Bluetooth speakers are one of the simplest ways to get your music playing wherever you are. The wire-free wonders come in so many sizes and shapes that their various use cases are near-endless, from using one in your office to popping a compact model in a backpack and taking it to the park or up a mountainside.
Ok, the sound isn't audiophile level, but brands such as JBL have realised that people care about sound quality alongside other user-friendly features, meaning the level of audio has improved vastly over the last few years.
We’ve tested everything from large room-filling Bluetooth speakers to dinky travel options, and many have impressed by offering great value for money, lengthy battery life, waterproofing and engaging, competent audio. Every model has been tested by our expert reviewing team in the real world and our dedicated test rooms to ensure they’re worth your time. You can learn more about our testing process or keep scrolling to see our pick of the best Bluetooth speakers available.
2024 has seen the release of a lot of new wireless and Bluetooth speakers, many of which have impressed so much that they've either earned a five-star review or even a What Hi-Fi? 2024 Award. That's no mean feat, with some incredibly fine units being knocked off their respective perches by the might of these preciously talented newcomers.
Recent updates
15th October: We've given the JBL Xtreme 4 and the Audio Pro C20 new straplines to reflect their recent What Hi-Fi? 2024 Award wins.
The quick list
The Charge 5 is currently as good a sound as you can get in a portable Bluetooth speaker for around £150/$150.
With its diminutive dimensions, 12-hour battery life and punchy bass, the Flip 6 is the ideal travel companion.
A tiny budget speaker that makes a big impact – if you’re watching the pennies there’s no better option right now than Tribit's Stormbox Micro 2.
B&O’s eye-catching compact speaker justifies its price with a refined performance and typically classy build.
A potent performer that melds grit with grace, the Xtreme 4 is practically unbeatable at this level.
If you’re looking to build a multi-room system that also has Bluetooth capability, the brilliant Sonos Era 100 is the speaker for you.
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A versatile little speaker that combines Bluetooth connectivity with a handy voice assistant that does much more than just read the weather forecast.
Audio Pro’s feature-packed C20 offers a raft of features and such an impressive sonic profile that it will excel no matter how you use it.
I'm a senior staff writer who has listened to and reviewed dozens of products during my time at What Hi-Fi?. Hi-fi loudspeakers and fancy amps are all well and good, but I love a great Bluetooth speaker that can offer a fast, fuss-free and often fantastically affordable solution to your everyday needs. I've had hands-on experience with every model on the list below, putting them through their paces to ensure you know exactly which speaker to go for. Good sound quality, durability, waterproofness (see our IP ratings explainer for details), features and connectivity; we've assessed them all to put you fully in the picture before buying.
Best Bluetooth speaker overall
The JBL Charge 5 has become one of the most enduringly impressive Bluetooth speakers we've ever tested, wowing us not only with the quality of its sound but with the longevity it continues to display. After multiple What Hi-Fi? Award wins, JBL's bottle-shaped speaker is still the best in its class.
The IP67-rated Charge 5 is fully dustproof and waterproof and can be submerged in water up to a meter for around 30 minutes before doing itself any damage. Thanks to its 10W tweeter and racetrack-shaped driver, it's imperious and forthright sounding, trouncing the competition at this £200 / $200 / AU$300 price point. The arrival of the slightly more expensive Charge 5 Wi-Fi (£230 / $230 / AU$330) has made things a little more complex, but the invigorating, cohesive listen of the standard Charge 5 model remains very tough to beat.
That new Charge 5 Wi-Fi model does offer a slightly more refined sound alongside more flexible wi-fi-enabled capabilities such as AirPlay 2 and Alexa Multiroom, but the more affordable Charge 5 remains a superb portable speaker that offers enjoyable sound in a neat, durable package.
Read our full JBL Charge 5 review
Which JBL speaker to choose has been made trickier by the emergence of the Charge 5 Wi-Fi, a wi-fi enabled speaker model that earned five stars during testing. The big bonus of the Wi-Fi model is that you can use features such as AirPlay 2 and Spotify Connect, giving you the freedom to continue using your phone or source player without affecting your music. The Charge 5 Wi-Fi does also sound a little better, but bear in mind that we tested it at £230 / $230 / AU$330, a significant advance on the standard Charge 5's current £130ish ($160 / AU$250).
