice big speakers that also aren't portable. What's the least bad iPod doc or portable speaker you've come across? I realize none will be that great. By portable I mean under 2 feet by a foot.


LSR 305s or 308s seem to fit into your size constraints. They are self-powered but their input terminals are XLR and TRS connectors so a suitable adapter cable or combination of them would need to be contrived to interface with the usual run of portable players.

They have plastic enclosures so they will be resistant to scratches and dings when moved about casually.  The larger ones (LSR308) weigh about 20 pounds a piece, but the smaller ones (LSR305) only weigh about half as much. Good enough to use as main speakers in a pretty impressive home system or as studio monitors, and plenty of dynamic range if you decide to use them outdoors.

IME their power demands are quite low if not pushed to high PA levels. Besides being able to plug into just about any electrical power outlet in the world with a suitable power cord, they should run well off of a small inverter.



What's the least bad portable speaker you've come across?

Reply #4 –
"What do you consider "least bad" or, equivalently, best? Do you want flat frequency response? My impression is that highly portable speakers such as the Soundlink Mini aren't designed to deliver that."

I don't care about the frequency since I can always EQ that. Just something g that doesn't sound to cheap.

BTW I can afford something up to around 400$. I think something 20 inches by 10 inches by 10 inches is portable. I think the specs I posted in the OP are a little to big come to think of it.

What's the least bad portable speaker you've come across?

Reply #5 –
Quote from: peterh on
"What do you consider "least bad" or, equivalently, best? Do you want flat frequency response? My impression is that highly portable speakers such as the Soundlink Mini aren't designed to deliver that."

I don't care about the frequency since I can always EQ that. Just something g that doesn't sound to cheap.

BTW I can afford something up to around 400$. I think something 20 inches by 10 inches by 10 inches is portable. I think the specs I posted in the OP are a little to big come to think of it.

By 'portable', do you mean a compact mains-powered speaker setup you can carry about, or something truly portable, i.e. battery-powered for use absolutely anywhere?

What's the least bad portable speaker you've come across?

Reply #6 –
Quote from: JabbaThePrawn on
Quote from: peterh on
"What do you consider "least bad" or, equivalently, best? Do you want flat frequency response? My impression is that highly portable speakers such as the Soundlink Mini aren't designed to deliver that."

I don't care about the frequency since I can always EQ that. Just something g that doesn't sound to cheap.

BTW I can afford something up to around 400$. I think something 20 inches by 10 inches by 10 inches is portable. I think the specs I posted in the OP are a little to big come to think of it.

By 'portable', do you mean a compact mains-powered speaker setup you can carry about, or something truly portable, i.e. battery-powered for use absolutely anywhere?


Either one is fine, either way I can just plug it in when I'm listening with my friends.

Has anyone tried the Deepblue2? http://www.amazon.com/Peachtree-Audio-Deep...words=deepblue2

What's the least bad portable speaker you've come across?

Reply #7 –
I do have a pair of Genelec 8010s.



I take them with me in my backpack twice a week. The casing is cast aluminium. I've accidently knocked them from my desk twice, but there isn't a scratch nor dent on them. I think they are the best portable speakers on the market these days, but at ~ € 550 a pair they aren't cheap.
Music: sounds arranged such that they construct feelings.

What's the least bad portable speaker you've come across?

Reply #8 –
Quote from: JabbaThePrawn on
Quote from: peterh on
"What do you consider "least bad" or, equivalently, best? Do you want flat frequency response? My impression is that highly portable speakers such as the Soundlink Mini aren't designed to deliver that."

I don't care about the frequency since I can always EQ that. Just something g that doesn't sound to cheap.

BTW I can afford something up to around 400$. I think something 20 inches by 10 inches by 10 inches is portable. I think the specs I posted in the OP are a little to big come to think of it.

By 'portable', do you mean a compact mains-powered speaker setup you can carry about, or something truly portable, i.e. battery-powered for use absolutely anywhere?



I' m thinking the latter.  I'm thinking he doesn't want to tote around a pair of studio monitors, for example..

What's the least bad portable speaker you've come across?

Reply #9 –
Yes.  Headphone-level (with the volume turned-up) is close enough to line-level.  And, the JBLs have a sensitivity switch. 

Of course, you'll need the appropriate adapter cables.  You probably won't find the exact adapter.    You'll probably need a couple of adapters/cables...  a 1/4" to RCA for each speaker and a stereo 3.5mm to RCA cable..

