Today we are looking at the new Milwaukee Jobsite speaker. The speaker can be powered by either the M18 or M12 battery, or from an AC power source. The speaker is also Bluetooth compatible and comes with 2.1 amp USB charging port and an AUX port. We tested the Jobsite speaker against the Bose Soundlink Mini and the Milwaukee M18 Jobsite Radio.
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| Size comparison |
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| Behind a sealed door lies the Power port, AUX, and USB Charging port. |
The new Milwaukee Jobsite Speaker is stout; they built it to withstand the rigors of a construction site. The speaker is built with a reinforced honeycomb grill, impact resistant end caps that allow it to withstand impacts, and also features an integrated handle. It has an IP54 rating(for what the IP rating means go here:
http://www.dsmt.com/resources/ip-rating-chart/ ). This means it can withstand dust/debris and splashing water without sacrificing sound quality. The Jobsite Speaker falls in the middle of the pack as far as weight and size. It does come in as the least expensive of the pack with a price of $149, the Bose Soundlink Mini is $199, and the M18 Radio $229.
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| The Jobsite can be stood up on end and grasped by the integrated handle. |
As far as the sound quality we matched it up with the Bose Soundlink Mini and BIG Milwaukee M18 Radio/Charger. First, we tested it for loudness. For this we streamed the same song, from the same source using the Bluetooth, we turned the volume all the way to max, or 11 if you will! We then placed a decibel meter about a foot from the speaker. The Milwaukee Jobsite Speaker hit between 94-108db, the Bose Soundlink came in between 97-105db and the Milwaukee M18 radio tested out between 101-109. Although we felt the Jobsite lacked bass, it was the clearest of the three.
Next, we tested for Bluetooth range. Milwaukee claims a range of 100ft with their new speaker. We did a straight line unobstructed test with our phone in our back pocket while walking backward. We stopped the test when the sound started breaking up and not when it completely stopped playing. The test resulted in the Bose coming in last with 70ft, the Milwaukee M18 Radio with 86ft and the Milwaukee Jobsite winning with an astonishing 126ft. In real world testing, we found the Bose to have the worst range as it cuts out if you close a door or walk around a corner. The Jobsite can go between floors and behind walls.
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| The flag closest is the Bose the Flag by the road is the M18 Radio/Charger and although it is hard to see the Jobsite is by the retaining wall across the street. |
What we liked and didn't like about each. The Bose has one of the best bass sounds of the three and is the most compact. However, the Bluetooth range and about 5 hours of battery life put this as our least favorite. The fact that it is a Bose makes us feel it is a little delicate and shouldn't be used in a dusty environment.
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| The Bose has a metal frame, I don't ever remember dropping it but shows that it is easily damaged. |
The Milwaukee M18 Charger Radio has a great sound, an equalizer and is able to be cordless by running off the M18 battery, and if you're on the M18 platform, the runtime is a nonissue. However, the size and weight (17lbs without a battery) is its downfall, being the biggest and heaviest of the three.
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| This is the back of the M18 Radio/Charger. |
The Milwaukee Jobsite Speaker capability of running off of 3 power sources, the flexibility to stand it up on end or lay it down, and the perceived toughness of the Jobsite speaker over Bose is hands down our winner. The biggest downfall is the M12 battery is hard to remove if you are using one of the square XC batteries, we just wish it had more bass.
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| The backside of the Jobsite, with an M12 6.0ah XC battery, this is one of the few things we did not like, this style battery is a little difficult to remove. |
A couple of notes, the phone we were using to test was a Google Nexus 6P, the source for the music was YouTube and song was Corrosion of Conformity, Albatross.
We wish we could have included the DeWalt ToughSystem Radio, but we could not locate one to test!
