Powered Speakers with Bluetooth: What to Know Before You Buy

Powered Speakers with Bluetooth: What to Know Before You Buy

An AV integrator’s honest take on when Bluetooth makes sense, when it doesn’t, and what matters more than any feature on the box

“Can you get me some powered speakers with Bluetooth?”

We hear it every week at Streamline Systems. It sounds like a simple product request, but I don’t start with a product. I start with a question: what are you going to use it for?

The answer decides whether Bluetooth is a sensible convenience or something that will let you down at the worst possible moment.

Not all “Bluetooth” is the same

The first thing to clear up is that “Bluetooth” on a powered speaker can mean two very different things.

• Bluetooth control. The speaker connects to an app on your phone or tablet so you can adjust volume, EQ and other settings. No audio travels over Bluetooth.
• Bluetooth streaming. Your phone or laptop sends the music to the speaker wirelessly.

Many clients don’t realize there’s a difference. Bluetooth control is useful and low-risk. You tune the system from across the room, then the audio itself runs over a proper connection. Bluetooth streaming is where my concerns start.

Why I’m not a lover of Bluetooth streaming

I’ll be upfront: I’m not a fan of Bluetooth as an audio source. When a client tells me they want to stream to their speakers, my next question is why Bluetooth? Here’s what usually goes wrong:

• Range is limited. Walk too far away, put a wall in the way or fill the room with people, and the connection starts to break up.
• Your phone is also a phone. If you stream from your cell, an incoming call can interrupt the music, or drop it altogether.
• The music is tied to the device. Leave the room, take a call or let the battery die, and the system goes quiet.

I see this myself. I use Bluetooth on my boat, and even there it aggravates me when a call comes in and the audio drops. On a boat with friends, that’s an annoyance. At a wedding reception or a corporate launch, it’s a failure everyone in the room notices.

Better ways to stream

For clients who want wireless convenience, there are better options than Bluetooth:

• AirPlay or similar Wi-Fi streaming, which uses your network rather than a short-range phone link.
• A dedicated streaming device that plays directly from the internet. You start a playlist and the unit carries on by itself. You can turn off your phone, take a call or leave the building, and the music keeps playing.

And where it’s possible, my preference is simpler still: a piece of wire going from A to B. A cable doesn’t have range issues, doesn’t get interrupted by calls and doesn’t need re-pairing. Wherever reliability matters, wired wins.

When Bluetooth is the right call, and which speaker to choose

None of this means Bluetooth has no place. For small, casual, non-critical use, where a dropout is an inconvenience rather than a disaster, it’s perfectly reasonable. If that’s what the client needs, my job is to make sure they get a speaker that’s worth the money.

For that, I look to Electro-Voice. Globally, EV sits in the mid-range of professional audio brands. In Trinidad it sits near the top. For our clients, that means a high-quality speaker at a comfortable, attainable price point. Several EV models offer both Bluetooth streaming and Bluetooth control:

• ZLX G2 series: EV’s entry-level powered range, with Bluetooth audio streaming and app-based control. Available in the 8″, 12″ and 15″
• Everse 8: battery powered and weather resistant, with Bluetooth streaming and control. It’s the natural choice where there’s no power point nearby, such as a beach lime, a poolside gathering, a boat or an outdoor setup where a passing shower is a real possibility.
• Evolve series (Evolve 30M, Evolve 50): EV’s column arrays. They’re lightweight and compact, and one person can set them up comfortably.
• Evolve 70 and Evolve 90: the newest additions to the Evolve line, with larger cabinets and larger subwoofers. They have enough output for events like weddings in Trinidad.

The Evolve series also has an advantage that has nothing to do with sound: aesthetics. At corporate events, people often don’t want large speaker cabinets on their stage. A slim column array delivers the sound without dominating the room.

One point to be clear on: when I recommend an Evolve for a wedding or corporate event, the Bluetooth I’m happy to use is the control. The audio itself should still come in over a cable.

Check out this video to breakdown of EV’s ZLX G2 series

Warranty, warranty, warranty

If there’s one thing I want every buyer to take away, it’s this: the speaker is only as good as the support behind it.

At Streamline Systems I tell everyone the same thing: warranty, warranty, warranty. Before you buy any powered speaker, Bluetooth or not, ask these questions:

That’s the real difference between a speaker bought online and one bought from a professional integrator. It isn’t only the sound. It’s what happens on the day something goes wrong.

The bottom line

Before you buy powered speakers with Bluetooth, ask yourself three things:

• Do I need Bluetooth for control, streaming or both?
• How critical is this? For casual use, Bluetooth is fine. For weddings, corporate events or anything you can’t afford to have fail, go wired or use a proper streaming device.
• What happens when it breaks? Look for a long local warranty and parts in stock, not just a low price.

Get those right and you’ll have a system that sounds good today and still works years from now.

Mike Pereira, CTS, CTS-D, CTS-I, is the Director of Streamline Systems Ltd, an audio-visual and security systems engineering company based in El Socorro, Trinidad, serving clients across the Caribbean since 2007.