As the title says, any recommendations? I'd rather have something that will be fairly durable rather than the best sound quality. I'm not going to listen to music just stream NPR.
As the title says, any recommendations? I'd rather have something that will be fairly durable rather than the best sound quality. I'm not going to listen to music just stream NPR.
$5 Below Bluetooth speakers are surprisingly durable, as long as you don't have have the volume at 11.
Anker SoundCore2. Tiny, but sounds great. Excellent battery life. For NPR (mostly voices) it would be fantastic. Perfect in the midrange and highs, acceptable in the lower frequencies. You'll be surprised.
They go on sale for $25 every once in a while on BestBuy or Amazon, but typically more like $40. I got mine about 5 years ago as an open box in a Best Buy store for $17 and I have abused it in my boat every summer. Easily lasts for a 5 hour fishing trip.
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
That's the same one I have and I've been similarly happy with it. Currently $35 on amazon.
Go to Goodwill and buy a cheap stereo and speakers, plug into the wall, tune the radio to NPR, it will work all day every day :) You can even spread the speakers to where you get the best overall coverage - I've got two sets in my shop.
In reply to Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) :
The Sound Core got good reviews in some other recent GRM Chatter about BT speakers
For a cheap easy solution a Sound Core speaker (there's a new version out that's supposed to be a little better yet) would be my suggestion.
I want to repurpose some smaller old home speakers that were left behind by the previous home owner and combine with a receiver of some sort with integrated Bluetooth as well as AM/FM tuning and a couple additional inputs so I can drive it with a laptop. That's the long term solution.
Are you going to keep it in one spot, or move it from place to place, even infrequently?
If you're going to move it, the Anker that Curtis suggested (or similar) is what I would go with. If it is something that will be pretty permanent, I would go with either a bluetooth dongle for an old stereo receiver and some old speakers (Facebook marketplace, wait a bit and you'll find a setup minus the dongle for ~$25), or else something like this amazon bluetooth amp and some old speakers.
I like my Anker as a bluetooth speaker, for the garage I'd consider using an Echo Dot, fairly cheap, fairly good music, but then if you get in a pinch, you can have it call out for help, etc.
Doss traveler. Loud as hell if you want it. Can be quiet too. Good bass. Long battery life. Waterproof. I've bought two when the charge port finally gave. Mine was $29 when I first bought but are now 49 and still worth every bit of that.
https://www.dossaudio.com/products/traveler
The nice thing is you're doing primarily talk radio, so it doesn't need a ton of oomph which is why I suggested the SoundCore. It takes up so little space and has more than enough volume. That Doss Traveler looks great too. My Soundcore is even audible in the boat while I'm running the outboard.
My garage has a recycled "boom box" that I scavenged from someone's dumpster. The CD player broke, but the rest works fine. I just set it on a board in the rafters and it works great for free.
The Cambridge Oontz Angle 3 is like $28 and would work well for your use case. Also OK for music if you don't need volume in a large space.
I ended up getting a Google/Nest Mini from Goodwill and use that in the garage.
Another Anker soundcore vote here. Lately though I have some decent in ear Bluetooth headphones instead that I've been using as I am usually by myself and listening to podcasts. When we have group work weekends the Anker gets used.
I bought an Anker based on the recommendation in the previous thread and liked it so much I bought another. It sounds great and takes up very little space.
Thanks for the replies. I left out 1 factor. I have a radio in the garage but when I turn the lights on the static is really loud.
Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) said:Thanks for the replies. I left out 1 factor. I have a radio in the garage but when I turn the lights on the static is really loud.
What kind of bulbs are you using? Are they fluorescent or really cheap, Chinese made LED?
If you are looking for portable, Libratone makes pretty good stuff. You can usually find it on sale on Woot.com or MorningSave.com I use them on my boat and get good sound with the wind whipping around at 30MPH.
For my garage, I found a set of Philip's paired speakers that had an aux cord and had bluetooth connectivity. Little box speakers, about 8x8x12" or so. Plug into the wall for power. Great system for a personal garage.
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