I have a Bose Soundlink Revolve, got it for my birthday last year and it has worked perfectly. Good sound quality.

Another Oontz fan here. And not because I researched it. I just got lucky. Bought one off of Woot because it was splash proof, cheap and came with a neoprene case and I wanted it for the beach. It works well and is a big bang for the buck. Bass ports out the bottom and you can really tweak the sound by choosing what you set it on.

 
If you're an Apple fan, and don't mind spending a bit more, get a Homepod. Great sound. It uses AC power, so no recharging or battery replacement to worry about. It uses Bluetooth 5.0 and Airplay, so you can stream from any Apple device on your network, or with a subscription to Apple Music just play what you want (responds to Siri commands). It also can be used for phone calls, with your iPhone nearby.
 

Have a Harmon Kardon Onyx 3 in the house that I got for Christmas one year and it flat gets down. I generally find myself using my Makita XRM08 though. Runs on my plentiful supply of drill batteries, and ultra durable, and sounds pretty good to me.

It's too bad you're having these issues. I have the original UE Boom, from back when UE and Bose were the only companies in the game that made a speaker worth a damn. Like you said, it's so good I wouldn't want to replace it with anything else either. Mine is still going strong, and I use the hell out of it. Hopefully you'll get it fixed and you will have two with no issues.

I use a Heos 1 by Denon and been happy with the sound. Can be run separate or grouped.

quote:

Originally posted by henryaz:
 
If you're an Apple fan, and don't mind spending a bit more, get a Homepod. Great sound. It uses AC power, so no recharging or battery replacement to worry about. It uses Bluetooth 5.0 and Airplay, so you can stream from any Apple device on your network, or with a subscription to Apple Music just play what you want (responds to Siri commands). It also can be used for phone calls, with your iPhone nearby.
 

Thanks for helping me spend more money!

After reading your post I looked at some reviews. While some were raving, some pointed out limited compatibility with non-Apple music services (works with them, but via phone interaction not by voice command), some pointed out Siri not being as refined as Google Assistant and/or Alexa, others thought the price was too high given some of the other concerns.

To a “T” though, EVERY review acknowledged the impressive sound quality and pretty much all comparisons on sound alone ranked it tops to the competition. The one exception was when compared to a multi-speaker wireless Sonos system.

That reviewer (self proclaimed audiophile) did note though that the Sonos system, at over $1400, was over $1000 more but he put the sound difference as worth no more than a couple hundred and that many casual users may not even notice or appreciate the difference.

Most reviewers came to the same conclusions recommending the HomePod for someone who wasn’t heavily invested in Google or Amazon apps, other streaming services, or was primarily invested in the Apple universe (which I am).

Research done and Apple rewards gift card codes at the ready, I went to Apple.com and ordered one for pickup at the local Apple Store. One of the great things about Apple is no questions asked/no risk two week return. If I didn’t like it, it would go back for nothing more than an extra stop on the way to work. Got it home and it was amazingly simple to setup. Plug it in, couple of clicks on my iPhone, accept the UA and bam! all done.

Time from box opening to music playing was literally less than 5 minutes. It does sound great And while it may not satisfy those who want really blasting volume, it is definitely louder at 70-80% volume than I would ever play it and garnered instant scorn from my wife who was just barely able to yell “TURN IT DOWN!!!” at sufficient volume for me to be able to hear her over the tunes (and when upset, my wife can reach USMC DI decibel levels...).

Several hours later now, it is playing background music and other than setting it on the shelf and plugging the thing in, I have yet to physically touch it. Even at higher volumes, simply speaking “Hey Siri...” in a normal tone and you have it’s attention and it responds.

Pretty sure I’ll be getting at least one more for upstairs and possible a third to have two of them act in tandem in the entertainment room. The only question at this point is if I can be patient enough for them to show up in Apple’s refurb channel.



P.S. - Apple bashers, please don’t go into it here- this thread was for recommendations on what to get, not what is wrong with the different options.

I have the Oontz Angle 3+, that I use at the noisy "garage gym," where I workout. If I were buying again, I'd get the newer Angle 3 Ultra: https://www.amazon.com/OontZ-A...r=1-3&keywords=Oontz

I've tried several others, but this seems to be the best bang for the buck.

Another vote for the Harmon Kardon Onyx 3. My BIL and sister have one and it sounds great !!! God Bless

quote:

Originally posted by 911Boss:
Thanks for helping me spend more money!

After reading your post I looked at some reviews. While some were raving, some pointed out limited compatibility with non-Apple music services (works with them, but via phone interaction not by voice command), some pointed out Siri not being as refined as Google Assistant and/or Alexa, others thought the price was too high given some of the other concerns.

Some of thosse complaints are quite valid. The HomePod itself will only accept an Apple Music subscription (which is quite extensive), and the Siri on it is limited to mainly its functions (it won't tell you how to boil an egg, for example).
 
