The days of taking audio cassette tapes and a player, or a Sony Walkman, stacks of CDS, or even an MP3-player on holiday are almost completely gone. Now most people rely on mobile phones, tablets or laptops to store all the music we are likely to need on our travels. The capacity is fantastic and we’ve all got used to having far more choice of music at our fingertips. The only drawback to this seems to be that as soon as we unplug the headphones and share the music with friends and family, the sound quality can be a bit thin and tinny.

Fortunately, there’s a lightweight, easy and fairly inexpensive solution. Using a portable Bluetooth speaker makes a versatile way to enhance the sound of your music wherever you go. We think that the right one could be especially perfect for motorhome holidays. 

There’s plenty of choice of portable Bluetooth speakers out there competing for your attention, so we’ve tested a good selection to find out the pros and cons of each one. We’ve tried the Creative Woof 3 speaker, costing £39.99, the Denyon Envaya Mini DSB-100 at £79.99, the Speedlink Portajoy at £64.99, the Creative MUVO Mini, costing £39.99, the Edifier MP211 at £39.99, the Edifier MP211 at £129.99 and the Edifier Bric Connect costing £79.99 as tested. You can read more of our Bluetooth speaker reviews here. 

The Edifier Bric Connect, at £79.99, is a good alternative to the Speedlink Portajoy, even if the units are complete opposites. While Portajoy is heavy and plush, the Edifier Bric Connect feels lightweight at 1.4kg and plasticky in comparison. It measures 300mm x 90mm x 133mm. The sound produced is very different, too. this doesn’t have the warm, slight wooliness of the Speedlink, but it still provides the same fullness and clarity of sound. Sonically, the Bric Connect may not the best portable Bluetooth speaker we’ve tested, but it’s not far behind.

In other ways, the Edifier is a curious mix. We like the fact that it comes with a mains power cable, but relying on six AA batteries, instead of a rechargable internal lithium pack, seems archaic.

It’s also irritating that the unit ignores any volume adjustments that you might make to the music on your phone, tablet or laptop. Just as well, then, that it comes with a handy wireless remote control with volume, track, play and pause buttons. You can also use the remote to answer, end or decline phone calls from a distance, wirelessly. It’s great for hands-free calling and conference calls through your smartphone. There’s even a slot to store the remote within the speaker, so you won’t lose it between trips.

As a bonus, there are two ways to connect the Edifier Bric Connect to the source of your music: wirelessly or via the 3.5mm-3.5mm audio connecting cable supplied with it.