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Recommendations for bluetooth speakers?


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Turkle
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PostPosted: Fri May 12, 2017 11:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

So I pretty much avoid all-in-one Bluetooth speakers. One little thing goes wrong with the electronics and you have a useless brick. This has happened to me several times. I don't recommend them unless you absolutely must have a portable solution.

However, I love the convenience of Bluetooth and use it all the time in my apartment for Abersold/iRealPro, movies, sports, etc. What I did was hook up one of these Logitech adapters to my stereo receiver:

http://a.co/245EY4l

I don't need portable sound, so this is a great way to hook up my laptop, phone, and anything else up to my stereo wirelessly. It's also cheap, and if it breaks the whole stereo still works, I just have to buy another $22 adapter.

So anyway, I think portable BT speakers are a pretty lousy investment unless you really need something for the beach or backyard or whatever. For inside the home, in my opinion, you're much better off with a component system and the above adapter.

Good luck!
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Crazy Finn
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PostPosted: Fri May 12, 2017 1:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Turkle wrote:
So I pretty much avoid all-in-one Bluetooth speakers. One little thing goes wrong with the electronics and you have a useless brick. This has happened to me several times. I don't recommend them unless you absolutely must have a portable solution.

However, I love the convenience of Bluetooth and use it all the time in my apartment for Abersold/iRealPro, movies, sports, etc. What I did was hook up one of these Logitech adapters to my stereo receiver:

http://a.co/245EY4l

I don't need portable sound, so this is a great way to hook up my laptop, phone, and anything else up to my stereo wirelessly. It's also cheap, and if it breaks the whole stereo still works, I just have to buy another $22 adapter.

So anyway, I think portable BT speakers are a pretty lousy investment unless you really need something for the beach or backyard or whatever. For inside the home, in my opinion, you're much better off with a component system and the above adapter.

Good luck!


Hmm... I'm not disagreeing with the fact that an adapter to a nice stereo system is really nice and superior to little bluetooth speakers. I even mentioned it in my initial post on this thread.

I had a "all-in-one" Aiwa system in college - actually, it's still around. It was totally perfect for that situation. Played CDs, Radio, Tapes (yeah, tapes existed in those days) and hooked up my TV to it. Great for all that. Like you mentioned, though, eventually (like 10+ years later) the CD stopped working and one of the tape decks doesn't function. It's basically a receiver. Fortunately, it has a AUX input, so I can hook it up to a TV, DVD, iPad, whatever. Still, I wouldn't buy another one, probably.

My Bluetooth speaker isn't an "all-in-one" thing, though. It's a speaker. It links with devices and plays the sound from those devices. That's it. Many, if not most are similar, not many extra bells and whistles. Sure, something could go wrong and it would be useless, but that's true of anything electronic. I've had my Oontz Angle for.... 2-3 years and it works fine, still.

Plus, it's portable. Bring it to school? No problem. Kitchen, then basement? Yup. Garage? Friend's residence? Easy. Try doing that with a component stereo system. Sound-wise, it's not as good as a nice system. But, I don't HAVE a nice system. I've thought about spending some money on one, but then I realize how little I really need it and there's no good place for one, right now. But, a little speaker to take along with me is way more useful, to me.

If you already have a nice stereo, I agree, an Bluetooth adapter to it would work very nicely for playing along with trumpet.
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dstdenis
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PostPosted: Fri May 12, 2017 3:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Turkle wrote:
I think portable BT speakers are a pretty lousy investment unless you really need something for the beach or backyard or whatever. For inside the home, in my opinion, you're much better off with a component system and the above adapter.

That adapter is a great idea if you have a component system that you want to use.

For inside-the-home music, I think the way to go is with a wireless speaker system like Sonos. Sounds great, you can play music from your digital library or stream music from services or internet radio. You can set alarms so it turns on you favorite radio stations or music library in the mornings. If you want to get fancy, you can install speakers throughout the house with different zones that can play independently or integrated. I don't practice trumpet with one, but it certainly would be plenty loud enough for that. And it's always there, ready to go. Just open a controller app on a computer, tablet or phone and play some music.

