March 02, 2024

What Is the Best Portable Bluetooth Speaker for Outdoors Under $100?

Today's phones offer exceptional sound quality, but sometimes it's more convenient to have a device just for listening to music. Bluetooth speakers from Treblab sound great for their low price, have more battery power than most smartphones, are small in size and some models are waterproof.

What Is the Best Portable Bluetooth Speaker for Outdoors Under $100?: eAskme
What Is the Best Portable Bluetooth Speaker for Outdoors Under $100?: eAskme

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All this makes them very sought-after accessories that provide hours of entertainment.

If you are interested in a budget-friendly portable speaker and you don't know which one to buy for less than $100, here we bring you our comparison guide of the best Bluetooth speakers.

We have tested the most popular models and we offer you our experience.

From the quality of Bluetooth, the design and of course its sound.

Our recommendation: Sony SRS-XB10

The Sony SRS-XB10 is the best Bluetooth speakerphone for less than $100. It's a portable speaker that's quite compact in size, easy to hold in your hand and has a small silicone strap for attaching.

The body is rubber, the sound comes out of the top and we have water and dust resistance IPX5, so we can listen to music from the shower, pool or beach without fear of it getting wet.

Other two factors that make any Bluetooth speaker a great one are the battery and the sound quality. The Sony does a great job in terms of them as well.

The speaker has lasted up to thirteen hours of use, second only to the considerably larger Tribit XSound GO.

But if there's one point that clearly made us choose the Sony SRS-XB10, it's sound. Despite its size, it has a strong bass and very clean, distortion-free mids and highs.

It’s an outstanding sound performance for a device of its price.

The Sony SRS-XB10 is a compact, waterproof, easy-to-carry speaker with an impressive battery.

But it also surprises with the clean, powerful sound of far more expensive Bluetooth speakers.

This is a rounded product with no major weaknesses that allow you to enjoy your music longer and in better quality.

Sony usually offers devices with a rather high price, but the quality/price of this SRS-XB10 is excellent.

These are a Bluetooth speaker with NFC, Bluetooth 4.2 for pairing with a second model, hands-free operation, long battery life and sound level that make it stand out from the crowd.

You can buy the Sony SRS-XB10B at Amazon for $50.

Alternative: JBL Clip 2

The JBL Clip 2 is almost iconic. This is a Bluetooth speaker with a distinctive design and far from the rest.

It is designed to be taken anywhere thanks to the integrated carabiner that incorporates, an addition that we found very useful and practical.

It is also a very lightweight speaker with a body resistant to water and dust IPX7.

In fact, of all the waterproof speakers, it is the one that best withstands humidity.

The sound is not distorted and the speaker can actually float on water thanks to its flatter design.

In addition to its excellent design, we have a first-class sound. It is not very powerful, but the mids and highs are reproduced with very high fidelity.

Even at maximum volume, we notice virtually no distortion and the music sounds clean and powerful.

If you are looking for a Bluetooth speaker for outdoors, the JBL Clip 2 offers a very good Bluetooth connection, features a 3.5mm jack for listening directly via cable and has the best design of all those we have tested.

The range is in the average, but its sound signed by Harman is also the clearest and most pleasant.

You can buy the JBL Clip 2 at Amazon for $60.

Best quality-price: Anker SoundCore mini

The Anker SoundCore mini was a real surprise. Of all those examined, this is the smallest Bluetooth speaker, but it has nothing to envy in terms of power.

Its sound is clear, with surprising bass for its size and quite good clarity.

The design of the Anker Soundcore mini is minimalist, practically smooth, except for the volume control buttons and connections, among which we find a microSD card reader.

It is not sturdy but for less than twenty dollars it is an excellent option for anyone looking for an indoor Bluetooth speaker.

In addition, we have obtained about ten hours of autonomy, so it is also among the best in the aspect of the battery.

You can buy the Anker SoundCore mini at Amazon for  $23.

Best pack vs money ratio: TREBLAB HD77

The HD77 crashes its counterparts in many ways. First, the pack vs money ratio impresses.

This speaker delivers immersive 360° HD Sound mostly thanks to DualBass double subwoofers.

It does really create an unmatched listening experience.

