Ideal Gifts: The Bose SoundLink Mini Bluetooth speaker packs a punch

In the Ideal Gifts series, The Next Web team shares personal recommendations for gifts to give this holiday season.

Stripping back, simplifying and cutting down on clutter has been one of my main goals over the past few years. No longer is there a need for shelves upon shelves of CDs, when Spotify can take care of all my music needs.

Similarly, while I once explored the best home sound systems to listen to these aforementioned CDs on, it ultimately became too much of a hassle when moving home. Plus, the benefits of the expense would usually be confined to a single room in my house.

So it was against this backdrop that I went searching for the best portable Bluetooth speaker on the market, one that wouldn’t break the bank but still give a lot of bang for my buck.

While I originally had my sights set on a Jawbone Jambox Mini, my research continuously suggested that they weren’t the best for anything other than solo listening – so, not great for parties, in other words. I also kept seeing the Bose SoundLink Mini Bluetooth speaker mentioned as an alternative, though it was around $70 more expensive.

I arranged a demo of both speakers at a local department store, and my mind was made up within about 30 seconds – the Bose was a no-brainer.

I’ve lost count of the number of times friends, family, tradesmen and other random visitors have looked on in surprise when they discover the bass-y sounds emanating from a room were in fact coming from this miniscule, compact little rectangular box. It really does pack a tremendous punch, especially when you consider its size – 5.1cm (H) x 18cm (W) x 5.8cm (D).

I take it around the house with me, and can easily pack it away in my suitcase when going on holiday. As with most group vacations I venture on, there are sporadic ‘friendly’ skirmishes among those who have brought their own speakers, but the Bose usually wins out in the end. It’s probably the best $200 I’ve spent.

➤ SoundLink Mini Bluetooth speaker [$199.95 from Bose]