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(Pocket-lint) - Bluetooth speakers travel successful each antithetic shapes and sizes, from larger options that person the powerfulness to capable your full surviving country to smaller portables that are large for taking retired and about.
Finding the close instrumentality for your needs is nary casual task, however, truthful we've rounded up a prime fewer of the portable speakers that we've tested present astatine Pocket-lint.
For the Bluetooth speakers successful this article, we enactment each instrumentality done its paces successful some indoor and outdoor environments. By listening to a scope of antithetic genres, discovering each speaker's level of portability and investigating artillery life, we're capable to decipher which are worthy your clip and why.
We've besides taken into relationship however the Bluetooth talker performs beyond conscionable its dependable and portability.
Below, you'll find a premix of styles, power, sizes and budgets to hopefully suit what you are looking for.
There tin beryllium immoderate crossover with wireless speakers and adjacent immoderate astute speakers, but, successful this list, we've concentrated connected units that are predominantly designed to basal unsocial and usage Bluetooth for a nonstop transportation with your telephone oregon different device.
What are the champion Bluetooth speakers? Currently, our apical proposal is the Bang and Olufsen Beosound A1 (2nd Gen). However, different Bluetooth speakers worthy considering are the Ultimate Ears Megaboom 3, Marshall Stockwell II, Sonos Move and the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2.
Our Top Pick: Best Bluetooth Speaker
Pocket-lint
Bang and Olufsen Beosound A1 (2nd Gen)
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For
- Exemplary dependable quality
- Far amended low-frequency handling than galore speakers
- Solid artillery life
Against
- No 3.5mm jack
- Not genuinely 360-degree sound
- Can't stereo brace caller exemplary with old
If you're looking for a portable Bluetooth talker - and tin forgive the deficiency of Wi-Fi, AirPlay, and a 3.5mm larboard - past the Beosound A1 2nd Gen is unrivalled.
With added Alexa dependable power and waterproofing, it's intelligibly superior to the already awesome original.
For many, the elephant successful the country volition beryllium the Beosound A1 2nd Gen's asking price. No, this isn't a low-cost speaker. But, yes, it astir decidedly is simply a high-quality 1 that delivers immense dependable from a beautifully made package.
There were the unusual gripes we experienced during testing, specified arsenic the deficiency of a 3.5mm jack and the inability to stereo brace with the older model, but these are tiny grievances successful what is simply a precise accomplished Bluetooth speaker.
It mightiness beryllium small, but the Beosound A1 2nd Gen packs a large punch that makes it worthy each penny. We tin sanction nary amended portable astatine this scale.
Bluetooth speakers we besides recommend
The Bang & Olufsen exemplary elaborate supra is simply a superb speaker, but it won't beryllium the close prime for everyone. That's wherefore we besides urge checking retired the 4 different options below.
Pocket-lint
Ultimate Ears Megaboom 3
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For
- Waterproof and dustproof
- Brilliant dependable quality
- Boosts bass from the archetypal model
Against
- Power Up charging dock not included
- Magic Button playlist diagnostic limited
- No 3.5mm jack
The UE Megaboom 3 is simply a standout product; 1 lone truly constricted by the comparatively precocious terms point. However, adjacent the terms can't muddy the raft of bully points that spot it aquatics - literally, if you dunk it successful the bath oregon excavation - alongside the precise champion Bluetooth speakers.
That floating diagnostic is simply a novelty that truly makes this talker unique, but, marque nary mistake, this is inactive a broad dependable acquisition erstwhile you've linked it up to your device. The bass is arsenic booming arsenic the sanction suggests, and mids and treble are inactive defined astatine beauteous overmuch each measurement level.
The bass is besides overmuch improved from the original, and we inactive emotion the cylindrical plan that defines the Ultimate Ears range. Our lone gripes are that it can't stereo brace with older models and the deficiency of a 3.5mm jack, but these omissions are somewhat to beryllium expected.
All successful all, the UE Megaboom 3 is 1 of the champion packages we've tested - pugnacious capable to tackle euphony successful the office, supply a backdrop for a summertime picnic oregon festival, oregon immoderate other you hap to propulsion astatine it. It's Bluetooth talker bliss.
Pocket-lint
Marshall Stockwell II
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For
- Highly portable
- Robust plan that's water-resistant
- Physical bass and treble controls
Against
- Expensive compared to the competition
- No Wi-Fi
- Many rivals with akin appeal
It's not a enactment talker - Marshall leaves that different Bluetooth devices successful its scope - but this is simply a super-portable portion that provides you with almighty audio connected the go. And it looks outstanding portion doing so.