But, since it is an Airplay device, it shows up on your Mac or iDevice as an available speaker to use. So you could subscribe to, say, Spotify, on your Mac, and stream it to the HomePod. I often use the Apple Music subscription with iTunes on my Mac, because the Search and other functions (like, don't like, create radio stations for a genre or artist, etc) are easier to use than the equivalent Siri commands to the HomePod. You can use it to stream anything you've got on your Mac. HomePod also does Apple Podcasts and can be used for phone conversations.
 

I have a Sony SRS-XB20 that I picked up at a pawn store for a paltry $30 and the sound quality is excellent.

Before you lay out a handful of cash, check your local pawn stores and see what they have; a lot of them are thrashed, but there are diamonds in the rough. You can link your phone to them and test right in the store.

Bought this from Amazon for $300 and it works great.
https://www.harmankardon.com/h...less/HK+GO+PLAY.html

quote:

Originally posted by henryaz:

quote:

Originally posted by 911Boss:
Thanks for helping me spend more money!

After reading your post I looked at some reviews. While some were raving, some pointed out limited compatibility with non-Apple music services (works with them, but via phone interaction not by voice command), some pointed out Siri not being as refined as Google Assistant and/or Alexa, others thought the price was too high given some of the other concerns.

Some of thosse complaints are quite valid. The HomePod itself will only accept an Apple Music subscription (which is quite extensive), and the Siri on it is limited to mainly its functions (it won't tell you how to boil an egg, for example).
 
But, since it is an Airplay device, it shows up on your Mac or iDevice as an available speaker to use. So you could subscribe to, say, Spotify, on your Mac, and stream it to the HomePod. I often use the Apple Music subscription with iTunes on my Mac, because the Search and other functions (like, don't like, create radio stations for a genre or artist, etc) are easier to use than the equivalent Siri commands to the HomePod. You can use it to stream anything you've got on your Mac. HomePod also does Apple Podcasts and can be used for phone conversations.
 

Agreed, well rounded reviews that call out legitimate points. Up until recently only music I played was my personal library. Finally jumped on the streaming bandwagon about 6 months ago with Apple Music. Don’t use Spotify or others, so no issue there. I rarely use Siri for GP info search as I’m not impressed with the results it comes up with, prefer to just delete my own search.

Never used Cortana, Google assistant, or any other so for me no issues there. My primary use is music and it is definitely easier to say “Hey Siri, play Emerson Lake and Palmer” then it is to go to the iPhone, iPad, or Mac, turn on the BT speaker, connect to the BT speaker from the iDevice, open the music or iTunes app, then get to playing.

This morning I came downstairs and said “Hey Siri, rock this joint” she replied “Playing party music everywhere” and it was great...

https://www.amazon.com/OontZ-A...r=1-3&keywords=Oontz

I bought one of these based on the above recommendation. I really like it!

My wife bought me a cube. It's about three cubic inches, charges with a mini USB and for what I use it for (talk radio, music, and such) is various locations in the house (to include garage while reloading or the yard jyst watching the grass grow and moon rise), it's a pretty good little idea.

As it turns out Logitech gave me a 30% off discount code so I went and bought a new UE Mega Boom. My sone took my old one and opened it up and took the battery out. Turns out it's not the battery but the micro usb charging plug. Some how it got damaged from trying to plug the charging cable in. Sounds like he can fix it for $30 plus he bought a new battery anyhow so he'll have about $60 in it which is a good deal for that speaker.

I was going to pull the trigger on that Bose Revolve if Logitech didn't come through with at least 25% off a new one.

I just bought a UE Wonderboom after expecting to buy a Boom 2 or JBL Charge 3. I listened to several of the most highly regarded market leaders and liked it's less directional tin-canny sound stage, its portability, it's waterproof, and the idea of buying a second for stereo applications. Sound is impressive, bass is less clipped than some like the Soundlink II, high's are clear, though mid's a little less present. At $64 on Amazon right now, it is a steal. I believe you have to spend 3x that to buy one that is clearly better.

I have experience with just one Bluetooth speaker, a Bose Mini Sound Link. I’ve had it for a long time, which speaks to my experience with only this one. It’s been great.

quote:

Originally posted by TMats:
I have experience with just one Bluetooth speaker, a Bose Mini Sound Link. I’ve had it for a long time, which speaks to my experience with only this one. It’s been great.

+1

There's quite a few good bluetooth speakers on the market.
I've been using a JBL Charge 3 for awhile now, it's served me well in the garage, picnic, backyard, tailgating. Long, long battery life, at least a solid 15 hours, marketing says 20. I've seen refurbished one sold by Fry's Electronics, I wanna say they're sold about 40%-below brand new pricing.