 For as loud as they can be, portable Bluetooth speakers are surprisingly subtle gadgets. You don't think you really need one until you've tried one, or in my case about 10 of them. But once you start bringing a speaker with you to the beach, in the park, and yes, even the shower, you'll be shocked how much you enjoy having crisp, clear music at a moment's notice. Pretty much every consumer electronics brand with an audio department has slapped their logo on a tube-shaped speaker. And there are hundreds upon hundreds of super cheap ones with subpar sound. Finding the best one, one that will last and sounds good in basically any situation, that involves a little bit of research and maybe a bit of compromising. At around $100 to $250 bucks for a decent Bluetooth speaker, it's not a trivial purchase. But there's good news. Your choice isn't all that hard. Two years ago, we said the best portable Bluetooth speaker you could buy was the Logitech UE Boom. You wouldn't be too disappointed if that's the one you picked up right now today, but there's an even better choice. It's the Logitech UE Boom 2. The Boom 2 has your now familiar cylindrical design, but that gives it great 360 degree sound. Plus, it comes in a series of neat color combos. As for the upgrades, the speaker is now more durable and, more importantly, it's waterproof. That means you can stand it up on the side of a hot tub, or even take it to the beach without thinking twice. That's not to say the Boom 2 is the best sounding portable Bluetooth speaker. It's a bit lacking in bass response and tends to sound best when pumping bright pop music or really busy electronic. But considering its other perks, the Boom 2 performs well in enough genres and situations to please most people. You can also pair it to another UE Boom to really fill the gaps. It also gets about 15 hours of battery life, which is pretty normal. Yet its range is stellar. I walked about 30 feet away from it in a crowded park before the sound began cutting out. At $200, it's one of the more expensive options in the field, but if you're looking for the most well-rounded speaker with really good sound, you can't go wrong with the Logitech UE Boom 2. A close second is the Beoplay A1. It's a $250 speaker that kind of looks like an aluminum water canteen, but it's still attractive and it's really well made. But its looks aren't just what make it special. It also sounds incredible. The A1 has full, rich, omnidirectional sound for pretty much every genre of music. Classical, jazz, hip-hop, rock, the A1 can do it all. And it's loud, like really, really loud. This thing can fill your entire apartment with crisp audio, to the point of competing with a surround setup and a subwoofer. There are trade-offs. The A1's range is on the shorter side, and it charges using USB Type-C, which can be pretty annoying unless you happen to have a few extra Type-C cables lying around. Luckily, the A1 has 24-hour battery life to tide you over for long weekend trips. Another downside, it's not very durable, nor is it waterproof. It can get pretty beat up, like mine did, if you throw it into a bag with your keys. There are countless Bluetooth speakers to choose from, but here are two that you should skip right away. The Beats Pill Plus is just overpriced. If it were 100 or even 50 bucks cheaper, it would be a better deal. Instead you're paying $230, that's 30 more than the Boom 2, for a device that doesn't sound anywhere near as good. Then there's the Amazon Tap. This speaker has enormous potential, but right now, I don't recommend spending your money on it. It has the Alexa voice assistant built in, except you can't talk to it like you can the Echo. Instead, you have to hold down a button on the speaker to activate the voice control. Oh, and one more thing, it sounds kinda bad. So the bottom line here, Amazon may have a killer Bluetooth speaker on its hands in a few years, with a second or maybe a third generation model, but not right now. The truth about Bluetooth speakers is that they pretty much all do the same thing. Connect to your phone and play music. If you're not a stickler for sound quality, you can just get one that looks cool and doesn't cost you much. But if you want the best one, the one that isn't gonna bum you out when you turn it on two years from now, Logitech's latest model is the way to go.
 For as loud as they can be, portable Bluetooth speakers are surprisingly subtle gadgets.
 You don't think you really need one until you've tried one, or in my case about 10 of
 them.
 But once you start bringing a speaker with you to the beach, in the park, and yes, even
 the shower, you'll be shocked how much you enjoy having crisp, clear music at a moment's
 notice.
 Pretty much every consumer electronics brand with an audio department has slapped their
 logo on a tube-shaped speaker.
 And there are hundreds upon hundreds of super cheap ones with subpar sound.
 Finding the best one, one that will last and sounds good in basically any situation, that
 involves a little bit of research and maybe a bit of compromising.
 At around $100 to $250 bucks for a decent Bluetooth speaker, it's not a trivial purchase.
 But there's good news.
 Your choice isn't all that hard.
 Two years ago, we said the best portable Bluetooth speaker you could buy was the Logitech UE
 Boom.
 You wouldn't be too disappointed if that's the one you picked up right now today, but
 there's an even better choice.
 It's the Logitech UE Boom 2.
 The Boom 2 has your now familiar cylindrical design, but that gives it great 360 degree
 sound.
 Plus, it comes in a series of neat color combos.
 As for the upgrades, the speaker is now more durable and, more importantly, it's waterproof.
 That means you can stand it up on the side of a hot tub, or even take it to the beach
 without thinking twice.
 That's not to say the Boom 2 is the best sounding portable Bluetooth speaker.
 It's a bit lacking in bass response and tends to sound best when pumping bright pop music
 or really busy electronic.
 But considering its other perks, the Boom 2 performs well in enough genres and situations
 to please most people.
 You can also pair it to another UE Boom to really fill the gaps.
 It also gets about 15 hours of battery life, which is pretty normal.
 Yet its range is stellar.
 I walked about 30 feet away from it in a crowded park before the sound began cutting out.
 At $200, it's one of the more expensive options in the field, but if you're looking for the
 most well-rounded speaker with really good sound, you can't go wrong with the Logitech
 UE Boom 2.
 A close second is the Beoplay A1.
 It's a $250 speaker that kind of looks like an aluminum water canteen, but it's still
 attractive and it's really well made.
 But its looks aren't just what make it special.
 It also sounds incredible.
 The A1 has full, rich, omnidirectional sound for pretty much every genre of music.
 Classical, jazz, hip-hop, rock, the A1 can do it all.
 And it's loud, like really, really loud.
 This thing can fill your entire apartment with crisp audio, to the point of competing
 with a surround setup and a subwoofer.
 There are trade-offs.
 The A1's range is on the shorter side, and it charges using USB Type-C, which can be
 pretty annoying unless you happen to have a few extra Type-C cables lying around.
 Luckily, the A1 has 24-hour battery life to tide you over for long weekend trips.
 Another downside, it's not very durable, nor is it waterproof.
 It can get pretty beat up, like mine did, if you throw it into a bag with your keys.
 There are countless Bluetooth speakers to choose from, but here are two that you should
 skip right away.
 The Beats Pill Plus is just overpriced.
 If it were 100 or even 50 bucks cheaper, it would be a better deal.
 Instead you're paying $230, that's 30 more than the Boom 2, for a device that doesn't
 sound anywhere near as good.
 Then there's the Amazon Tap.
 This speaker has enormous potential, but right now, I don't recommend spending your money
 on it.
 It has the Alexa voice assistant built in, except you can't talk to it like you can
 the Echo.
 Instead, you have to hold down a button on the speaker to activate the voice control.
 Oh, and one more thing, it sounds kinda bad.
 So the bottom line here, Amazon may have a killer Bluetooth speaker on its hands in a
 few years, with a second or maybe a third generation model, but not right now.
 The truth about Bluetooth speakers is that they pretty much all do the same thing.
 Connect to your phone and play music.
 If you're not a stickler for sound quality, you can just get one that looks cool and doesn't
 cost you much.
 But if you want the best one, the one that isn't gonna bum you out when you turn it on
 two years from now, Logitech's latest model is the way to go.