Mobile Bluetooth speakers are often associated with days at the beach, evenings by the fire or long weekends in the woods. This does not mean, however, that they will not be able to keep their promises to liven up your evenings at home.
Bose Soundlink Revolve, the best simply
The Bose SoundLink Revolve is a compact and powerful model, reminiscent of the Mini version of the same brand. A promise that is not only kept, but also accompanied by greater robustness and improved sound quality.
Nomadic and elegant
On the design side, the SoundLink Revolve takes on the appearance of a cylinder with a slightly conical shape. Thanks to this style, which is less elegant than the perfectly cylindrical competitors’ models, it gives it a better sitting position. This is reassuring, even if it is hardly necessary, as the aluminium hull already offers a guarantee of robustness.
All this is available in impeccable finishes and with a relatively low weight of 660 grams. Its autonomy remains rather comfortable, with nearly 12 hours estimated at a moderate power. Nomadic, therefore, while being elegant.
A surprisingly powerful sound
In terms of sound quality and power, the SoundLink Revolve offers a more than successful performance. Indeed, the latter manages to produce a homogeneous 360° sound. A promise that many manufacturers try to keep and that is only very rarely kept.
In detail, the speaker offers a monophonic sound that highlights the bass. The high frequencies, although sometimes slightly too present, are not aggressive. Even better: the voices are quite well reproduced, even if the speaker is not the most efficient in this field. As for the power, it is capable of climbing fast and hard, which is quite impressive for a nomadic model. This does not cause distortion, at least if the last quarter of maximum available power is avoided.
Our opinion on the Bose SoundLink Revolve
The Bose SoundLink Revolve is a formidable competitor for anyone playing in this category. With a design with impeccable finishes, complete functionalities, good range, a powerful omnidirectional sound and correct quality, these are many assets that make this little gem very convincing. However, only monophonic sound is available, but this is only a rather secondary disadvantage, especially for a compact nomadic model.
Ultimate Ears Wonderboom, solid and powerful
The Ultimate Ears Wonderboom is a powerful model above all, and above all it is able to withstand intense mobile use. A promise that has been kept rather well, to which we can add other virtues discovered along the way.
Robust and original
On the design side, the Wonderboom takes on the appearance of a large pomegranate, combining both cylindrical and round shapes making it very attractive and easy to hold in one hand. A design that must not mislead on its characteristics, starting with its solidity. IP67 certified, it is free from sand, dust, water immersion (unlikely, as the enclosure floats naturally), and low height falls. An insulating and robust construction that reassures its use outdoors.
All this is offered with obviously very clean finishes and a very suitable weight of 425 grams. A nice success, especially since its autonomy is rather comfortable without being exceptional, with nearly 10 hours estimated at a correct power.
Powerful sound
In terms of sound quality and power, the Wonderboom achieves good results despite its monophonic construction. Surprisingly good even, if we keep in mind that this is a nomadic model, and that it does not usurp its name.
In detail, the power it offers is remarkable. The basses are very well restored, although suffering from an exaggerated distortion on the extremes as soon as the sound increases. The high frequencies are well reproduced, but they too suffer a rather aggressive distortion in the last available quarter of power. As for the mediums, it is only a correct performance that is offered, suffering from sometimes embarrassing inaccuracies on songs involving many instruments or complex melodies.
Our opinion on the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom
The Wonderboom is a nomadic, robust and powerful solution, and these promises are being kept. Even better, its attractive price makes it a very attractive model for a large majority of people who want to invest safely in good mobile audio equipment. However, the absence of a hands-free kit and analog input may be a disadvantage in some situations, and coupling does not provide stereophonic sound. It is certainly a pity, but not insurmountable.
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JBL Flip 4, a speaker to take everywhere
JBL offers us here its fourth version of the Flip range, already enjoying a good reputation. Among the promises made to future users: more resistance, autonomy, and performance. These commitments are not necessarily easy to keep, especially in the face of increasingly fierce competition.
The same design as the Flip 3
On the design side, this nomadic speaker takes on the appearance of a cylinder that is very similar to its predecessor, the Flip 3. Or almost, because when you compare the sizes, you notice that the Flip 4 is slightly larger. A rather common style as it is reproduced by a multitude of competitors eager to make a place for themselves. Finally, as its name suggests, the advantage of the speaker is that it can be used vertically or horizontally. Again, no change.
However, as the height increases, so does the weight, increasing to 510 grams instead of the 450 grams of its previous version. This is not a problem, especially since it is now IPX7 certified, protecting it from immersion to a depth of 1 metre for 30 minutes, and sees its autonomy increase by two hours to reach a theoretical level of 12 hours. 60 unfortunate grams of significant improvements.
A surprisingly powerful sound
In terms of sound quality and power, the Flip 4 retains the same good features as the previous version with two 8 W speakers. However, music with complex melodies or too rich in instruments easily exceeds the capabilities of the loudspeakers, to the point of confusing the whole thing.
However, if you stay with music that is not very saturated and has fairly simple sounds, the trebles are precise and clear when listening. The bass is slightly improved, to the point of reaching extremes that only larger speakers can reproduce. But passive radiators are still limited, and in case of vertical positioning, one of them will not be able to fulfill its mission (since they are placed on the sides) and will therefore modify the sound quality. Distortion is also to be feared if the volume is high, which is hardly a surprise for a nomadic model.
Our opinion on the JBL Flip 4
JBL’s Flip range is constantly improving. On this model, the IPX7 certification makes it more waterproof, and the sound performance remains good as long as we remain moderate in terms of power and music choices. It should also be noted that its autonomy has been increased, allowing it to effectively withstand competition. Finally, its price, which is rather reasonable around a hundred euros, but which can represent a barrier against competitors offering an equivalent service at potentially lower rates.
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