Bluetooth Speaker Buying Guide
November 2020
1. What is a Bluetooth Speaker?
Bluetooth Speakers are portable speakers which lets you play music wirelessly using the Bluetooth Technology. They are also known as Portable Speakers and are gaining popularity day by day due to the convenience they provide us.
2. What are the benefits of buying a Bluetooth Speaker?
Bluetooth Speakers offer convenience by playing music wirelessly through a cell phone/laptop (or other sources). No hassles of wire tangling and related disruption if any. Benefits being:-
1. They are portable – This is the prime reason for the sky rocketing sales of these speakers since their invention. As they are small in size and light compared to traditional speakers they are portable. Carrying them between rooms, rood trips or to the pool is a breeze.
2. They are Convenient – Portability along with the absence of wires equals to convenience. You get to control them at a distance of upto 15m. (means you can play your song from the adjacent room). Also the freedom to move the source (mobile/laptop) without causing any disruption is a wonderful feeling.
Bluetooth Speakers offer a good buying proposition with the benefits they provide and will certainly appeal to those wanting a light, portable and convenient speaker experience. We feel it is an product that you should own for the benefits they provide.
3. What are the features to consider in a Bluetooth Speaker?
1
Size Segment
Choose the right size segment based on your needs.
See Explanation
Bluetooth Speakers come in different sizes to suit to different requirements primarily being portability and sound quality.
We can categorize them into three size segments-
1. Compact Mini Speakers – These are miniature speakers which are small and light. Main purpose to suit those who seek a louder alternative to their mobile/laptops. They are super easy to carry (weight below 500 gms), ideal to be carried in hand bags, gym bags (you get the picture).
2. Standard Size Portables – These speakers are comparatively larger, weigh in the range of 0.5 to 2kg, give better quality sound and have a longer battery life.
3. Party Boom Box – Being the biggest of the all to cater to outdoors like pool party, get togethers, picnics etc. Come with louder sound, longer battery life, weight above 2 kgs. A distinguishing element would be the holder they have on them to signify that they are not the kids to be handled by their body.
Moral of the Story: Bluetooth Speakers are sized based on various needs like portability, sound, battery life and hence you should choose based on it.
2
Speaker Quality
Decides the quality of audio you will get.
See Explanation
Although the ideal way to judge a speaker's sound quality would be to hear them physically, even going through its technical parameters can give you an indication on what you can expect from it. Below are the 5 features you have to consider when gauging a speakers quality:-
1. Frequency Response - Speakers produce sound by the vibrating the surrounding air producing varying frequencies. Frequency Response is the audio frequency range that a speaker can produce. To give you an idea, we humans can hear a frequency of 20Hz to 20kHz. Hence the ideal would be a speaker who can output frequencies in these ranges. Even though you will hardly find speakers doing so, a frequency response anything beyond 50Hz to 19kHz is considered good.
2. Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) - Signal to Noise Ratio gives you the capacity of the speaker to deliver accurate sound. In practice, speakers produce background noise during output. Hence, the ideal case would be that the speaker produces less noise. As SNR is the Ratio between the Signal to the Noise, the higher it is the better. In practice, an SNR of 40dB and above is considered good.
3. Wattage - Wattage indicates how loud the bluetooth speaker will sound. You will have to base your expectations based on the size type of your speaker, i.e. mini's will have less wattage and the boom boxes will have higher wattage.
4. No. of Drivers - Speakers are composed of drivers (cones and magnet) which vibrate to produce sound. The three types of drivers designed to produce various frequencies i.e tweeter for highs/treble (above 2000Hz) , woofer for mids(200Hz to 2000Hz) and sub-woofer for lows/bass (below 200Hz).Since bluetooth speakers are compact, the drivers are combined (generally woofer and subwoofer). Hence, more the drivers better will be the sound quality since they can output the specific frequencies they are designed for.
5. Passive Radiators - Radiators are cones with no magnets to help the driver produce sound efficiently. In simple terms having passive radiators will improve the efficiency of a speaker by consuming less power and is useful for portable speakers where size is an important factor.
Moral of the Story: A good frequency response range, enough wattage and drivers to look for.
3
Battery Life
Longer battery life makes it very convenient by reducing disruptions.
See Explanation
Imagine that moment when your buddies come home for a bash and you head straight to fire up your speaker. The moment ends with a disaster as you find out that your battery had run out. We all hate those frustrating moments and would best be without them. Long Battery Life's are a vital feature for a bluetooth speaker. Battery Capacity is specified in mAh (mili ampere hour). The battery life depends on how much power and efficient the speakers are and hence Manufacturers specify the battery life for the speakers in hrs. Battery Life for bluetooth speakers range from 4 hrs upto 20 hrs based on the size type. Expect the mini speakers to have a less battery life and the big party boxes to have higher. Manufacturers also mention the charging time which will be a useful detail to consider. A speaker with a fast charging facility is a good addition.
Moral of the Story: Higher the battery life, lesser the disruptions and better will be the experience.
4
Protection
Protections like Splashproof, Waterproof, and Impact Resistance are crucial for the longevity.
See Explanation
Since these speakers will be carried to different environments i.e to the pool, to the bathroom, when travelling. They are highly susceptible of getting damaged by dust, water splash or even worse getting immersed in water (remember those awkward moment in the pool). To avoid these unwanted incidents, manufacturers equip the speakers with various protections like dust, water and impact. It is common to find speakers to come with dust and splash resistance at the entry level and with waterproofing (immersion in water) at the mid and high levels. These protections have to be gone in detail as there are limitations to each of them which are hid under small fonts by manufacturers. For example, a waterproof speaker will only survive if it is immersed to a certain depth and for a certain time beyond which it may fail. These protections are branded with labels like IPX6, IPX7, IP67 etc which can be confusing and a more detailed dive-in would be required to understand them. Please refer our Electronics Protection Article here to give a simple and complete insight into this topic.
