JBL Ultra-Portable Speaker with Built-In Bass Port and Wireless Bluetooth Connectivity (Black)

This is the 4th Bluetooth Speaker I've bought, and it buries the competition by a significant margin. One of the earlier Bluetooth speakers I bought was the Cambridge Soundworks Oontz, which by comparison, falls way behind the JBL. The Oontz almost completely lacks in any of the lower frequencies, and doesn't greatly impress me in the rest of the sound spectrum. On the other hand the JBL Micro Wireless Bluetooth speaker has better bass, and overall, a much more realistic sound spectrum. Almost all smaller speakers, one buys, are going to be a compromise in some area. To have the desired portability, obviously you can't put a 12" woofer in such a speaker, but what you can do is maximize the frequencies that a portable speaker system can produce. JBL has done the best job so far. No, it isn't stereo, but how much stereo affect can you expect from a speaker you can hold in the palm of your hand? I read that one reviewer found that this speaker distorts. Well, any speaker, driven too hard, will distort. If you are driving a speaker that hard, you are in danger of blowing it's voice coil. Obviously, it's unrealistic to expect a speaker, the cone of which is around 2", to produce the level of sound of a bigger speaker. Physics can tell you why that is, but common sense should also. Within the reasonable realm of use, this speaker is, for now, the clear winner out of what I've experienced. The battery charge life is very nice also. JBL understates the expected duration of the battery charge life. I got probably more than 7 hours at a very respectable sound level. I also like the loop at the top of the speaker. With the loop, I can put a carbiner on the speaker, and suspend it from a belt loop. That enables me to carry it with me at work. Lastly, pairing with my I-phone was a breeze. Should I have trouble with any of my other Bluetooth devices, I'll amend my review. If you are looking for a great little Bluetooth speaker, with a long charge life, this is a wise choice. I can comfortably recommend it to anyone looking for a portable, Bluetooth speaker for their phone, or any other Bluetooth enabled audio device. Don't waste your time, nor money on the competition; this is the one to get.***UPDATE***After owning my JBL Bluetooth speaker for more than a month, I'd be prepared to give it an even higher rating, were one available. I'm still amazed, and was even fooled into believing someone was in an adjoining room, where I'd left it a few minutes before. I'd forgotten that I'd left the speaker on, and thought someone was having a conversation on his phone. That is the quality of sound that the JBL produces. I also have to say that the charge capacity is even better than I initially reported. With the volume turned all the way up, the speaker continued through the entire work day with charge left over If someone knows of a Bluetooth speaker with greater quality sound, given it's size and cost, I'd very seriously ask that they send me a comment to that effect. Finally,in my belief, the JBL Micro Wireless Bluetooth speaker is, if not the best of it's kind, I have yet to find a better one. You can buy this one, and know that it would be hard to do better.***Second Update*** After more than 2 months my enthusiasm for this speaker remains as high as ever. I never cease to be amazed at it's charge life. Used at full volume for nearly 8 continuous hours, the speaker's battery still has charge left. I also have to agree with the others who praise the sound of the JBL Micro. While the bass isn't going to blow you out of your seat, for a very small speaker I still want to know if someone finds one that is better, especially at a non-astronomical price point. I'm sure there is one out there that sounds better, but is it as small, and is it's price as reasonable? I'll believe it only if I see it. Yes, IT IS THAT GOOD!***Third Update**** My enthusiasm, for this speaker, just continues to grow. Last night, at work, my mp3's battery died on me causing me to have to plug it in to a charger. I wanted to continue to listen, and thought I'd give the speaker an opportunity to show how far I could go without losing the pairing between it and the mp3 player. At one point I was probably at least 75 feet away from the player, and the the speaker was locked on solid. Mind you this was line of sight, but at the same time, the building I was in was a crazy source of Radio Frequency noise. The range of a signal is a product of signal strength, distance, and other RF noise. AS the distance increases the signal strength drops, and eventually it drops beneath the background noise. The signal will keep on traveling infinitely, but will be of such a low strength that it will be completely overwhelmed by noise. I digress. The JBL Micro seems to have a robust bluetooth receiver in it, and is well capable of receiving a very respectable distance from the source. This is just another reason to put it on the top of your list of possible choices for a bluetooth speaker.****Fourth Update****** It has now been more than a year since I bought my JBL, and it still keeps pleasing me. Since buying it, I have purchased 2 other bluetooth speakers, neither of which will fulfill the role the JBL Micro does. I'd say that the 2 biggest positives with the JBL Micro are the battery charge, and the overall sound. Again, it doesn't have the most powerful base, but the overall sound spectrum is well balanced, and voices come out sounding very natural. The only downside I can see with the JBL Micro is one common to all Bluetooth speakers I have so far seen, and that is that there is no provision for changing out the battery once it will no longer accept a charge. That won't stop me from changing it, though, it will just make it harder. Still, in the final analysis, even over the Bose Soundlink II Mini, I'll take the JBL Micro for most purposes. Definitely, it is vastly more portable than the Bose, and far less likely to bother others around me than the Bose speaker. I still recommend the JBL Micro to anyone wanting a great quality, affordable Bluetooth speaker. Definitely it has been worth the money.