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Mini Tower Bluetooth Speaker $6 Officeworks Clearance Instore

580

Pretty cheap for a beater speaker to perhaps leave in the garage.
I didn't get a chance to have a listen but at $6 c'mon.

I picked one up just to crack open and use the circuit in a custom built wooden box speaker (one day that I finally get around to building one) but hey when am I ever going to get a bargain like this, so buy one now for whenever that project happens :) thanks for giving me this spirit ozbargain.

Plenty of stock at the Caroline Springs store when I checked which was close to closing time.

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  • Can anyone comment on the quality?

    • +3

      Bought one for a mate as a Secret Santa when they were $18 and he was stoked with it. They're pretty decent for the price I reckon.

    • Depends what you mean by quality, the sound is probably ok or even great for the price, but the material of the housing is literally a cardboard tub on a flimsy plastic stand, as cheap as it gets

  • Any idea of the connectivity this things got? Bluetooth/Aux? External power? Batt?

    • +7

      Copied from suppliers site based on picture displayed

      Special stand portable wooden speaker
      Super bass with screen and disco light, with on/off switch
      Supports MP3 format
      With SD/MMC card slot
      USB reader
      With FM radio
      USB charge power
      Audio input and audio output
      External lithium battery, 1,000mAh
      With stand board
      With remote control
      Body size: 16.517.538cm
      Output power: 3W x 2
      Battery: 1,000mA
      Voltage:
      Output: 3.7V
      Input: 5V
      Frequency response range: 87.5Hz-108kHz
      Speaker: 90mm, 4 Ohms, 3W
      S/N ratio: ≥80dB
      Impedance: 4Ω

      • +1

        Woah thats pretty dope for 6 bucks. Gotta look for one now…

        • +1

          If they were in a Sydney store I'd buy two and see how I'd go wiring it as a stereo set.

          $12. Whats the worst that can happen?

      • +5

        you had me at "disco light"

    • whoops, should've refreshed… already answered above.

    • +11

      Someones said they bought it earlier for 18 bucks…

  • Would it be available in other stores as well?

  • With fm radio - cool need to buy one for work

  • +2

    With USB power and AUX-in it would be cheap & easy to add a bluetooth A2DP dongle.

    • +1

      Might as well just buy a Bluetooth one, like the $10 units at Kmart.

    • +1

      No need - It already has BLUETOOTH

      • +1

        Says who? It's not in the specs, is it?

        • +5

          Me and my new speaker - Manual for Portable Media Tower BLUETOOTH Speaker Model: BT-228

          Also look at OP supplied photo.
          Bottom row second from left says WIRELESS

          Specs from Box

          MP3 Playback from USB/SD/MMC Card
          Built in FM Radio
          3.5mm Aux - In
          Supports most MP3/4 Player
          USB powered/Rechargeable Battery (Battery Rechargeable via USB)

          Bluetooth Tower Speaker
          Speaker: 77mm, 4Ohm, 3W
          Output Power: 3w x 2

          Also has remote control.

          No disco light, but does have neat carry handle.

  • +1

    I wonder if these can do stereo with two of them?

    • +1

      I will answer as if this is a serious question…

      Most of this style are actually stereo internally, with only one speaker connected. However, this one has two speakers so perhaps it is already wired for stereo. In which case to make it mono you could bridge out the L+R on the inut cable/connection.

      EDIT: Just re-read the specs and it says "2x3W" so I'd say it is stereo inside…

      Anyway, to use 2 spaced far apart all you need to do is make up a 3.5mm Y adaptor lead, where the left from the player goes to both L+R on one leg of the Y, and the Right from the input goes to L+R on the other leg of the Y.

      … not that it'd be worth the effort LOL

      • +1

        Yes a serious question I meant, I wonder if these case be configured with two units to completely separate L and R. It would mean there are two base stations I guess?
        Note these are fm wireless

        • It would mean there are two base stations I guess?

          Base station? Where do you get that impression?

          These speakers aren't "wireless" in the way that you are thinking.

          Note these are fm wireless

          Yes, because all FM Radios are "FM Wireless".

          There is no evidence of a wireless connection to an external audio player - these use a 3.5mm stereo (headphone) jack as the connection.

          You can load up a USB Stick or SD Card with MP3s then use the (wireless) remote control to skip through the tracks, that's about as wireless as it gets for this price.

        • @llama:
          Wireless is printed on the front of the box in the ops photos, so I imagined that to be like the wireless headphones IE base station with physical connections projecting to a wireless speaker. I haven't seen one of these so maybe I have the wrong idea.
          Did you buy one?If so, what is the sound quality like? Ridiculous?

        • +3

          @King Tightarse:

          Oh, I didnt notice that one box with wireless on it - I zoomed the one on the top shelf which shows the specs.

          No, I didn't buy one. I have heaps of similar ones, and they all use a little chinese MP3 + Remote + amplifier module that's installed in the rear.

          They generally sound OK providing you don't care abut the mushy "bass" or the lack of treble from a pair of full range single cone speakers. They sound like a cheap FM mantle radio, or a kids portable CD player, or perhaps about the same as a cheap sterao TV.

