Bedroom BT speaker recommendation?

[gobble]

Hey Folks
Looking for a BT speaker for my bedside. Does not need to be too loud. Primary criteria - rich tones and vocals, clarity across the range, ability to play complex tracks without muddling up and support for AptX HD and LDAC. Min 8-10hrs playback time. Budget less than 25k.

Thanks

 

[sud98]

Marshall sounds a good choice to me.

 

[fLUX]

Marshall Stanmore is very good at a budget of 25k. Had tried it against all JBL/Harman offerings , Stanmore was clearly better and I still enjoy listening to them. Doesnt support LDAC though, but a BT dongle from Fiio etc should fix that.

 

[Kumar442244]

Having used Marshall Acton and stanmore for over 4 years now, can strongly vouch for it.
M using it in a similar setup as u are intended to.
Hv compared against Bose, and Marshall beats it hands down.

 

[gobble]

Thanks guys, I checked some online reviews and decided it’s an overkill for my needs. I want something smaller less than 10w as a general benchmark - not the 80w of the Marshall...

 

[fLUX]

Thanks guys, I checked some online reviews and decided it’s an overkill for my needs. I want something smaller less than 10w as a general benchmark - not the 80w of the Marshall...

Out of the 80w , only 30w amplification is towards tweeter , 50 watts is purely towards the sub. Not at all an overkill for a bedroom, with the reservoir you will be able to drive them cleanly even at low/medium volumes

On the contrary I also own a Lenovo BT speaker, probably about 10-15 watts. Need to crank them up by a good volume to get decent volumes from a distance and they tend to distort a bit

 

[edjamesx]

Check Creative iRoar Go BT speaker. I had other mini BT speaker from creative (dont remember model) - voice clarity is great , it's great for music. These speakers go loud but does not hurt ears , its sweeter.

Also you may look at Bose Soundtouch 20 III within 25k . For me Creative sounds better.

 

[sud98]

Logitech UE isnt too bad. Although I prefer, wifi versions over pure BT, like the Marshall and Oppo Sonica (which has stopped production).

 

[unleash_me]

Hey Folks
Looking for a BT speaker for my bedside. Does not need to be too loud. Primary criteria - rich tones and vocals, clarity across the range, ability to play complex tracks without muddling up and support for AptX HD and LDAC. Min 8-10hrs playback time. Budget less than 25k.

Thanks

Klipsch Heritage Groove

 

[gobble]

Lots of good suggestions!
The Klipsch looked tempting but the Amazon US reviews are not so great. The creative iRoar is a good candidate but it is only BT4.2. Is that good enough for LDAC & AptXHD? Incidentally I also need a sound bar to place permanently under the PC monitor and the Creative Stage Air looks like a good candidate for 3.2k?
The UE Megaboom is the only version available right now but the shape and dimensions of the thing makes me suspicious - you see I already have JBL charge lying around and I totally dislike the sound. All the 5star reviews for the Charge mean nothing to me and I consider it a waste of the 7-8k I paid for it years back. The UE Megaboom is the same shape and I want to avoid.

EDIT: BT 5 Vs 4.2. The Roar 2 is the only model that supports plain vanilla AptX that too not even AptXHD. Looking for that now as I really like the form and function of the Roar series. The Roar Go only supports SBC and AAC.

 

[Rajeshh]

I use a JBL Clip for casual background listening, the big rig can get a bit too involving for that. The Clip does the role very well, I mostly listen to lofi beats on Spotify.
I also have a Bose SoundLink, which is lying unused after listening to the Clip.

 

[edjamesx]

Lots of good suggestions!
The Klipsch looked tempting but the Amazon US reviews are not so great. The creative iRoar is a good candidate but it is only BT4.2. Is that good enough for LDAC & AptXHD? Incidentally I also need a sound bar to place permanently under the PC monitor and the Creative Stage Air looks like a good candidate for 3.2k?
The UE Megaboom is the only version available right now but the shape and dimensions of the thing makes me suspicious - you see I already have JBL charge lying around and I totally dislike the sound. All the 5star reviews for the Charge mean nothing to me and I consider it a waste of the 7-8k I paid for it years back. The UE Megaboom is the same shape and I want to avoid.

