Marshall might be making waves with its audio products like the Marshall Milton ANC, but it’s not the only instrument maker-turned-electronics manufacturer in town — the Fender brand also has a new suite of Bluetooth speakers that allows you to take your music (and guitars) anywhere and everywhere you want to go.The most affordable entry in the two-piece ensemble is the ELIE 6, a $299 portable Bluetooth speaker that was developed by the Fender Audio team. It features a quarter-inch XLR port for music instruments, which I’ve been using with my Ibanez bass.Is $300 a bit too much to spend on a portable Bluetooth speaker when you can get louder, more competent models like the LG Xboom Grab and Ultimate Ears Boom 4 for half the price? Yeah, probably. But having a portable speaker that doubles as an amp is certainly handy for vagabonding musicians looking to take their music on the road.It's a decent little Bluetooth speaker
(Image credit: Tom's Guide)Although it doubles as an amp, the ELIE 6 is a Bluetooth speaker first and foremost — and it does a competent job in this role. It doesn’t bring the wall-shaking party the same way the JBL Xtreme 4 does, nor does it have the Sony Ult Field 5’s lightshow, but the sound profile is refined and relatively bassy.In terms of size, it's not all that big. It's only 7.7 x 4.8 x 4.1 inches, so it's easy to throw in a bag.To put it through its paces, I used my usual speaker testing playlist that includes songs from Paramore, Eminem, Jimi Hendrix and John Williams.By and large, the highs and mids are clear and precise at a moderate volume level and only begin to distort as you push it to 11... I mean full volume. (Sadly there's no actual 11...)Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.