Best portable Bluetooth speaker
Anyone who finds the considerable heftiness of the Charge 5 above to be a little too much for them should consider stepping down to the five-star JBL Flip 6. When we say "stepping down", incidentally, we mean that with regard mainly to price and size, as while it may be a slimmer model, the Flip 6 remains a consummate pro at delivering everything you'd expect from a JBL portable companion.
The Flip's durability is up there with the more costly Charge 5 (it's IP67 water- and dust-proof), while the sound offers space, zeal and musicality in spades. Ok, it won't hit the breadth of sound that its bigger brother can, never mind those higher volumes, but that's what you sacrifice if you want a smaller form factor.
If you desire more from the midrange and less from the treble, you can tweak it thanks to a new EQ feature in the app, which adds significant value. For a nominal price hike over the launch price of the soon-to-be-redundant Flip 5, there’s certainly more detail here, too.
If you need more oomph and drive, the larger JBL Charge 5 is the speaker for you, but for a more compact and admirably musical performer, the Flip 6 is the way to go. Ultimate Ears could be providing competition for the Flip 6 with its Boom 4 and Wonderboom 4 – the Flip 6 will have to work harder than ever, then, to keep its crown.
Read our full JBL Flip 6 review
Best budget Bluetooth speaker
If all you need from your ideal Bluetooth speaker is portability alongside affordability, you'd struggle to improve on the small, satchel-friendly Tribit Stormbox Micro 2. A great and inexpensive alternative to the Flip 6 above, the Micro 2 fits flat in your hand in contrast to the cylindrical form of the Flip.
Sporting a utilitarian but not unattractive woven finish design, the Micro 2 pumps out genuinely enjoyable audio and a rather impressive battery life of around 12 hours during testing. Better yet, its IP67 rating allowed one of our team to test it in the shower without causing any lasting damage. Again, the Stormbox Micro 2's compact size and robust construction make it well-suited for venturing far beyond the confines of a bathroom or kitchen.
The audio is certainly a big plus point, too, going bigger, punchier and louder than you’d expect from such a diminutive unit, doing justice to most tracks in terms of tempo, rhythm and dynamics. The Stormbox's Midrange is particularly pleasing, and we'd even go so far as to say that it's as good as anything else we’ve seen at this price.
Fine, the Stormbox Micro 2 can suffer from distortion at louder volumes, but it's still one of your best-value options if you’re really on a tight budget. Note that we're currently testing the JBL Go 4 as a potential rival for the Micro 2, meaning that our favourite budget model could have some serious competition at this level.
If you want to go smaller and cheaper, we'd recommend the five-star JBL Go 4 as a soap-sized alternative. It doesn't quite have the mid-range vocal clarity or the breadth of sound of the Tribit, but the Go 4 is exceptional value considering how much sonic life and dynamism it keenly demonstrates.
Read our full Tribit Audio Stormbox Micro 2 review
Best mid-price Bluetooth speaker
This is definitely the Bluetooth speaker for those among us who don't like to follow the herd. You can have your JBLs and your Tribits, as the Bang & Olufsen A1 (2nd Gen) is for anyone who prioritises luxury, style and a bit of personality from their electronics. This is the speaker for those people who could choose an Audi, VW or BMW, but go for an Alfa Romeo instead.
Admittedly, saying that the A1 sports similar dimensions to a medium-sized hamburger doesn't sound that luxurious, but rest assured: it's a beautiful, very well-made burger only bested in the looks department by the rather stunning Dali Katch G2 in our also consider section.
The Beosound A1 (2nd Gen) supports Qualcomm’s latest aptX Adaptive Bluetooth 5.1 codec and features Alexa built-in, as long as you're connected to the wi-fi when you want to speak to her. That's a smart feature that most of the rivals on this list don't have, by the way.
Sonically, we consider this to be one of Bang & Olufsen's best models, presenting a pleasingly comfortable yet authoritative performance that you could easily listen to all day. Throw in its classy, well-made design, easy-to-use operation and the bonus of Alexa, and suddenly things start to make a whole lot of sense.
Incidentally, look out for discounts around sales periods, as we've seen certain colourways plummet considerably during Black Friday, Prime Day and the festive period.
