How are cyclists getting such loud, clear music from such a tiny device?

January 12, 2022 4:45 AM

Every now and again, while out walking round the city, I find a cyclist zooming past me with very loud, very clear music blasting from somewhere on their person (or perhaps mounted on the bike itself). Whatever device they're using is too small for me to see it as they flash past. There's no tinny distortion or loss of bass. What device are they using, and how does it achieve such impressive results? Can this really be just a simple cellphone?
posted by Paul Slade to Technology (12 answers total)

I assume it's a portable blue tooth speaker.
posted by oceano at 4:55 AM on January 12, 2022 [8 favorites]

A nicely designed speaker can produce a very impressive volume and clarity from a tiny box. Bose Acoustimass was known for having tiny satellite speakers that are small cubes the size of Rubik's Cubes. JBL Clip 3 is a BT speaker that's has a built-in carabiner that can be clipped to many different places. They come in variety of sizes and shapes.
posted by kschang at 5:48 AM on January 12, 2022 [2 favorites]

kschang has it right, the JBL Clip is cheap, loud, amazing battery life and semi waterproof. I keep one in the shower at all times. Music selection will affect your performance. If things are super boomy, perhaps use some bass reduction EQ for it, but I just choose music that works well with it. Beastie Boys are too bassy to sound great, but LCD Soundsystem rings true and clear. YMMV.
posted by sydnius at 5:56 AM on January 12, 2022 [3 favorites]

The Wonderboom BT speaker, which is (or was recently) the NYT Wirecutter-recommended portable speaker, is the size of a grapefruit and stunningly loud with rich tones. It has a button-press "outdoor boost" feature that really dials up the bass to a degree that I find surprising. It's waterproof so I imagine they're strapped to bikes or bag straps pretty routinely.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 5:57 AM on January 12, 2022 [4 favorites]

I have seen people riding with the JBL Flip, which is big enough to be visible, but is a black cylinder, so if you're not looking for it, you might overlook it. Often lashed to the handlebars. It would probably also fit in a bottle cage.
posted by adamrice at 7:02 AM on January 12, 2022 [1 favorite]

We have two models of wonderboom and the sound is really incredible for such small devices.
posted by knapah at 7:04 AM on January 12, 2022

It's not the very best BT speaker or the very smallest (5”x5”x 1.5”) but I keep a Bose ColorSync in the front basket of my bike.
posted by brachiopod at 7:11 AM on January 12, 2022

Everyone has it covered that it's probably a baby-sized Bluetooth speaker, but for variety's sake: we have a little $25 Anker Soundcore that kicks out the juice. The battery goes for hours.
posted by AgentRocket at 7:49 AM on January 12, 2022 [1 favorite]

JBL Clip is one i see a lot on the streets of NYC
posted by wowenthusiast at 8:02 AM on January 12, 2022

The clip is also the main one I see in DC.
posted by aspersioncast at 10:25 AM on January 12, 2022

Response by poster: Thanks, everyone.
posted by Paul Slade at 10:35 AM on January 12, 2022

Yeah, some bike folks I know carry a small wonderboom that you might not notice. Others have bigger sound sytems, but some wonderboom speakers have a little cord thing so you can clip it to your bike, and they are waterproof. (I bought a wonderboom for this very purpose.)
posted by bluedaisy at 10:36 AM on January 12, 2022