Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Was nervous picking this up at first, because all the reviews seemed to be from reviewers who got the product for free. Not that their reviews weren't accurate, but I was tentative to buy a Bluetooth speaker at this price, and knowing whether the performance would justify the cost was a big part of the buying decision for me. Well, long story short, I tested this speaker against a handful of other highly-regarded Buletooth speakers in the $50-75 range, just to be sure that the Stockwell's price tag wasn't based on branding alone, and I ended up satisfied with the results. The Stockwell II isn't a perfect speaker -- it does drop off more low-end base than some speakers with "boomier" designs, and it may not get quite as loud as some others at the very top of the volume dial, but the one thing it does do well, is sound good across virtually every source & listening scenario. Every time I thought I had found a song or sample that proved another contender could top the Stockwell II for less cash, I found there was a caveat... For example, the Archeer A320 produced better bass at low-to-mid volumes, but its midrange was muddier across the board. I realized after more research that the Archeer adds some artificial bass boost on the low-end that sounds good in some cases, but extended into the low-mid range, cluttering up some intstrumentals and giving voices a weird "overboosted aftereffect" vibe. Meanwhile, at higher volumes, the Stockwell produces enough thump to be heard, while remaining noticably tighter than the others. Along the same lines, speakers that could get louder than the Stockwell usually ended up sounding crushed, or with a buzzy sound either from the processing or the drivers themselves, that didn't really produce a better experience than the Stockwell at max volume, which holds together pretty well, and is loud enough for an outdoor gathering of all but the most chaotic kind! (If you're trying to outdo a kids' pool party or a rowdy family barbecue, you might need more than 1 portable Bluetooth speaker in the first place!) Anyway, I'm writing this review for people like me, who are intrigued by the Stockwell II, but have doubts about the price. I'm going to be returning or gifting the other 4 speakers I tested this against, and happily rolling with the Stockwell for the foreseeable. If you have incredible particular musical tastes, e.g. you listen to 99% EDM and hip-hop. there might be a more aggressive speaker that fits your expectations. But versus all that I threw at the speakers in my home-grown "2019 Bluetooth Speaker head-to-head," be it acoustic guitar tracks, Jazz, Rock, Metal, or podcasts and YouTube movies or music, the Marshall gave everything the most natural, i.e. "live" impression. There may be competitor speakers that outdo the Stockwell -- I don't run an audio review site nor have the time to continue testing alternatives for weeks on end. But I came away mightly impressed with this little speaker (which, it should be noted is arguably more portable than many of the other large-ish "pro" quality BT competitors in its price range.) While I'm sure I could find an even better option at twice the price or size, I could never get the Stockwell II to sound *bad* -- more than could be said for some of the others I tried -- and it often sounded surprisingly clear. Rarely do I make such an effort to review something online, but I didn't want all my time & effort on this little side-project to go to waste. :) Hope it helps someone else out there evaluating their options for a high-quality Bluetooth speaker to pair with a phone, tablet, or laptop, that's still easy to port around.