[mlau]

I'd like to get my buddy some speakers for his office.
 
A few weeks ago, my buddy told me that he just became a dental director for a non-profit in Sacramento.
His one wish is that he can have some good background music when he's doing admin work.
He specifically requested a bluetooth speaker of some sort.
 
What would you guys recommend?
 
I don't have a ton of cash, but I'd like to get him something nice.
I'd also like it to sound good, function well, and be fairly tough.
 
While I don't have a ton of experience with bluetooth speakers, I had a UE roll and thought it was pretty nice.
 
<edit> If the thing is really much nicer, I'm willing to stretch my budget to $200.

 

[abm0]

  <edit> If the thing is really much nicer, I'm willing to stretch my budget to $200.

There were pretty good things you could get for 100, but since you raised the bar I have to point out that you can get dead serious portable fidelity in the 150-200 region by getting this relatively recent release from Harman/Kardon: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Harman-Kardon-Onyx-Mini-Portable-Wireless-Speaker-/232230363938?rmvSB=true

If your friend is any sort of audiophile he would be best served using this speaker with the front grille off, because that's when its treble extension really shines through.

 

[mlau]

Thanks for the tip!
 
I'll look into it.
 
In the meanwhile, I'll be building him some Overnight Sensations (and some Quarks for myself).
If things go well, I may build a lot more.

 

[pinkfloyd4ever]

I know it may be insane to tell you to more than double your budget, but for $220 these will sound more like $1000+ speakers on your desktop

 

[pinkfloyd4ever]

Or if you have any sort of mechanical inclination, I'd build these http://gr-research.com/lgk10kit.aspx and buy or build a nice little amp to drive em. They don't call them Little Giant Killers for nothing..
 

 

 

[mlau]

  I know it may be insane to tell you to more than double your budget, but for $220 these will sound more like $1000+ speakers on your desktop

 
Link?
 
Anyways, I've already put my money down on the Paul Carmody Overnight Sensations and the Jeff Bagsby Quark kit.
If they turn out nice, I may definitely not mind spending $220 on the speakers.
 
Surprisingly, good tweeters and woofers can add up pretty quick (in addition to crossovers, finish work, assembly, etc).
 
If there are some speakers under $300 that sound as good as the Speedsters or Piccolitos, I'd probably happily buy they to save myself the labor.
Although, I'm tempted to still build them anyways.  
 
I have some walnut that I've been air drying in my workshop since 2010 from my hometown.

 

[mlau]

Oh yeah...I forgot to mention that I build guitars for fun.
I was also planning to kit out my workshop with festool-like tools (high precision, good dust collection, great ergos) to make cabinetry for my dental office (just some rolling carts for implant/root canal work) since most "dental" stuff is 16x as expensive and worse made than some ikea stuff.
 
It takes me around 200 hours to build an instrument--and I don't have that type of time nowadays.
 
I think speakers will be much easier.

 

[pinkfloyd4ever]

  I know it may be insane to tell you to more than double your budget, but for $220 these will sound more like $1000+ speakers on your desktop

whoops https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/m24-powered-speakers-from-peachtree-audio-bluetooth-usb#/

 

[abm0]

In fact I never considered the larger Onyx Studio (original or 2 or 3) might cost about the same but it seems you can actually get one of these cheaper than the Mini: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Harman-Kardon-Onyx-Studio-3-Wireless-Speaker-with-Rechargeable-Battery-and-MIC-/232218644690?cmd=ViewItem&rmvsb=true
 
The trade-off is portability, especially with the non-removable pointy feet at the back, but for indoor use it's the superior option, with a more extended response and higher max. loudness.

 

[mlau]

How do you think those M24 speakers will compare to the lgk 1.0?
 
I haven't opened the overnight sensation kit yet, so I can still return it.
While I'm cheap, I've found that being too cheap results in false economy.

 

[mlau]

  In fact I never considered the larger Onyx Studio (original or 2 or 3) might cost about the same but it seems you can actually get one of these cheaper than the Mini: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Harman-Kardon-Onyx-Studio-3-Wireless-Speaker-with-Rechargeable-Battery-and-MIC-/232218644690?cmd=ViewItem&rmvsb=true
 
The trade-off is portability, especially with the non-removable pointy feet at the back, but for indoor use it's the superior option, with a more extended response and higher max. loudness.

 
Hwy abm0,
 
Does it sound better than a Sonos Play 3?
I'm not really too well educated regarding the different stuff out there, and have limited references to draw from.
I remember that my UE roll was loud, but lacking in various things in a good room.

 

[abm0]

  Does it sound better than a Sonos Play 3?
I'm not really too well educated regarding the different stuff out there, and have limited references to draw from.
I remember that my UE roll was loud, but lacking in various things in a good room.

I'd say it probably does. I go off clavinetjunkie's reviews on YouTube and what I can hear with his A/B tool here: http://switcher.oluvsgadgets.net
He only tested the Sonos Play:1 a few years back and that one is very bassy and a bit veiled, so I'd bet Sonos aren't really aimed at audiophiles looking for a neutral response whereas Harman Kardon products are. So if you can get them for about the same price, the HK is probably the better option.
 
And yeah, UE portable speakers are mediocre and overhyped just because of the brand name (just like most Sony, Creative, Bose and Beats portables).

 

[mlau]

hmmm.  Thanks for the input.
 
The Sonos Play 3 sounds much better than a play 1.
The main draw is that it's pretty idiotproof--like everything apple; and good enough--again like apple.
 
In contrast, I've never tried Harmon Kardon (but understand that it's a great company, like Bower and Wilkinson, JVC, etc).
I think that I had some cheap 2.0 speakers that I found for free once?
 
I'm more of a headphone guy, since I'm used to moving all over the place.
 
The DIY speaker thing is pretty attractive, and I might try the LGK 1.0 (looks like a pretty interesting design).
Of course, I'm also tempted to try the bagsby sopranos or the carmody continuums.
 
Anyways, I heard back from my friend.
He told me not to go too crazy, and that he's fine with the overnight sensations.

 

[mlau]

Just to clarify my previous post:
 
The UE Roll was actually pretty good from a UI standpoint: Rugged, compact, simple, easy to use, loud, clear.  no bass (as expected).  Dunkable.  Dustproof.
You could play frisbee with it and be fine.  For a workout speaker or workshop speaker, it's almost ideal.
 
However, I dislike bluetooth.  Any little "ping" will stop the song.
 
In contrast, my Blackstar Fly3 sounded pretty amazing with an Aux input.
It sounded especially amazing double stacked.

 

[abm0]

Sure, it's possible it has great practical qualities. I always comment on these portables from an audio fidelity perspective before anything else, and Logitech/UE is nothing to write home about on that front.