I’d like something like JBL Charge, but with USB port that I can connect to PC and speaker would act like external audio device. I’ve only found ones with USB-A to insert pen-drive, which is not the same.
I use headphones exclusively at my PC, but there are times when I’d like to show something to my wife and since I have only one pair of headphones it’s no sound for either me or her. Audio quality is not crucial, so I thought I’d buy bluetooth speaker (which I can use everywhere with my phone) and connect it with one USB cable and it’s done. It would charge when I’m out and I could use it whenever I needed. Well, it seems this idea was wrong since every single one I’ve checked has USB port only for charging. Are there any of these that act as USB audio device?
Does thing like this even exist? If so I’m probably too stupid to pick right keywords to search engine. Thank you everyone!
This doesn’t exist because there are only a few Bluetooth speaker chips in mass production. Every Bluetooth speaker is made with one of these chips, so the functionality offered is mostly the same across all devices. Sometimes a speaker doesn’t offer some of the functions the chip is capable of (like not exposing an SD card slot for better water proofing), but adding additional functions is hard.
Because none of the common chips offer the function you describe, it simply isn’t available. You would need to check out high end speakers from big brands, they might have the volume to roll their own chips. But even if they special order the chips, they will probably go with an existing design. So it would need to be something special.
A workaround would be to equip your computer with a 10$ Bluetooth stick, you can plug the speaker in an USB port for charging and use the Bluetooth to play music.
It’s odd that there are no speakers with this functionality since lots Bluetooth headphones do. You would think that there is some overlap in chip use in headphones and speakers.
Interesting, this is also a good point.
Thanks for the insightful reply. Since I couldn’t find one such device myself, I concluded using bluetooth dongle was next-best step.