Karlston Posted August 9, 2020 Share Posted August 9, 2020 The Best Bluetooth Speakers Our favorite portable speakers of all shapes and sizes, from clip-ons to a massive boom box. Even with the smart-speaker revolution underway, Bluetooth speakers still have a place near and dear to our hearts. It's fun and easy to ask an Amazon Echo or Google Home to play your favorite track or tell you the weather, but smart speakers have a few crutches, first and foremost being stable Wi-Fi. They also often aren't portable or waterproofed for the great outdoors. In (mostly) forgoing smarts, Bluetooth speakers are nearly always more versatile, more rugged, and more portable—and they'll work with anybody's smartphone. They also sound as good or better than many of their smart-speaker equivalents. In the past few years, we've tested more than 50 different Bluetooth speakers and researched dozens more online, and we can happily say they are still some of the best small devices you can listen to. Here are our favorites right now. Be sure to check out all our buying guides, including the Best Soundbars, Best Wirefree Earbuds, and Best Smart Speakers. Have questions about the right Bluetooth speaker for you? Join the discussion in the comments section below. (Register here for an account.) Updated for August 2020: We updated links and pricing, and added the JBL Link Portable, Tribit Stormbox, Tribit Stormbox Micro, and Ultimate Ears Hyperboom. We also cut the UE Megablast and Tribit MaxSound Plus/Go. Adrienne So and Julian Chokkattu contributed to this guide. If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. Learn more. Photograph: Ultimate Ears Best Overall UE Boom 3 There are bigger and badder Bluetooth speakers, but none match the fun and convenience of the Ultimate Ears Boom 3 (9/10, WIRED Recommends). It puts out some of the most pleasant, balanced sound for its size. The waterproof cylinder comes in multiple colors, it can last 15 hours between charges, and it gives you 100 feet of Bluetooth range. On top of all that, it has a two-year warranty. If you really need to get a party kicking, the Megaboom 3 ($170) is a beefier model that amps up the bass. $150 at Amazon $150 $135 at Walmart $150 at Best Buy Photograph: Tribit Best Bargain Tribit StormBox You probably haven't heard of Tribit, but its line of Bluetooth speakers sound a lot better than they should for the price. The StormBox is my favorite model. It has dual firing drivers and passive radiators in a 7-inch-long pill shape. No, it can't fuel a trance dance party on its own, but its sound clarity is impressive, and it has a fun extra bass button that adds some surprising thump. That extra bass is a little muddy, but it's still fun. With 20-ish hours of battery and an IPX7 waterproof rating (not dust-proof, but able to be submerged in water), it's a great companion for some backyard tunes, a trip down the river, or a ton of other informal gatherings. $60 at Amazon Photograph: Sonos Best for Home Sonos Move If you want a Bluetooth speaker that can fill any room (or patio) but lives a lot of its life inside, the Sonos Move (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is a good speaker to build a home network around. Sonos invented wireless multiroom speakers. Its speakers connect to nearly every streaming service, and they work with Google Assistant or Alexa. They also sound amazing by every measure. Just know that the Move is primarily a wireless speaker that streams over your Wi-Fi network, but it also functions as a Bluetooth speaker when you take it outside, or anywhere away from Wi-Fi. It comes with 11 hours of battery life, and it's splash-resistant. I shot a hose at it, so I know it can handle getting wet. It also has a charging dock, for when the outside fun is over. $399 at Amazon $399 at Sonos $400 at Best Buy Photograph: Ultimate Ears Best for Pool Parties UE Wonderboom 2 The Ultimate Ears Wonderboom was a WIRED Gear of the Year award winner in 2017, and that's because it was the best pool companion you can have. The new Wonderboom 2 is even better. The little 4-inch ball of joy now sports IP67 water and dust resistance. It gets 13 hours of battery (three more than before), has a 100-foot Bluetooth range, floats, and pumps out surprisingly potent audio while doing it. UE says it's "drop-proof" up to 5 feet, but you can honestly play some light catch with it on the lawn and it won't be any worse for wear. Just wash it off when you're done. You can even pair two together for proper stereo sound. $85 at Amazon $100 at Best Buy Photograph: JBL The Google Whisperer JBL Link Portable We've been big fans of JBL's portable smart speakers for a couple years now, starting with the Link 20 (8/10, WIRED Recommends), and now the newer Link Portable. It has great Google Assistant integration and 360-degree sound, and it comes with useful accessories like a charging cradle that it easily plops down on between trips outside. You'll get