But for super-compact, portable music with a fairly good sound, bluetooth speakers work fine. We haven't had them break down on us (knock on wood).
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kevin_soda
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PostPosted: Fri May 12, 2017 5:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I do have a decent hi-fi setup that I use to listen to records but if I want to use it I can just plug into it. I don't need it to be wireless where my stereo is. It's to play elsewhere in the house or at the rehearsal space or at the bus stop or hiking or wherever.
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cjl
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PostPosted: Fri May 12, 2017 7:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Crazy Finn wrote:
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.

I bought my daughter the original Oontz Angle a couple years ago. It was a fine speaker for what it was and for the price , ~$30.

This past fall I noticed another daughter had a Bose bluetooth speaker (whatever the ~$200 model is) and I decided to get one for myself. Thought about the Bose but finally decided that the Oontz would be good enough for me.

I got the Oontz Angle 3 without really realizing that it was a different generation from the first one I bought. It sounds great, I think significantly better than the original one, though I have to admit I haven't had them together to directly compare them. And still right at $30!

I think the Angle 3 sounds really close to the $200 Bose. I am quite pleased with it.

I have never tried to use it to practice with like you want to do, though.

-- Joe
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trickg
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PostPosted: Fri May 12, 2017 7:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Anker Premium looks like a pretty sweet deal for the money. This review (listen through headphones or good speakers) is pretty nice with a couple of the Anker speakers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpLJhkPVbBQ
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Lawler Bb
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PostPosted: Fri May 12, 2017 9:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

trickg wrote:
The Anker Premium looks like a pretty sweet deal for the money. This review (listen through headphones or good speakers) is pretty nice with a couple of the Anker speakers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpLJhkPVbBQ


It is. I auditioned several brands/models before I bought mine. Wasn't even close. JBL, Bose, UE, etc. all paled in comparison.
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Abroadway
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PostPosted: Sun May 28, 2017 3:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

UE boom mini is what I've been using. Not too expensive and the little thing makes A LOT of sound.
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jerikfp
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 12, 2017 11:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Definitely need to try the Anker
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snichols
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 12, 2017 2:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

True, Anker makes good stuff at reasonable prices. I've purchased several of their products and have always been happy. But overall, just find something on Amazon that's 4.5 stars or better with over 200+ reviews that's in your price range and is on Prime. Personally, I think Bose is overrated for the price.
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Turkle
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 12, 2017 3:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Are you guys finding that you get adequate volume from a BT speaker where it's enough for horn practice, e.g. Abersold? The BT speakers I've used have all been too quiet, which is one reason I continue to rely on my component setup and a BT adapter. Which of these recommended speakers have the "oomph" you need?

Thanks.
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dstdenis
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 13, 2017 5:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Turkle wrote:
Are you guys finding that you get adequate volume from a BT speaker where it's enough for horn practice, e.g. Abersold?

It depends. I use a Bose SoundLink Mini every day to play drone notes from the TonalEnergy tuner app on my iPhone. I actually have to turn down the volume on the drone a bit when I'm practicing things like etudes, long tones (soft-loud-soft) etc. Plenty of oomph for that.

I also use it to play along with recordings, and honestly, sometimes I wish it were louder. For example, if I'm preparing to play with a pit orchestra for a musical, I like to make a playlist of the tunes and play along with them. Sometimes the trumpet parts get kinda high and loud, and I find it difficult to hear the beat when I'm cranking away. I also like to practice piccolo trumpet with recordings, and sometimes it's difficult to hear the beat. I make it work by positioning myself where I can hear the little speaker well enough to discern the beat and pitch. (Actually, I find it easier to follow the pitch than the beat when I'm wailing away, for some reason.) It works, but I have to listen carefully.
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Lawler Bb
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 13, 2017 5:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Turkle wrote:
Are you guys finding that you get adequate volume from a BT speaker where it's enough for horn practice, e.g. Abersold? The BT speakers I've used have all been too quiet, which is one reason I continue to rely on my component setup and a BT adapter. Which of these recommended speakers have the "oomph" you need?

Thanks.


The Anker Premium has enough to play along with Aebersold or iRealPro without breaking a sweat. There's a link above.
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