I asked the sales person at Best Buy this question because I wanted a speaker for my cell phone music and mentioned that I was having problems hearing the tv unless the volume was on 33. However, everyone else was hearing my tv as well. He said instead of purchasing a portable speaker go get a soundbar. Because I only will listen to my music on my cell phone in my room and not everywhere else. He also said to hook the soundbar directly to the television so I can use it to hear movies on my bluray dvd and game systems as well. The bluetooth is for compatible devices. Example, use bluetooth to play your cell phone music or ipod/mp3 player. This is how I use my soundbar daily. Hope this helps you.