EDIT: BT 5 Vs 4.2. The Roar 2 is the only model that supports plain vanilla AptX that too not even AptXHD. Looking for that now as I really like the form and function of the Roar series. The Roar Go only supports SBC and AAC.

if you can take advantage of SD-card mp3, FLAC playback of Creative roar series ..then you can go ahead. Else you can look for other players which support AptxHD..

 

[sbg]

https://www.croma.com/croma-portable-bluetooth-speaker-crer2070-brown-/p/198535

simple 4.0 BT /aux /usb , 40W RMS - , but does some pretty job on sound quality.
Did listen to both, Marshall( was similar size ) and croma at some airport - possibly BLR airport .
...hmm almost there , almost trying to be a Marshall ,could be lacking a bit of punch,but CRER2070 was almost there.
Not recommending it (lacking the required features ), but if you like Marshalls , this could fit in a lot of peoples bedroom.

 

[gobble]

Thanks - I will checkout the CRER2070 next time I am at Croma for sure. But if I have to spend big money then it better have the newest codec support like either AptX or LDAC so I am happy for the next 5 years.

I use a JBL Clip for casual background listening, the big rig can get a bit too involving for that.

Thats right which is why I want to stick to below 10W system - I just want some background listening while reading up.

4hrs of searching today revealed to me the following findings -

1. There are no AptX enabled portable BT speakers in the Indian market
2. AAC on Android implementations suck universally due to Android power saving features interfering with computationally intensive codec. It is only good with Apple implementations (See AAC on Android Sucks )
3. Sony BT speakers with LDAC implementation are an option. I can setup my phone to negotiate only LDAC 990kbps or AptX. I am looking for a mono model to keep it less distracting but the lowest models with LDAC are surround starting with the XB2x series... The XB1x dont have LDAC... but the reviews for the sony XB2x series are a let down... so still in a dilemma...

Edit: I might end up looking for any BT speaker with the Best SQ then add a AptX/LDAC to aux-in BT adapter to get high quality music stream. which means the Croma brass model might be a good bet. I wonder if it mimics that "british sound" though?

 

[gobble]

Closing Story - I found a piece of Anker Soundcore Motion+ available online and purchased it just now. it has AptX and Usb-C (ticks all the "modern"check boxes) and rave reviews everywhere online for the best sub $100 BT speaker anywhere so fingers crossed... The next option would have been the Sony XB32 if not this but thats more than 3k more expensive as well.

 

[SKR]

Cheapest and best Anker BT speaker on Amazon or AliExpress for around 4 to 5K. Best for bed side use.
Marshall Bose etc are big costly speakers for outdoor or other use.
For bed side Anker will be best. They have a few models to chose from

 

[Yogesh]

Closing Story - I found a piece of Anker Soundcore Motion+ available online and purchased it just now. it has AptX and Usb-C (ticks all the "modern"check boxes) and rave reviews everywhere online for the best sub $100 BT speaker anywhere so fingers crossed... The next option would have been the Sony XB32 if not this but thats more than 3k more expensive as well.

I believe it doesn't have AptX or LDAC! Or am I missing something?

 

[fLUX]

Cheapest and best Anker BT speaker on Amazon or AliExpress for around 4 to 5K. Best for bed side use.
Marshall Bose etc are big costly speakers for outdoor or other use.
For bed side Anker will be best. They have a few models to chose from

Marshall models are powered , frankly they are not at all that loud for a moderately sized bedroom. I can crank it to 3/4th volume for many of the songs without being excruciatingly loud.

 

[SKR]

Marshall models are powered , frankly they are not at all that loud for a moderately sized bedroom. I can crank it to 3/4th volume for many of the songs without being excruciatingly loud.

But will Marshall be good for Bedside use. Anger is very cheap compared to Marshall and in my opinion good for bedside use. No doubt you can always go up the ladder depending on your pocket.