I have the IK Multimedia iLoud speaker, and an older Bose Soundlink II speaker, so I did some tests with them both last night. I had used the iLoud (with my keyboard) at modest-volume, mostly acoustic jam sessions and it performed well, but I had never compared them. Here are my observations.

http://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/iloud/

When I connected an iPhone and played some tunes to the speakers, the iLoud was very noticeably louder, and clearer than the Bose Sounlink II. The iLoud was also noticeably better in mids/highs than the Bose, to my ears. iLoud could get much louder and no distortion heard even at very loud volumes.

Then I connected both to my Tyros5. Again, I was (pleasantly) surprised with how loud and clear the iLoud was, compared to the Bose. I think the iLoud is rated 40W RMS, while the Bose (I read somewhere) is 20W.

The iLoud would definitely be loud enough for small-room gigs and moderate-volume jams. It could not compete with live drums, guitar amps, etc., but for modest jams, it has worked OK for me. Not for bass-heavy sounds, but for pianos, drawbar organs, or the 'arranger' turned on, all sound quite good, just can't expect a lot of thumping bass out of 3" woofers on the iLoud. Loud and clear and very good-sounding overall, but bass-drum / bass guitar sounds will be thin compared to bigger speakers.

The Bose, by itself (when not compared to something else) is a nice sounding speaker; it just doesn't get all that loud, and it's not as clear on highs as the iLoud.

If I could add even a very small subwoofer to the iLoud, I'll bet it would make a great sounding little system. . . .

I wonder if the Beolit 15 would be like an iLoud-on-steroids, i.e. louder and more bass, but still clear and crisp (I hope)?

-Jim