eight hours of juice on a charge, and it's even waterproof for up to a meter for 30 minutes. Talk about do-anything. Our only issue has been occasional Wi-Fi dropouts. The Wi-Fi range on this speaker is OK, but not quite as good as JBL's previous effort. On the other hand, the charging cradle and USB-C charging are fantastic. $150 at Kohls $180 at Best Buy $180 at B&H Audio Photograph: JBL Adventure Time JBL Clip 2 OK, so it's not the latest model, but the JBL Clip 2 is still our favorite caribiner-based speaker. It's the size of a hockey puck—small enough that you can take it with you on almost any adventure. It's waterproof and has a little carabiner up top so you can snap it to all kinds of stuff. It also has more controls on it (volume, play, Bluetooth, power) than other micro-sized speakers. The kicker is a built-in, retractable 3.5-mm audio cable, giving you an easy way to plug in for some quick tunes without fussing with Bluetooth. Don't need the 3.5-mm cable? The newer JBL Clip 3 ($70) sounds slightly better and looks a little sleeker, but it doesn't have the 3.5-mm cable built in, and its carabiner doesn't bend up and down. $55 at Amazon Photograph: Tribit Handlebar Ready Tribit Stormbox Micro The Tribit StormBox Micro has become one of our favorite tiny speakers for bike rides, because it's got a stretchy silicone strap that's just taught enough so it will stick to bike handlebars or a backpack strap. You can even pair two together, if a friend has one as well, for fun socially distanced rides. It's got an IP67 dust and waterproof rating, which means you can ride in any weather, and eight hours of battery life makes it great on longer rides. Bose also makes a great speaker of similar design called the SoundLink Micro ($79), which was previously our top "bike-handlebar" pick. It sounds about the same but is twice as expensive as the Tribit. $45 at Amazon Photograph: JBL Kid Friendly JBL Jr. Pop Speaker Buying your under-10 child their own Bluetooth speaker might seem self-indulgent. But after she's lost your UE Roll 2 (also a fine speaker) for the second time while listening to her kids podcasts, you might want to consider JBL's affordable, adorable, kid speaker. It's less than 4 inches across, comes in a wide variety of colors, and has a button strap for attaching it to a diaper bag or car seat. The multicolor flashing lights serve as a dual-purpose night-light while traveling and listening to soothing bedtime meditations. The sound is clear, if a little less beefy than some of our other picks. But to be honest, do you really want your kids blasting Megadeth at the volume it deserves? $25 at Amazon $25 at Best Buy $25 at B&H Audio Photograph: Anker Light Bright Anker Soundcore Flare Anker is known for affordable accessories that actually work, and the Soundcore Flare is the perfect example. It's a very capable soda-can-sized waterproof Bluetooth speaker with a beat-driven LED light ring and 12 hours of battery life. It even has dual drivers and passive radiators for 360-degree sound and an app with some equalizer settings. It doesn't sound as good as more expensive speakers, but it's certainly good enough for most situations. The newer Soundcore Flare 2 ($69) also has lights on the top, but otherwise sounds the same. And if you're looking for better sound quality (but a higher price), LG's new Xboom Go PL5 ($127) has impressive clarity and booming bass for such a small package. The lights on either side pulse with the music, and you can use the app to tinker with different lighting effects. $64 at Amazon Photograph: Marshall Rock & Roll Marshall Stockwell II If you're a music fan, or just love the classic Marshall guitar amplifier design, this Bluetooth speaker is ready to rock. Like all Marshall products, you pay a price for the style, but it lives up to expectations. For a speaker that's about as big as four old DVD cases stacked, standing upright, it sounds killer with a smooth, balanced, and refined sound. The exterior has a durable-feeling, splash-resistant silicone finish, and the front and back are covered with a steel grille. It has a front-facing woofer and a tweeter on each side, powered by a battery that lasts around 20 hours (USB-C charging with a 3.5-mm jack too), depending on how much you tweak the stylish volume, treble, and bass knobs up top. The battery indicator is also handy. I've enjoyed toting all 3 pounds of it around with its carry strap, which has a leather feel on the outside and a red velvet look and feel on the inside. If you want a little more power and heft, the Marshall Kilburn II ($220) is similarly excellent and the Marshall Emberton ($150) is a great extra-portable addition to the amp company's Bluetooth line. Like the Stockwell II, it has a built-in battery gauge, which makes it easy to tell when it's time to find a charging cable. $161 at Amazon $161 at Best Buy Photograph: Ultimate Ears Porta Party Ultimate Ears Hyperboom With 24 hours of