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Pros
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Very good sound with a surprising amount of bass for such a small Bluetooth speaker
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Durable water and dust resistant design with built-in handle and tie anchor
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Powerful magnets allow you to stick the speaker to anything metal
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Good battery life (up to 25 hours)
cons
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There is no companion app
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There are no sound modes or equalizer option to adjust the sound
Turtlebox made a name for themselves with their self-titled ruggedized game Lunch box style bluetooth speakeris known for playing loudly and being a good choice for boaters looking for an mountable “marine-grade” portable speaker. This original speaker is now in place Third generation.
Recently, Turtlebox released the larger version Turtle Box Grande ($730) and Turtlebox Ranger. Equipped with a built-in handle and a pair of powerful magnets for quick mounting to metal surfaces, the Ranger delivers surprisingly powerful sound for its compact, sturdy design. Even though it costs $250, it is one of the best small Bluetooth speakers currently available.
Read more: The best Bluetooth speakers right now
The speaker comes in several different color options. The special yellow edition (left) is currently sold out.
Turtlebox Ranger design
The Ranger weighs 2.4 pounds and measures 8.1 x 3.2 x 3.2 inches, which is slightly heavier than the JBL Charge 6, which weighs 2.2 pounds. Although it’s an ostensibly vertically oriented speaker, you can place it on its side or mount it on a metal surface to give it a horizontal orientation. Like many Bluetooth speakers these days, it has an IP67 rating, which means it’s water and dust resistant, though it doesn’t float. A rubber gasket covers its USB-C charging port.
The speaker has a pair of magnets on one side.
Turtlebox also says it’s shock-resistant, and both its base and sides have fairly thick rubber shock absorbers. The only problem is that the rubberized finish (also on the handle) can attract dust, dirt, and hair, though it’s easy to wash, especially since the speaker is waterproof and can be submerged in water up to 3 feet deep for 30 minutes.
Behind the very strong magnets is a built-in anchor (a small metal strip) hidden in the base of the speaker that allows you to attach it to keep it from going anywhere.
Anchor tie at base.
The Turtlebox Ranger’s limited feature set
Equipped with Bluetooth 5.4, the Ranger doesn’t have many features other than the ability to pair with other Turtlebox speakers to expand the sound or create a stereo pair with another Ranger. There’s no Turtlebox app for adjusting the sound with an equalizer or adjusting the lighting, although its buttons are backlit in blue when the speaker is on (which is useful for use at night). It also doesn’t have a volume mode button to boost bass or subwoofer performance.
The speaker is equipped with physical buttons to adjust the volume and advance and reverse tracks. One button lets you create a stereo pair, while the other lets you link multiple Turtlebox speakers.
Bluetooth speakers typically have very limited feature sets, although it’s rare these days that they don’t have an accompanying app that allows, at the very least, firmware updates.
The speaker is shown stuck to a piece of metal.
Turtlebox Ranger sound quality and battery life
I spent some time comparing the guard to Bose SoundLink Pluswhich retails for $279 and received a CNET Editors’ Choice Award, as well as an award JBL Charge 6 ($200). Of the three, the Bose Soundlink Plus arguably comes out on top in terms of sound by a slight margin (it sounds smoother and more balanced overall). But it’s a close competition, and the Ranger and Charge 6 look equally impressive for their size.
The Charge 6’s midrange and vocals are a little more comfortable compared to the Ranger, but the JBL’s sound is a little more energetic and goes a little deeper. However, the Ranger delivers very strong bass for a speaker of this size and has good tonal balance overall.
I compared the Turtlebox Ranger with the JBL Charge 6 and Bose SoundLink Plus.
While the Bose often came out on top when I ran through my test tracks, I experienced some variation from track to track, and sometimes the Charge 6 or Ranger provided superior sound.
You get a bit of distortion at higher volume levels from all of these headphones, and when you’re listening to more complex tracks with a lot of instruments layered in, I heard some clipping at certain frequencies where the headphones’ digital signal processors (DSPs) did their best to resolve the sound and keep it from distorting. In other words, when it comes to sound quality, none of these headphones are perfect, and you can expect some moments where you think they sound great and other moments where they’re a little less so.
Although I did most of my critical listening indoors, all of these speakers are designed for outdoor use and work well at producing fairly loud, spacious sound, given their small size. As expected, the Ranger sounds much better when you pair two of them wirelessly and create a stereo pair that provides true stereo separation.
As for battery life, the Turtlebox Ranger is rated for up to 25 hours of playtime at moderate volume. I tested it over the course of a week and didn’t need to charge it.
Final Thoughts for Turtlebox Ranger
The Turtlebox Ranger went under the radar a bit after its release last year — at least with tech reviewers like me. I’m already seeing some reasonably priced knock-offs popping up on Amazon (see Crocs Trotters), which is usually what happens when a Bluetooth speaker becomes popular. For example, Bose SoundLink Flex It has inspired some imitators over the years.
While the Ranger has very good sound for its size and puts up a nice fight against other premium Bluetooth speakers like the Bose SoundLink Plus and JBL Charge 6, what really sets it apart is its design, especially its built-in magnets. I’ve tried a few other speakers with built-in magnets aimed at golfers and boaters, including G-Year form ($100), but the Ranger plays louder and sounds better. Although it is somewhat expensive, it is easy to recommend.