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Recommendations for bluetooth speakers?


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kevin_soda
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PostPosted: Wed May 10, 2017 7:58 am    Post subject: Recommendations for bluetooth speakers? Reply with quote

I have an old iPad 2 that I use mostly for Tunable and iReal Pro. I use a simple 1/8" cable to connect it to my stereo. I'm looking to be a little bit more flexible/portable and I'm wondering does anyone have any recommendations for bluetooth speakers?
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dstdenis
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PostPosted: Wed May 10, 2017 9:03 am    Post subject: Re: Recommendations for bluetooth speakers? Reply with quote

kevin_soda wrote:
I have an old iPad 2 that I use mostly for Tunable and iReal Pro. I use a simple 1/8" cable to connect it to my stereo. I'm looking to be a little bit more flexible/portable and I'm wondering does anyone have any recommendations for bluetooth speakers?

I use a Bose SoundLink Mini. It sounds good for listening, and it's just loud enough for me to use with play-along practice (although I wish it were a bit louder when practicing with piccolo trumpet).

We also have an Amazon Basics portable bluetooth speaker. It sounds pretty good, maybe not quite as good as the Bose, but not so different that I think it's lacking in sound quality when I hear it on it's own, without doing a side-by-side comparison. (And it's a lot less expensive than the Bose.)
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trickg
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PostPosted: Thu May 11, 2017 6:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

That's pretty open. What's your budget? How much power or volume do you want or need? Do you need it/them to run from a battery or can it plug into a wall?

There's all kinds of things you can do for bluetooth - everything from speaker bars with surround and subwoofer, to some pretty simple, cheap single speaker options, so it will help to know a bit more about what you are looking to try to get.
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kevin_soda
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PostPosted: Thu May 11, 2017 7:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, I'm not too shy about the price but I probably shouldn't spend more than $200 and I don't expect to enjoy using the real cheapies, >$40. It only needs to be loud enough to be heard over my own playing without distorting. And, as I mentioned in my OP, I want to be more portable so wall plugs, subs, and surround are out of the question.

I do like the look of the Bose Soundlink MINI II. Would it fit in your trumpet case?

I might be getting picky now but it would be nice to get something with a fairly natural sound. It seems as though many of these products are tailored to pop music, eq'ed for highs and lows.
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dstdenis
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PostPosted: Thu May 11, 2017 7:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

kevin_soda wrote:
Well, I'm not too shy about the price but I probably shouldn't spend more than $200 and I don't expect to enjoy using the real cheapies, >$40. It only needs to be loud enough to be heard over my own playing without distorting. And, as I mentioned in my OP, I want to be more portable so wall plugs, subs, and surround are out of the question.

I do like the look of the Bose Soundlink MINI II. Would it fit in your trumpet case?

I might be getting picky now but it would be nice to get something with a fairly natural sound. It seems as though many of these products are tailored to pop music, eq'ed for highs and lows.

I've practiced all sorts of playing with the Bose, from musicals to long tones with a drone. It's difficult to hear if I'm playing high and loud, but for me, it's just loud enough to follow otherwise. The most difficult situation for me is to try and play piccolo trumpet with a recording. I doubt it would work for playing along with big band lead charts either. If I were practicing those kinds of play-along a lot, I'd definitely get a louder system.

It sounds good. The bass EQ has some extra boost, but not too much for my ears. Trebles are clear, which helps with play along too. I'd say it has a "smile" shaped EQ, not flat.

It's small enough to fit in many trumpet cases, 7" x 2.3" x 2", but I'd never do that because I wouldn't want to risk the thing damaging the instrument.
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deleted_user_680e93b
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PostPosted: Thu May 11, 2017 8:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Bose Soundlink Color II

https://www.bose.com/en_us/products/speakers/wireless_speakers/soundlink-color-bluetooth-speaker-ii.html

great sound and louder than the mini, cheaper too.

regards,

tom
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trickg
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PostPosted: Thu May 11, 2017 8:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've always thought that the JBL bluetooth speakers sounded good and had a lot of power for no bigger than they are. We got my daughter one of the earlier iterations of the JBL Flip (I think that's what it was - might be the Charge) and she was VERY happy with it. It's compact and portable, but it's got a good bit of umph.

She's had it at least 3 years at this point - nice little speaker. JBL has several different bluetooth speakers that I think would work for you, and they are priced between $80 and $200. Give them a look.
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SatchmoGillespie
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PostPosted: Thu May 11, 2017 8:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

trickg wrote:
I've always thought that the JBL bluetooth speakers sounded good and had a lot of power for no bigger than they are. We got my daughter one of the earlier iterations of the JBL Flip (I think that's what it was - might be the Charge) and she was VERY happy with it. It's compact and portable, but it's got a good bit of umph.

She's had it at least 3 years at this point - nice little speaker. JBL has several different bluetooth speakers that I think would work for you, and they are priced between $80 and $200. Give them a look.


I second the Flip. I have one and use it often for just playing irealb stuff off my phone for practice purposes.
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SSmith1226
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PostPosted: Thu May 11, 2017 11:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I practice along with music played on my iPhone via my three year old JBL Flip. More than enough volume, no significant distortion, good battery life, and great sound.
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Crazy Finn
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PostPosted: Thu May 11, 2017 12:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I used to use a Cambridge Oontz Angle to listen to tunes and podcasts on my iPad mini. I got a iPad Pro, and the inboard speakers are sufficient for my needs on that.