battery life, a rugged design, and huge yard-filling sound, the Ultimate Ears Hyperboom (9/10, WIRED Recommends) is the perfect speaker for a party. Intelligent algorithms use data from a built-in mic to analyze where you place the speaker, ensuring the best possible sound, much like the Sonos Move listed above. This is a better option than that if you have no interest in a future home network of speakers. It doesn't have lights or cupholders like some other party speakers, but this is far and away the best-made large Bluetooth speaker we've tested. It's been dropped from trucks, left out in the rain, and used at summer barbecues. It's even got a big silicon strap built in, as though inviting you to take it everywhere. $400 at Amazon Photograph: JBL Boom Box JBL Boombox 2 Think of JBL's Boombox 2 as the modern equivalent of a 1980s boom box, complete with a handle and some intense bass. Break-dancers from the past would have killed for a speaker that was completely waterproof and had 24 hours of battery life. The Boombox can also connect to multiple smartphones at a time, so you don't have to DJ by your lonesome, and it's got an IPX7 rating for the rain. With a 20,000-mAh battery onboard, it can also charge your gadgets for days. $500 at Amazon $500 at Best Buy $500 at B&H Audio Photograph: Denon Speaker Envy Denon Envaya (3 Sizes) Denon's three Envaya speakers don't look all that special—until you pair them. I can't get enough of the largest model, the $200 8-inch DSB-250BT, and from what I've read, the other two models ($99 and $149) sound excellent for their size too. The Envaya's volume doesn't get extraordinarily loud, but it doesn't distort. The audio clarity and range bring a playlist to life more than any bargain speaker I've heard, thanks to an onboard amplifier. Every model is IP67 waterproof, can pair with another Envaya speaker, and gets between 10 and 12 hours on a charge. The rubber edges have also withstood a couple of tumbles already. My only complaint is the lack of a play/pause button, though the mic and ability to take calls almost makes up for it. $99 at Amazon Photograph: Bose Fun Aesthetics Bose SoundLink Revolve+ It's not the cheapest, cutest, or most waterproof, but the Bose Revolve+ makes me smile. It's probably the lantern-style fabric handle. It's completely unnecessary but makes moving it from room to room a small joy. You can swing it around and spread songs anywhere you go. People will like what they hear too. Is a fun handle worth a $100 price bump? I'm beginning to think so. $299 at Amazon $300 at Best Buy Photograph: DemerBox Outdoors Companion DemerBox DB2 The DemerBox DB2 is a perfect companion to your boldest outdoor adventures, in large part because it serves two purposes: It's a loud portable speaker with 40 hours of built-in battery life, and it's also a crush-proof Pelican case. Load it up with any particularly fragile items and plug the bass port with an included rubber stopper, and you've got yourself an everything-proof box to keep your stuff safe. Add to that the fact that the speaker sounds remarkably good, with two large drivers that pump out a lot of sound, and this is a good speaker to take to the beach, campground, or mountain. We also like that they're made in the US and fully serviceable by DemerBox, so the somewhat steep entry price is more justifiable long-term. The biggest downside is charging. You do have to open the box to charge the speaker, so it's not as protective or watertight during this time. $350 at Amazon Photograph: Scosche Honorable Mentions Pretty Good Speakers Here are a few other good products that didn't quite make the cut. The Oontz Angle 3 Speaker ($40) has thousands of positive reviews on Amazon and is easily the best dirt-cheap Bluetooth speaker we've ever tested. If you just want something to sing along with in the shower—and you're not a stickler for great audio quality—snag one of these. Bose's SoundLink Revolve ($159) is nowhere near as endearing as the Boom 3, and it isn't waterproof (only splash-resistant), but you'll be hard-pressed to find a beer-can-sized speaker that sounds as clear and deep-throated. The controls are easy to use, with verbal audio cues and simple Bluetooth pairing, and the 12-hour battery life is long enough to make it through any party. Scosche's BoomBottle ($100) is built for a lazy day on the river, with a built-in bottle opener and magnets that let it attach to phones and other objects like a canoe. It's waterproof too. It does make a sound when it turns on and off that didn't bother me but did annoy some friends who used it daily at an office. Sony's SRS-XB speaker series ($66+) is also excellent, with great bass and colorful LED lights. Its downside is that the volume dips when it's low on battery and won't rise back up until it's fully charged. The Best Bluetooth Speakers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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