Divoom’s Voombox-Ongo is a little brick, maybe the fittest and most ready-for-action of all portable Bluetooth speakers selling for less than $70.
Koss’ BTS1 portable Bluetooth speaker weighs less than 6 ounces and couldn’t fight its way out of an Altoids tin, but what a beautiful voice for less than $60.
Let’s play matchmaker. Which of these two Bluetooth speakers is right for you?
Indoors/Outdoors
If they were cats, would they be an indoor or indoor-outdoor pet?
The Voombox-Ongo is an outdoor cat, for sure, with ruggedized, silicone wrap-around protection between front-and-back speaker grilles secured to alloy frames by tiny hex screws. It looks industrial and feels substantial.
Let’s roll: The Voombox-Ongo is the first portable Bluetooth speaker I’ve seen that comes with a bicycle mount. (It’s also a speakerphone.) So saddle up your Specialized mountain bike and blare your tunes through the neighborhood.
Speaker on a stick: The quarter-inch threaded mount on the speaker’s base also accepts a tripod. (Or dangle it from a backpack by connecting a carabiner to the Voombox-Ongo’s loop.)
The BTS1, meanwhile, might not survive a heavy downpour. Other than a back panel with a rubberized trim, this speaker could pose for the centerfold of Plastic Monthly. Do not expect to find this speaker, also equipped with a microphone, strapped to a bicycle handlebar.
The Vitals
Size: The Voombox-Ongo (5.5 inches wide, 2.36 inches tall, 2.87 inches deep) fits in my winter coat’s side pocket. It weighs almost 15 ounces.
The BTS1 (4 inches wide, 3 inches tall, 1 inch deep) fits in my shirt pocket. It weighs 5.76 ounces.
Rechargeable battery life (estimate): Voombox-Ongo, 8 hours; BTS1, 5 hours. Both use a micro-to-USB cable for charging.
Colors: Voombox-Ongo (light blue, light green, red, orange and black); BTS1 (pale white with gray grille).
Speaker drivers, power: Voombox uses a pair of 1.5-inch drivers with a passive radiator system — to enhance lower frequencies — at the rear of the speaker enclosure. Amplification: 3.5 watts per driver.
The BTS1 has a single 1.5-inch driver. Amplification: 3 watts. Instead of a passive radiator, it’s fitted with a front port.
Controls: Four pushbuttons for Voombox-Ongo (power/pairing, volume up, volume down and play/pause), three for the BTS1 (power/pairing volume up, volume down).
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Bluetooth: The Voombox-Ongo uses the newer, more power-efficient Bluetooth 4.0. The BTS1 uses Bluetooth 3.0.
Extras: Voombox-Ongo: none. BTS1: an output for adding a second speaker and a flip-out kickstand for additional security on a flat surface.
Sound: Indoors, the Voombox-Ongo sounds dull, distant and somewhat bottom-heavy. Outdoors, it becomes a different animal: More authoritative and better balanced. This is not unusual for a speaker designed for the outdoors. An outdoor speaker must player louder, with greater bass energy, than the standard indoor speaker living in a confined space.
The BTS1, though a portable, is better voiced for indoor use. For its size, the BTS1’s sound is smooth all the way to the highest volume, up-front and engaging.
For several days, I used each speaker while working either at the computer or around the house. Both were turned on, so that I could easily switch from one to another using my iPhone.
I kept playing the speaker until it became fatiguing or otherwise bothersome. The Voombox-Ongo was the most fatiguing, the most bothersome and most often switched to Option No. 2.
Outdoors, however, the Voombox-Ongo’s extra bass evaporated and the speaker somehow seemed invigorated in the open space, no longer lifeless. The BTS1 retained most of its qualities when moving outdoors but could not carry a note quite as emphatically as the Voombox-Ongo.
Possible Relationship?
These are two good-for-the-money Bluetooth speakers. The Voombox-Ongo likes the outdoors, long bike rides and singalongs around a campfire. The BTS1 is ultra-flexible, prefers quiet times indoors next to a laptop but isn’t afraid to stretch out on a beach blanket or warm a seat at the skating rink.
For a good time, you should know by now which one to call.
Information: Divoom Voombox-Ongo ($69.90, Divoomusa.com); Koss BTS1 ($59.99, Koss.com).