Yes, some kids will be bringing turntables and vinyl to the dorm, but most will be carrying their music with them on their smartphones. Earbuds and headphones have their place, but sometimes you just might want to crank the volume and fill your space with sound. Here are some recommended speaker systems.
- Amazon Basics Bluetooth Speaker ($35.99) This little speaker sounds as good as many costing twice as much. No, it isn't going to fill the room with heart thumping bass, but it does an adequate job of giving good sound to listen to while working. For an extra few dollars you can get it in blue or red.
- Ultimate Ears Roll ($69) and Ultimate Ears Roll 2 ($99) This go-everywhere Bluetooth speaker comes in a variety of cool colors and patterns. Yes, it even comes with its own inflatable float, so you can take your music into the pool. (Editor's note: "Don't forget to take your smartphone out of your swimsuit before you dive in".) It can survive 30 minutes in up to a meter of water without self-destructing. On a single charge it will give you a day at the beach (it claims a 9 hour battery life, but your mileage may vary). The app allows you connect two in stereo, if your budget allows. By the way it has a 3.5 mm audio input jack in case you want to have it work with a device that doesn't have Bluetooth. One of its most novel features is that three people can connect to it once, serving up music from multiple devices. If you're on a strict budget you can find the slightly less loud, less advanced original model, the Ultimate Ears Roll, on Amazon for about $40 less. It is a steal at that price.
- Ultimate Ears Boom 2 ($179) and Ultimate Ears Megaboom ($249) The Boom line from UE has been my go-to portable speaker choice since they were first introduced. With up to 15 and 20 hours of battery life, respectively, they put out clean sound with plenty of volume. It's pretty easy to throw the Boom 2 in a backpack. The Megaboom 2 is a lot heftier, but oh-that-sound is so much bigger. With all the same features as the Roll 2 (except that they don't come with a float) the difference is primarily bigger sound and bass. As with the Roll 2, you can connect multiple speakers together for a full stereo image. They claim a 100' range from your phone. In practice, this will depend on the thickness and composition of any walls that may be in the way. In other words, you may or may not be able to get sound from your room to the shower, even if it is within the range. For the price the sound can't be beat. I love that the UE speakers come in a variety of colors; you can let your speakers reflect your taste.
- Amazon Tap ($114.99) Though Amazon's Tap looks a lot like the Ultimate Ears Boom 2, the sound unfortunately doesn't measure up. It does have some cool features: You can get a colorful skin for it; it comes with a wireless charging station, it has good battery life, and unlike the competition, it has buttons on the top that make it easy to control. The "killer feature" is that it has Alexa on-board, a Siri-like system you can communicate with by talking. However, unlike the Amazon Echo, you have to press the button on the speaker every time you want to talk to it. It takes a lot of the "magic" out of the speaker. However, even if the system was touch-free, the sound quality is not comparable to that of other Bluetooth speakers in the same price-range.
- Logitech Z623 2.1 Speaker System ($99.99) If you're looking for big, room-filling sound and don't mind tethering by wire, take a listen to these great speakers. You get left and right satellite speakers plus a big subwoofer. I don't recommend 5.1 systems for dorm rooms. In general, you don't have the space for the rear channel speakers. With 200 watts RMS, this system has enough power for music, games, and movies. The biggest con to this otherwise excellent speaker system is that the weight may make them difficult (or expensive) to transport to and from school. If you're looking for a more compact system (albeit without a subwoofer) try out the Bose Companion 2 Series III Multimedia Speakers. At $99 they offer above average sound from a two channel computer speaker system.
- Como Audio Solo (from $239 direct from Como Audio) and Duetto (from $319 direct from Como Audio) These Kickstarter funded sound systems won't be in full production until October, 2016, but they might be just worth the wait; particularly, because through the end of August you can get them for 20 percent off! Designed by audio legend Tom DeVesto, they combine the classic look of the old KLH radios with the modern conveniences of control by app, Bluetooth, Internet Radio, Spotify, and optical inputs. Much more than just speakers, they are complete audio systems. That means you don't need to hook them up to your smartphone or computer to connect to on-line services; they work off of your Wi-Fi. Of course, they can also double as computer speakers or Bluetooth speakers. I tested a pre-production model of the Duetto. The 60 watt RMS Class D digital amp is significantly larger and of higher quality than you'll find in less expensive (though more portable) systems; this one is not battery powered. Featuring two 3/4" soft dome tweeters and two custom 3" long-throw, 4-layer voice coil woofers with oversized magnets, the Duetto is designed to provide high quality music to a more discerning listener. It is available in four different finishes, solid white, black, and two wood grains. A center panel not only displays information about what is playing, but also serves as a clock. Above the panel are six buttons that can be used as presets, a real time saver. I loved the built in database of internet radio stations and podcasts. It made setup super easy. On the other hand, the controls are troublesom. Some functions are best (and possibly only at this point) reached by using the included remote control. But, we all know how easy it is for those to get lost. The three knobs located under the display panel are a bit confusing. A touch control screen might have taken away some of the retro-styling of the unit, but could have simplified usage. For example, there is no "back" button, so as you work your way down a menu tree, going back can be frustratingly difficult. By the time you read this an Android and iOS app should be available, making this complaint almost moot. However, I prefer all functions to be easily accessible through the front panel without a remote. Inexpensive and compact enough for a well-appointed dorm room the Duetto would also be a good fit in your study or kitchen. In fact, the Duetto and Solo can also be wirelessly connected, so if you have them in various rooms of the house they can be controlled to play music together.
- Mass Fidelity Core ($599) The first time I heard the Mass Fidelity Core, had I not been in my own home I would have believed it was a trick. A device half the size of a shoe box placed at the center of an unobstructed wall in my living room was creating a panoramic stereo image that filled the medium sized room. Listening to Pink Floyd's "Money" I could hear the change first coming from the far left, then from the far right as it shifted channels. The track was streaming from an iPhone via Bluetooth, but it had a quality I had never experienced from a wireless system. It was, and remains, the best wireless speaker I've listened to. It would make nearly any dorm room a wonderful place to listen to music. One of the best things about the Core is that you don't need an app to make it work. Unlike Sonos and other high-end wireless systems, there is no central database requiring a computer. If you can play it on your phone you'll be able to send it to the Core. I was also able to connect it wirelessly via Bluetooth with my computer, though that took some trial and error. If you're thinking about getting one for your home, consider getting two! They can be linked together so that a single smartphone can play music throughout the house. Costing as much as two Ultimate Ears MegaBooms, the Core is undoubtedly beyond the price point of many students. Still, it is an unquestionable value with almost magical sound, portability, and quality. I do have a few quibbles. First, there are LEDs on the top and back of the unit that can be very annoying in the middle of the night. There should be an easy way to turn them off. I've also found that the sonic hologram type effect works best if a) there is nothing between the sides of the speaker and the corners of the room and b) the music has very pronounced channel separation, like early stereo recordings that played with the effect of putting some sounds only on the left or the right. In other cases, though the sound was good, it didn't necessarily produce the corner to corner sound that originally wowed me.