Moral of the Story: Go for the required protections if the speakers will be subjected to those hazards.
5
Other Features
Important features to enhance experience
See Explanation
A. Bluetooth Version - Bluetooth being the technology which connects your device to the speaker is advancing with time and gets updated with new features. The latest version of Bluetooth is 5.0 which are supported by some speakers and other speakers support older versions like Bluetooth 4.2 or 4.1. Bluetooth 5 is faster, has a higher range, and has less latency (lag between the audio input and the speaker),has less interference than 4.2. This is in theory and not all features may be included by the manufacturer. But simply it is best to opt for the latest Bluetooth Technology.
B. Codecs Supported - For the song to be played on your bluetooth speaker the data has to travel from your source mobile/laptop wirelessly. Since the wireless bandwidth (data rate) is a limiting factor the source has to encode the data and send it for efficiency which is called encoding. The speaker has to then decode it to play the song. This is called decoding. This is possible through a Codec System which will be present in both the Source and the Speaker. There are different types of Codecs for different jobs. The most common and versatile is the SBC Codec which is lossy format, and then you have the AAC which is a better codec when compared to data loss and is the main codec for iphones. We have lossless codecs like AptX which is supported by Laptops, Android Phones but not iPhones. AptX ensures less loss in data and a better output at the speakers. Hence, for audiophiles speakers with AAC, AptX codecs will be an important feature to opt for.
C. Inputs - Speakers come with input options like 3.5mm Audio In/Aux to connect a source in case there are no bluetooth devices. This can be a handy feature in situations where there is a bluetooth pairing issue between your phone and the speaker (You dont want to spoil those precious moment due to some quarrel between devices, do ya?).
Some speakers also come with a Memory Card Slot/USB Port where you can simply insert your card/USB Stick and start playing your music one by one. This can always come in handy as you can load your song playlist into the card and simply enjoy the music flow.
D. Speaker Connect- This is a feature where you can connect two speakers to create a stereo effect or more bluetooth speakers to create a chain to amplify your output. This is great for situations where the ambient noise overpowers the speakers like pool parties, public events. Also, it has to be noted that you will need the speakers with the same brand and same pairing protocol in order to connect, hence this has to be seen carefully. For example, JBL Flip 5 which has JBL Party Boost cannot connect with JBL Flip 4 which has JBL Connect+ Speakers and can only connect with JBL Party Boost Speakers like Pulse 4.
E. Voice Assistant Integration - With the advent of Voice Assist Technologies like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, portable speaker manufacturers are incorporating them in their speakers which means that you can use these speakers as your voice assistants to serve you with the wide features it offers like task scheduling, alarm scheduling, song fetch and playback, ordering and the list keeps adding and goes on as days go by.
F. Calling Feature - Many speakers allow you to make and take phone calls. They have a microphone built into them. This can be a good feature for a mini type speaker as it is meant to be used in a small room and quiet environment.
I. Radio - Some speakers can double up as a tuner. This would be a good combo for those who listen to radio and cant live without them.
Moral of the Story: The above features should only be a deal breaker for you if they are really required and will be used.
4. How do I select the best Bluetooth Speaker for me?
The i.e Size Segment will be your main factor for selection. We have mentioned different requirements that you would have and what to see as seen below:
1. Use in small rooms: This category would represent those who would want the speaker as a replacement for mobile and laptop audio. The environment would mostly be limited to indoors and no scare of water splash.
As you can already predict, the mini speakers would be ideal for such a requirement. Battery life of 5 hours would be sufficient given the indoor environment and higher scope of charging them frequently. Speakers with water resistance will be an 'extra feather in the cap' as then it enables you to carry your speakers even to wet areas like bathrooms (will assist your bathroom singing sessions).Speaker with calling feature can be opted for as it would suit the relatively quiet small room environment.
2. For use in and around the house: This category would represent those with the purpose of listening to audio inside the house and even the outsides like veranda, swimming pool, garden (you can imagine the others). Battery life of 5-8 hours would be sufficient again as you are in and around the house. A more powerful speaker will have to be opted for with a Wattage of at least 16W as you will be using it outdoors. Go for one which is waterproof and dust proof.
3. For Outdoor Use: This category would represent the section who use them for outdoors like pool parties, get togethers, general parties, road trip celebrations etc. In outdoor conditions we need to consider some factors while basing our decision. The speakers will mostly be played in places with lot of background noise, wind sounds which can overpower the sound from the speakers if they are weak. Hence a powerful robust speaker is the one that has to be looked at so that it produces sound with power and clarity.
Ensure you get a speaker which has dedicated drivers for lows i.e. it includes a dedicated subwoofer. Go for a high wattage speaker that your budget allows. Size and weight have to be given low priority here as bigger and heavier speakers will generally have better construction and dedicated drivers which will give good results. Long Battery life will have to be given priority and around 16-20 hours would be the range to look at. Wattage will also be very crucial and the largest that your budget allows should be opted as you want your speaker to dominate and overshadow any surrounding disturbances. The speakers should be water resistant at a minimum as there may be probability of exposure to liquids. An impact protection would be a welcome addition. Ensure that your speakers can pair with other speakers to amplify the effect as this will be useful outdoors.
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