Do NOT use a "stereo" 3.5mm TRS to 1/4" TRS cable!      The iPod has a 3.5mm TRS stereo connection and the monitor has a mono balanced 1/4" TRS or XLR connector...    If you connect a stereo input to one speaker you'll be feeding left & right channels into the monitors balanced input, the left & right will subtract and you'll loose the "center" information that's similar in both speakers (lead vocals, lead instruments, bass, etc.).

Note that you'll need a pair of speakers/monitors to hear the left & right channels.

What's the least bad portable speaker you've come across?

Reply #10 –
Quote
I take them with me in my backpack twice a week. The casing is cast aluminium. I've accidently knocked them from my desk twice,
That brings-up a good point.  Monitors don't generally have a grill cover so the drivers are vulnerable to damage.

What's the least bad portable speaker you've come across?

Reply #11 –
"Yes. Headphone-level (with the volume turned-up) is close enough to line-level. And, the JBLs have a sensitivity switch"

What do you mean by this? BTW you reference the plural "speakers" I thought it was just one speaker.

http://www.amazon.com/JBL-Professional-LSR...r/dp/B00E8CEW7I

What's the least bad portable speaker you've come across?

Reply #12 –
Quote from: peterh on
"Yes. Headphone-level (with the volume turned-up) is close enough to line-level. And, the JBLs have a sensitivity switch"

What do you mean by this?
Am I imagining things?  I thought you asked if it would work with an iPod.

Quote
BTW you reference the plural "speakers" I thought it was just one speaker.
They are sold individually, but I assume you are listening to stereo recordings (with different sounds in the left & right channels).  And I assume you don't want to throw-away the sound from the left or right channel.

What's the least bad portable speaker you've come across?

Reply #13 –
I haven't heard one in person, but the DIY "Boominator" sounds like a fun outdoor party machine:

https://www.facebook.com/theboominator

There's at least a couple of other variants including a Mini-Boominator.

And for what it's worth, I went on a Bluetooth speaker binge a year or two ago and tried these:

Bose Soundlink II
Bose Soundlink Mini

They get nice and loud for the size, but I could not achieve very flat frequency response in my room. Bass seemed to be tipped up ~+5 dB @ 150 Hz or thereabouts, treble seemed to roll off below 12 kHz. Maybe they'd have worked better outdoors or in a larger space? Mini's high frequency response fell sharply off-axis. Still, 60 Hz from the Mini and 50 Hz from the SL II is nothing to sneeze at. Replaceable battery: Yes, requires Torx screwdriver.

Carbon Audio Pocket Speaker (aka Boomphones Pocket Speaker)

Very much liked this slender dipole design, but my first one died, and both it and it's replacement were always sort of balky when pairing via Bluetooth. Has too-loud startup sound and voice prompts but gets surprisingly loud and low for such a small device.Replaceable battery: No.

FoxL V2

Amazing how much sound a pocket-sized device can generate. Not-very-smooth frequency response seemed to have a considerable dip between where the active drivers left off and where the passive radiator began. More of a quiet-room system than a party machine though. Version 2 supports AptX Bluetooth. Replaceable battery: Yes, must return to factory.

JBL Charge (original)

This seemed touchier than most with respect to placement and in most settings showed a rise around 5 kHz and bass rolling off around 150 Hz IIRC so often crisp if a bit lean-sounding. I did find a killer location in my apartment where response really flattened out and it was the best-sounding beer can! Too bad it wasn't a handy location. Charge 2 seems to have a very different (maybe more forgiving?) frequency response. Replaceable battery: No.

Lon Pocket Speaker

Cute $30 cube has only modest output before obvious distortion sets in, but frequency response measured surprisingly flat, at least @ 10 cm on-axis. I was using it with my office computer until someone walked off with it  Replaceable battery: No.

Sony SRS-BTV5

Loved the egg-like size and styling. Didn't measure it but expect it would have looked pretty peaky and mostly geared towards delivering crisp vocals. The egg styling did have a problem: Too easily rolled around! Replaceable battery: No.

TDK A33

Ken Rockwell liked it and so did I: Relatively cheap, gets decently loud, not too fussy re placement. I seem to recall frequency response measuring decently flat. Splash-resistant-ish (but not enough to garner an IPX rating). Short-ish battery life; I think I was seeing ~4 hours. Replaceable battery: Easy access, but you may have to fabricate your own replacement pack, uses what appear to be standard flat-top NiMH AA cells soldered together.

