★★★★☆
Summer outdoor activities are no more, but if you’ve got a fall hike or hay ride coming up, bring Soundcore’s compact new Motion 300 portable speaker. It’s one of the best of its kind.
It’s small, it’s tough, it looks good, it sounds great and it goes on sale today for $80. Soundcore got it right with the Motion 300, a 30-watt speaker with Wireless Hi-Res Certification and 13 hours of playtime.
Summer’s ending, but the new Soundcore Motion 300 and Motion 100 portable high-fidelity Bluetooth speakers can still give you stereo sound for outdoor activities this fall and winter, the company said Wednesday.
The $80 Motion 300, available October 9, is a 30-watt speaker with Wireless Hi-Res Certification and 13 hours of playtime. The similar $60 Motion 100, which lacks the 300’s SmartTune EQ, will ship in November, Soundcore said.
The new oval-shaped EpicBoom Bluetooth speaker joined Ultimate Ears’ lineup Monday, promising loud, bass-driven, 360-degree portable sound, the Logitech subsidiary said.
You can preorder the $349 boomer now for September 15 shipping.
The revamped Sonos Move 2 portable speaker sports stereo sound, up to 24 hours of battery life — twice that of its predecessor — and a slew of design changes since the water-resistant speaker’s initial release four years ago, the company said Wednesday.
Sonos Move 2 becomes available September 20 for $449.
Klipsch unveiled two new powered Bluetooth bookshelf speakers in its Reference series recently. The R-40PM and R-50PM speakers replace older “41” and “51” models, upgrading design, pumping up bass response and broadening connectivity with a phone preamp so you can easily connect a turntable, in addition to most other sound sources via USB and other line-in connections.
What you don’t need with these speakers is an amplifier, because they’re powered already.
BenQ, known for desktop monitors and accessories, unveiled its new treVolo U Desktop Dialogue Speaker Tuesday. Say what? A “dialogue speaker?”
Yes, and it uses special technology “designed to reinvent your digital life, offering exceptional audio for online learning, remote working, podcast and audiobook listening,” the company said.
★★★★★
Soundcore’s new Motion X600 Hi-Res Bluetooth Speaker is a keeper if you’re after a fantastic-looking portable speaker with convincing-enough spatial audio.
It starts shipping May 9, and if you pay just $1 for an early-bird coupon Monday — before the preorder promotion ends early Tuesday morning — you get the X600 for $149 instead of $199 at launch. That’s a fantastic value for anyone unsure they want to pony up twice as much for a second-gen HomePod.
★★★★☆
Whether it’s an RGB-plagued mouse or a stereo system that’s trying too hard, I tend to scoff at devices that light up in all the colors of the damned rainbow. But if they light up and also sound as good as Edifier’s QD35 Tabletop Bluetooth Speaker, I guess I’m sold. Let’s party.
Edifier recently sent me a unit to check out. You can read my thoughts below. In brief, the QD35 may not be everyone’s main stereo system, but it could be an ideal one-room speaker — whether that’s a kitchen, bedroom, rec room or man-cave/she-shack.
Soundcore unveiled its elegant new Motion X600 Portable High Fidelity Speaker Monday. The compact speaker offers hi-res, spatial audio in a handsome package with a metal grille and a choice of gray, green or blue colors.
When it becomes available in early May, it’ll go for $200. But you can get an early-bird discount. See below.
Edifier’s new QD35 Tabletop Bluetooth Speaker boasts an unusual combination of features: high-resolution audio playback, pulsating lights and a digital clock.
Oh, and it also offers full-time gallium nitride-powered charging for other devices. So it appears to be a curious but useful — not to mention cool-looking — beast.
There’s no reason your USB-C charger has to be dull. Rather than being the usual white or black box, GravaStar’s Alpha65 looks like a miniature robot. But it really is a 65W charger with multiple USB ports.
And the company’s Supernova is both a Bluetooth speaker and a portable lantern even though it looks like a mini mecha.
Legendary in rock’n’roll history for its Marshall stacks of amplifiers, the English company recently added a rugged Bluetooth speaker to the top of its growing lineup — the Middleton.
Like Marshall’s other portable wireless speakers — which all have proper English names, by the way — it looks like a guitar amp.
And this top-of-the-line number not only “goes to 11,” but it’s weatherproof and features multidirectional sound, too.
