Bloomberg Businessweek - USA (2020-11-02)

65

THEONE BloombergPursuits November 2, 2020

Sound for any adventure, courtesy of

DemerBox. Photograph by Sarah Anne Ward

Tunes, To Go

THECOMPETITION

• Theheavyweight
  contender,atalmost
  20 incheslongand
  12 pounds,is the
  $499JBLBoombox,
  withbothindoorand
  outdoorbassmodes.
  Simultaneously
  connecttwo
  Bluetoothdevices
  toachieveDJ-ing
  democracy.
  
  
  • Attheotherendof
    thesoundspectrum,
    UltimateEars’$100
    Wonderboom 2
    checksinatless
    thana pound.But
    its 13 hoursof
    batterylifeand
    newOutdoorBoost
    modearebuiltfor
    backyards,andit
    comeswitha handy
    hookforhanging.
    
    
    • The$69Anker
      SoundcoreFlare 2
      is only6 inches
      tall,butit brings
      outsizefestivity
      withitshaloof
      LEDlightsthat
      pulsetotherhythm
      ofyourplaylist.
      Thecylindrical
      shapeprojects
      360-degree
      surroundsound,too.
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  

When a three-time
Grammy winner gets
so excited about a
speaker he decides
to buy the company
that created it, it’s
time to listen up.
In 2017 country
crooner Zac Brown
took a DemerBox
on a spearfishing
trip to Belize and
came back ready to
invest. No wonder:
The Bluetooth-
poweredDB2speaker
($349)offersmore
than 40 hours of
lithium-ion battery
life and 100 feet
ofrangefroma
boxthatweighs
only 5 pounds. Its
hard-shell, military-
grade Pelican 1300
case opens up to
stash your wallet
and keys, so it does
double duty as
an entertainment
system and a dry
bag. The two 3-inch,
8-ohm aluminum-
cone speakers are
offset by a retro-
looking selection of
colors (like Haast
orange, pictured) in
a bold rectangular
shape, so it stands
out in a category
awash in black and
gray cylinders.

THE CASE

A waterproof,

weatherproof

speaker doesn’t

have the same

novelty as it did

five years ago, but

that doesn’t mean

all boomboxes are

created equal when

it comes to a freak

rainstorm—or an

accidental dip

in the Jacuzzi.

DemerBox’s

DB2 isn’t the

lightest or most

portable of the

bunch, but it’s the

toughest, which you

wouldn’t necessarily

expect from the

playful design. As a

bonus, the company

prides itself on a

sustainable ethos:

Rather than ship

your speaker off to

a landfill if there’s

a problem, it will fix

it. There’s also the

option to pair your

model with as many

as six of its siblings

within the 100-foot

range, guaranteeing

club-level audio

no matter how

distanced you and

your guests may be.

$349; demerbox.com