Listen to music wirelessly on your Surface tablet:

That Salsa class you’ve been taking is kicking your butt. This dance stuff is harder than you expected and after a couple of weeks of class, you realized the only way you’ll get better is by practicing.

So, you cleared the room to make space to practice your dance moves and you set up your Surface tablet to play your favorite Salsa music. But man, between your breathing and your feet, you just don’t think the sound is loud enough.

OR

You are a music buff and you installed all your favorite tunes on your Surface Pro 3 and now you’re trying to figure out how you can listen to them in your shower. You can’t exactly take your Surface in the tub with you, can you?

Have no worries, there are plenty of options for wireless speakers out there. Including some waterproof ones!

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OK, don’t laugh but I’ve actually experienced both of the above scenarios and have been in the market for a nice set of wireless speakers for a while now.

We have all four of the Surface models and I have to say that the sound quality continues to improve with each new version. The Surface Pro 3 definitely has the best and loudest (something the other Surfaces were lacking) built-in speakers, and they are now front-facing, but there are just times that I would like to keep my Surface Pro 3 in its dock while I listen to music elsewhere.

So, I’ve been doing some research on Bluetooth speakers for my device and thought I’d share it with you (hint, hint Tim: Christmas is coming...). I’ve categorized the options below by things that I feel would be useful: size, quality, waterproofing, and so on.

Wireless Speakers for Surface Tablets:

WATERPROOF Wireless Speakers:

• What: Photive HYDRA Rugged Water Resistant Wireless Speaker
  
• Where: Amazon
• How much: $59.99
• Size: 6 inches x 1.5 inches x 2 inches, 8 oz.

Pros:

• Rated IP66 – protection against water and dust. Waterproof (technically I think it’s water resistant), Shockproof, Dustproof.
• Lithium ion rechargeable battery – 8 hours playtime.
• Speaker Controls – built-in will control all the functions without having to step out of the shower.
• Bluetooth 4 – listen from up to 33 feet away.
• Passive subwoofer and two 40 mm drivers – nice bass sound quality.
• Good volume.
• Size – small, light and portable, great for beach and picnic outings.

Cons:

• Quality of product – you get what you pay for – some manufacturing defects reported.
• Some power/charging issues reported.
• Small – if you’re looking for a stereo experience, you won’t get it from a small speakers like these.

Great-quality Sound Wireless Speakers:

• What: Creative Sound Blaster Roar
  
• Where: Amazon
• How much: $149.99
• Size: 7.9 x 4.5 x 2.2 inches ; 2.5 pounds

Pros:

• Powerful audio: five drivers powered by two sets of high-performance amplifiers. Built-in subwoofer.
• Features: lots and lots of features, modes and controls, like Bluetooth Link Security control allows you to configure the Sound Blaster Roar for different usage scenarios or the bedtime listening mode
• Built-in MP3 player
• Voice recorder
• Bluetooth 4 – listen from up to 33 feet away.
• Rechargeable batter: Li-ion battery (6000mAh) powers the speaker for up to 8 hours.
• Size: portable, booklet-size

Cons:

• No way to replace the battery yourself.
• The makers of these speakers, Creative Labs, have been accused of hyping-up the reviews, which they vehemently deny.
• Sound quality – some reviews say the sound is not as good as they expected but I’m not sure what you’d expect from a speaker this size.

Long Battery Life Wireless Speakers:

• What: Anker® A7908 Portable Speaker
  
• Where: Amazon
• How much: $39.99
• Size: 3.15 inches x 3.15 inches x 2.36 inches, 11.84 oz.

Pros:

• Battery life: 15-20 hrs
• Volume: good with 4W / 2in driver and bass port.
• Quality: good for the price.
• 3.5mm audio port for non-Bluetooth devices.
• Bluetooth 4 – connect up to 33 feet away.
• Travel pouch included.

Cons:

• Micro USB charging only.

Small and Colorful Wireless Speakers:

• What: The OontZ Angle
  
• Where: Amazon
• How much: $39.99
• Size: 5.3 x 3 x 2.7 inches, 9 oz.

Pros:

• Good quality for the price
•  lithium-ion battery rechargeable with up to 12 hours of play time.
• Colors – biggest variety of colors I’ve seen: blue, light green, red, dark green, black, silver
• Size: light and portable.
• Bluetooth 4 – listen from up to 33 feet away.
• Wireless hands-free personal speaker phone

Cons:

• A mini (not micro) jack plug for charging, no AC adapter is included.
• Quality of product: you get what you pay for, some manufacturing issues reported.

As for me, which speaker will I buy? – it depends on how much money Tim wants to spend, ha, ha ha. (Doesn’t it always? – Tim) But seriously, I think I am leaning toward the Creative Sound Blaster Roar speaker because of the quality of sound and ability to charge via DC. I don’t really want to be dependent on USB for charging.

On thew other hand, I have to admit that the idea of a waterproof (or water-resistant) speaker is tempting; after all, we are planning to move to a beach….

You may also like our product and software reviews, see Love My Surface Reviews.

Joanna-