If you're going to use it for jamming, there is a larger sized Oontz that sounds very nice, in my opinion.

You can also get a bluetooth hookup for a stationary stereo. I'll have to dig around for a link and product, but Logitech had one.

Bose is fine, but I've never really felt their products lived up to the hype or price.
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NMex
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PostPosted: Thu May 11, 2017 12:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've been using the UE Boom for several years for just this purpose. IMO, it sounds great, is relatively inexpensive and if you have two, you can play them in stereo. The current model is the UE Boom II and they also have a larger version. I use the smaller one and have been happy with it.
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ML52K
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PostPosted: Thu May 11, 2017 2:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have 2 bluetooth speakers.

Jam Heavy Metal: got this a number of months ago based on good reviews. Sounds great for +/- $70 speaker. Really good overall sound, including base. Annoying announcements, really loud "powering on, "powering off," "ready to pair." I mean really loud, really annoying. It sounds really, really good. But, listening to Pandora with sleep timer, Pandora stops, no problem. Then, all of a sudden, "POWERING OFF." Awake!

Then I got a Chinese cheapie on an Amazon deal. I think about $18. Marsboy. +/- 2 inches square. I wanted a small box to go camping with. Very happy. No great bass, but not expected. Overall sound is pretty good. Pairs with my iPhone well, battery life is good. I take it downstairs and listen when I workout on my Bowflex. Perfectly fine.
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cheiden
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PostPosted: Thu May 11, 2017 2:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I rather like my G-Boom. Got it at Target some years back and it's still offered on Amazon for about $100. Some reviews at the time said it was hard to beat in its price range. It's beefier (12x10x5) than some of the other small units being discussed but it's plenty manageable if you don't need to put it in your trumpet case. And it gets plenty loud.
https://gprojectgear.com/products/g-boom-black
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kevin_soda
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PostPosted: Thu May 11, 2017 3:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wow! Great feedback! Thanks. I read a bunch of reviews but I wanted to know from folks that might be doing what I do and this is very helpful. Thanks again.
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kevin_soda
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PostPosted: Thu May 11, 2017 5:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Crazy Finn wrote:
I used to use a Cambridge Oontz Angle to listen to tunes and podcasts on my iPad mini. I got a iPad Pro, and the inboard speakers are sufficient for my needs on that.

If you're going to use it for jamming, there is a larger sized Oontz that sounds very nice, in my opinion.

You can also get a bluetooth hookup for a stationary stereo. I'll have to dig around for a link and product, but Logitech had one.

Bose is fine, but I've never really felt their products lived up to the hype or price.


Which version of the Oontz do you have? It looks like the Angle3 might be louder than the Angle2. The AngleXL is too big for me but I'm sure it would be plenty loud.
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kevin_soda
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PostPosted: Thu May 11, 2017 5:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

SatchmoGillespie wrote:
trickg wrote:
I've always thought that the JBL bluetooth speakers sounded good and had a lot of power for no bigger than they are. We got my daughter one of the earlier iterations of the JBL Flip (I think that's what it was - might be the Charge) and she was VERY happy with it. It's compact and portable, but it's got a good bit of umph.

She's had it at least 3 years at this point - nice little speaker. JBL has several different bluetooth speakers that I think would work for you, and they are priced between $80 and $200. Give them a look.


I second the Flip. I have one and use it often for just playing irealb stuff off my phone for practice purposes.


Which version of the Flip do you guys use? It looks like 2, 3, and 4 are available >$100
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Crazy Finn
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PostPosted: Thu May 11, 2017 5:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

kevin_soda wrote:
Which version of the Oontz do you have? It looks like the Angle3 might be louder than the Angle2. The AngleXL is too big for me but I'm sure it would be plenty loud.

I have the original Oontz Angle. The 2 and 3 came out later as did the XL. The original is not loud enough for use with trumpet, in my opinion, but has nice sound. I did get the impression that the 2 and 3 have more volume capabilities.
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David Figge
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PostPosted: Fri May 12, 2017 2:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Kevin,
Just a thought...if it's just for play along practicing, you might consider blue tooth headphones...lots of choices and price points there to consider.

I also have a blue tooth Fender Passport "Event" I use for for solo gigs. It is great, and has paid for itself many times over...350 watts of great sound...I use it at home in my studio too, but often for quick practice or when traveling I simply use my head phones.

All the best!
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Lawler Bb
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PostPosted: Fri May 12, 2017 8:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you want a bluetooth speaker that actually puts out enough volume to play along with it (practicing with iReal Pro, Aebersold, etc.), has good sound quality, and is pretty small.......you have one choice. Anker. Unbelieveable value for the money and it blows away almost anything double or triple the price in the sound quality and volume department.

http://www.anker.com/products/A3143011
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kevin_soda
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PostPosted: Fri May 12, 2017 8:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

cheiden wrote:
I rather like my G-Boom. Got it at Target some years back and it's still offered on Amazon for about $100. Some reviews at the time said it was hard to beat in its price range. It's beefier (12x10x5) than some of the other small units being discussed but it's plenty manageable if you don't need to put it in your trumpet case. And it gets plenty loud.
https://gprojectgear.com/products/g-boom-black



This one looks cool but it's too big for me. Thanks!
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