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Portable Bluetooth Speaker Quest For iOS (Pre)Production
I'm super interested in the idea of using a portable bluetooth speaker as a sort of midway between native iOS device speakers and my actual studio monitors.
While headphones Can be great and an obvious choice if in a public setting I find they can be claustrophobic compared to actual through-the-air audio when home. As a result I (admittedly lazily) use the iDevice's internal micro-speakers which is sonically groping around in the dark. Further laziness: It'd be ideal to not have to cable-connect between speaker and iDevice but rather tap in via Bluetooth.
Two main questions here: has anyone programmed things like beats / synth lines using bluetooth speakers and is latency a deal-breaker? And, given that (relatively cheap) portable speakers are going to be Far from true frequency are there favorites out there? (I'm making primarily beats-based music as opposed to guitar / vocal or anything acoustic). In tests I've sought out and friends advice I've come down to the JBL Charge 2+ / 3 or the wee Minirig. Any thoughts here greatly appreciated.
Comments
The latency of BlueTooth is horrid.
As long as whatever you choose has 3.5 MM. input then you will be fine, if you are programming on a step sequencer or piano roll, latency won't be a problem, if you are trying to play or tweak Params live, and latency is too much, connect via the 3.5 MM line input.
I am considering the same sort of purchase myself.
Bluetooth for production is a no go for me as well. I am using an ILoud 40 watt rechargeable system via aux cable however and it works and sounds absolutely amazing. It makes music making on the fly fun and great sounding. Bonus Alert! Comes with it's own built in audio interface if you or a friend should choose to use an external instrument such as guitar or synth. Hooking my MiniNova up to it today in fact.
If you just wanted to listen to finished tracks then Bluetooth will work fine, just not for production work, just to be clear.
Thanks for input good people.
I'm surprised there isn't more healthy competition along the lines of the Minirig in this area.
I also have the iLoud. Easy grab and go guitar jamming with ToneStack on a phone.
Agreed,
But given he does not need the ability to input external sources or the extra 25 watts of power the mini rig should do him fine I think. He could always use a separate interface for the mini rig if he had to also.
Lots of music production apps don't work with Bluetooth speakers anyway.
I had the perhaps naive impression that if it's coming out of the iPad speaker it's also Bluetooth-able. (Admittedly I know nothing of what Bluetooth magic is comprised of.)
I've resigned to plugging in and also hoping there will be instances of not having to / dreams of No wires untetheredness.
Generally, if an app can accept audio input, it will not be able to support BT audio. I think.
Bluetooth needs a serious overhaul to correct the horrible latency issue, this shouldn't be too difficult to fix!
I can reccomend the Marshall Kilburn bluetooth speaker...
Sounds fuckin' great with amazing bass and can play very high volume without distorsion...
Use it mobile thru the original nice 3,5mm cable...
You can also use it with the internal battery for about 15-20 hours and recharded with the 110/230v netcable included...
Cost around 250$... Worth every penny!
https://www.marshallheadphones.com/media/resized/catalog/product/m/a/marshall_headphones_kilburn_slider06b_1308.jpg
https://www.google.se/imgres?imgurl=https://www.thomann.de/pics/bdb/366896/10299848_800.jpg&imgrefurl=https://www.thomann.de/gb/marshall_kilburn_black.htm&docid=dKyxkVmn6qV3PM&tbnid=LB81CHVIBQtoVM:&w=723&h=600&hl=sv-se&client=safari&bih=905&biw=1366&ved=0ahUKEwi0r4GMka3OAhVB2ywKHUQICnkQMwgfKAQwBA&iact=mrc&uact=8
With all due respect to your wishes, there's really nothing to fix as far as the Bluetooth spec is defined. While it's a common wish amongst musician types desiring for freeing themselves of wires, as far as Bluetooth goes it is like trying to drive a nail with a screwdriver; for recording software just not the right tool for the job - but perfect for the millions of phone headsets, mice, keyboards and printers that use it. It's a low cost, low energy, relatively easy config and reliable wireless network format that dozens upon dozens of manufacturers agreed upon. And why one would not find a wireless audio device in a pro studio, it just not the right thing. Even in live use, a passable wireless mic is over 1400$, somewhat hardware-wise beyond what Apple could expect to include in a consumer level device.
According to wiki, the next gen spec of BT is supposed to go from 25 Mbit to 50Mbit per second, so perhaps someday it'll be fast enough. But copper wire is at least (in my humble understanding) a 100Gbit per second. The software devs making magic possible on this relativably underpowered iPad need to utilize every resource possible without the code to compensate for a low speed network connection.
I apologize as I don't intend to jump upon your wishes. I just often see statements along the line of "it should be easy", when in reality nothing is. According to wiki, 25000 companies are involved in agreement on the Bluetooth spec. Just imagine. Let alone our dedicated devs being asked to invest a couple of hundred hours work (with no pay) because it's "easy". My own personal bone to pick, but there it is.
@wigglelights that was super informative / thanks for the insights.
One problem with being a Tech user is that the degree of Miraculous Stuff is so high and abundant it can be hard to comprehend Any inconvenience or separation from idealism.
PS- thanks all for input here.
Perhaps someday a Bluetooth-like protocol for music production might appear. It took a while before wireless mics were accepted in top level performance gigs but they're all over the place now.
