Edit: whoops, just realized I posted this in the wrong section, apologies.
I'm at it again, this time I'm on the hunt for the best Bluetooth portable speaker
which can be charged via micro USB. Why micro USB? One of my applications for the speaker is camping and general outdoor use, a speaker which is powered by micro USB can be charged via a backup power bank which I also use for my phone and other devices. I need to be able to play music on a multi-day camping trip for 20+ hours so having the ability to be easily recharged is a must.
I work at a major electronics retailer so I am limiting my search to what I can find in store and order, employee discount
So far I've picked up the UE Boom and JBL Charge 2. I did a fair amount of research and was able eliminate many speakers just by demoing them in store and I am only picking ones that I think are worth my time. Unfortunately, not all of our displays are working.
UE Boom:
Overview: I was stuck working in MP3's and headphones for a few hours and it was slow so I decided I would do some product testing. I was quite impressed when I played around with this little guy on the showroom floor, it was clearly better than almost everything else we had that I could test(micro USB chargeable or not). I read many reviews and decided to pull the trigger and do some testing in my own home as well as take some measurements. The sound quality wasnt the only thing I was impressed with though, the UE boom claims 15 hours of music playback and is IP-X4 splash resistant. Both of those things make it an excellent choice for camping or general outdoor use.
I took the UE Boom outside to test the range over BT. Most speakers start breaking up at 30ft but UE claims a range of 50ft. I set the UE Boom down and started walking away while playing music from my Note 4. I can confirm that the claimed 50ft range is indeed accurate. However this is line of sight range, any walls or obstructions significantly reduce the range.
Sound: It's a BT speaker with basically 2 large tweeters and 2 passive radiators. Being an audio enthusiast, I found that I had to constantly remind myself that I was shopping for a small portable speaker and to keep my expectations in check. Honestly, it sounds better than I thought would be possible with such small drivers. I would say this speakers "shines" in the mid-range to lower treble region as it unfortunately comes short in the bass department, even when compared to other speakers its size. Overall I would say the sound is fairly neutral but a bit thin with some mid-bass almost completely disappearing. As far as loudness goes, it plays quite loud, almost uncomfortably so in a small room. Output isn't an issue. I would go so far as to say this little guy could comfortably fill a small apartment with music at modest-low listening levels.
Other notes: I haven't been able to test the battery life claims but I played with it for about an hour and the battery depleted 10%. I gave the splash resistance a go and ran the UE Boom under a faucet for a few seconds. The water beaded off the hydrophobic mesh grill but I did find a tiny amount of water ingress around the rubber port covers. I would say it should do just fine in the rain as long as the speaker is kept port side down so that water doesn't pool at the top of the speaker by the ports.
The Good:
Great battery life
Water resistant
Above average overall sound quality
Above average volume
D-Ring to hook it onto a backpack or hang it somewhere
The ability to sync 2 UE Booms for more volume or for L&R stereo playback
Cool app that lets customize the sound with a 5 band EQ and see the battery level etc
Holding the + and - buttons makes the UE Boom readout its current battery level
NFC BT pairing!!!! Freaking awesome for us Android master race users
All you do is tap your phone to the speaker and it pairs automatically.
The Bad:
Below average bass extension
JBL Charge 2:
Overview: I decided to pick this up because when I briefly demoed it on the showroom it seemed to have great bass extension, however I felt that the mids and treble were lacking. I didn't really get a good chance to put it through its paces and its a very popular speaker so I decided to take it home. Also, my coworker who owns the Charge 2 claims its better than the UE Boom, so I wanted to validate his claims. The Charge 2 isn't water resistant and is missing some of the cool features and bomb-resistant construction of the Boom but it can do one cool thing, it can charge a device via the USB port at the back of the device.
Sound: When it comes speakers in general, the most important thing to me that they first and foremost aren't offensive in any way. Unfortunately, the JBL Charge 2 is a bit offensive.....to me. I listened to the speaker before I measured it as to not have the measurements impact my "blind" listening. Right away I could tell there was something funny happening north of 10khz, there was some slight sibilance and harshness. BUT, the bass was great!
I wanted to like this speaker because it really had very impressive extension for a speaker of this size, those radiators on the sides really move....At the end of the day though I just couldn't get past the offensive nature in the treble region and my listening tests ended after about 15min. I wouldn't say the Charge 2 is garbage, but if you have young, sensitive ears then this speaker may not be for you.
The Good:
Excellent bass extention
Ability to charge a device via USB
The Bad:
Everything but the bass.
Now, onto the NUMBERS!
This measurement is taken with both speakers on axis.
I also took an off axis measurement of the UE Boom. On the showroom they have the Boom situated so that the drivers are firing perpendicularly to the listener. I always assumed that the way they designed it to be listened to but I went ahead and measured one side on axis. As expected the treble extension is much improved but the mid-range suffers a bit. Note that these are near-field measurements.
And there it is, confirmation of what i said before I measured them - the Charge 2's drivers seem to breakup around 13khz and there is also a prominent peak around 6khz which explains the harshness. I would ignore most of the data below 250hz as the measurement was done in a smallish room and those peaks and nulls are due to room modes/nodes. I should have started the measurement at 50hz but oh well, I was worried about bottoming out the drivers since I don't know how well protected they are. This sounds sort of silly but the UE Boom has a superior enclosure, its far more neutral than the Charge 2 which has noticeable noise coming from the enclosure during the sweeps.
As you can see the UE Boom has a bit more distortion in the lower bass region(which isn't really that audible anyways) but has significantly lower distortion everywhere else. The JBL Charge 2 has some prominent 3rd harmonic distortion in the treble region, this is surely a contributor to the harshness I experienced. NOTE: The UE Boom has a noticeable resonance right at 1,050hz, its very noticeable during the sweep and is occasionally noticeable during music but its subtle. It might be a manufacturing defect so I will exchange it out for another and report back. UPDATE: it was a defective unit. Exchanged it and there is no longer any resonance. If the resonance is "normal" then that's unfortunate but its not bad enough to be a deal breaker by any means.
I may get another speaker or two to test in the future. It's almost 2015 so I don't want to invest too much money as new models are probably coming out soon.
