I’d welcome any advice on a good laptop speaker, around the £100 – 150 mark. Good sound the priority, wi-fi, preferably re-chargeable battery powered. I don’t really need any extras like it being suitable to listen underwater or some such. I had a look around yesterday, but am more confused than ever. JBL seems to have a good reputation, I did have a Logitech one in the past but wasn’t happy with it.
Thankyou.
As above, but doesn’t have to be wifi or battery charged. (thanks for asking Dodger, I’ve been meaning to for ages)
Mrs F has a Jabra Soulmate (available online for £65) which has inbuilt rechargeable battery (charged over USB), BlueTooth and a line input. It sounds far better than its price would suggest.
If you want the Soulmate, you can get £10 off on Amazon today if you use the code BIGTHANKS at checkout.
Yours,
Morrissey the Consumer Monkey.
Indulge me here please as I’m a bit of a dumbass when it comes to such gadgets. £65 seems a bit much to me for one speaker, and since I’m assuming it’s for listening to music, why not 2 speakers and a sub woofer?
It is stereo with a built-in subwoofer. 9 Watts, 97 dB SPL it says. Portable (built-in rechargeable battery). The feature list suggests it is designed primarily for use with a smart phone.
About the size of an adult shoe. Surprisingly heavy. Sounds great. Not the cheapest, but a fine example of “you get what you pay for”.
Thanks for the explanation. I looked at these things a while ago and like the OP I was just confused. I’ll investigate farther now!
I have been very happy with my JBL Flip, very robust and good sound. For our kids I got Hive 2 ‘s from Kitsound from Xmas and again these sound excellent. But these are portable wireless speakers that work from laptops or phones or tablets.
Hive2. Around 60 quid. Good sound. Bluetooth. I have one (on my wish list).
You say for a laptop – does it need to be portable?
I’d prefer it to be, take on holiday as well.
Cambridge Audio Minx Go is great. I’d be tempted by the Jabra as well if I was trying to keep it under £100.
While I think about it, I hear good things about the ThumbsUp BoomTube. About 40 quid. I’ve never encountered one, so take the recommendation with a pinch of salt.
I bought a recon set of these.
Also available in wireless for a few quid more.
Look and sound neighbour-worryingly fab.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Harman-Kardon-Soundsticks-III-LED-Desktop-Wired-Speaker-System-Transparent-/252223188858?hash=item3ab9ac6f7a:g:udwAAOSwJcZWepMF
Friend of mine has a UE Tube which sounds great but apparently you can’t recharge the battery which seems a bit daft.
Sorry UE Boom.
I have a UE Boom and love it. You can recharge the battery, but it lasts for ages. Ultra portable, great sound. Also doubles as a useful speaker to connect to a hydrophone and listen to Humpback whales singing.
Bit pricier than the above though.
They do a new one that looks like a pebble.
Hiw do you recharge it then?
Plug it in, just like an ipod. It even tells you how much it’s charged up when you press its buttons.
Thanks, I saw this yesterday and the sound was good but over budget for me and didn’t really like the controls.
Thanks all for your suggestions – a sales guy from Richer Sounds recommended the Cambridge Go speaker. Anyone else have this ?
Hi Dodger. I have one. It’s an excellent little speaker. I use mine in my bedroom and Bluetooth music through it from my phone. It’s got good battery life for portable use and connections are stable.
Sounds really nice.
Excellent, thanks for the recommendation PS – really liked the look of it, may well go for that.
You wouldn’t be disappointed.
Cambridge do excellent stuff. I have a few bits from them and this looks like a handy addition, especially with my Spotify downloads on my phone.
I have one. It sounds great. It doesn’t automatically connect to a previously matched device but the new version may be better. Big enough to sound good but portable. Battery life is good as well.
I’ve been pleased with a Denon Envaya – bluetooth, good sound, pretty portable. http://www.denon.co.uk/uk/product/bluetooth/bluetoothspeakers/dsb200
We have a Sony SRSX-55. Bluetooth, great battery, input for wired connection. I plug a Chromecast Audio, saves phone battery, better sound and connects with anything over Wi-Fi.
Plus it sounds fantastic.
I have a Bose Soundlink which sounds very very good but, like all things Bose, is expensive! Approx £160 IIRC. They do another model now, around the £100 mark but I haven’t heard it.
Me too – highly recommended. Sounds brilliant, and not far north of Dodger’s budget. Very unobtrusive, too – mine’s sitting on top of my Mac Mini, nestling under the monitor. I’ve actually plugged it in via a cable, because the Bluetooth is a bit flaky – the Mac’s fault I think, because the Bose works perfectly with iPhone and such.
A third nod for the Bose Soundlink.
Very good sound, works flawlessly, recharges quickly.
Thanks all, had considered Bose, but rushed out this morning to go for the Cambridge Go model, all set up and is now happily playing The Jayhawks – splendid sound.