Bluetooth speakers not made in China

[steve]

I'd been hoping to write a new blog post about Bluetooth speakers. I figured that so many electronics were being made in Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia these days that surely manufacturing of speakers has diversified too.

Sadly, most popular brands seem entrenched in China, including JBL. I'd hoped that Ultimate Ears would have moved manufacturing by now, given that their parent company (Logitech) has moved so much of theirs, but they're still made in China. Similarly, Sony had been outsourcing a lot of production to Malaysia, but most of their new models are back in China. Anker, ironically, makes a lot of their products out of Vietnam because China has become too expensive for them—but of course as a Chinese company any purchase ultimately supports China (not to mention that Anker products in general have gotten much worse than they used to be).

There are a few standouts.

Bose SoundLink Max Bluetooth Speaker - I've had Bose speakers and headphones for years and they were always the best until they moved to China. This one is confirmed to be made in Malaysia, and it's got great reviews.

Brane X Smart Speaker - This is a home speaker that can be used as a portable battery-operated speaker with a lot of power, great bass with a subwoofer built in, and smart speaker capabilities. It's designed in Texas, made in Indonesia.

Sonos Move 2 - Sonos announced a few years ago that they were moving out of China and into Malaysia and Vietnam, but I'm seeing mixed reports. This article provides good insight into how companies make their decisions; when the US put China tariffs at 15%, Sonos rushed to outsource to Malaysia, but when the US government foolishly lowered tariffs to 7.5%, they reconsidered. Clearly many companies act not on principle but on which way the political winds are blowing.

Apple HomePod - Feel strange for me to be putting an Apple product in a list like this, but Apple has confirmed that new HomePods are being made in Vietnam.

I'll "promote" this forum post to an actual blog post at some point, but in the meantime, these are currently your best choices. Would love to hear if people find others.

[Paul]

Nice topic for a new blog post!

Don't forget these: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=10631

[steve]

Ooh, I'd forgotten about those! Great find, and nice to see it's still in stock and still very much affordable!

[usa_fan]

demerbox db2 is made in usa. great bass and perfect for outdoor events.

https://www.amazon.com/DemerBox-Waterproof-Bluetooth-Speakers-Multi-Pairing/dp/B076FDY6MK/