ATTENTION – Update for 12-9-19 – Right now the price has been dropped on the Motion B to only 16.99.

Every day I bring you an item on Amazon that I personally use or has been purchased by many members of the audience and I have researched enough to recommend.

Today’s TSP Amazon Item of the day the Anker Soundcore Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker specifically the “Motion B” version.  Why?  Because the Motion B is the older model that was recently upgraded to the Anker Soundcore 2.  Hold on this is about to get confusing because the “Soundcore 2 “is slated for an “upgrade” to the “Soundcore Boost“.  Worse all three are currently available.  What the heck?  Don’t worry, in the end I am going to show you why you should ignore the Soundcore 2 and why the Motion B is a stupid good value.  Here we go…

• The Motion B is the oldest model and what I personally own.  It is a great little speaker, waterproof to the point you can shower with it and the sound is exceptional.  Since it is slated to be phased out in time it is being sold for only $21.00.
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• The Soundcore 2 is newer than the Motion B, has a bit of a different look but it is FUNCTIONALLY identical to the Motion B, except for a longer battery life, and it sells for $40.00.
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• The Soundcore Boost is actually an upgrade as it has 20 watts of output and deeper base than the Motion B or Soundcore 2, both of which are 12 Watts.  It sells for 50.00.

What all this means is if you want a speaker that can play louder and have the base to go with it, the Boost is a better speaker.  In my opinion though, no matter how you look at it the Motion B is the best deal.   Here are the specs on the Motion B, 12 watts output, IPX7 water proof (this means it can go under water), 12 hours play time on one charge and Bluetooth 4.2 (66 foot range).  Oh and it has 2X paring, meaning you can pair two of them to one device.

Don’t over look that 2X paring!  Yes all three have it, BUT, what this means is for 42 dollars, you can get two Motion Bs, and create a true stereo environment with any bluetooth device.  Think cheap surround sound with say a laptop playing movies.  Or any TV with bluetooth ability.  Or think two on each corner of a deck or patio.  They also do play while plugged in for charging.  So if you have power in an area they are essentially a permanent system.

Again all current Anker Speakers do this, but not for fricken 42 bucks a pair!  I mean guys if you have a shop or garage with power, for 42 bucks you have a stereo sound system out there.  Honestly when you look at it that way, upgrading to the Boost with 20 watts a speaker for 50 bucks each isn’t a bad way to go.  Yet to me, come on 42 bucks and you have a great music system on your patio, in your garage, in your shop, etc.  Now do you see why I find the Motion B to be such a good value.

Oh and if you are willing to buy a refurbished model, you can get the a  “renewed” Motion B for only 16.79 a piece.  I don’t really recommend that, as the price difference so small.  You will also be dealing with “Amazon Renewed” for any warranty issues.  Mostly I am betting these are returned items with no issues.  But I know Anker and if you get an item that has a problem, they are just going to send you a new one.  I don’t have any idea what Amazon Renewed will do.  Still I wanted you to know about the option.

Now the only advantage the Soundcore 2 has over the Motion B is battery life, which is I will admit 2 times as long.  Yet you can pretty much buy 2 of the Motion Bs for the cost of one Soundcore 2.   Okay it isn’t really a survival item, but 2 is 1 and 1 is none right?  I mean if you think the larger battery is worth twice the cost, go ahead and get the Soundcore 2, like everything Anker makes it is fantastic.

Here is the key though, to me it is very clear where this is going.  Anker will at some point, likely fairly soon discontinue the Motion B, which is why it is being sold so cheaply right now.  How do I know this?  Honestly I don’t know it but I have recommended and used Anker products for 6 years.  So my pattern recognition is strong here.  New tech comes out all the time, I mean constantly.  Anker builds great gear and sells for a bit less then similar quality brands.  They are constantly trying to do a little more, with a bit less in cost, yay capitalism!

Over the years I have had to change out my TSPAZ recommendations as they have discontinued older items.  Most recently this happened with the Anker 24 watt dual charger.  I have sold a few thousand of these over the years.  And here is what happened, Anker introduced a new version, dropped the price of the older one and when it sold out, it was gone.  So I can’t guarantee that this is going to happen but again they do this consistently.  So much so that I now watch all my recommended Anker products for this pattern.  So right now you can get a great product from a company that always stands by its warranty and has resulted in exactly 0 complaints to me from this audience after selling thousands of their various items for about 20 bucks.

Anyone will love this as a gift, and it is the kind of speaker you don’t freak out about taking to public places.  I own a 300 dollar Bose speaker, it is fricken awesome, but it is also 300 fricken dollars.  I am not sitting it on a table at a camp ground!  Hell I don’t even trust myself not to forget it and leave it out in the rain when working on the back end of my property.  And for all that money it isn’t water proof so it doesn’t go to the poolside either.

So how good is the dang thing after all that.  It is very good, now it isn’t shake windows loud but I’ll put it this way.  If you are hanging out in a group and chatting with music on, you won’t want it all the way up, it will be too loud.  But if you are listening by yourself and do turn it all the way up it can handle the power and still sounds great.  In the end what do you want for 21 bucks?  A good sounding speaker with a great warranty that you can drop in a bath tub and not ruin.  That will 2X pair as well.  Seems about as good as it gets to me.

The biggest complaint I have personally had with various bluetooth speakers and other bluetooth devices is syncing.  Some sync easily, some are buggy as crap.  Every Anker bluetooth device I have used works flawlessly.  So the choice is yours here…

• The Motion B gives Fantastic Value – All be it a shorter battery life but again you can get two for only 2 bucks more than one Soundcore 2.
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• The Soundcore 2 Gives the Same Audio Performance as the Motion B – But you are paying 20 bucks for a longer lasting battery.
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• The Soundcore Boost is More Powerful – It is more suited for a lager patio environment, etc. Yet 30 bucks more each, about 60 bucks more if you want a pair of them.

In the end they are all great pieces of gear but I wanted to give you the opportunity to get a great deal on an item I expect to disappear in the near future.  Especially given that this is the time of year you are often seeking high quality yet inexpensive gifts for friends and family.  On quality what I can say is, I have had the Motion B for three years, it still works and still plays all day long on a single charge.  Finally, let me say based on my dealings with Anker, if you want a more powerful speaker, or set of them, they have a lot of options, I don’t think you’d be disappointed with any of them.

Still in the end, you guys know me, I am big on the price to value ratio and at 21 fricken dollars that ratio is off the damn charts with the Motion B, at least in my opinion.