*****Fifth Update***** Today is the 1st of September 2014 and my JBL Micro, though looking a little worse for the wear (to be expected when I have it with me all day long at work every day) keeps delivering. On at least a few occasions my time at work has approached 12 hours, and though I might not have the speaker going every single minute of the day, most of the time it is on. The only time I've had it run out of juice is the day I forgot to recharge it. Other than that, it is as reliable as sunrise. And it still sounds great. If there are any more updates it will have to do with letting you know when/if the battery finally refuses to charge. There really is nothing else left to say. Great, great product, get one and hear for yourself.******Heads Up********** More than a year ago I bought what I thought was another JBL Micro, but in retrospect I believe it may have been a knockoff. It didn't occur to me, at the time, that that was the likelihood, so I did nothing about it. Since that time I bought yet another one, and it is the equal of the first. The second speaker I bought was beyond inferior in sound. One clue should you get one of the bad ones, is that it has a microphone in if for telephone conversation. I don't know if JBL actually has such a speaker, but just know that if the speaker you get sounds crappy, with no bass whatever, you may have gotten one you may want to consider returning. The 3rd speaker I bought is just as good as the first, so I'm suggesting that if you buy one of these speakers, and it sounds like crap, it might not actually be a JBL, and you might not want to keep it. Believe me when I tell you that the bad one really sounds terrible. For the older readers of this review, it sounds like an early 60's transistor radio. No bass, and very little fidelity at all. Test it, and if it doesn't sound good, don't keep it.

After trying around 10 different mini speakers for my cellphone this my favorite. I also have the flip. This guy is not far behind the flip in quality and volume.The rundown:Just tried a bunch of these ranging from $20-$60:HMDX jam bluetooth - third place - sounds awesome, it's the loudest of all tested as well. Great bass and does not distort too much at the loudest volumes. nice, solid weight. However a constant buzzing/fuzzy noise made this a no go. Also resets to 50% volume every time it is powered on and off just like all the others except the JBL. would be my second favorite if it didn't have the buzz. well priced at 35.Satechi bluetooth audio cube - not loud at all, tinny sound, very little bass, sounds muffled. expected more from the large size of the unit(about 3.5*3.5") compared to others, and the positive reviews. looks cool. overpriced at 50 for sure.Kinivo wired - not very loud but otherwise great sound. nice bass, clear highs. distorts a little at max volume. cool looking. great value at 20Sharkk bluetooth - second place - a best buy at 27 bucks. sounds great, good bass, and not much distortion on max volume. not quite as loud as the jbl or hmdx though. bland looking. Comparable volume to most of the others though.JBL micro bluetooth - my favorite - first place. stylish, great volume, clear highs and great bass. Very user friendly and uses a manual volume dial so each time you turn it on it is at the previous volume. most reset to 50% every time you turn them off and back on. Also can be used as a bluetooth adaptor/dongle where the 3.5mm out can plug into any home theater system. Nice spot to hang it up on a nail, making the sound project farther and louder. Also has a small flat area on the side opposite the hook so it stands up by itself and it doesn't fall over even at max volume with bass heavy rap playing, meaning you can aim the speaker. This actually makes the speaker louder than the hmdx for real world usage. With extremely heavy bass music the mids and highs "fade out" a little bit at max volume since a single driver can only handle a certain amount of range. Otherwise it does not distort even at max volume. pricey at 60 but worth it. great battery life too, more than the advertised 5 hours. Also, re-connects with bluetooth devices automatically when they come in range, so no need to manually reconnect constantly like with other speakers. Can daisy chain with other micros also.August bluetooth - decent quality and bass, however distorts at fairly low volumes making it a no go. Similar to the sharkk in size, weight and sound.Satechi BT wireless portable speaker - worst of all, distorts at the slightest bit of bass or volume. Instant no go and a rip off at 40 bucks. can also be used as a bluetooth dongle like the jbl though. Looks almost identical to the kinivo. has horrible buttons that perform multiple functions and are super sensitive leading accidental skipping of songs, turning off, etc. stay away from satechi.Xmini - bluetooth drops easily. by far the lightest and smallest and has good sound for it's size but little bass and not too loud. If you want portability and lightweight this is the way to go. The alpatronix is small too but heavier. pricey at 40 for what you get.Alpatronix bluetooth - sounds great, but distorts quickly with any bass heavy music. Also "walks" across the table with bass heavy songs unlike the others due to it's weight/bass ratio. Loud, like the jbl and hdmx. 40 bucks is too much unless you don't listen to anything but classical at low volumes.