College Dorm Speakers: The Best Sound for Small Rooms, for Large Parties, and for a Shoestring Budget
Out of the hundreds of speakers we’ve reviewed there are a few that are perfect fits for those going off to college. You’re not staying in your university’s dorm or apartment-style housing forever; most people move at the very least from year to year. So it’s important to have a speaker that’s portable enough not …
JBL Pulse 3 vs Charge 4: Choosing Between an Impressive Light Show and Slightly Better Sound
JBL has released a new speaker; for the latest, see our comparison of the new JBL Pulse 4 vs Charge 4. But if you want to know about the previous JBL Pulse 3 and how it compares to the Charge 4, you can certainly read on… JBL has long had the best lava-lamp-cum-speaker on the …
JBL Charge 3 vs Charge 4: Is the Upgrade Really Better?
Update: These speakers are both now outdated; check out our review of the JBL Charge 4 vs. JBL Charge 5. Newer is not always better; we’ve seen this sometimes even with JBL’s speaker designs. So we were curious to unravel the differences between the JBL Charge 3 and the newer JBL Charge 4. First of …
JBL Charge 4 vs Xtreme 2: Comparing These Mid-Sized Road Party Speakers
UPDATE: JBL has released better versions of both of these speakers; check out our new comparison of the JBL Charge 5 and Xtreme 3. They are both a small but solid step up in sound performance and features. (You can also check out the differences between the JBL Charge 4 and 5 and the JBL …
Riva Arena vs. Concert: How to Choose Between Riva’s Brilliant Home-and-Travel Smart Speakers
The Riva Arena and Riva Concert speakers appear quite similar, but were released at different times and with slightly different marketing, so it can be difficult to untangle what are real contrasts and what is just confusing, useless hype. We’re here for you. The speakers are actually quite similar; both offer fantastic, room-filling sound from …
Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 1 vs Wonderboom 2: Is the Upgrade Worth It?
We’re generally fans of small, outdoors-ready speakers and so were excited to see and hear the upgrade to the short, squat nearly pocket-sized speaker, which was the best-sounding speaker for its tiny size, price, and super-indestructibility. And the new is absolutely an improvement over the original; as we’ll discuss below, it goes a bit louder …
The Full Comparison: Bose Soundlink Revolve vs. Revolve Plus
Update: Bose released new models of these speakers in 2021. You’ll probably want to instead check out our full comparison review of the new Bose Soundlink Revolve and Revolve+ vs. the new Bose Soundlink Revolve II and Revolve+ II. But, if you’re just torn between these outdated models or like our old stuff for the …
JBL Xtreme 2 vs Boombox 2: The Bass-Heavy Outdoor Party Speakers Compared
Note: This article covers a previous-model speaker: The Xtreme 2. For a comparison of the latest from JBL, check out our review of the JBL Xtreme 3 vs JBL Boombox 2. The JBL Xtreme 2 and JBL Boombox 2 can look quite a bit alike, especially if you’re just glancing at online photos of the …
Bose Smart Home vs SoundTouch: Which Sounds Better, and What’s Alexa Doing Here?
We’ve been reviewing and analyzing Bose speakers for years, and were thus curious to get hands-on with the newer Bose smart home speakers and compare them head-to-head with the classic Bose SoundTouch speakers. Note that there is not cross-compatibility between the systems (boo, Bose! booooo!), so it’s worthwhile to have either all Bose smart speakers or else …
Super-Cheap True Wireless Earbuds that Work Great, Are Comfortable, and Don’t Fall Out
I’ve actually listened to a pair of cheap true wireless earbuds from a rather unknown company — and liked them. I was not expecting to enjoy any truly wireless earbuds, especially given how big name brands have been reviewed by major critics from tech publications. Apple Airpods connect well but the shape is strange and …