Seeking portable speaker advice.

[joelwhokillz]

Hey guys, new to the forums but I'm hoping this is a good place to ask for a little sound advice

Basically I work in a very loud warehouse. We have stations and are allowed music, and as a very hard core music listener anyways, this is great for me. The issue is that the white noise is so loud that you have to have at least a decent speaker to even hear it. We aren't allowed headphones so a somewhat portable bluetooth speaker was the best option here. Originally I had a very small $10 walmart speaker but even though it seemed fairly loud at home, I had to creatively figure out how to wear it around my neck to even hear it.

Eventually I upgraded to the Soundbot SB520 because it seemed a good choice for the price range.

The SB520 is pretty decent, I can at least set it up at my desk and hear it for the most part. Though it has passive subwoofers, they only sort of cut through the noise. If it's like a foot away from me and at the right height, it's decent enough and has got me through most of the last year if I keep it at max volume.

But now I wanna upgrade. A couple people at my work have the Harman Kardon Studio Onyx 2 and the thing is a beast. The power cuts through the noise so well, even with bass, that they can't even actually be turned up all the way because it would bother other workers. I've seen a couple on Amazon for like $130 which is a pretty fair price range for what I'm willing to spend right now. Of course I also saw the Studio Onyx 3 for only $159 so I'm wondering if the extra 30 bucks is gonna have been worth it.

However as a two part question, I'm wondering if there maybe is a better speaker choice in the price range? I've looked at stuff like the UE Boom 2 but I'm wondering if it's capable of punching through the white noise as the Harman seems too.


Any advice on some potential speakers preferably not more expensive than the 159 Studio 3. If Kardon is in fact probably the best speaker for this situation, would the 3 really be more needed than the 2? I want the 'better' of the two, but I saw some comments saying the 3 'Sounds better' but isn't as loud. Etc. Hopefully this short essay I didn't mean to type can give someone enough info for me to get something ordered!

 

[TLS Guy]

Hey guys, new to the forums but I'm hoping this is a good place to ask for a little sound advice

Basically I work in a very loud warehouse. We have stations and are allowed music, and as a very hard core music listener anyways, this is great for me. The issue is that the white noise is so loud that you have to have at least a decent speaker to even hear it. We aren't allowed headphones so a somewhat portable bluetooth speaker was the best option here. Originally I had a very small $10 walmart speaker but even though it seemed fairly loud at home, I had to creatively figure out how to wear it around my neck to even hear it.

Eventually I upgraded to the Soundbot SB520 because it seemed a good choice for the price range.

The SB520 is pretty decent, I can at least set it up at my desk and hear it for the most part. Though it has passive subwoofers, they only sort of cut through the noise. If it's like a foot away from me and at the right height, it's decent enough and has got me through most of the last year if I keep it at max volume.

But now I wanna upgrade. A couple people at my work have the Harman Kardon Studio Onyx 2 and the thing is a beast. The power cuts through the noise so well, even with bass, that they can't even actually be turned up all the way because it would bother other workers. I've seen a couple on Amazon for like $130 which is a pretty fair price range for what I'm willing to spend right now. Of course I also saw the Studio Onyx 3 for only $159 so I'm wondering if the extra 30 bucks is gonna have been worth it.

However as a two part question, I'm wondering if there maybe is a better speaker choice in the price range? I've looked at stuff like the UE Boom 2 but I'm wondering if it's capable of punching through the white noise as the Harman seems too.


Any advice on some potential speakers preferably not more expensive than the 159 Studio 3. If Kardon is in fact probably the best speaker for this situation, would the 3 really be more needed than the 2? I want the 'better' of the two, but I saw some comments saying the 3 'Sounds better' but isn't as loud. Etc. Hopefully this short essay I didn't mean to type can give someone enough info for me to get something ordered!

If your work environment is that loud then OSHA needs to hear about it. They need to confirm what you say and issue a citation.

If the noise can not be reduced then the employer needs to issue hearing protection. One form of hearing protection would be ear muffs that are also headphones.

This will ruin everyones hearing and sounds to me like an infraction of law.

If you get a radio loud enough to be above that noise floor you will damage your hearing faster.

Get hold of OSHA today!

 

[slipperybidness]

If your work environment is that loud then OSHA needs to hear about it. They need to confirm what you say and issue a citation.

If the noise can not be reduced then the employer needs to issue hearing protection. One form of hearing protection would be ear muffs that are also headphones.

This will ruin everyones hearing and sounds to me like an infraction of law.

If you get a radio loud enough to be above that noise floor you will damage your hearing faster.

Get hold of OSHA today!

First, the OP really should figure out just exactly how loud the work environment is, then compare that to the OSHA regs for an 8 hour work day.

But, I tend to agree with you TLS! If this place is loud, then the employer MUST supply hearing protection! Hearing protection being required, then yes muffs/earphones may be an option, and the employer could not legally stop you from wearing those!

I have worked in industry for 15 years, sometimes I have worn earplugs AND muffs at the same time! One time in a high noise environment, I took out 1 of my earplugs so that I could hear my coworker on the radio, but I forgot to put that earplug back in for a few hours. At the end of the shift, it was very odd being able to hear fine out of one ear but not the other.

Your hearing won't come back, the high freqs are the first to go. Do yourself and your co-workers a favor and follow OSHA regs to the letter, then you can worry about how you will hear your tunes at work.

