Ultimate Ears - MEGABOOM 4

Bose SL Flex 2 is a great unit, especially at the price point. B&O lower end models are unfortunately lacking in the bass department but their directivity is damn good. Personally the UE models weren’t all that great. I appreciate a better range versus directivity which is why I went with the Bose. For the size, I would say the Bose has the deepest bass for the size while handling mids and treble well. I tried: UE Megaboom 4, B&O Explore, Bose SL Flex

For excellent clarity and fair bass try the Ultimate ears mega boom 4. I've had the 3 for several years and it's a champ

JBL Charge 5/6 good sound quality. UE MegaBoom 4 good 360 sound. If you need it louder it goes up in size...

MEGABOOM 4 for sure

i second the bose soundlink max for your use case. BUT you'll want to check out its weight and dimensions to be sure it's the right size. "fit in my backpack" can mean a few different things depending on the size of the backpack and how much space you're happy for the speaker to take up haha. if the max is too big, consider the bose soundlink flex (2nd gen), or one of the ultimate ears boom/megaboom 4 speakers, or maybe the JBL charge 6. but yeah size is very important here when it comes to narrowing down your options.

If you like the UE sound and design style, I'd go for a MEGABOOM 4 (maybe an EVERBOOM or EPICBOOM if you want something a little larger). The 360-degree design of the UE speakers is a real benefit IMO. And they all play nicely together in Party mode.

The bose has a remarkably balanced sound profile, so it suits most genres. It also has a built-in mic which is nice if you use voice assistant stuff. That said, the jbl charge 6, though larger, is probably better as it gets a touch deeper and noticeably louder than the bose, and its battery life is almost double. The JBL is more expensive but should still fit in your budget. you could also consider the Megaboom 4. It has a touch of extra...boom...but you can EQ that out if you find it too muddy. personally, i really like the 360-degree design as it sounds similar regardless of your listening angle which is handy in a portable speaker.

MegaBoom 3 or 4 should do the trick.

Listen if you want premium build quality and good quality sound then go for Beats Pill 2024 or Bose Flex 2nd gen. If you want loudness and rugged speaker that you can rough use a lot, go for Ultimate Ears Boom4 or Sony Ult1 or JBL Flip6. Please don’t go for Chinese brands because they don’t last long.

I have a UE mega boom. I recommend.

I bought a UE mega boom about 7ish years ago and it’s seen some things. Used at almost full volume every day in a body shop 5 days a week for 2 of those years. Been left out in the rain, dropped, dust covered. Still going strong. Still holds a charge.

My first setup looked exactly like this, except I had a UE Megaboom connected via rca-headphone jack cable. Worked great until I got monitor speakers.

I have a UE megaboom which has been knocking around for around 10 years and the battery still rocks. At some stage it started failing and I looked up a Reddit post which said to stick it in the freezer overnight and reset it. This was 4 years ago and it's still going strong.

Imo boom is already small enough, I could gladly carry around a mega boom everywhere tho..

Fully recommend the Megaboom, it packs a surprising amount of punch for a small speaker.

Yes it's a tank and it's basically waterproof. Plus if you have more than one you can link them together. Super versatile

Problem is - size matters, in terms of bass. UE Hyperboom has excellent bass, but is large. UE megaboom is smaller, still great bass for the size. Had the Megaboom for years, excellent pick, but still a bit heavy for holiday. I recently got the JBL flip 7 and can recommend it as a lightweight portable option. (*Edit, JBL flip, not charge)

With a budget of 150 or less id stop by Walmart and see what they have. Or if you are crafty, an electronics recycling center is a great place to make something or find and old one with a dead battery for cheap. Just know the cheap speaks usually break there charge ports. (I work in a factory and everyone has a cheap Walmart special.) I got a old UE Mega boom and that is good enough for me.

True, I do have to plug mine in for my 12h shift.

I had the original and second Megaboom. Lost the original, sold the second one to get the JBL Xtreme for more volume at parties. Those things are indestructible.

I have both the UE Megaboom and Wonderboom and they are both tough little bastards. They don't have audiophile quality sound, but I use them in the shower, kitchen, garage and yard work. They get wet and I've dropped them countless times.

Worth it. My Megaboom has to be going on 10 years old.

Yesss I’ve had my first one for 10 years, second for 7ish, and they’re stellar. The app is great too

I’m 10 and 7 years on my two booms respectively

Been using the Ultimate Ears Boom for a while now and they’ve been great! Got a second the a bigger one because of how much I liked them.

I'm not sure what exactly you mean by "high quality" - If you are referring to the quality of the speaker itself as well as the sound quality, I would recommend BOOM from ultimate ears (Logitech, Swiss). I've literally thrown it down 2 floors and it survived, the sound quality is by no means bad either.

For the small portable my affections are always with Bose. Some of my favorite speakers for sound stage, portability, and loud reaching well made BT speakers in super portable, easy to handle packages. I have three of their BT speakers and they really perform. As I get less portable, I stumbled into one not on your list — Logitech’s Ultimate Ears brand — which has some smaller BT speakers as well. They’re really well made and they double down on putting resources into the simple features I care about most (sync, app, weatherproofing etc).