Travelling Tunes

The Smartphone is without a shadow of doubt, one of the best things to have happened to personal entertainment. The same Is, however, not true for Smartphone speakers. Practically dismal across the board, Smartphone speakers can only do so much—we mean, you just can't get very good sound out of a small, flat device that is designed primarily to fit in your pocket. Fortunately, now you can pick from a slew of portable Bluetooth speakers that not only amp up the tunes whether you’re home or on the go, but do so without the entanglement and encumbrances of wires and, best of all, since they work over Bluetooth, they work with the Smartphone platform of your choosing. Here’s our pick of the best Bluetooth speakers to suit your need and budget.

JBL Pulse

This stands out in this category for one single reason: the wraparound LEDs that pulsate with the music and bring the party, disco lighting and all, to your living room! Pair it with your mobile using Bluetooth or NFC (Near field communication), place the tube-shaped speaker horizontally or vertically, and the array of colored LEDs behind the grille light up and glow in different colours. You can even vary the light effects and brightness to suit your mood. Sonically, this is loud enough to fill a small room with balanced sound that’s a tad weak on the bass. Great for those who entertain at home. Buy for: Cool looks, good sound and a novel party trick; Avoid: Weak bass, light tricks command a price premium; Price: Rs. 14,990. Consider JBL FLIP II Wireless Portable Speaker (Rs. 7,990) without the son et lumière!

Marshall Stanmore

This stands alone in the vast ocean of Bluetooth speakers. Marrying retro styling with cutting edge sound quality, the Marshall Stanmore boasts of a built-in bass unit and is capable of clean and distortion-free sound even at high levels. Analog knobs let you tweak bass and treble levels to pump out music suited to your ears, and the result is room filling sound that is rich and really satisfying. Sure, this isn’t a portable speaker in the truest sense of the word—it’s heftier than the rest of the lot and there’s no built-in battery, but it does add in RCA and optical inputs and is our recommended Bluetooth speaker for a home setup. Go ahead, connect it to your phone, pull up that footstool, lean back, and listen. Buy for: Stellar sound quality, excellent build and a surefire conversation starter; Avoid: Faux guitar amp looks may not be for everyone, not portable, and yes, it is pricey. Price: Rs. 35,00. 

 HDMX Jam Plus

The Jam Plus is a good pick if you’re working off a slim budget, but the reason it earns a recommendation is that for the same price as many speakers in this segment, the Jam Plus adds the option of simultaneous two-speaker wireless streaming, enabling two monaural Jam Plus units to work together as stereo sound sources for Bluetooth-equipped iPods, iPhones, and iPads. It’s a rare feature to find in Bluetooth speakers at the moment, and certainly none are in a form-factor as small or at a price point as affordable as the Jam Plus. Typical of its price point though, the Jam Plus’ sound distorts at high volumes and the treble is occasionally harsh. Buy for: Wireless steaming stereo audio on a budget, five color options; Avoid: Average looks and about acceptable sound for its price, no speakerphone. Price: Rs. 3,990.

Jabra Solemate

Fancy a rugged, portable speaker for your outdoorsy lifestyle? The Sole mate from the house of Jabra should be on your shortlist. The Solemate boasts of a metal and rubber build that makes it dust and Splash resistant and, the rubble base includes a housing for its included 13-inch, 3.5mm audio cable, Should you wish to run these speakers wired, old school style. Audio quality is a little biased towards the bass tones, with treble and overall volume mildly suppressed. The Solemate packs in an in-built microphone for calling, and the 10-hour backup on a single charge is good for camping activities, away from electrical outlets. Buy for: Rugged and portable, built-in mic; Avoid: Weak treble and overall volume; Price: Rs. 10,990.

Bose SoundLink Mini

Don’t let its diminutive size fool you—the Bose SoundLink Mini may look smaller than the average clock radio, but it belts out surprisingly good audio quality, with deep bass and full room-filling sound, from its handheld form factor. Bose has, through some clever use of multiple bass radiators and its signature Bose tuning, made the Mini sound as big as many of the larger speakers we’ve seen. Connect it over Bluetooth, and the Mini remembers the last six devices you’ve connected, and if you take it off its charging cradle, it’ll last up to eight hours while you’re on the go. The downside is that it doesn’t have a built-in microphone, which means that you can use it to play your tunes, but not to answer hands-free phone calls. Buy for: Sound quality that belies its size, classy looks; Avoid: Proprietary charging cradle, no microphone; Price: Rs. 16,875.

JBL Charge

If longevity is your goal—whether on a road trip, or, all-day use on the beach—the JBL Charge is the one to pick. It’s small enough to fit into a backpack or a largish handbag and, built to take the rough and tumble. Thanks to its built-in bass port, the Charge reliably belts out your favorite numbers, genre no bar. The ace up its sleeve is the 6000mAh battery backup, which lasts up to 12 hours during playback, but more critically, lets you charge your Smartphone through its full-sized USB port. Buy for: Great sound for the price, battery backup and Smartphone charging; Avoid: No speakerphone, istorts with heavy bass; Price: Rs. 7,990.

olmdesk@outlookindia.com