The build is reliable - feel confident to take it to a hiking trip or camping! It is IPX6 waterproof rated, which means it withstands heavy jets of water.

The battery life is about 20 hours of playtime. Again, it depends on the volume level you pick for listening.

But, it features PlayXTend energy-saving technology meaning the battery doesn’t drain that easily.

The speaker comes with a carrying strap and a carabiner, which is super convenient for outdoor events.

Icing on a cake is a built-in TWS feature allowing to pair another speaker to create true stereo effect around.

You can purchase this powerful speaker at Amazon for $79.97. It’s truly worth every single buck though!

How to choose a good wireless Bluetooth speaker

There are all kinds of wireless speakers, from the most compact and refined design focused on indoor use to the most rugged ones designed to take you anywhere.

In general, though, we'll have to look at all the same aspects to make our purchase right.

As we usually do in our shopping and comparison guides, here we leave you with the key aspects you should look at to buy a Bluetooth speaker.

Speaker style, design and size:

The first decision when buying a portable Bluetooth speaker is to see if we want it to listen at home or take it outside.

There are some with handles that make it easy to carry, while others have very minimalist designs but are more designed to be placed on top of the furniture.

Secondly, there is the size, we have some in the shape of a small tube and others in the shape of a longer bar.

Usually the latter have more power but are more difficult to transport.

Weight, quality of materials and resistance:

One may think that the speaker is left on the table and we forget about it while it sounds, but we must remember that they have the word 'portable'.

We must take into account the following aspects: water resistance and how they work when wet, if they are very heavy and if the materials are resistant to knocks or scratches.

Bluetooth connectivity, NFC and reception quality:

Although they have improved a lot, we still find some Bluetooth speakers with Bluetooth connection problems when we go away.

At this point, it is recommended that the speaker has at least BT 4.0.

The NFC feature for the pairing would be a plus or 3.5mm jack is quite good as well.

Battery:

Normally we will take these Bluetooth speakers to the beach or to the mountain.

We’d listen to them a whole day or a weekend with the background music to liven up the day.

The bar style speakers are bigger but usually have more power and battery.

However, in some cases, the small ones can even surpass the big ones.

We have theoretical hours of autonomy and hours with the volume at maximum, there is a big difference between the two values.

Sound quality:

Although we are talking about economical speakers, the sound quality that these devices can offer is often surprising.

Here there are many parameters to take into account, from the power, frequency, accepted codecs, compatible audio formats, direction where the sound comes out...

Extras, such as USB, radioFM or card reader:

The last aspect to take into account is perhaps the least important but may justify paying a little more for the speaker.

Some include radioFM to avoid depending on the mobile phone, others allow to connect a USB and many have a slot to add a TransFlash or SD card.

Normally, we will use the Bluetooth connection, but the USB input is very useful not to depend on the mobile phone.

The speaker itself usually occupies more room than these devices. They are mostly upright and consist of a single woofer.

In models such as the Tribit XSound or the DOSS SoundBox we have dual speakers and a passive radiator to increase the bass.

Many Bluetooth speakers are designed for both indoor and outdoor use, although there are models that are clearly focused on one location.

Models like the Anker or the LG PH3 are clearly to be kept in the furniture, while others are more durable and resistant.

The Sony SRS-XB10 or JBL Clip 2 are surrounded by rubber and are water and dust resistant.

Be careful, they do not allow you to submerge them but there is no problem if waterfalls on them or we use them in the shower.

Some speakers, such as the Sony SRS-XB10, Tribit or JBL Clip 2, are waterproof. It’s a useful addition if you're going to use them outdoors.

If water hits the speaker directly, the sound has problems, but when the water is drained it will be heard again.

The JBL Clip 2 suffers less and has an advantage over the rest; being light and flat it can float for a while on top of the water.

The design of a Bluetooth speaker may seem like something secondary, but in the end it also plays a significant role when using it. If it is very nice but uncomfortable to carry.

We will leave it still and if it is very heavy we will have to carry the backpack or leave it in the car.

The controls are also important as it will cause us to control the music from the mobile or from the device itself. At this point, those with the buttons on top are the most comfortable.

If you still have any question, do share via comments.

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