 

[joelwhokillz]

As this is a large company, I can assure you it follows regulations. The noise isn't so loud as to be painful or harmful to the ears, it's just a loud wind sound that tends to drown out music. On topic help would be great though.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

As this is a large company, I can assure you it follows regulations. The noise isn't so loud as to be painful or harmful to the ears, it's just a loud wind sound that tends to drown out music. On topic help would be great though.

If you describe sound as loud and you exposed to 8-10 hours a day - it's likely to be an issue and I agree with others. Ear protection should be used.

 

[slipperybidness]

As this is a large company, I can assure you it follows regulations. The noise isn't so loud as to be painful or harmful to the ears, it's just a loud wind sound that tends to drown out music. On topic help would be great though.

What is the actual dB measurement of the ambient wind noise? Without the dB measurement, you really don't know if this is a concern or not.

I'm very curious, how long have you worked in industry, or in this particular environment?

I'll give you some wise advice from an industry veteran--YOU are the person responsible for YOUR safety. YOU can't rely on your employer to keep YOU safe. Yes, that is their responsibility, but when the rubber hits the road it is YOU that must step up and do what is right and what is safe for YOU. If you rely on your employer only, then you are setting yourself up for problems.

You should be assuring yourself that your employer follows the regs, not assuring us that.

https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=standards&p_id=9735

To answer your request on a portable speaker, I was very impressed with the Riva Turbo

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

To answer your request on a portable speaker, I was very impressed with the Riva Turbo

$300 for off-brand bt speaker.. seems a bit unusual... and I'm not only one who thinks amazon reviews a not very kosher.
http://fakespot.com/product/riva-rtx01b-turbo-x-bluetooth-mobile-speaker-black

 

[slipperybidness]

$300 for off-brand bt speaker.. seems a bit unusual... and I'm not only one who thinks amazon reviews a not very kosher.
http://fakespot.com/product/riva-rtx01b-turbo-x-bluetooth-mobile-speaker-black

I won't argue with that, but I will give you my personal account.

RMAF 2015, I heard the Turbo X from outside the room and went in to have a look/listen. I was absolutely surprised when I saw that it was just a little Riva Turbo X, I thought it was a 2 channel rig from outside the room!

I spoke with the design engineer, and it is obvious that this device was well thought out. For example, notice the battery on/off button? That is so that you don't have to constantly cycle the battery while you have it plugged into the wall, saves wear and tear charge cycles for no reason.

It sounded way louder and bigger than I would have expected. I just about bought it on the spot, but I just really didn't need a portable BT speaker.

Personally, I would not classify it as "an off-brand".

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I won't argue with that, but I will give you my personal account.

RMAF 2015, I heard the Turbo X from outside the room and went in to have a look/listen. I was absolutely surprised when I saw that it was just a little Riva Turbo X, I thought it was a 2 channel rig from outside the room!

I spoke with the design engineer, and it is obvious that this device was well thought out. For example, notice the battery on/off button? That is so that you don't have to constantly cycle the battery while you have it plugged into the wall, saves wear and tear charge cycles for no reason.

It sounded way louder and bigger than I would have expected. I just about bought it on the spot, but I just really didn't need a portable BT speaker.

Personally, I would not classify it as "an off-brand".

I think your personal experience is valuable, but still the price seems steep and quality of amazon reviews is not that great. Neither speak directly to it's quality. It doe seem like nicely engineered unit.

From my personal experience with bt speakers: this is the one I have - it's by no means AH levels, but it does sound nicely: https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Portable-Wireless-Bluetooth-Powerful/dp/B00GZC35YK

 

[slipperybidness]

I think your personal experience is valuable, but still the price seems steep and quality of amazon reviews is not that great. Neither speak directly to it's quality. It doe seem like nicely engineered unit.

From my personal experience with bt speakers: this is the one I have - it's by no means AH levels, but it does sound nicely: https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Portable-Wireless-Bluetooth-Powerful/dp/B00GZC35YK

Yeah, I will agree that $300 isn't cheap. At the RMAF, he was offering it for the same price, but with a free carrying case thrown in the deal. Like I said, I just about bought it at $300. If it were $200 with the case it would be a no-brainer.

 

[TLS Guy]

As this is a large company, I can assure you it follows regulations. The noise isn't so loud as to be painful or harmful to the ears, it's just a loud wind sound that tends to drown out music. On topic help would be great though.

I want evidence. I doubt they are within the regs from what you describe. Get a db meter and take some measurements before buying any speakers. Until we know that we can't even calculate what you need. I'm pretty sure though that a radio loud enough to get above that noise floor is dangerous and unlikely to be the correct solution.

 

[ARES24]

Please be careful with your hearing. In my experience it used to seem that no matter how stupid I was with loud content my hearing would get back to the original sensitivity. Into my thirties, not so much. I don't know how old you are but take care of these things now. I have already noticed a lack of hearing in the 100hz - 400hz range due to work place conditions. My uncle has constant ringing in his ears like Homer Simpson, I still have to reinforce "It's not too late to save what you already have!"

 

[cel4145]

clavinetjunkie does a lot of in room demo comparisons of bluetooth speakers. Such demos are not very useful for determining SQ since the recording is obviously colored by his recording process and whatever you listen to them with (although I think you can learn a bit about bass or trebele extension when there is a big difference). However, towards the end of the demos, he usually cranks them up to see which maintains composure better at louder volumes and the comments on which is better for that: https://www.youtube.com/user/clavinetjunkie/videos.