If you're looking for a small speaker that offers you more control over its sound profile, the Anker Soundcore Flare 2 comes with a graphic EQ and presets to customize its sound. Best sound Ive heard all day, Lauren said, although she wasnt testing any larger models at the time. The Zamkol ZK106 didnt sound as clear and full as the smaller, less expensive Tribit XSound Go. Here you never get the feeling that you are playing bass to make a party at the expense of other elements in the music, and almost no matter what you put on music, you get a pleasant experience. Personal taste, preference, and listening habits will matter more in your selection. With the Treblab HD7, voices sounded pretty clean but the bass output was very limited for the speakers size. However, its about two and a half times bigger and heavier than the Wonderboom 2, so its nowhere near as portable. It has an IP67 rating and is one of the most rugged Bluetooth speakers weve tested, able to survive a 5-foot drop and a dunking in 1 meter of waterbut because it floats, itll probably never dive that deep. Following in the footsteps of theSonos Move, the Sonos Roam comes with both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, which means it can work as aportable speakeras well as part of your wider multi-room Sonos system and withGoogle Assistantand Alexa onboard (when you're on Wi-Fi), it doubles up asmart speakertoo. It sounded smoother than the similarly priced Anker Soundcore Rave Neo in our tests, but the Rave Neo played about 5 decibels louder, enough to fill a backyard instead of just a patio. It's what you expect from B&O (and for a premium price), but still this is the best smaller portable speaker for hardcore music lovers. Contributions from Wirecutter senior staff writer and headphone editor Lauren Dragan has served as a listening panelist for this guide for the past few years, and most of our current picks have also been auditioned by woodwind player Dan Gonda and drummer Sammy Velick. You will receive a verification email shortly. We cant pick the Vifa Oslo because few people want to spend almost half a grand (its price at this writing) for a portable speaker. Here are the results for our current speaker recommendations: I narrowed the group of contestants to the models that I thought had a real chance to impress our listening panel, and I included all of our past picks. If you like having more control over your speaker's sound, there's also a graphic EQ and presets in its companion app, which you can use to tweak its sound to your liking. If you want a less-costly alternative to our upgrade pick: The JBL Xtreme 3, the Sony SRS-XB43 is a nice and (as of this update) relatively affordable choice. Compared to similar priced Bluetooth speakers we've tested, youre getting a lot of features for your money here. This rugged portable speaker is super simple to use, sounds good, and can be paired with up to 100 other JBL speakers at once to create a huge wall of sound. It easily survived dunks under the water and quickly shed any water that got behind the speaker grilles. Really, the only downside is that with so many great speakers to choose from, it can be hard to choose the best one for you. There are buttons to control playback, volume, power, Bluetooth pairing, and Party Boost that turns the volume up to 11. Our panelists said the Nyne Boost sounded tinny and needed more bass. In fact, our editor-in-chief selected it from the thousands of top picks on Wirecutter to write about in our 52 Things We Love series. You won't find extra features like voice assistants or Wi-Fi connectivity, but the Flip 6 sounds so good that you won't miss them. It sounds good, too, but it costs much more than the PartyBox 110. Considering that new ones seem to appear every week, it would be impossible to find and hear them all. Consider high-end audio brands such as Bose and Bang & Olufsen if you want a combination of stylish design and great sound but be prepared for relatively high prices. The Wonderboom 2 is about the size and weight of a large apple, so its easy to carry around. Here you can vote for our next review, Compare graphs from our speaker test results in order to make a clearer and more informed decision, Create or edit custom speaker ratings, your custom ratings will be present on the table tool, and other pages. Thanks to its 360-degree design, it offers a wide and open-sounding soundstage so you can hear your audio clearly from all angles. Its cylindrical design, measuring about 3 inches in diameter and 4 inches high, takes up more space in a suitcase than some slimmer designs and prevents it from fitting comfortably in a laptop bag. Also, while it doesn't get loud enough to fill a large area, it's still loud enough to use in small rooms like your bedroom. Despite being party-centric (read: packing tons of bass), we found it also delivers a very well-balanced soundscape.
For the price, the XSound Gos speakerphone function is acceptable.