We recovered it perfect for camping, picnics and different tiny get-togethers, and it's astir apt been the talker we've received the astir affirmative comments from friends and household regarding the wide look.
The dependable is besides typically excellent, with Marshall allowing users to physically power the bass, treble and measurement with 3 knobs that beryllium connected the apical of the device. This truly makes you consciousness similar you're successful control, and is conscionable a overmuch much earthy mode of tweaking the dependable to your taste, alternatively than done an app.
The plan besides packs successful a artillery level indicator, too. You'll get good implicit 20 hours of listening clip retired of it, and, indeed, you'll effort hard to retrieve the past clip you had to complaint it.
We astir apt wouldn't urge it arsenic the main talker successful your home, since there's a deficiency of Wi-Fi and determination are better-priced alternatives, but it perfectly shines connected the road.
Pocket-lint
Sonos Move
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For
- Durable and water-resistant design
- Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, AirPlay and astute assistant-ready
- Multi-room audio pairing
Against
- Not the astir portable
- No dependable power successful Bluetooth mode
- Can't stereo brace 2 Move devices
The Sonos Move is some a Bluetooth talker and a Wi-Fi talker - offering a toggle connected the rear to power betwixt the 2 modes.
In Wi-Fi mode, it connects to different Sonos speakers for a multi-room audio experience, while, successful Bluetooth mode, it delivers a fantastic dependable acquisition with plentifulness of bass and a durable and water-resistant design. It volition besides automatically tune itself to its surroundings.
It's not inexpensive by immoderate agelong of the imagination, and it's weighty, too. This means that though it is portable - acknowledgment to that integrated grip connected the backmost - it's not the benignant of instrumentality you tin popular successful your backpack for a picnic. That said, if you instrumentality it to the parkland oregon the beach, its dependable and measurement are arsenic awesome arsenic thing we tested.
It's a large enactment for those with a Sonos system, and peculiarly those who privation a instrumentality to predominately unrecorded successful their location with the enactment of heading out, too.
Pocket-lint
Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2
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For
- Waterproof design
- Great artillery life
- Compact design
Against
- Uses older Micro-USB connection
- The older exemplary is astir arsenic good
- Need a brace to unlock afloat potential
If you privation to put successful UE's scope of portable Bluetooth speakers, but privation thing smaller than the Boom 2 oregon Megaboom, the Wonderboom is the 1 for you.
When you crook it on, the 360-degree dependable truly does belie its size. While it's often the bass that suffers successful tiny format speakers, that's not the lawsuit with the Wonderboom 2. It volition support that low-range richness each the mode done the measurement range, escaping distortion astatine apical measurement - which is truly impressive. We're not saying it's the best-sounding talker we've ever tested, but it's inactive precise decent.
It's besides tiny capable to acceptable wrong your palm, and, similar different speakers successful the range, is protected against knocks, bumps, drops and splashes acknowledgment to its rubber casing and IP67 rating.
The plan and extortion standing besides means it tin float, too, allowing you to instrumentality it successful the excavation with you - oregon spot it successful the bath, if you person obscurity other to enactment it.
You tin adjacent stereo brace 2 together, and, portion conscionable 1 instrumentality is enough, we couldn't truly spell backmost erstwhile we'd unlocked the imaginable of the Wonderboom 2 pairing.
Other products we considered
When trying to determine what we judge are the champion Bluetooth speakers presently available, we spent hours investigating and researching. We see a fig of factors erstwhile it comes to recommending speakers - and use the aforesaid criteria erstwhile a caller instrumentality is being considered for inclusion. It's not each judged connected our testing, either - we besides effort to origin successful user reviews, marque prime and value.
In each of our roundups, determination are besides galore products we trial that don't marque the last cut. Since they whitethorn beryllium the close acceptable for immoderate people, however, we've listed them below.
How to take a Bluetooth speaker
Bluetooth speakers travel successful antithetic forms. They tin beryllium portable, lightweight and adjacent waterproof. What they person successful communal is the capableness to play euphony wirelessly from your phone, tablet oregon laptop, which is rather the other of astir smart speakers and soundbars.
So, what should you beryllium looking retired for?
Why should you bargain a Bluetooth speaker?
There are galore reasons arsenic to wherefore you would privation to bargain a Bluetooth speaker, but the biggest 1 is to get the audio from your telephone oregon tablet to a talker rapidly and easy to bask the audio amended and louder. Bluetooth speakers are usually small, precise portable, and large for sharing your euphony astatine a picnic, successful your bedroom, oregon elsewhere with the state to simply determination determination other erstwhile the impulse takes you.
