Small bluetooth speaker to use in a car

cokecan

cokecan

cokecan

Soldato
Joined
4 Jan 2004
Posts
7,727
Location
Nottingham
Hey all

Looking for suggestions on a decent sounding small bluetooth speaker that can be powered off 12v. I've considered using the latest version of the Google Home Mini speakers in offline mode as the physical size of them is ideal for my use case and the sound quality isn't bad, but when they don't have an internet connection take an absolute age to actually start up. Also minor nit picky thing but my iPhone won't auto connect to it when it's finally powered on.

I know it's a strange request but to add a bit of extra context, the speaker is to fit into the dashboard of a car. The car has no kick panel or parcel shelf speakers and originally came with just a single cone speaker in the top of the dashboard from the factory. The original stereo is long gone with the area it lived in hacked up and looking pretty rough by the original owner. I've 3D printed a nice cover to hide that hole which also doubles as a phone mount with MagSafe charger. A number of years ago I replaced the original disintegrating speaker with a more modern version that was basically two separate speakers in the same package and hooked it up to a Pile 2-channel amp and 3.5mm audio jack on my phone. It worked OK, but it's a bit messy. I'd love to upgrade this to a self-contained speaker/amp/bluetooth and do away with the pile amp and replacement speaker to keep me going for a few years until I consider whether to add a more traditional speaker setup. I can easily 3D print a mount for whatever speaker I find but it'll need to fit in a gap around 265mm x 90mm x 70mm (WxDxH)

Thanks in advance

EDIT; should also mention I know sound quality isn't going to be ideal, but honestly that's totally fine for me. Given the environment, it's never going to sounds great lol It's purely to provide a bit of background soundtracks
 
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Could take a look at Anker's Soundcore Mini. Not using it myself personally but a family member uses it often and loves it. It's a bit smaller than the Google Home Mini so should easily fit. There's a newer 3 version with USB-C charging if that works better for you.
 
Orcvader said:
Could take a look at Anker's Soundcore Mini. Not using it myself personally but a family member uses it often and loves it. It's a bit smaller than the Google Home Mini so should easily fit. There's a newer 3 version with USB-C charging if that works better for you.
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I did this, powered on/off using the USB plug - worked a treat for the 12months I had it in my old car, decent sound quality although the buttons could sometimes fail to register the pressing volume up/down etc.
 
Thanks for the recommendation guys.

Will this turn on automatically once it’s given power? Also, I assume you can change the volume with the phone instead of using the buttons on the speaker? I ask because I won’t have easy access to it once it’s in the dash.
 
Don't think it turns on as soon as you plug the charger in, you'll need to press the power button.

With Bluetooth, yes you can use the phone volume controls.
 
Josh said:
I did this, powered on/off using the USB plug - worked a treat for the 12months I had it in my old car, decent sound quality although the buttons could sometimes fail to register the pressing volume up/down etc.
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Josh, could you elaborate how you turned it on/off with the USB plug? :)
 
ahh I see, ok. that might not work for me then :( the speaker won't be easily accessible so ideally I'm looking for something that turns on automatically when it receives power.
 
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