Bluetooth speaker for my work bench/garage?

So I've been rocking this Bose speaker that my phone plugs into in the garage for years now.  Went out there last weekend, went to plug my phone in, "Oh yeah, I've got a new phone that uses USB-C and this thing is lightning".  No problem, order up a USB-C to lightning cable, plug it into the phone, then into the speaker.  Nope!  Phone thinks the dongle is for head phones and the Bose doesn't recognize anything is plugged into it.

So, need a Bluetooth speaker for the garage, what's a decent one?

TIA!

Can you get a Bluetooth dongle that plugs into the Bose?

Otherwise, I've had very good luck with the Monster brand speakers. 

I've been using a castoff Samsung bluetooth sound bar for a few years now. Worked amazing in the last space, the new one, not so much. I should try a new spot for it.

Been thinking about splashing out on the Marshall, because guitar guy. The Dewalt would be a reasonable choice for me considering all the yellow tools I already have but I just can't make myself pay for one.

I have a little Bose unit I picked up at Costco.  Charges with a type C plug.  Blue tooth connectivity with everything I have tried it on has been flawless.  I use it at the office when no one is around.  I have wanted to get another for the house as it is so convenient to move from place to place.  The sound is WAY WAY better than it should be for the size of this thing.  It is about 7 inches long and three inches high and yet it can fill a whole room with sound with no issue.  Most impressive to me is that even at the upper levels of the volume there does not seem to be any distortion.

This is the unit I have. (as you can hopefully tell I highly recommend it)

https://www.costco.com/bose-soundlink-flex-se-bluetooth-speaker.product.4000037988.html

Apologies for the silly question, but is it possible that your USBc-to-lightning cable is a "charge-only" variant?

Back on topic, I got a pair of "work light bluetooth speakers" from Costco a while back:
https://costco.infinityx1.com/products/work-light-with-speakers-2-pack

Sound is decent for the size/price, and if paired correctly they actually operate in stereo. I find the magnets and hooks useful for both setting your sound stage and worklight-in-a-third-hand.

Unfortunately they are NLA/OOS at the moment, as often happens with my favorite Costco products,.

Suggest the radio/charger of your preferred brand.

I have this M18 one and love it.  I have it paired to a mini-PC via bluetooth with a 38" monitor.  FIlls my needs.  

https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Products/2792-20

I've got a Yamaha Audio SR-C20A Compact Sound Bar in my race trailer and I'm quite happy with it.

I use a JBL Charge 4(?) for all my bluetooth speaker needs in the garage.  Works great, and has a pretty good battery life.

I have an older rectangle bigger Bose bluetooth speaker in my shop that fills it with sound. 

I also have a JBL Charge that I used when I traveled for work and now is used for a 1968 Karmann Ghia sound system.

Both really fill the bill and sound great.

I think if you spend a little money on one with a decent name brand you will be happy.

I picked up an Anker Soundcore Flare a few years ago when I had to make a drive from Michigan to SC in an E150 with no radio. I just picked from what the local Walmart had as time was tight, but that speaker has been awesome. You can use Bluetooth or aux in, it can recharge your phone, and while I don't use the led light feature, I do like the waterproof quality that lets me use it in the rain and at the beach. 

Some GRM Chatter on the same/similar topic of 3 months ago

docwyte said:

So I've been rocking this Bose speaker that my phone plugs into in the garage for years now.  Went out there last weekend, went to plug my phone in, "Oh yeah, I've got a new phone that uses USB-C and this thing is lightning".  No problem, order up a USB-C to lightning cable, plug it into the phone, then into the speaker.  Nope!  Phone thinks the dongle is for head phones and the Bose doesn't recognize anything is plugged into it.

So, need a Bluetooth speaker for the garage, what's a decent one?

TIA!

Had the same issue, dug out a door prize from a meeting with Loves five or six years ago. JBL clip 3. Works well and sounds okish.

Puddy46 said:

I use a JBL Charge 4(?) for all my bluetooth speaker needs in the garage.  Works great, and has a pretty good battery life.

Came here to say this.  I did a thread a few months ago and got lots of suggestions, but it's hard to know what your ears will like.  I ended up going on Amazon and ordering three or four that had free returns.

I ended up keeping the Charge 4 and I love it.

Edit to add:  Of course, one of my requirements was that it needed a 3.5mm aux jack so I could use it as a TV soundbar in my RV.  If you remove that requirement, there are plenty of options.

It seems like the JBL Charge 4 or 5 or the Polk speaker John linked to are the best.  I might buy them both ala Curtis and return the one I don't like

I like my big jam box but it's quite old at this point

Another vote for the JBL Charge 4. I don't have one but one of the A&Ps brought his in and I was impressed with how much sound it put out. It thumped pretty good considering we were in a medium sized hangar.

Another thing to consider is an inexpensive 2.1 sound bar system. I bought one off of the jungle website after rocking an Anker Soundcore for a long time. While the Soundcore was OK, the sound bar simply has more volume. I hung it on the wall above my workbench and put the subwoofer on the shelf. I had an extra SiriusXM tuner that I then mounted to the sound bar using double-sided tape. It worked great.

Here is the sound bar I bought. It was $100 when I bought it.

In reply to Puddy46 :

I second this one, I have a few JBL Bluetooth speakers including the Charge and they have always worked flawlessly with good battery. 

In reply to Chris Tropea :

I would agree with this but...I had a JBL charge and loved it, it sounded great, etc.... until I plugged it in to charge one day and it tried to burn my house down.  Luckily my wife heard it " it sounds like firecrackers are going off in the house", and I caught it in time.  Battery pack exploded and smoke/fire was coming from it.  Threw it out the front door.  The smell was horrible and took weeks to get out of the room it was in.  So, no more JBL for me.