Most, if not all, travel with batteries, removing the request to plug successful and beryllium tethered to a circumstantial location.
What volition you usage the talker for?
If you lone privation to play euphony astatine home, past you could take a mains-powered speaker. You suffer the implicit portability that a battery-powered talker offers, of course, truthful it’s fundamentally an indoors-only speaker. But you ne'er person to interest astir the powerfulness moving out.
Mains-only speakers thin to beryllium bigger and heavier, which means they tin person stronger bass, for instance. Speaking of which…
How overmuch bass bash you want?
Although smaller speakers tin often nutrient astonishing levels of measurement and bass, for room-shaking dependable you request to spell bigger. That doesn’t rather regularisation retired artillery powerfulness arsenic determination are immoderate large and hefty speakers, with tremendous batteries inside. They are dense and hardly suffice arsenic portable, and they marque rather a connection successful astir households.
What should it look like?
When idiosyncratic hears euphony play, they’ll look to spot the source. So, you privation it to beryllium eye-catching arsenic good arsenic ear-pleasing, don’t you? There are plentifulness of speakers which travel successful black, and that’s fine, but see a chill colour that’s little techy and much fun, perhaps. Another vantage of agleam colours is, if you privation to drawback it and go, it’s infinitely quicker to person thing that’s casual to see.
Beyond bass, however important is the audio quality?
Important, right? And if the bass isn’t the happening you crave the most, you could adjacent opt for thing smaller that is inactive beardown connected melodic, crisp audio with wide vocals and choky instrumentals, nary substance however large it goes. If you can, perceive to the talker earlier you bargain it and, if possible, crook it up truthful you cognize it doesn’t spell each muddy erstwhile there’s a spot of oomph down it.
Did you cheque artillery life?
Some speakers person conscionable a fewer hours of artillery life, others spell for astir a day. Not that you’ll privation to play it continuously for that agelong but it tells you if you’re going to request to instrumentality the charger with you oregon complaint it to the brim earlier you spell to the formation oregon the park.
How galore radical tin connect?
It’s bully to take a talker that lets a fewer devices link to it, not conscionable truthful you tin stock music-choosing duties, though that’s portion of the enjoyment, certainly. Does it retrieve your instrumentality and if so, however galore others? Since you person to brace your telephone with the talker the archetypal clip you link it, it’s bully to cheque that you don’t person to redo the process each clip you crook it on.
Do you request different features similar waterproofing and charging devices?
Some speakers, adjacent battery-powered ones, person capable foodstuff to recharge your telephone oregon tablet portion they’re playing, which is simply a useful bonus.
Similarly, if this is simply a talker you’re going to instrumentality to the excavation oregon the beach, past waterproofing is important. You whitethorn ne'er really dunk the happening (it truly doesn’t dependable arsenic bully erstwhile it’s really underwater) but waterproofing gives you bid of caput against everything from splashes to an accidental topple. In fact, if this is simply a diagnostic you truly crave, you tin cheque retired the top waterproof speakers successful our dedicated guide.
More astir this story
Every merchandise successful this database has been tested successful real-life situations, conscionable arsenic you would usage it successful your day-to-day life.
In the lawsuit of Bluetooth speakers, we enactment each instrumentality done its paces successful some indoor and outdoor environments. By listening to a scope of antithetic genres, discovering each speaker's level of portability and investigating artillery life, we're capable to decipher which are worthy your clip and why.
We've been investigating Bluetooth speakers since they became a thing, and person beauteous overmuch reviewed each large exemplary released. The merchandise class has changed a lot, adding features similar waterproofing successful immoderate cases, amended dependable capabilities, and, much recently, enactment for streaming via the likes of AirPlay, Chromecast and Wi-Fi. We've besides seen a greater absorption connected design, and each these elements person played into the choices we've picked for this buyer's guide.
As with immoderate roundup, it's not imaginable to present a database that works for each benignant of user, but we thin connected the experiences and opinions of the Pocket-lint squad - arsenic good arsenic thoroughly assessing the areas outlined supra - successful bid to bash our champion successful this regard.
What we ever thin to debar erstwhile compiling these picks are needless spec comparisons and selling lines; we conscionable privation to supply an casual to recognize summary that gives you an thought of what each Bluetooth talker is similar to use. Our verdicts are concise, but this is purely successful the involvement of brevity.
Writing by Conor Allison. Originally published connected 14 October 2016.
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