Speaker 1: So are you looking for a Bluetooth speaker? All right, let's talk about it.
Speaker 1: If you're looking for a wireless speaker, you have tons and tons of options. So, first up, we're gonna talk about what you should know about Bluetooth speakers in general. Then it's onto our recommendations as chosen by seeing at editors. If you want just the recommendations go to this time code. So what do you need to know when you're considering a Bluetooth speaker? Here are the things to look out for [00:00:30] price size, water resistance, Bluetooth version, speaker, phone capabilities, connector type, and inputs. All of those things you can find in the spec sheet of any Bluetooth speaker, then there are things, a spec sheet won't help you with specifically that sound quality. So let's start at the spec sheet side with water resistance. You may see something like this in a spec sheet, IP 67, IP stands for Ingres protection and it's a standard by the international electro technical commission, or [00:01:00] I E C the, I, I E says the code is composed of two numerals.
Speaker 1: The first numeral refers to protection against solid objects and is rated on a scale from zero, no protection to six, no ingress of dust. The second numeral rates, the enclosures protection against liquids and uses a scale from zero, no protection to nine eye pressure, hot water from different angles. So that first number should never be higher than six. And the second, no larger than nine. If [00:01:30] you see an X in the rating, that means that company has not provided testing details. So the rating number is replaced with an X. For example, an IP X eight rated device can survive being submerged in water, but it has not officially been rated for any protection from dust. Next up Bluetooth versions. We'll try to stick with what you need to know for audio, because you can get really, really into Bluetooth if you wanted to. So Bluetooth is a wireless text standard that has been around since 1998.
Speaker 1: It's been [00:02:00] updated many times over its lifespan. The latest major revision is Bluetooth. Five introduced in 2017. Bluetooth five has four times a range and double the speed of Bluetooth four. Now, what does that mean? You should be able to stream from a Bluetooth five device to a Bluetooth five device quicker and further away than with Bluetooth. Four devices. Keep in mind that both your devices likely your phone and a speaker in our case would need to support Bluetooth five to get all the benefits of their newer standard. [00:02:30] Also performance will vary depending on the environment. Also do yourself a favor and take a look at the input section of the spec sheets. Maybe you've decided USBC is the future, and you have a bunch of those cables lying around. Well, you not want a speaker that uses a micro USB port. Also some speakers have inputs, so you can attach your phone to a speaker using an ox cable.
Speaker 1: That would mean you're tethered to the speaker, but you'll never have a lost connection issue as for sound quality. That's why we're here to help. [00:03:00] So let's get to the recommendations as chosen by CNET editors. First up is the BS sound link flex CNET. David Carnoy says, this is the best mini Bluetooth speaker you can buy. Right now it's available in three colors and has an IP six, seven rating. In the case, you drop the sound link, flex water. It floats you will not find an audio input on the speaker. By the way, the only way you're getting audio out of it is through Bluetooth. Strangely, this speaker uses the older Bluetooth 4.2. [00:03:30] Most of the new Bluetooth speakers out there are using 5.1 Bo said that it didn't see a significant benefit for its customers to move up from point or 0.2, that does mean you're at standard Bluetooth range of 30 feet or 10 meters.
Speaker 1: You can place a speaker in either horizontal or vertical positioning. Bo says the speaker sound is automatically optimized. According to the position you have it. This is a mono speaker. So if you want stereo sound, you could buy yourself a second. Bose product pair them. [00:04:00] What if you want an even smaller speaker, check out the tri bit storm box, micro our pick as the best value micro speaker. The storm box micro is a small device that fits in a pocket with a small price tag of around $50. On the spec side it's IP six, seven rated can be linked to another storm box micro to create stereo sound. And it even comes with an integrated strap. So you can attach the speaker to your backpack or bike or something. The storm box micro was able to deliver more base than every Bluetooth speaker in its [00:04:30] size class.
Speaker 1: And it also managed to have limited distortion at higher volumes. What if you want to go big? Well, there's the ultimate ears hyper boom. It's our pick for top sounding jumbo, Bluetooth speaker. This thing is huge. Weighing it at 13 pounds, but it's got a strap so you can Lu it around like a massive toolbox. It supports four input sources, two Bluetooth, one, 3.5 millimeter input and an optical input. It can also charge other devices [00:05:00] via its USB port it's IP ratings, IP X four. So it's splash proof. What about sound quality? You're going to get big sound strong base and good detail. It also has an integrated mic that calibrates sound depending on the environment. If you want even bigger sound, you can pair a couple of hyper booms for stereo sound oh one hyper boom will cost you around $400. Well, what if your budget is around a hundred dollars?
Speaker 1: Check out the [00:05:30] anchor sound core motion, plus it's I P X seven rated and it is arguably one of the best sounding speakers under a hundred dollars. If not the best, you'll get big base, plenty of volume and good. You can tweak the speaker sound using a companion app for iOS and Android. There's also a 3.5 millimeter audio input for wired connections. You can also link up two anchor sound core motion, plus speakers to create a stereo pair. Don't forget that tech changes all the time and new gadgets are [00:06:00] always being released. Definitely check out, scene it for full reviews of what I've mentioned as well as other Bluetooth speaker options. I'm AA Zach online.