Finally, though the Wonderboom 2 is light and compact, its not slim. The Monoprice Harmony Capsule 200 sounds like it has a big dip in the midrange, which gives voices a thin, trebly sound. Its sound quality is basically the same as its predecessor, and very similar to that of the XSound Go, although its nearly twice as expensive. App-based EQ controls let you fine-tune the sound. Toting it is like carrying a football filled with sand, and for many people that means a two-handed carry. However, we got only about 6 hours of battery life from it. It also has a long-lasting battery life of over 17 hours, making it great for long listening sessions. We thought the tiny Anker Soundcore Icon Mini didnt play loud or clear or full enough to warrant the investment. It also has lots of useful features, including an Outdoor Boost mode (which makes it louder, at the expense of bass), an ultra-rugged design, stereo/mono pairing, an extra-long Bluetooth range, and a top button that lets you pause and restart the music, as well as skip to the next track.
It plays almost twice as loud as the JBL Xtreme 3, so its ideal for pool parties and tailgating. Although it maxed out at 1.1 decibels less volume than the Hyperboom in our tests, it sounded fuller and a little clearer when cranked up. That said, it doesn't come with any sound customization features like a graphic EQ. The Blackfire BBM9113 by Klein Tools has a cool, super-rugged design with a mounting strap and a magnet that allows it to attach easily to many surfaces.
We liked it overall, and it does play a couple notches louder than the UE Wonderboom 2, but it sounded a bit bright and trebly for our taste. We take that seriously too, which is why weve asked the manufacturers of all our picks to answer some basic questions about materials, life cycle, and other sustainability issues. The Edifier MP700 sounded impressively clear, but it didnt play as loud for its size as wed hoped, and its metal handle made it heavy to lug around. Dialling up the bass in the EQ convincingly gives treble-heavy tracks a little more warmth than their neutral recorded sound offers, if like that kind of balance. The UE Wonderboom 2 is a fantastic rugged and waterproof speaker youll actually want to take with you everywhere. If you're worried whether one speaker will be enough for the garden party, it will here and for this money, it represents unbeatable sound-per-pound value. Please refresh the page and try again. The Wonderboom 2 lacks a speakerphone function. The Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2 is as euphonious as Ariana Grande but as tough as Lara Croft. It's small and lightweight, so you can easily fit it in your hand or bag when you're on the go. Thanks to its 360-degree design, it has excellent directivity, so its soundstage is perceived as natural and open-sounding. Not only did it keep working, but it barely even showed a scuff mark. testing and reviewing everything from wallet-friendly wireless earbuds to huge high-end sound systems. It also comes with an IP56 rating for dust and water resistance, certifying it to withstand direct contact with water for up to three minutes and dust for around two to eight hours, so you can take it outside without worrying about it getting wet or dirty. In terms of features the JBL Charge 5 is relatively basic compared to something like theJBL Pulse 4 which provides a customizable lightshow for users but for this fifth generation JBL has incrementally improved sound quality and volume while still offering all-day battery life. Moved the Ultimate Ears MEGABOOM 3 to the Notable Mentions, and updated the text for clarity. In our tests, the Anker Soundcore Boost lost voice clarity with its bass boost mode activated, but without that mode, the bass was usually lacking. The Xtreme 3which replaces its predecessor, the Xtreme 2, as our upgrade pickis the best-sounding portable Bluetooth speaker weve tested, as our panelists praised it for its clear sound on voices, guitars, and pianos (though its bass tended to get a little quiet at maximum volume). (Hint: Not as much as you might think.). If you prefer having more control over your speaker's sound, the Anker Soundcore 3 comes with a graphic EQ and EQ presets to tweak its sound to your liking. The Tronsmart Bang speaker looks like it might be a lot of sound for just a little over $100, but try as we might, we couldnt get it to pair with an Android or an iPhone; it appears some bugs need to be worked out with the accompanying app.
If you want the least-expensive portable Bluetooth speaker that still sounds decent: The Oontz Angle Solo sells for the price of a cheap T-shirt, but sounds surprisingly good. But it doesnt have enough bass for our taste. The Tribit XSound Go is the best speaker weve heard in its price range, and its compact and waterproof to boot.