Read our full Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 (2nd Gen) review
Best premium Bluetooth speaker
For JBL, the Xtreme 4 simply confirms once again that this is a company working at the top of its game. The Xtreme 3 was a five-star portable powerhouse which provided a rock-solid foundation from which to grow, with the fourth-gen sequel building on that base and taking the levels to new, stunning heights and banking a What Hi-Fi? 2024 Award in the process.
The Xtreme 4 is, in simple terms, the Xtreme 3 but better. The design is roughly the same as the outgoing model, albeit with some minor distinguishing tweaks. The button layout is now a block of six rather than a strip, while a new base with two strips of silicon feet gives the speaker more stability and grip. Apart from that, it's the same rugged, robust, IP67-rated build as the Xtreme 3, and that's no bad thing; it's a design that has served JBL extremely well in the past.
The driver configuration for the Xtreme 4 is the same as the previous model, with two 70mm woofers and two 20mm tweeters behind the grille and then those pulsating radiators at either end. Sonically, though, things have been taken to the next level, offering up the best audio performance we've heard at this level for one of the best-sounding Bluetooth speakers of 2024. As our review made clear: "For such a chunky speaker it produces a fantastically refined sound. It produces a wonderfully clear and consistent sound across tracks: low frequencies are poised and punchy but don’t lack weight, (whereas) highs are crisp enough so they don’t feel rolled off".
New features only enhance the Xtreme 4's credentials. Auracast is the big one, letting you pair two Xtreme 4 speakers together in stereo or connect multiple compatible JBLs in a chain while giving the new model some element of future-proofing should new features that require the tech emerge in the coming months.
The JBL app is as user-friendly and comprehensive as ever, while 24 hours is a big improvement on the 15 hours of the previous model. Like the Charge 5, the Xtreme 4 will charge up connected devices via USB-C, and there's even a replaceable battery if the built-in unit packs up.
All in all, yet another belting speaker from JBL. If you've got the cash to stretch a bit further up the price ladder, the Xtreme 4 is our nailed-on pick.
Read our full JBL Xtreme 4 review
Best multi-room Bluetooth speaker
It isn't just traditional, portable Bluetooth speakers on this list. The Era 100 is, alongside the Award-winning Era 300, one of the best speakers that Sonos has made in quite some time, and thanks to its Bluetooth capabilities, it's eligible for a spot on this rundown
The Era 100 is a certified five-star performer, combining updated specs and features with an overhauled design to deliver one of the most sonically satisfying speakers Sonos has ever made at this level. Reconceived from the ground up, the Era 100 sports brand-new drivers in the shape of two angled tweeters with customer waveguides alongside a woofer that's 25 per cent larger than the Sonos One, with each unit powered by its own Class D amplifier.
This, alongside a faster processor, translates into a much better sound than Sonos managed with the Sonos One, and while the One was mono only, the Era 100 can pump out a satisfying stereo experience. The bass profile feels deep, full and substantial, while the clarity and detail across the spectrum make for a cohesive, balanced listen. Even the timing is excellent!
The Era 100 is more of a stationary, use-at-home unit, but that Bluetooth connectivity does afford you more flexibility in terms of how you use it. With such ambitious levels of performance, we think it's one of the finest wireless Bluetooth speakers you'll find at this price.
Read our full Sonos Era 100 review
Best smart Bluetooth speaker
No, the Echo Dot isn't a traditional Bluetooth speaker according to our usual criteria. It's not portable as it requires a plugged-in connection to the wall, plus it relies on wi-fi for Alexa to work at all. You can (and will), however, utilise Bluetooth to connect your iPhone to the Echo Dot, especially if you want to play music stored locally, qualifying it as a Bluetooth speaker on more than a mere technicality.
Either way, the Echo Dot (5th Generation) truly earns its place on this list thanks to its all-round excellence and hugely attractive price tag. It may be cheap, but nothing about the Dot feels tacky or cut-price, and whereas once Alexa was a one-note performer capable of answering basic questions about the weather and knowing the capital of France, now she's as bursting with skills and knowledge as Keanu Reeves after he's been uploaded with various handy computer programs. The Dot's AI assistant is more helpful than ever, stuffed with so many tricks that you'll often find yourself falling into the trap of speaking to Alexa as though "she" were a real person.
Audio has come a long way, too. Amazon's so-called “best-sounding Echo Dot yet” lives up to its billing thanks to a single 44mm front-firing speaker (4mm larger than the previous gen’s 40mm), offering audio that feels, for the size, weighty, listenable and surprisingly versatile.
