Professional Tool Reviews for Pros

The Milwaukee Packout Radio/Charger puts your tunes on the Packout system for easy transport. It has plenty of sound output and we love how easily it connects to Bluetooth. This is now our go-to radio in the shop.

One of the most exciting products to hit the Milwaukee Packout System has to be the Milwaukee Packout M18 Radio and charger. This radio does a great job combining features, sound quality, and ample output to fill an entire job site with music. Fresh off the heels of the Milwaukee M18/M12 wireless jobsite speaker, the new Milwaukee 2950-20 radio and charger should appeal to anyone wanting a radio that nestles nicely into Milwaukee’s portable storage system.

Editor’s Note: Check out our best jobsite radio article for our top picks.

The Milwaukee Packout Radio plus charger integrates really well with the Packout system. Duh, right? Well, the thing is, they made some really good choices. First, it places nothing on top or bottom, so you can place it atop, or within a Packout stack. The four speakers and sub—more on that later—fire out from the sides. Even the AC power cord, sealed battery compartment, and bottle opener are on the side.

That sealed battery compartment is really well-done. It accommodates large M18 batteries—even the biggest Milwaukee 12Ah High Output battery pack (we checked this one specifically). The entire radio is weather-resistant, though Milwaukee doesn’t give a specific IP rating for it. The same space also houses ample room to store even a large iPhone 11 Max while charging off the USB 2.1A port (with room to spare, I might add).

I actually love the look of this radio—from the black Packout top to the Milwaukee-red face. They also went with an inverted LCD screen, so you get white digits on a dark background. This makes it much easier to read outdoors.

While I explored the AM/FM radio functions, I primarily used the Milwaukee Packout radio in Bluetooth mode. In Bluetooth, the Play/Pause, Forward, and Reverse buttons work as expected. That means you can skip forward and back through a playlist if you have access to the radio, even if your phone is in your pocket or charging via the USB port. That port charges at up to 2.1A, giving you a relatively quick charge option for phones and tablets.

Bluetooth pairing was flawless, with the radio quickly coming up for both my iPhone and an Android phone we keep around for testing. Once paired, audio transitioned to the radio and I could play anything I wanted. For the most part, I used playlists on Amazon Music.

The volume is interesting in that the phone lets you control volume—but so does the radio. So, in order to max out the system you need to crank both the Packout Radio and your phone. With other speakers the phone often takes over the radio volume controls, yielding one overall volume setting. I actually prefer this implementation since I can set a “max” volume and still control output within that range using my phone.

Milwaukee Tool positioned the four 2-way speakers at each corner. This gives the radio an omnidirectional sound output that truly does fill the entire job site evenly.

The passive-radiator subwoofer takes up the back uses both an active (powered) speaker and a passive radiator. The use of the passive speaker allows the subwoofer to effectively extend its range lower than the single speaker alone could accomplish. It works better in this application than a ported design which would have left the enclosure more open to the elements.

The job site radio can play AM/FM stations, stream audio via Bluetooth 4.2, or even use the auxiliary port…so you can presumably hook up that record player or 8-track. The radio also includes a 6 foot long AC cord. That lets you operate it without a battery or charge an M18 battery while you listen to your tunes.

Finally, Milwaukee Tool included their signature bottle opener, making this radio “beach-ready”.

I did my listening outdoors with the Milwaukee 2950-20 radio cranked up to max and my iPhone volume equally maxed. It’s a job site radio, right?

Immediately, I heard good punch on the bass which makes up for not having a larger driver for those low frequencies. Highs are clear, though you get the expected crispness at max volumes. What’s great is the system doesn’t play louder than it can handle. Many—and I mean many—radios will let you raise the volume until you get tons of distortion. At that point, the speaker can no longer clearly reproduce audio. Everything just starts to sound crunchy—like someone set a piece of material on top of the speaker that won’t stop vibrating.

The Milwaukee Packout radio handled a lot of tunes on my playlist really well. I heard the punchy bass in Toby Mac’s “Speak Life”. Steven Tyler’s vocals came through with their signature edge in “Dream On”. The piano in Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” kept its dynamics, and I could pick up that gentle reverb present in his vocal track. Kudos for this radio’s ability to play loud and still maintain definition.

If there’s any deficiency with the Milwaukee 2950-20 radio, it’s in an area where I’ve rarely seen a good solution: bass. As much as Bose would like to have you believe, you simply can’t defy the laws of physics. Take a speaker outside, and getting low, loud bass from a small driver is nigh impossible. With that said, Milwaukee went with a boomier bass that fills in lots of gaps while also allowing room for that punchy sound you expect from tracks like Foreigner’s “Juke Box Hero”. It’s as good a compromise as I’ve heard in a job site speaker.

The Milwaukee Packout Charging Radio exceeded expectations. For $299, you get a radio specifically designed for the job site—and with the Packout system in mind. That makes it easily transportable for those already running with that rig. It has plenty of sound output, and we love how easily it connects to Bluetooth. This is our go-to radio in the shop these days, and it outperforms all of Milwaukee Tool’s prior models. Milwaukee has less expensive models if you want to skip the charging feature or Packout compatibility.

When he's not playing with the latest power tool, Clint DeBoer enjoys life as a husband, father, and avid reader—especially the Bible. He loves Jesus, has a degree in recording engineering, and has been involved in multimedia and/or online publishing in one form or another since 1992.

Clint’s career has covered nearly the entire realm of audio and video production. After graduating at the top of his class with an Associates Degree in Recording Engineering, he began working for the famed Soundelux studios in 1994, one of the largest post-production companies specializing in audio for feature films & television. Working on a myriad of feature films, Clint honed his skills as a dialogue editor, foley editor, and sound designer. Years later, he moved into the expanding area of video editing, where he served as the company’s senior AVID video editor for three years.

Working for such clients as Universal Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, Paramount Home Entertainment, NASA, Universal Studios, Planet Hollywood, SEGA, NASCAR, and others, Clint DeBoer dealt extensively with client management as well as film & video editing, color correction, and digital video & MPEG compression. He also carries several THX certifications (Technician I and II, THX Video), and is ISF Level II Certified.

After founding the CD Media, Inc. publishing company in 1996, he went on to help start or grow several successful online publications, including Audioholics (as Editor-in-Chief for 12 years), Audiogurus, and AV Gadgets. In 2008, Clint founded Pro Tool Reviews followed by the landscape and outdoor power equipment-focused OPE Reviews in 2017. He also heads up the Pro Tool Innovation Awards, an annual awards program honoring innovative tools and accessories across the trades.

Crediting God and his excellent staff for the success of what is now the largest power tool review publication in the industry, Clint DeBoer hopes to see continued growth for the company as it rapidly expands its reach. Pro Tool Reviews critically reviews hundreds of hand tools, power tools, and accessories each year to help inform users about the best and newest products in the industry. Reaching everyone from the construction industry professional and tradesman to the serious DIYer, Pro Tool Reviews helps tool consumers shop better, work smarter, and stay aware of what tools and products can help put them at the top of their game.

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Can you trace location of the radio is with the one key app?

When will the review for this be out?

Can it be powered by battery?

Have been waiting for this to come out since i saw the dewalt version that has been out for a while

How does the sound quality compare to the DeWalt Toughsystem and tstak radios?

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