To ramp up that durability, many Bluetooth speakers come with waterproof and dustproof designs look for an IPX4 rating or higher if you want to take your portable speaker outdoors. Whether it's finding great products or discovering helpful advice, we'll help you get it right (the first time). By Those wanting more bass but still want a party speaker with lights will want to check out theJBL Pulse 4 too, which gets louder, has more bass impact and a full-body lightshow but again is over twice the price. The Charge 5 drops support for the 3.5mm aux jack from theJBL Charge 4, which is a bummer for some who have legacy devices they want to hook up. Our panelists really liked the Ultimate Ears Megaboom 3 for its features and rugged design, although we preferred the fuller sound of speakers such as the Sony SRS-XB33. JBL says neither the Xtreme 3 nor its packaging are made from recycled materials, but half the materials used in the packaging are recyclable. The Scosche BoomBottle MM was a little light on the bass but otherwise sounded good, and its a decent buy if you like its rugged design. The manufacturer advertises that it can float in water too. Like the JBL Flip 5 before it, the Flip 6 is an ideal speaker for anyone who wants to simply play their music, crank it up loud, sit back and enjoy whether you're listening at home or on the go. Sony didnt provide battery life data, but says the battery can be replaced by a Sony service center.
If you dont like the sound with Adaptive EQ, the app has a five-band equalizer plus Bass Jump, Game/Cinema, and Podcast modes. It also doesnt quite meet the value for money of the UE Boom 3 and JBL Charge 5 but if you love that Bose sound and build quality, this is the portable speaker for you. The Sony SRS-XP500 looks and works much like the JBL PartyBox 110 and costs about the same, but we thought the PartyBox 110 sounded a little smoother on vocals. If you prefer more bass, the Walmart-exclusive Anker SoundCore Rave Neo or the Sony SRS-XB33 may be more to your liking. Music is exciting, punchy and energetic, yet it achieves this without overloading the bass, or pushing the treble so far that it loses realism. We liked the sound and design of Sonys SRS-XB13, but for its price, it doesnt play very loud. It also has an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance that certifies it to be immersible in up to a meter of water for 30 minutes, so you don't have to worry about accidentally dropping it in a pool of water when bringing it outside with you.
For the price, the XSound Gos speakerphone function is acceptable.
Finally, though the Wonderboom 2 is light and compact, its not slim. The Monoprice Harmony Capsule 200 sounds like it has a big dip in the midrange, which gives voices a thin, trebly sound. Its sound quality is basically the same as its predecessor, and very similar to that of the XSound Go, although its nearly twice as expensive. App-based EQ controls let you fine-tune the sound. Toting it is like carrying a football filled with sand, and for many people that means a two-handed carry. However, we got only about 6 hours of battery life from it. It also has a long-lasting battery life of over 17 hours, making it great for long listening sessions. We thought the tiny Anker Soundcore Icon Mini didnt play loud or clear or full enough to warrant the investment. It also has lots of useful features, including an Outdoor Boost mode (which makes it louder, at the expense of bass), an ultra-rugged design, stereo/mono pairing, an extra-long Bluetooth range, and a top button that lets you pause and restart the music, as well as skip to the next track.
It plays almost twice as loud as the JBL Xtreme 3, so its ideal for pool parties and tailgating. Although it maxed out at 1.1 decibels less volume than the Hyperboom in our tests, it sounded fuller and a little clearer when cranked up. That said, it doesn't come with any sound customization features like a graphic EQ. The Blackfire BBM9113 by Klein Tools has a cool, super-rugged design with a mounting strap and a magnet that allows it to attach easily to many surfaces.