For non-Apple devotees seeking a smart companion on a budget, the Echo Dot is a fine alternative to the HomePod Mini.
Read our full Amazon Echo Dot (5th Generation) review
Best for music and movies
If it's a cliché to use the term "jack-of-all-trades", then you know what? Let's use a cliché. The 2024-Award-winning Audio Pro C20 is yet another supremely capable performer from one of the most consistent, and underrated, audio brands around, melding a variety of functionalities and potential use cases into a unified, deeply impressive package. If ever there was a time to use that jack-of-all-trades label, this is it.
The C20 is a Bluetooth speaker thanks to its 5.0 connectivity, yet its wi-fi capabilities allow the C20 to stream tracks up to 24-bit/96kHz via AirPlay 2 and Google Cast, as well as via Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect and even Audio Pro multi-room. That's a lot of choice, and it makes this mains-powered powerhouse an incredibly versatile solution that goes far beyond the capabilities of your traditional Bluetooth speaker.
That's before we get on to physical connections. The C20 offers a set of RCA inputs alongside HDMI ARC for boosting your TV's sound, as well as a sub out if you want to add a subwoofer into the mix. There's also an optical input for hooking up to digital sources, plus an MM phono stage if you're planning on connecting up your turntable to the C20's convenient, one-stop-shop.
And we haven't even arrived at the sound of the thing yet. What's remarkable about the koala-faced wonder (it does look like a koala, right?) is just how open and broad the soundscape it conjures is, offering a presentation that grows and expands with an awesome sense of breadth and scale for your music and movies. Painted within this wide sonic landscape are plenty of details and nuances, each one finding its own happy place within the wider composition. If you thought the C20 would go so heavy on features that it would forget about proper sound, boy is there egg on your face.
A superb speaker that does a lot of things very, very well, there are very few single-box units that can compete.
Read our full Audio Pro C20 review
Also consider
JBL Go 4: Small, portable and super-affordable, we've always liked the JBL Go range of soap-sized speakers, even if we've had a few reservations about battery life and sonic oomph. Happily, the JBL Go 4 is unquestionably the best Go speaker we've heard, bringing in improved 7-hour battery life alongside impressive sonic capabilities and clever Auracast connectivity tech. It's a seriously impressive speaker considering its tiny size and meagre price of around £40 / $50 / AU$60.
JBL Charge 5 Wi-Fi: A wonderful spin on one of our favourite JBL speakers of all time, the Charge 5 Wi-Fi, naturally, adds wi-fi streaming and a little bit of extra musicality to the Charge 5's Award-winning recipe. It's more expensive than the basic model (sitting at around £200 / $200 at the time of writing), so you'll be forking out a little more for the convenience of AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect and Chromecast. That said, it's a great speaker in its own right and a lovely addition to the JBL family. As far as spin-offs go, this one's a hit in our book.
Dali Katch G2: The beautiful Dali Katch G2 used to be a mainstay of this list before the Xtreme 4 came along and stole some of its thunder. It's still an utterly wonderful piece of kit though, melding gorgeous, refined looks with a sound profile that's, well, gorgeous and refined. Very much the thinking person's portable pal.
Bose SoundLink Max: Hooray, a Bose Bluetooth speaker we can wholeheartedly get behind. We like the SoundLink Flex, but just feel that slightly sonically superior rivals have prevented us from a solid recommendation. The bigger, pricier SoundLink Max is a five-star belter, though, serving up a powerful, musical sound that really mixes it with the best of them.
Audio Pro C10 MkII: Just because it didn't fit into this particular list, don't ignore the C10 Mk II. Despite qualifying as what we'd normally call a "wireless speaker", the C10 is a fine alternative to the models on this list courtesy of its Bluetooth capabilities. A former What Hi-Fi? Award-winner, it's versatile, portable, great-sounding and often enjoys major discounts. What's not to like?
How to choose the best Bluetooth speaker for you
When choosing a Bluetooth speaker, the first thing you should ask yourself after setting a budget is what you want from it. Does the speaker need to be portable and versatile enough to use both indoors and outdoors? Or are you happy with a mains-powered speaker that can fill a big room with brilliant audio?
