Looking to buy one of these for use around the house, but I’m not overly knowledgeable about them.
The Bose Soundlink Flex seems to have good reviews from the bit of research that I’ve done, but any recommendations from you guys on good ones to buy?
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I really like the JBL speakers. The “Go” is pretty impressive for its size and price. But the “Charge” really rocks. Easily runs for a whole evening AND night with one charge and has great base.
I’ve had a charge 5 for 2 years now, I love it
Just looked up the Charge 5 and there was a comparison video with the Soundlink and the Charge sounded miles better.
Obviously, you can’t really judge until you hear it in person but there was quite a difference.
I’ll second JBL. I have two FLIP 5’s and they are loud, have partyboost mode, or stereo mode, and last all day long.
Probably not what you’re after, but you did ask for best. You can’t go wrong with Q Acoustics M20.
Pros:
- They sound amazing
- They are a stereo pair
- They support aptX, aptX HD, aptxLL, SBC & AAC
- They have a load of inputs, so not just BT
- They look very pretty
Cons:
- They are fairly pricey
- They are mains powered so not that portable
The last time I bought one, I selected a “Polaris V8” for using a removable 18650 battery. I wish that was more common.
- Runtime: infinite (just bring spares)
- Charge time: 10 seconds or so to swap the battery
- Service life due to the battery wearing out: infinite
- Service life due to being a janky no-name product: 3-4 years
So that last bit was disappointing.
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They’re very common in flashlights, including mainstream brands based in the USA (Streamlight, Surefire) and in a bunch of stuff from the Alibaba to Amazon pipeline. The former uses cells with added protection circuits, and such models will accept generic third-party cells. I’m a bit surprised I don’t hear about the latter exploding on a regular basis, but I have not.
Li-ion cells with protection circuits are safe enough for the average adult to handle without any special instruction; the risks are no different from the removable proprietary Li-ion battery packs that are common in power tools, and used to be common in laptops. There isn’t a safety reason preventing their use in other electronics like Bluetooth speakers, though the business incentive to produce a more disposable product is obvious. New EU rules mandate user-replaceable batteries in the future, though I imagine manufacturers will find ways to make it proprietary and expensive if they can.
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Flashlights are certainly a hobby for some of us, but they’re also a common tool most people have an occasional use for. Standardized, field-replaceable Li-ion batteries are common in flashlights targeted at a non-enthusiast market.
On-cell protection circuits are quite bad, protection should be inside the device.
I agree that devices should not over-discharge or over-charge cells, but the example you gave was people putting batteries in their pockets, presumably with metallic items like coins and keys that can cause short circuits. On-cell protection circuits handle that situation well enough; I recommend carrying batteries in plastic cases, but I’ve never heard of a manufacturer getting sued over a protected cell.
I often use unprotected cells myself, but I’m a hobbyist.
[New EU rules don’t] mean the batteries should be swappable. It will only make service workers’ life easier, not yours.
The new rules say that batteries should be removable and replaceable by the end-user. They don’t seem to encourage standardization of battery types though, so they could still be proprietary and ridiculously priced.
Untrue. I use them for 10+ years for anything that’s possible (flashlights, powerbank and anything you can power with it) and they’re not dangerous if you follow SIMPLE rules. About as dangerous as a bottle of vinegar. And you can perfectly buy good cells for any application, Sony vtc5 or vtc6 are two examples, never buy cheap ones and NEVER buy from shady sellers. And btw: you shouldn’t put any battery to your keys in your pocket, that is called “stooo-pid” and makes little black holes in your thighs.
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