this post was submitted on 08 Aug 2023
27 points (96.6% liked)

Technology

59448 readers
3487 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.


Our Rules


  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related content.
  3. Be excellent to each another!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

Looking to buy one of these for use around the house, but I'm not overly knowledgeable about them.

The Bose Soundlink Flex seems to have good reviews from the bit of research that I've done, but any recommendations from you guys on good ones to buy?

all 26 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I bought one of these a couple years ago and it still lasts 12+ hours streaming internet radio from my iPad at work. Sounds great for background music in a shop. I love how sturdy it feels and the handle is great. I call it “Nintendo plastic” cuz it feels indestructible like the OG Nintendo controllers.

Soundcore Anker Motion Boom Outdoor Speaker https://a.co/d/7ptVcCe

Just to clarify… I work 12hr shifts and it still has about 40% battery left at the end of the day.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

If you're after the best budget one, I picked up this one for £59 after reading good reviews on Reddit

https://www.myearfun.com/uk/speakers/earfun-uboom-l-portable-waterproof-bluetooth-speakers-black

It might need a firmware update to get the best sound, but imo it sounds as good as my 10 year old Bose, and much better than my ultimate ears wonderboom

[–] musicworld 3 points 1 year ago

Probably not what you're after, but you did ask for best. You can't go wrong with Q Acoustics M20.

Pros:

  • They sound amazing
  • They are a stereo pair
  • They support aptX, aptX HD, aptxLL, SBC & AAC
  • They have a load of inputs, so not just BT
  • They look very pretty

Cons:

  • They are fairly pricey
  • They are mains powered so not that portable
[–] Zak 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The last time I bought one, I selected a "Polaris V8" for using a removable 18650 battery. I wish that was more common.

  • Runtime: infinite (just bring spares)
  • Charge time: 10 seconds or so to swap the battery
  • Service life due to the battery wearing out: infinite
  • Service life due to being a janky no-name product: 3-4 years

So that last bit was disappointing.

[–] Aux 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Removable lithium batteries like 18650 or 21700 are not really a thing (except for a few hobbies) because they're inherently dangerous and not a single respectable cell manufacturer sells them directly to end users (you can still buy them from unauthorized sellers though).

You can put your AA battery in the pocket with your keys and nothing scary will happen. Put there a 18650 cell and you might die from severe burns. So yeah, replaceable 18650 are awesome, but we'll never see them because people are dumb AF.

[–] sagrotan 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Untrue. I use them for 10+ years for anything that's possible (flashlights, powerbank and anything you can power with it) and they're not dangerous if you follow SIMPLE rules. About as dangerous as a bottle of vinegar. And you can perfectly buy good cells for any application, Sony vtc5 or vtc6 are two examples, never buy cheap ones and NEVER buy from shady sellers. And btw: you shouldn't put any battery to your keys in your pocket, that is called "stooo-pid" and makes little black holes in your thighs.

[–] Zak 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

They're very common in flashlights, including mainstream brands based in the USA (Streamlight, Surefire) and in a bunch of stuff from the Alibaba to Amazon pipeline. The former uses cells with added protection circuits, and such models will accept generic third-party cells. I'm a bit surprised I don't hear about the latter exploding on a regular basis, but I have not.

Li-ion cells with protection circuits are safe enough for the average adult to handle without any special instruction; the risks are no different from the removable proprietary Li-ion battery packs that are common in power tools, and used to be common in laptops. There isn't a safety reason preventing their use in other electronics like Bluetooth speakers, though the business incentive to produce a more disposable product is obvious. New EU rules mandate user-replaceable batteries in the future, though I imagine manufacturers will find ways to make it proprietary and expensive if they can.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm still using a Bose soundlink mini 2 and it's never let me down. Small but sounds pretty good.

[–] Oweneds 2 points 1 year ago

I have the original SoundLink Mini and absolutely love it - huge sound and has been rock solid for years.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I use Sonos Roam.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Bose and JBL are quit pricy IMO. I got the Anker soundcore 1 for 20€ and was amazed by the battery life and the audio quality