          The speakers are efficient so are quite loud, and I find this kind of unit really handy for bacground music at picnics, etc. However I have disposed of all of ours that don't have inbuilt bluetooth, since it's easier to stream audio from a phone than plug something in.

      • +1

        What you need is a quite rare 3.5mm to twin 3.5mm breakout cable similar to this:

        https://www.storedj.com.au/products/HOS-YMM261?gclid=Cj0KEQj…

        It essentially splits the stereo output in to left and right and outputs each channel to a 3.5mm jack for each to run to each speaker. You can achieve the same using lots of adapters, you'd need to:

        Source (3.5mm)>2x mono RCA>2x mono RCA to stereo RCA (A pair for each channel)>2x stereo RCA to 3.5mm>2 Speakers

        So you'd need to buy:
        3x 3.5mm to RCA stereo
        2x RCA mono to RCA stereo

    • +1

      Can't say it does true stereo, but i used an aux splitter from my phone to plug into two of them (yes i have 2, one from last year and another I just bought) and would say the volume does get pretty up there

  • +4

    This $6 speaker are better then BOSE and Logitech computer speaker. ;)

    • +5

      Now THAT is glowing praise, indeed!

      Only the very best pocket sized AM radios can meet those lofty heights of audio excellence :-)

    • +2

      Only if you use a $400 monster cable

  • +1

    I can't seem to find it in the store right next to my place.

  • Doubt there would be much at Carnegie, VIC as I noticed a woman doing a "Broaden" and pushing a trolley load of these speakers as I walked in the other day.

    • +3

      Its Broden, not Broaden

      Typical rookie mistake

      • +3

        noticed a woman doing a "Broaden" and pushing a trolley load

        Mr Rort just forgot to mention that she was well fed

      • +1

        I was typeing it on a Dicke Smithe keyborda :P

      • +1

        Maybe 'Broaden' is the female version of 'Broden', perhaps his wife.

        Or was she in a blue polo shirt with black slacks and uncomfortable shoes? If so, she probably works there.

        • +1

          we would've referred her to as "Mrs Broden"

  • +11

    Stereosonic was cancelled so I'll settle for this

  • nice! cheap garage speaker for me

  • No stock at Chadstone/Carnegie/Elsternwick/South Yarra according to phone calls..

    • Highett?

      • +1

        Only 2 of these Bluetooth Speakers left this morning at Highett.

      • +1

        Didn't call Highett but South Melbourne/Richmond/Highpoint also have no stock

    • Carnegie lied, 2 units left as of 6:30PM 11/4

  • +2

    This is hilarious, I posted this month's ago for only $5, which is probably why a lot of shops will be out of stock :https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/228581

    JV as usual went on a rant about how much the original price was (as he did again here) but everyone must have eaten too much post Xmas to be on ozbargain, it must have turned people off as only 22 votes.

    There are some useful anecdotes about performance, however the main item in my post ($10 tower speaker) shat all over the $5 one in quality, it actually had a solid cabinet.

    • That a fair enough, Jackson but the smaller one is light and portable and has a rechargeable battery and …its disposable at $6. It sounds pretty darn good for its price so plenty of uses such as workshop, picnics etc.
      Did you buy the tall tower yourself?

      • Yeah I am not complaining about this deal, I plugged it after all ☺️ it's just funny that no one cared 3 months ago. I am now using full blown stereos in my workshop since I have a glut of all this stuff everywhere. I think as the OP stated this price puts it in the hobbyist section of even just to take apart for another project it's worth while

  • +3

    Managed to score one.
    Am listening to it right now. Sound pretty damned decent for $6. Insane value really.
    Taller than I thought, say around 40cm. First thing I noticed was a whiff of that Chinese plastic smell, phew - it stank but its fading now. Been charging and playing music for the past 3 hours. Its a got what looks like a mobile phone battery and you have to unscrew the base to access the little door for it. I had to pull it to bits and redo it as it wasnt taking change but no worries now.
    Its not "wireless" in the way I first imagined, its basically just an amplified bluetooth speaker with line in and FM radio. Took a few goes to figure out the radio. Basically you have to hold down the play/pause button continuously and then it will auto scan for stations. Then use up and down to cycle through the channels. No other way to control it. One thing I noticed was the USB port (large) acts as an antenna if you connect a cable. It meant that I got heaps of unwanted static stations if it was in while scanning and missed ones I wanted if it wasnt. After a while I worked out to quickly plug it in as the scan approached a station I wanted and pull it out again past all the dumb stations, then in again when another good one was coming. Took a few goes but I got everything I wanted.
    Sitting here typing and its really doing a good job with the tunes. Sounds really good for a basic unit.

    • Coin operated?

  • None at Highpoint.

  • BTW who ever said there are none at Carnegie is wrong.
    There were about seven units left at 6PM Saturday.

    • It was Broden, just trying to put others off the hunt.

  • Snagged the last one at West Burleigh.

  • +1

    None at doncaster so i went to kew, bought 8, 6 black and 2 purple, btw people the purple ones scan as 50 cents each

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