JBL Xtreme 2 Waterproof Portable Bluetooth Speaker

Hope my biases didn't creep into the headline. :-) I don't leave tons of reviews. Too busy. But finding a good bluetooth speaker so hard decided to review these to maybe help someone else. Have JBL 305P studio monitors on my office desk. Eclectic music tastes, like rap, techno, some metal, also some classical and Lillechick music. No sub with 305P studio setup, I would get kicked out of my office. This is review of Extreme 2, not 305P, but mention them because I had an objective reference speaker to compare these to.THE GOODBluetooth connect so simple Forrest Gump could do it after a lobotomy. Loud thumping bass and phenomenal volume for guttural pleb music. Eminem Without Me, Gin and Juice, and hip-hop or pop music where artists aren't actually singers (or shouldn't be) and most of the sound is electronic not instruments, sounds pretty good. EASILY fills huge room with fairly clean sound, for guttural pleb music. I put it 75% volume my office and can hear it out in kitchenette still loud. For movies, especially those with explosions, guns, etc., it is really impressively loud. I need something truly portable and durable, which means many of the speakers that might sound better I can't buy because this will be in a camper van eventually and certainly getting muddy and wet.THE BADI am NOT an audiophile, but when I listen to actual instrument music with actual singers on this, The Beatles, Mazzy Star Fade Into You, Saxuality, Imagine John Lennon, the Ludwig Von, it sounds, as another reviewer noted, as if someone is singing into a cup or playing two counties over, hollowness. BRUTALLY AWFUL. Often a Bird Wim Mertens, River Flows in You Yurima, etc., the music sounds so flat it almost defies comprehension. Voices especially. I am not sure what range this is, but it is so bad I almost returned the speaker. I can't believe JBL sold a speaker this bad for playing general music. There appears to be some electronic modification or some balancing or something, especially at the low volume end, it is non-linear and very frustrating. Flatness seems to be worst at low volume. I have $20 computer speakers that sound better for general music. Stone cold serious. Maybe I can install an EQ on computer or phone and correct, but it is astounding that JBL whiffed this bad. Yet for loud pleb music, especially at a distance, the speaker is still good and amazingly loud for its size, again as long as you don't listen to anyone who actually sings or plays real instruments. As noted, I have JBL reference speakers in my office, and can directly compare. I do not have the unrealistic expectation that a bluetooth speaker should sound anywhere near as good as properly positioned and aimed reference speakers on vibration stands, but having these allowed me to objectively quantify just how bad the mids or highs or whatever you call it on the Extreme 2 are. On certain songs the bass or low seems too intense and drowns out the mids and voices, and this effect does not vary linearly with volume. Maddening. I plugged in speaker to make sure not a bluetooth issue, it is not.OTHER OBSERVATIONSIt is also very cumbersome, I'm 6'4" with ape mitts, don't have straps on, and could easily see myself dropping if not super careful. Of course, a big speaker being cumbersome isn't JBLs fault, LOL, and I GREATLY prefer the lay on side design rather than standing tower tall design of competitors. It is pretty impressive to have a speaker just a bit smaller than a loaf of bread, that is waterproof, has the battery to last all day long, and can pound bass and party music like this. For this use, loud party music, this thing crushes, but It is almost impossible to overstate how bad the instruments and voices sound on actual real music with real instruments and real singers.EXTREME 3 AND OTHERSThought of buying Extreme3 for $349, especially for USB-C charging which is HUGE versus the proprietary adapter on Extreme 2, but $350 for a Bluetooth speaker that can't play midrange is felonious, and $150 extra for USB charging is absurd. The sound profile reportedly more balanced Extreme 3, it had better be. Seems like a switch that enables bass mode would be ideal, so non-pleb music sounds more balanced. Can only dream of bass treble switches as on Marshall, you sure need them. I got this for $199, and had a Charge 4 Amazon Warehouse like New for $120, which was flat, ordered this to see if just got a bad speaker or one entry in line flat or if it was the entire line. It is the entire line. I don't live near a store where I can test several out, such as Marshall, Treblab, Sonos Move, etc., and don't have 8 months to buy return 20 speakers, so decided to keep this and look for something better when I get to big city and can shop. I ended up keeping these speakers because they are really good at some things, and mainly need them for pleb workout music by hacks like Eminem and Dre who can't even sing or play an instrument, not real music, and have to have something virtually indestructible for camper van. Despite the manifest limitations and flaws, for some kinds of music, having a speaker this small this loud with good sound quality, with portability and waterproofness, is still really impressive.