Bluetooth Portable Speakers: A Scaling of Different Brands

September 17, 2014 9:55 AM ET

 

Smartphones and tablets have speakers built into the hardware, but they’re not truly suited for playing music at a party or outdoor event. The sound is often distorted and doesn’t do justice to the original song.  But what happens if you want to listen to a song without earphones or you want to share it with a group of friends? In that case, Portable Bluetooth Speakers are the way to go.

 

Luckily in the past few years, nearly every major audio company has jumped on the Bluetooth Speaker bandwagon so you have a variety of options. We compared three bluetooth speakers from Bose, Jawbone, and Beats. All three companies have earned a reputation for producing high quality audio, but which one is the best when it comes to bluetooth speakers?

 

The Bose Soundlink III vs the Beats Pill XL vs the Jawbone Big Jambox

 

Bose SoundLink Bluetooth Speaker III

 

Whatever your issue is with Bose (for us, it’s the price), you have to admit that the company makes rocking bluetooth speakers. One of their top-of-the-line is the Bose SoundLink Bluetooth Speaker III. It currently retails at $299.95.

 

Bose claims the speaker can play music for 14 hours on a single three hour charge. The speaker delivers full sound across different music genres. It does not have a USB port, like other bluetooth speakers; instead it has a power-in-jack. The only chink in the armor is its appearance - the design is like a small version of a guitar amplifier.

 

Like most high-end Bose products, the Bose SoundLink Bluetooth Speaker III does not disappoint on the sound quality front. If you don’t mind spending a little extra, then this is a speaker definitely worth checking out.

 

Beats Pill XL

 

While Beats headphones are considered duds in the headphone market, the Beats Pill XL does not have the same reputation in the Bluetooth Speaker market.  Like most Beats sound products, the Beats Pill XL is bass-heavy, but it pulls it off with finesse. However, we found that if you play deep bass songs at a high volume, you may hear some minor distortions.

 

The Beats Pill XL is slightly larger than most portable bluetooth speakers yet it’s still lightweight. The speaker comes with a built-in handle, to give it extra portability that can also serve as a stand.  Dead batteries can be buzz killers, so the battery gauge on the Beats Pill XL is an innovative feature. The Beats Pill XL is available in the market for $299.95.

 

Jawbone Big Jambox

 

If you are looking for a quality bluetooth speaker at a discount, try the Jawbone Big Jambox. You can listen to its sweet music for $299.99. The Jawbone Big Jambox also doubles up as a speakerphone, so if you’re not inclined to actually pick up your phone, this feature will come in handy. We can’t complain about the sound quality, though there can be minor distortions when you play music at high volume.

 

The Jawbone Big Jambox may not be the best bluetooth speaker that we‘ve reviewed, but it makes up for the lack with other qualities - extended battery life, solid sound (one of the best), and the speakerphone.

 

Final recommendations

 

All three speakers sounded great, but in our opinion, the company whose name is synonymous with high quality audio still has it going on. Looks aside, the Bose SoundLink Bluetooth Speaker III gets our vote.