Maybe so - but the issue will always be cost and power. The Shure UR4Ds which are industry standard now run @$2800 for a two channel receiver, and transmitters are usually around $400 each. And we go through batteries by the case for those. Even a "starving musician" wireless mic system is about $400, with the same requirement for AC and batteries.
That's what Bluetooth is about - low power requirements and low cost zero config networking. In my quite uneducated guess, were there a line of wireless speakers that ran 802.11ac, and 4 antenna iPads, speeds of 1.5Gb would be available and probably work great for we subfractionally few musician' types would like to have - and provided the base os included support for high speed streaming the devs could easily utilize this in their daws....
For me. a $6 copper cable is the right tool for the job....
true story: I took my iPad and a 3.5mm cable into an apple store and had a very loud jam session with Animoog and DM1 and that Marshall speaker. Got a few weird looks.
I was very impressed, but did not end up buying it. I was looking at the larger model, $399 I think.
The larger has not battery mode?
And, not that nice leatherhandle...
oooh. You are right, the Kilburn is the one for portability.
and they have a new smaller model. "Stockwell" https://www.marshallheadphones.com/mh_us_en/speakers/portable/stockwell-speaker-only
I have never ordered a mini Bluetooth wireless speaker before. So I was not sure what to expected.
I ordered it at Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Portable-Bluetooth-Wireless-Enhanced-KOSTA/dp/B01KLTHVCE
This portable mini Bluetooth wireless speaker is great. It is small but that is what I like about. I can put it in my purse and carry it with me. It does not take up a lot of room. It is a very good speaker. The sound is great. Not too loud or too quiet. I actually did not think it would play as loud as it does. But it works great. We had my great nephew birthday party at the park and I brought this speaker to use. It worked perfect!! It was loud enough for us to hear it just fine but not too loud where it would bother everyone else at the park. And I just put it in my purse no problem. I am really glad I ordered this mini wireless speaker. My teenage daughter has taken this speaker with her so I will probably have to order another one for my to have. But that is ok I don't mind. It is worth it to have this portable speaker around. You never know when you might need it. And it is small enough to take anywhere It is also easy to connect by Bluetooth. Love this mini portable wireless speaker!!!
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I'm holding out for a minirig or two, with sub. Though I don't think the bluetooth latency will be any different than the Charge 3 or Flip 3 for that matter. Still going to need a cord when timing matters. The minirig supports AptX, but I don't think that's of any use with iOS devices. Regardless the minirig seems to have the utmost in sound quality for a very portable device. However I've actually heard the Charge 3 at a friend's house and gotta say it's good for the considerably more affordable price. If I had to buy one today, I'd get that. Meanwhile I save and watch the $ vs £. Should I get one I'll definitely be doing some sound tests with said friend. I'll report back, but it'll probably be a while
Sent my Minirig back, wasn't impressed with the sound quality at all.
Has anyone used the iLoid micro monitors? (Pair)
No, but I think I will watch some reviews now that you mentioned them. I have the original ILoud and can not say enough about how incredibly clear and loud it is. I am curious as to the differences between the two.
No interface with the monitors which does make a difference to me because I use the ILoud as a portable guitar amp.
Was it defective?
What'd ya end up getting instead?
I bought it for music making but it sounded awful - tested it with iTunes and loads of other stuff but it was no better so asked for a replacement. They refused and said they'd only repair it, so after a bit of a heated exchange I got a refund instead.
Mine was the wired version so maybe the Bluetooth version sounds better. I gave up on the portable speaker option, and now either use my iPad with phones or via my Orange bass combo - which sounds amazing.
My thinking is that the two Minirigs + a sub are dangerously close to a hassle transportable-wise compared to a single grab-able speaker but of course our goals could be quite different.
And I know I've said it before but having compared the Flip to the Charge the latter sounded like it had a fairly harsh EQ preset compared to the Flip. It's tricky because if the louder Charge had the Flip's clarity the Charge would be The One. Regardless neither of the JBL's (or the Minirig(s) I'm assuming) are anywhere near True so it's down to our ears and which portable we can "get to know" enough to use as a reference. Good luck with the search.
Two mini rigs and a sub does sound a bit messy Not to mention the price would make the ILoud a much more affordable price with better sound and less hassle.
I agree with you on the cord hassle. For what it's worth they sell a backpack with internal pockets for two minirigs and a sub. I mean if you're going to spend the money for the kit, might as well get that too. Though, then it's not your favorite bag. What are the odds theirs meet your other requirements? The cords do offer the ability to get better stereo separation, but are a hassle to setup. Tradeoffs1. In the review videos you shared2, one single minirig seemed better than a single Flip 33, but it's unclear if it would be loud enough to compete with a Charge 3. He did show that the whole minirig kit could out do even the JBL Xtreme4. I think if one minirig could get passably close to a Charge 3 loudness-wise, I'd get that. The main advantage of the Charge 3 for me would be its waterproofing, that's something that can be taken a lot more places. If I could try them all side by side it would be a lot easier to decide5.
Things to consider:
There's also the possibility of pairing two Charge 3s. However that's wireless only. So even if you can plug a device directly into one of them (don't know if you can when using a pair), there's got to be some latency that's probably no good for making music. Plus now you're back to carrying more than one thing. ↩︎
https://forum.audiob.us/discussion/comment/262237/#Comment_262237 ;↩︎
Minirig 2.1 - demo & soundcheck 6:49 ↩︎
Minirigs vs. JBL Xtreme - outdoor soundcheck ↩︎
Some specs that can be compared are the frequency response low ends and weights:
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