REVIEW – Over the past few years, portable Bluetooth speakers have taken the market by storm and there is a flood of new devices that readily available with various features and many at reasonable prices. The Scosche Boombottle speaker is another device fighting for a niche. Let’s see how it does.
What is it?
The Scosche Boombottle speaker is a waterproof wireless Bluetooth speaker with a magnetic mount to secure your mobile device and a tripod mount or magnetic mount that allows it to be mounted to a metal surface or on a tripod or a stand with a 1/4-20″ stud. It is available in black and gray camouflage.
What’s in the box
1 x Boombottle Speaker
1 x USB Type Charging Cable
1 x Large Mounting Metal Plate
1 x Extra Large Circular Mounting Metal Plate
1 x Carabiner Clip
1 x Protective Film Sticker
1 x User Manual
Design and features
Features
• Magnetically mount your device to the Boombottle MM Mobile Speaker while also magnetically mounting the Boombottle to most metal surfaces
• Built-in Bottle Opener
• Built-in Microphone for Hands-free Calling
• Unique Bottle Design Fits Into Water Bottle Cages and Cup Holders
• Rechargeable Battery for up to 12 Hours of Music Playback
• Dual-Pairing for True Stereo Sound
• IP67 Rated Waterproof / Dustproof Construction
The front of the speaker has the carry handle that can be used as is or with the Carabiner, and there is also a bottle opener at the top. In the middle, there is the rubber sealing door with embedded external buttons that from top to bottom are the volume up button, the multi-function button, and the volume down button. Below the control buttons, there is the LED Battery Level Indicator and the Bluetooth LED Status Indicator.
When you open the rubber sealing door, underneath there are the actual buttons that correspond with those embedded in the rubber cover along with the charging and auxiliary ports below the buttons.
Under the handle of the speaker, there is a bottle opener.
On the front of the speaker, there is a nice matte black speaker grille, with the brand name engraved below.
At the bottom of the speaker, there is as 1/4-20″ female mount that allows it to be mounted to a tripod or stand or any surface with a matching stud. The extra large round magnet mount can be attached to the bottom if you choose to mount the speaker magnetically.
Performance
Specifications
- Bluetooth®: BT 4.2 AWRCP, A2DP
- 30ft. Wireless Range
- 2 x 45mm Speakers
- Freq. Range: 80Hz – 18 KHz
- 12W Power Output
- 4000mAh Internal Battery
- Size: 185mm (H) x 72mm (D)
- Weight: 1.25lbs
This Bluetooth speaker looks and sounds great, and the build quality is second to none. It is easy to pair and operate and seems like it can take a beating. The magnetic base mount or the tripod mount are great options for versatility when choosing where and how to place the speaker. I am not a fan of the upper magnetic mount that is used to mount your phone, because you need to attach the magnetic mounting plate to your phone or phone case in order to safely secure the phone. I was able to get my phone to stay in place without the metal plate, but any amount of vibration caused it to start to slide off. The battery charge lasts a long time and more time than I would ever use this speaker for at any one time.
Pairing the speaker is very easy and the Bluetooth and charge level indicators are very visible.
The manufacturer includes the following short but helpful video on their website, showing how to pair one or two speakers:
What I like
- That it is waterproof
- The sound
- The ability to carry it or mount it
- The solid Bluetooth connection
- The design
- The battery life
What can be improved
- The manual is small with fine print and hard to read (Larger print .pdf manual is available online here)
Final thoughts
After testing quite a few Bluetooth speakers, I have become quite “picky” about what I like and what I classify as a desirable and usable feature versus a useless gimmick. I really like this Bluetooth speaker because of the build quality, the sound, the features, and the style. And, the fact that it is waterproof means that I have so much less to worry about when I am using it, especially outdoors. I really like it, and I think that many people looking for this type of device will like it as well. I definitely give it two thumbs up!!
Price: $129.99
Where to buy: Scosche website and Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Scosche.
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Boom boom chicky chicky is all that POS is good for. If it needs to reproduce sounds of a quartet, or any orchestra it is game over. This will play rap like a champ, but any music which uses the entire frequency band will find it can not reproduce anything ‘midrange’ with any quality. Save your $.
Schosce and Bose- better plug your nose- because the crap that comes out of them is awfully stinky.
I won one of these through Julie’s contest, and after some use, think it is fantastic. It’s not audiophile quality, but that’s not the target audience. It’s waterproof and built well, it can attach magnetically or by screw mount as stated above, and is LOUD. Much better quality than others I have tried, both musically and the build.
Hi John, thank you for sharing your thoughts. Glad you like it!