Small Bluetooth speakers don’t care if your device has Lightning or 30-pin, or even if it’s a Mac or an Android phone. You can stream music from any Bluetooth device, and the audio-in lets you connect anything with a headphone jack. You won’t be blowing anyone’s hairpiece off with the sound, but they’re portable enough for travel.
The Braven 600 won the prize for sound quality: crisp, clear, and well defined. The 6-watt speaker also got louder than the other two we tested, and the built-in rechargeable 1400mAh battery kept it playing for nearly 12 hours—you can even connect your iPhone or other USB-charging device to its USB port and use some of that battery power to top off. At 6.3 x 2.5 x 1.8 inches and 12 ounces, it’s the longest speaker in our test, but also the thinnest, and easy to tote around, even poking out of your back pocket. The red aluminum (also available in black) looks great, but it’s the least sturdy on a table; we kept knocking it over with any little bump.
From top to bottom: Logitech UE Boombox, Big Blue Live, Braven 600
Logitech’s UE Mobile Boombox has a good-looking, rubberized exterior available in all black (shown) or in black-and-red, black-and-green, all white, and blue-and-white. It’s short and squat at 4.4 x 2.6 x 2.4 inches, and the lightest in this test at 10.5 ounces. The rechargeable battery lasts 10 hours, and it was easy to not only pair lots of devices (up to eight before it stops making new pairings), but also connect two devices at once and take turns playing. Unfortunately, it couldn’t get as loud as the other two speakers we tested, and the sound quality was just OK at mid volumes but quickly got distorted and icky past 80 percent or so.
The Big Blue Live from Brookstone comes in white or black, measuring only slightly larger than the UE Mobile Boombox at 5 x 2.5 x 2.36 inches. It’s the heaviest speaker we tested, at 1.4 pounds, but it’s still easy to tote around. Its 4-watt output sounded fuller and louder than the UE Mobile Boombox, but a little muddy compared to the Braven. Big Blue Live is the only speaker here that has forward/back buttons on the speaker, along with volume up/down, but the low-profile plastic buttons still look and feel a little chintzy.
The bottom line. Any of these is a great option for moving from room to room as you clean, rocking out in hotels, and streaming a ball game while you man the grill. They aren’t powerful enough for a house party, but all of them beat the $70 iHome iDM11 we reviewed a few issues back (Jul/12, p63, 3.5/5 stars). The Braven’s long life, great sound, sharp looks, and ability to top off a device’s power give it the edge over the less expensive, still-solid UE Mobile Boombox and Big Blue Live.
Product: Braven 600
Company: Braven
Contact: www.braven.com
Requirements: Audio device with Bluetooth or headphone jack
Pros: USB port to top off your iPhone charge. 12 hour battery (1400mAh). Best sound. Handsome red aluminum exterior (also comes in “mountain ash” black). Line in and line out for daisy-chaining.
Cons: No playback controls on the speaker, just volume. More expensive than the other two.
Product: UE Mobile Boombox
Company: Logitech
Contact: www.logitech.com
Price: $99.99
Requirements: Audio device with Bluetooth or headphone jack
Pros: Comes in a bunch of colors. Pair up to eight devices and connect two at once. 50 foot range. 10-hour battery life.
Cons: No playback controls on the speaker. Most distortion at high volumes.
Product: Big Blue Live
Company: Brookstone
Contact: www.brookstone.com
Price: $99.99
Requirements: Audio device with Bluetooth or headphone jack
Pros: Good sound. Playback controls.
Cons: Heaviest of the three. Six hours of charge time is half as much as the Braven 600.
