noisy bluetooth speaker

In My Humble Opinion
1

So, I bought a wireless bluetooth speaker for my smart phone and it’s noisy. Pops and clicks like a worn vinyl record. Since it doesn’t do this when using a wire, I’m not sure if it’s a bad speaker, or a bad output device, or if bluetooth just does that, to bad so sad.

If it’s the speaker, can anyone recommend a good, light, portable bluetooth speaker?

If it’s the device, is there an app or something to improve the audio output?

I got the** ihome iDM8** and I like the speaker output except for the pops, thanks

2

I can’t speak for that particular speaker, but I’ve had a similar thing happen with a friend’s bluetooth speaker.

I suppose this isn’t a very useful post, because I don’t have another one to recommend. I can, however, answer one question; it’s not a limitation of bluetooth. I use bluetooth to play music and podcasts from my phone to my car stereo daily, and the sound quality is great.

Do you have any other bluetooth devices to test it with?

ETA: What sort of smartphone is it?

3

I also know exactly what you’re talking about because the bluetooth headphones I use on my computer will occasionally do that. Usually just turning them off and on again fixes it, but sometimes I have to reboot my computer. Sorry if that’s not very helpful either, but at least for me the problem seems to be software, not hardware.

4

Hmm. I have a Bluetooth speaker - a Jambox - and I don’t think it’s ever popped or clicked. Works great, and we use it almost every day, and it’s dented and dinged and has gone through a lot of turmoil.

5

I have the Spracht Aura Blue Note speakers and can enthusiastically recommend them. They don’t have wall shaking bass, but they do have a nice, clear sound you wouldn’t expect from such a small set of speakers and have a stereo widening feature. They’re 7 x 3 x 1.25 inches and can be easily picked up with one hand and weigh less than six ounces. I use them daily and they maintain a strong Bluetooth signal from about 35 feet away. They’re compatible with iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, Droid, or just about any other A2DP device and at only about $50, they cost about as much as your iHome speaker. They don’t charge off USB, they take four AA batteries, but I prefer that, because they’re not out of action waiting for an internal battery to charge. I just use two sets of rechargeable AAs and charge one set while I’m using the other set in the speakers. They do come with an AC adapter and also have an input for non-Bluetooth devices.

6

Ok, well thanks all. I have the droid, galaxy S3, ATT, and I’ve just been running the default music player; maybe there’s a better APP to improve the output from the player or the bluetooth?
ETA it’s my first smartphone and my first bluethooth device, hence my ignorance

7

Seems likely to be the speaker set, not how the phone sends the audio. The phone is going to render the music, most likely into PCM data, either to send it over the BT link or to the local speakers. Popping and clicking sounds are often the speaker or amp being turned on or off when the buffer doesn’t have data to play.
-D/a

8

I’m also using an S3 and it sounds fine with any app. Maybe bring your phone to the store and try it with some demo models of other bluetooth devices?

9

If it’s the weight of the speakers you’re worried about, I’d highly suggest taking a look at the JBL series, in particular the JBL Flip or the JBL On Tour IBT. They are extremely lightweight and the audio quality is pretty decent for their sizes. The Flip does look much better than the On Tour IBT though (the IBT looks like a flat disc or UFO).