Braven BRV1

In some ways my favorite BT speaker to date. Have not yet measured it, but expect it'll be relatively flat). Great battery life, probably the most likely to survive abuse of all the portable speakers I've tested to date.  Volume seems limited but on the other hand, I have never heard it distort either. Replaceable battery: No.

What's the least bad portable speaker you've come across?

Reply #14 –
You may find this interesting

http://www.ottsonic.net/new-studio/

I've just ordered one so I will let you know whether his claims are accurate. Ps he is a famous producer of electronic a of high quality

What's the least bad portable speaker you've come across?

Reply #15 –
Quote from: DVDdoug on
Quote from: peterh on
"Yes. Headphone-level (with the volume turned-up) is close enough to line-level. And, the JBLs have a sensitivity switch"

What do you mean by this?
Am I imagining things?  I thought you asked if it would work with an iPod.

Quote
BTW you reference the plural "speakers" I thought it was just one speaker.
They are sold individually, but I assume you are listening to stereo recordings (with different sounds in the left & right channels).  And I assume you don't want to throw-away the sound from the left or right channel.


I was just confused about what you meant by line level but now I understand. Is there any way to make both channels come out of one speaker, like if I just used a 1 pronged cable such as this http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004LTEUD...=UTF8&psc=1? Otherwise the speakers will be to large for me to carry around. I'm ok with dealing with a more squished image for more portability.

What's the least bad portable speaker you've come across?

Reply #16 –
Quote
Is there any way to make both channels come out of one speaker
A cable or adapter won't do it. 

The cleanest solution would be to make mono files.  You can do that with Audacity (free).    But that's extra work, and you'd have to keep mono & stereo music libraries. 

Or, Here is an example of a small mixer.  this is a passive mixer.  It doesn't require power.

What's the least bad portable speaker you've come across?

Reply #17 –
Quote from: peterh on
Otherwise the speakers will be to large for me to carry around.

My two Genelec 8010s still fit in your '20 inches by 10 inches by 10 inches' requirement, they're 8 inch high, 5 inch deep and 4.5 inch wide. You could actually fit 8 (!) of those speakers in the described space.
Music: sounds arranged such that they construct feelings.

What's the least bad portable speaker you've come across?

Reply #18 –
Even my M-Audio BX5 D2s fit into those dimensions  -- I wouldn't call those portable (EDIT: is 10kgs portable?), but hey. They're about half the price of ktf's Genelec 8010s. But if you've got the cash I'd certainly be looking at ktf's suggestion ^ (or something similar) -- no need for just one speaker with 20x10x10", surely? 

C.
PC = TAK + LossyWAV  ::  Portable = Opus (130)

What's the least bad portable speaker you've come across?

Reply #19 –
Quote from: Arnold B. Krueger on
LSR 305s or 308s seem to fit into your size constraints. They are self-powered but their input terminals are XLR and TRS connectors so a suitable adapter cable or combination of them would need to be contrived to interface with the usual run of portable players.


I haven't listened to JBLs in a long time - their 60s and 70s "bookshelf" speakers always sounded very forward in the mids and bass-shy.  Have they improved?

What's the least bad portable speaker you've come across?

Reply #20 –
An entirely different kind of product, that I only heard of this week, is the Riva Turbo X. If I had enough money in the "from what people say, this is worth a try" budget I'd give it... a try.  But it exceeds that budget several times over.
The most important audio cables are the ones in the brain

What's the least bad portable speaker you've come across?

Reply #21 –
Hey, does anyone know of a good external eq that can be powered by a computer or iPod to go with my llsr 305's?

What's the least bad portable speaker you've come across?

Reply #22 –
Quote from: peterh on
Hey, does anyone know of a good external eq that can be powered by a computer or iPod to go with my lad 305's?


Just install on on the computer?  Or use the built in one on the iPod (although it will be a bit limited).

What's the least bad portable speaker you've come across?

Reply #23 –
Quote from: saratoga on
Quote from: peterh on
Hey, does anyone know of a good external eq that can be powered by a computer or iPod to go with my lad 305's?


Just install on on the computer?  Or use the built in one on the iPod (although it will be a bit limited).

But that can't eq it if other people want to play their music.