Stuff We Use: Bluetooth Speakers

On our never-ending quest to improve this place by listening to feedback from the B&B, we are taking a new tack with these product posts, choosing instead to focus on items we use and have deployed in our travels. After all, if we’re giving you the truth about cars, we ought to give you the truth about car accessories.

When we first covered this topic a couple of years ago, we argued that external Bluetooth speakers are arguably more car adjacent than some of the other products featured in this series. We stand by that assessment this time around – and also stand by the assertion that gearheads generally enjoy having some tunes on the go. 

In addition to Bluetooth speakers sold on places like eBay, it’s noting that a few vehicle brands bake this technology right into some new models. Jeep has the most obvious parallel, living in a dock behind the back seat of rigs like the Gladiator. Originally priced at about 300 bones but now part of a $1,495 option group, it isn’t the cheapest way to source a few mobile tunes but it does fit snugly in its protective home and is a great party trick to haul out at yer next tailgate. We’ve used this speaker and it is decently robust with good sound, designed to weather a few knocks and scrapes in typical Jeep environments. It can also provide juice to devices via a USB port, which is handy.

Less portable but no equally external is a Kicker systems offered by GM baked into the multifunction tailgates of Silverado and Sierra pickup trucks. This one costs $895 but the required Multi-Flex tailgate pushes the total to $1,340. Not cheap but it is fully weatherproof with illuminated displays and multiple inputs in addition to Bluetooth. Completely independent from the truck’s main audio system, all one need do is pair a music source to it and let fly with their favorite artists. Sound is better than the Jeep’s thanks to dint of being paired with a weatherproof amp hidden in the tailgate 

Sitting in my own home is a Fender Newport Bluetooth speaker, belting out clear tunes with sound larger than its footprint implies. Its look is meant to evoke a guitar amplifier and there’s a really good heft to this thing, like lifting a stone out of a river. Its dials along the top have a great action to them with that metal on/off switch giving up a satisfying click. It says the rechargeable battery lasts for about 12 hours but I’ve never really gotten more than eight or nine. At roughly $250 for a new one it’s not the cheapest option ( used ones pop up on eBay occasionally) but there’s nothing remotely cheap-feeling about this cool-looking speaker.

Also kicking around my house and generally deployed on the deck is a  Soundcore Flare speaker, a great little scamp generally priced under a hundred bucks. Its unique shape allows the drivers to be placed back-to-back to produce a hearty amount of audio energy. It doesn’t have the punch of the Fender but it plays in a totally different price class so one’s expectations must be adjusted accordingly. Whilst I have not yet randomly flung it into the pool, it has been left out during rain showers and showed no ill effects. Your experience may vary, though it is IPX7 waterproof rated by some organization or another. And, yes, this author always activates the 8-color lights on its base which can bump in time with whatever tunes are being belted forth from its speakers.

As planned, this series of posts will continue to focus on items we have actually used instead of randomly plucking products from the ether of eBay. We hope you found this one helpful.

[Images: Author, Manufacturers]

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