I lost my old JBL Speaker that I would use on the beach, at the ball fields, or just about anywhere else.

What's Nerdery thoughts on best portable Bluetooth speaker?

We've got a UE Boom that we tote around. It's worked well for us.

Another vote for UE Boom. Sound is pretty good, they're waterproof/resistant, float if dropped in water, great battery life, and damn near indestructible. Mine got knocked off the roof of my dad's F-250 onto the driveway and you can barely tell where it made contact, and it sounds the same. I was amazed.

Also, you can turn it off and on via the app, which is nice so you don't have to walk over to physically turn it on. The app also lets you check battery life and connect several UE Booms together if you need to. I've used that feature a couple of times...1) when we are camping with my dad, I connect his and we can have music all around the campsite without having to turn it up so loud that it annoys the neighbors, and 2) when floating in the lake, we have one on the float and the other on the swim platform.

If I was buying today, I'd get the megaboom, which is a larger speaker than the Boom 3 I have.

I still like my JBL Flip for portable music in the yard, pool, etc... Loud and good sound at all volumes.

+1 for UE Boom

If it's being used outside a lot, I'd go JBL Flip or UE Boom, although I only have a lot of experience with the Flip.

I recently heard the new Bose Soundlink Flex in person, and that thing is amazing. Better than my Flip 5 for sure. I'd go with that if I was buying one for my use case, which is mostly around the house.

Yet another for the UE, but if you want something waterproof, my demerbox is awesome.

Turtlebox

I've got a Sonos Roam. It's great but I've already bought into the Sonos ecosystem, so I added it to my other speakers as a surround speaker when I'm not taking it with me. It's a bit pricy, but it sounds great.

Shumba said:

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I've got a Sonos Roam. It's great but I've already bought into the Sonos ecosystem, so I added it to my other speakers as a surround speaker when I'm not taking it with me. It's a bit pricy, but it sounds great.

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Love my Sonos Roam.

I have a JBL Charge 4 and have been very happy with it. I think that or the UE boom would be good options

I have had this one since 2019 and it's been flawless. Great range if you trust my old ears.

Bluetooth speaker

Shumba said:

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I've got a Sonos Roam. It's great but I've already bought into the Sonos ecosystem, so I added it to my other speakers as a surround speaker when I'm not taking it with me. It's a bit pricy, but it sounds great.

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Same

We've had Booms and now have 2 Mega Booms. UE is good stuff.

I'm in the market now and looking at this one. Any updated pros and cons? Should I get the case too?

Amazon.com: Ultimate Ears BOOM 3 Portable Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker - Night Black : Electronics

Edit - Pulled the trigger on it.

I own all 3 sizes of the JBL- the beer can size flip, the intermediate charge, and the large extreme. The extreme is my backyard / pool speaker, the charge is my golf cart speaker, and the beer can sized one is for travel, hotel rooms, and other random uses. Could I use just one, yes, but I love them all and use them a lot. The bass notes are amazing on them which is a real differentiator for me vs the UE boom which I've heard several times but don't own.

Sonos roam

Everytime I've had to replace mine, I would try out everything every store had. The JBL portable bluetooth speakers have just always had the best sound. I find the audio to be full with a good mix of bass.

Love my Sony XB12. Portable. Loud enough. Easily straps to whatever. Sits in a cupholder.

And you can pair 2 together. Just did that this week at my Dad's pool (he has one too).

Charge lasts a crazy long time.

https://a.co/d/8VsXjW1

I like my JBL Charge 3, great sound for it's size and good battery life. Looking at upgrading the sound system in my garage and will probably go with 2 of these: https://a.co/d/ctYmH2Z