bluetooth speaker research

[arotron473]

Hi all!

I would like to know, if anyone of you have any direct comparison between Geneva Labs XS and Bose Soundlink Mini.

Also, any opinion for Panasoniv SC NA30? Good specs and 60s Braun look, but too plastic on my hands.

I am on this market at the moment.

Thank you in advance.

 

[MattSPL]

I have the Bose Soundlink mini, but haven't compared it to the others you mention.
I have compared it to the UE Boom, Kitsound Hive and Bitmore E-Storm.

The Bose is a very nicely made piece of kit, with substantial weight. The sound it puts out is mind boggling for its size. It plays deep bass notes some small hifi speakers couldn't reach. It will play 60hz easily. It plays loud enough too, but the signal processing reins back the bass as you turn up the volume past about 70%.
I could happily live with this as my main source of music if i was on the move a lot or didn't have the space for a home system.
Being critical, the bass could be a little faster, but that's just compared to my home system.

The UE Boom on the other hand struggles to play much lbass below 90hz. It must have a very steep filter to prevent this. My guess is that this is deliberate so the boom can play louder. The Boom can go very loud for a speaker of its size, and has decent punch to the bass, it just sounds wrong when it cuts off entire bass notes from your music collection, where the bose digs deep.
The Boom has usb charging and speaker phone, the bose doesnt.

The Bitmore E-storm is tiny in comparison, but plays very loud for its size and also has decent bass output when positoned correctly. Very nicely made and weighty. Teh bass precision impressed me most with this speaker, it acts like a good sealed box speaker does.

The KS Hive, is like a cheap version of the Bose. It has a big passive radiator and plays a reasonable amount of bass, but not very nice sound or build, but only £50 compared to the Bose's £170. The Bose is well worth the extra though. If you have the space and the cash, the Soundlink III might suit too.

 

[baz]

I couldn't comment on the Bose or the Panasonic, but I bought the Geneva Soundlab XS after reading Ken Kessler saying how surprsied he was that such a sound could come out of a small unit - I'd been looking for a travel clock-radio type thing for a while, so took the plunge and ordered one.

Yes, it's expensive for a clock radio, but the sound is superb - clear, full and with genuine bass....I have no idea how they get such bass out of something so tiny, and I don't need to know but it sounds great to me (n.b. the bass is nothing like that offered by the Sonos Play:1, but then it's far smaller and is definitely enough). Plus, if you push it further towards a wall/corner it definitely augments the bass and is easy to "tune" it in this way. The FM tuner is good and the bluetooth easy to set up - I get over the fact it doesn't have a DAB tuner by bluetoothing Tunein internet radio from my iPhone, plus of course you can do the same with any tracks on your phone/iPad/laptop etc.

Plus it packs up to a nice little size for travelling and is beautifully built with a nice leather finish (I got the white one, it doesn't stay that clean for long !).

 

[CarlDW]

Have a listen also to the Cambridge Audio Minx Go. I have one and it sounds great, better I think than the other bluetooth speakers around the £100 mark.