Review: Rugged Bluetooth speakers for travel and outdoor use
These days, it’s hard to imagine going on a camping trip or relaxing by the pool without our favorite iTunes playlists providing some musical entertainment in the background. But when a battery-powered device is so close to elements such as water, the thought of damage is constantly at the back of your mind.
Luckily, a number of manufacturers have developed Bluetooth speakers with rugged use in mind. As you can imagine, “rugged” is a vague term whose meaning is hard to quantify. For this reason, the industry has developed a specialized standard called Ingress Protection (IP). The IP Rating indicates how well a product’s enclosure resists solid particles like sand and dirt, and liquids like water.
Protection and sound
In reviewing the Bluetooth speakers, I was particularly curious about sound quality, given their overall compact size—after all, nobody wants to keep their music player away from harm only to listen to tinny sounds coming out of under-powered devices.
To keep things on a level playing field, I tested each speaker using iTunes on my iPhone 5 (without equalizer) to play a selection of three songs: an Elton John ballad, which is rich on dynamic range, Lazlo Bane’s Superman, whose banjo arpeggio is easily drowned out when played on cheap speakers, and an electronica mix provided by a DJ friend—throbbing bass line and all.
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