We liked it overall, and it does play a couple notches louder than the UE Wonderboom 2, but it sounded a bit bright and trebly for our taste. We take that seriously too, which is why weve asked the manufacturers of all our picks to answer some basic questions about materials, life cycle, and other sustainability issues. The Edifier MP700 sounded impressively clear, but it didnt play as loud for its size as wed hoped, and its metal handle made it heavy to lug around. Dialling up the bass in the EQ convincingly gives treble-heavy tracks a little more warmth than their neutral recorded sound offers, if like that kind of balance. The UE Wonderboom 2 is a fantastic rugged and waterproof speaker youll actually want to take with you everywhere. If you're worried whether one speaker will be enough for the garden party, it will here and for this money, it represents unbeatable sound-per-pound value. Please refresh the page and try again. The Wonderboom 2 lacks a speakerphone function. The Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2 is as euphonious as Ariana Grande but as tough as Lara Croft. It's small and lightweight, so you can easily fit it in your hand or bag when you're on the go. Thanks to its 360-degree design, it has excellent directivity, so its soundstage is perceived as natural and open-sounding. Not only did it keep working, but it barely even showed a scuff mark. testing and reviewing everything from wallet-friendly wireless earbuds to huge high-end sound systems. It also comes with an IP56 rating for dust and water resistance, certifying it to withstand direct contact with water for up to three minutes and dust for around two to eight hours, so you can take it outside without worrying about it getting wet or dirty. In terms of features the JBL Charge 5 is relatively basic compared to something like theJBL Pulse 4 which provides a customizable lightshow for users but for this fifth generation JBL has incrementally improved sound quality and volume while still offering all-day battery life. Moved the Ultimate Ears MEGABOOM 3 to the Notable Mentions, and updated the text for clarity. In our tests, the Anker Soundcore Boost lost voice clarity with its bass boost mode activated, but without that mode, the bass was usually lacking. The Xtreme 3which replaces its predecessor, the Xtreme 2, as our upgrade pickis the best-sounding portable Bluetooth speaker weve tested, as our panelists praised it for its clear sound on voices, guitars, and pianos (though its bass tended to get a little quiet at maximum volume). (Hint: Not as much as you might think.). If you prefer having more control over your speaker's sound, the Anker Soundcore 3 comes with a graphic EQ and EQ presets to tweak its sound to your liking. The Tronsmart Bang speaker looks like it might be a lot of sound for just a little over $100, but try as we might, we couldnt get it to pair with an Android or an iPhone; it appears some bugs need to be worked out with the accompanying app.
If you want the least-expensive portable Bluetooth speaker that still sounds decent: The Oontz Angle Solo sells for the price of a cheap T-shirt, but sounds surprisingly good. But it doesnt have enough bass for our taste. The Tribit XSound Go is the best speaker weve heard in its price range, and its compact and waterproof to boot. To ramp up that durability, many Bluetooth speakers come with waterproof and dustproof designs look for an IPX4 rating or higher if you want to take your portable speaker outdoors. Whether it's finding great products or discovering helpful advice, we'll help you get it right (the first time). By Those wanting more bass but still want a party speaker with lights will want to check out theJBL Pulse 4 too, which gets louder, has more bass impact and a full-body lightshow but again is over twice the price. The Charge 5 drops support for the 3.5mm aux jack from theJBL Charge 4, which is a bummer for some who have legacy devices they want to hook up. Our panelists really liked the Ultimate Ears Megaboom 3 for its features and rugged design, although we preferred the fuller sound of speakers such as the Sony SRS-XB33. JBL says neither the Xtreme 3 nor its packaging are made from recycled materials, but half the materials used in the packaging are recyclable. The Scosche BoomBottle MM was a little light on the bass but otherwise sounded good, and its a decent buy if you like its rugged design. The manufacturer advertises that it can float in water too. Like the JBL Flip 5 before it, the Flip 6 is an ideal speaker for anyone who wants to simply play their music, crank it up loud, sit back and enjoy whether you're listening at home or on the go. Sony didnt provide battery life data, but says the battery can be replaced by a Sony service center.
If you dont like the sound with Adaptive EQ, the app has a five-band equalizer plus Bass Jump, Game/Cinema, and Podcast modes. It also doesnt quite meet the value for money of the UE Boom 3 and JBL Charge 5 but if you love that Bose sound and build quality, this is the portable speaker for you. The Sony SRS-XP500 looks and works much like the JBL PartyBox 110 and costs about the same, but we thought the PartyBox 110 sounded a little smoother on vocals. If you prefer more bass, the Walmart-exclusive Anker SoundCore Rave Neo or the Sony SRS-XB33 may be more to your liking. Music is exciting, punchy and energetic, yet it achieves this without overloading the bass, or pushing the treble so far that it loses realism. We liked the sound and design of Sonys SRS-XB13, but for its price, it doesnt play very loud. It also has an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance that certifies it to be immersible in up to a meter of water for 30 minutes, so you don't have to worry about accidentally dropping it in a pool of water when bringing it outside with you.