Bluetooth speakers - Real world experiences

[fleetmaster]

Had a tdk 33, it's water proof, and sounded great, but then my son dropped it into the water getting off the boat and I couldn't recover it off the bottom, then brought a Wi-Fi not Bluetooth pioneer A3, heaps more money but good for the boat

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2

[juggernaut]

Placement of the unit .... trying to keep it away from spray etc - eventually they fail (even marine ones) ..... I went through 2 on my first boat .

Chris

Thought of placing it in an enclosure like one of these:

http://www.jpwmarine.com.au/products...hatch-wht.aspx

I mounted something similar on my quintrex for my Alpine unit and then bought a wireless remote and placed that on the drivers side.

If you can be bothered making a custom enclosure out of starboard that would also work.

Plenty of threads on THT indicate that an enclosure to keep the spray off the unit does wonders to extend the life of the unit.

[Jakers 69]

Logiteck small boombox will keep the fish away.

[NAGG]

Thought of placing it in an enclosure like one of these:

http://www.jpwmarine.com.au/products...hatch-wht.aspx

I mounted something similar on my quintrex for my Alpine unit and then bought a wireless remote and placed that on the drivers side.

If you can be bothered making a custom enclosure out of starboard that would also work.

Plenty of threads on THT indicate that an enclosure to keep the spray off the unit does wonders to extend the life of the unit.

I'm not going to go down the path of a built in system - I thought about it initially when I got my boat bulit ..... speaker placement is an issue & where you fit the head unit ....... I could build something easy enough but - nah
I'm also looking for portability .

Chris

[Greg P]

Have a look at www.gracedigitalaudio.com
They have some good waterproof (ipx7) I think that would be good for boat.

[NAGG]

I had a great opportunity to listen to about a dozen different speakers yesterday using my own Galaxy Note 2 playing my songs ....... very interesting
Price ranges from $60 - $370
There were some surprises in sound quality & some disappointments ....... Plus compromising battery life for sound quality

in the end ....... two thirds were eliminated on just not sounding good enough (balanced) or not handling max volume without distortion - All the sub $100 ones were gone but so were several of the big names & expensive ones including Bose "soundlink" , Dr Pills "Beats" Jawbone "Jambox mini" & "Jambox" .

It was good to play certain songs & jump from one speaker to the other ..... with the final 4 Jawbone "big" Jambox , Logitech UE Boombox , TDK A33 & JBL Flip all sounding pretty darn good - but the decision will be tough as we see stated battery life range from 5 hours up to 15 hours in final group of 4 Additionally there is a price range difference of over $230 between the Jawbone "Big" Jambox & JBL "Flip" - finally the size difference where the flip & boombox are close to a third of the size with the TDK A33 half the size .

Decisions decisions ...... but I'm going to listen to a couple of others today - just to be sure before I part with some cash . The tough call will be battery life Vs price paid

I'll let you know how I go

Chris

[NAGG]

So ..... I ended up going with the TDK-A33 but just on why -

Jawbone "big" Jambox was a cracker of a unit , but "big" is the word being the size of a house brick in size & nearly in weight - it had a battery life of around 15 hours - The sound quality was fractionally the best but at a cost of $370 - I baulked. (specially considering that it could be ruined because of the environment

JBL "Flip" was a surprise being the smallest unit & the cheapest ($130) - the sound was remarkably good but it did lack bass and was a little behind in volume .... It had the lowest battery life at 5 hours. Still worth considering but I would be concerned about water splashes.

Logitech Ultimate Ears "boom" not much bigger than the "Flip" about the size of an energy drink can . Pricing was around the $190 mark & the sound was darn good though as you would expect lacks a bit of bass - they state a 15 hour battery life but the reality is much much less than that according to a couple of people I know . Its splash proof with a rubberised kind of coating . If you wanted to there is an App that allows you to drive 2 units in proper stereo. This would be a great unit for camping , hiking etc - I found it a little fiddly with the controls .

so for me it was the TDK-A33 - I was fortunate enough to pick it up for a discounted $166. This was the second largest unit (the size of half a house brick) but it probably had the best balanced sound with good volume & very little distortion when cranked up - which was first and foremost for me. It is simple to use and pair with my phone (I like that). Battery life is 6 hours (10 would be better) but it can run off AC power & charged via USB - It rated IP64 for splash resistance (the unit is described as weather proof) . ...... So in the end , its affordable , weatherproof , functional , not overly large with impressive sound quality

Chris

[WalrusLike]

Thanks for that Chris. Might do the same....


(Using Tapatalk on iPhone so can't easily 'thank' or 'like')

[NAGG]

Thanks for that Chris. Might do the same....


(Using Tapatalk on iPhone so can't easily 'thank' or 'like')

Its just an option - if you have a smartphone or ipod - You can also plug directly into the speaker which saves on drawing down power out with bluetooth.

The last thing is that you can answer your phone with it as it has a mic ...... just push the handset button & bingo

Chris

[Spin]

There is a Bluetooth heavy duty speaker in the bargain boat bits catalog
that came out today waterproof floating device
go to there site go to products, electronics, entertainment, and see
heavy duty rechargeable Bluetooth speaker $99 was $119
10 hour play or talk time
Just came in the mail today the catalog
so i thought i would let you know is all
might be worth a look?

[londee]

I just use a GME Sound Safe, protects my phone as well for $50

http://www.gme.net.au/news/2012/10/29/new-from-gme/64

[deckie]

Some great info, especially from Chris..cheers.

We all have had issues with "marine" stereo's over the yrs. How we store/listen to our toons has moved on and i reckon marine audio systems are only recently catching up to reflect the changes.

[kind_cir]

I use a GME sound safe as it keeps my phone dry and safe. I use a Jaba clipper when underway and the phone stays in the sound safe. I can also take calls with the clipper.

Now if you flip you open boat with the sound safe it floats and keeps the phone dry to call for help.

The sound safe is a great little boom box.

[timeout]

I use one of these , good so far [12 months]

[NAGG]

I use one of these , good so far [12 months]

Next time you are near a JB HiFI run your ipod or phone through both the TDK & the Jabra .....
Let me know what you think

Jabra was the one I was originally going to buy till I got the chance to run my own side by side comparisons

Chris