Now that the full-size HomePod is finally back, just how different is it from Apple’s original smart speaker? At a glance, you might not think the $299 speaker Apple unveiled Wednesday is that different at all, because the exterior design looks so similar. But compare the new HomePod’s features to the old model, and you’ll find significant changes.
It seems potentially much-improved as a smart home device, but whether it’s a better speaker is questionable.
★★★★☆
Victrola Music Edition 1 is ready to go into a backpack to liven up a study session or even a small get together. Or just use it in your home for better quality music or podcasts than an iPhone alone can provide. And it’s ready to be used indoors or out.
I tested the portable Bluetooth speaker in my house and at a gathering of friends. Here’s why I like it.
★★★★☆
Victrola probably isn’t the first name that leaps to mind when you’re shopping for speakers – it’s a company that built its reputation on the phonograph. But great-grandpa would be amazed because the company is keeping up with the times and recently launched the Victrola Music Edition 2, a great-looking Bluetooth speaker suited for small parties or outdoor gatherings. Plus it has some nice extras, like a wireless charger.
I tested the speaker with my iPhone 13 Plus – here’s why I’m quite pleased with it.
★★★★☆
If you’re looking for quality audio at an affordable price, you can certainly do much worse than Edifier products. The Chinese company consistently comes across with great value, and that’s the case with the Edifier MS50A powered wireless smart speaker.
The company sent me one of the handsome, wood-paneled speakers to test out. Though it’s not the smartest smart speaker on the block, it looks and sounds great for the price. I’ll get into more detail below.
Victrola, a company that built its reputation on the phonograph, is keeping up with the times by launching a pair of stylish, portable Bluetooth speakers on Tuesday.
The Victrola’s Music Edition speakers are designed to look good indoors but can also stand up to the elements when used in the yard or by the pool.
If you enjoy blasting music throughout your home, headphones simply won’t cut it. You’ll need a portable speaker that can move with you without compromising sound quality, and this sleek Sound Spot by Soundfreaq might fit the bill. Usually $79, you can get one on sale today for just $29.99.
★★★★★
The Scoshe BoomCan MS sticks to the back of a MagSafe iPhone and ups the sound quality considerably. The palm-size Bluetooth speaker magnetically attaches to recent Apple handsets where it also act as a kickstand or a handle. And it’s waterproof and dustproof.
I’ve been using the BoomCan MS for a few weeks… and I love it.
★★★★☆
The Soundcore Motion Boom Plus is a powerful, portable outdoor speaker you might want to nab before summer’s over. The boombox-style Bluetooth speaker brings the brawn — 80 watts of power — along with a bit more heft than some competitors.
When you factor in the excellent sound quality, some sporty features and the relatively low price of $179.99, it’s a worthy choice for outdoor use. Some folks might even use it indoors, but many never would because of its black plastic design. It might look at home in a college dorm, but probably not in most living rooms.
Apple killed the Beats Pill+ portable speaker in January, and yet it lives on. In March it saw a special-edition release through a partnernship with Stüssy. And now it rises from the dead once again.
This time, a collaboration with Devin Book and Book Projects will result in a customized Beats Pill+ exterior design that takes its cues from the Sonoran Desert.
Cue the lights, strike up the music and let the garden party begin. Ikea’s got a new outdoor lantern coming. What’s interesting is that it doubles as the first Bluetooth speaker on the market with Spotify Tap built in.
The one-touch Spotify functionality isn’t the only music streaming service you can use with the lamp, called the Ikea Vappeby. But it’s handy.
If you want a great-sounding portable speaker but don’t care about voice-activated control, Sonos just came out with the Sonos Roam SL. It’s like the highly regarded Sonos Roam smart speaker released last year, but it leaves out the far-field microphone and costs $20 less.
Going mic-less means you don’t get to use voice-activated assistants with the speaker. And you lose a couple of other mic-related functions, too.
Apple has discontinued the Beats Pill+ wireless speaker — one of the first brand-new products it launched after acquiring Beats in 2014. It was the only speaker available under the Beats brand, and there is no replacement.
You can still buy a Pill+ from third-party retailers while stocks last. However, you won’t find one in the Apple Store.
China-based audio specialist Edifier said Monday its new MP230 Bluetooth speaker — a CES 2022 Innovation Award Honoree — is now shipping. For a hundred bucks, the portable stereo acoustic speakers come in a wood frame that would not look out of place in your grandfather’s den. Yet you can take your tunes outside, too.