Sound, of course, should play a huge part in your decision, because there's absolutely no guarantee that two models of a similar price will end up sounding the same in terms of quality, audio presentation and general timbre. Some Bluetooth speakers will be peppy and exciting, while others will prioritise pulsating bass to get the party started.
Size and power, too, should be a consideration. The Tribit Micro 2 is a handy little speaker to take into the shower or clip onto your rucksack during a hike, but you'll find it practically useless if you plan to rave away your nights to the sound of the best house, dance and electronic floor-fillers every weekend. A bigger option, like the JBL Charge 5, or models that allow daisy-chaining, will be more appropriate for ravers or users who prioritise loudness.
If you're choosing portability, you'll want to think about battery life and other aspects such as how waterproof, dustproof and rugged the design is. How durable a Bluetooth speaker is can quickly become a determining factor, especially if you want to, say, take one to the park or the beach and on holidays. Check out our IP ratings explainer if you're unsure.
Generally, the more you spend the more features you get, such as multi-room functionality, higher-quality Bluetooth codec support (for aptX or aptX HD, for example), and the ability to answer calls hands-free. Some portable Bluetooth speakers even allow you to charge a smartphone or tablet using their own built-in battery. Naturally, you should only consider treating a buying decision as a box-ticking exercise based on the features you think you'd benefit from.
Once you've narrowed down your search, it's time to draw up a shortlist of contenders and, if you have the time, search around a few retailers and outlets for the best price. Or, alternatively, you can use our best Bluetooth speaker deals hub to find discounts right away.
How we test Bluetooth speakers
At What Hi-Fi? we review hundreds of products every year at our state-of-the-art testing facilities in London and Reading. We have complete control over the testing process, and we also review products as a team as opposed to individually, ensuring no opinion goes unheard and that our final verdicts are consistent. Our expert, trusted team has over 100 combined years of reviewing experience.
Besides the sound quality of a Bluetooth speaker, which we test with every genre of music from classical to pop, we also scrutinise other aspects of its design. These include its battery life, the robustness of its Bluetooth connection, how easy it is to use and set up, and finally, how well built and rugged it is – especially if it will be used outdoors. Our review philosophy doesn't change whether we're evaluating a portable budget Bluetooth speaker or a more premium model with extra streaming features.
All new Bluetooth speakers are judged on a performance-per-pound basis and, as part of our tried-and-tested process, put up against the current class leader(s) at its respective price point to see how they compare and to help us settle on a star rating.
There's no input from PR companies or our sales team when it comes to the verdict, with What Hi-Fi? proud of having delivered honest, unbiased reviews for nearly five decades.
FAQ
What's the difference between wireless and Bluetooth speakers?
Bluetooth speakers are wireless in that they don't require a wire to connect to an audio source; they use the Bluetooth streaming protocol. However, Bluetooth speakers don't necessarily also support wi-fi, which is a necessary feature of what we term 'wireless speakers'. A wireless speaker can connect to an audio source via the internet (i.e. your home wi-fi) – by way of Apple AirPlay or Google Chromecast, for example – whether or not it also has Bluetooth.
While this will depend on the kit you are using and your wi-fi limitations at home, transmitting audio over wi-fi rather than Bluetooth comes with certain benefits: wi-fi doesn't have as limited a signal range as Bluetooth, generally facilitates better sound quality and is capable of transmitting higher-quality audio. The standard Bluetooth codecs (SBC and AAC) are not widely capable of transmitting CD-quality (or higher) files, and even the higher-quality codecs like aptX are lossy (i.e. data gets lost during the transmission).
However, Bluetooth-only speakers are generally more portable, as they don't require an internet connection or being plugged into the mains power, and often more affordable than wi-fi-enabled wireless speakers. If you're interested in wi-fi-ready speakers, you should look at our best wireless speakers guide instead.
It's also worth noting which "version" of Bluetooth is being utilised. Most models are using a version from 5.0 or beyond, with each subsequent iteration – 5.1, 5.2 etc. – generally leading to improvements in stability, range and even transmission rates, although the specific changes vary from version to version.
How many watts is good for a home Bluetooth speaker?
There isn't a simple answer here, as a higher wattage number doesn't necessarily equal good sound quality,u but it does determine how loud your speaker can go. Basically, you'll want a speaker that's going to be able to fill your intended space with a good amount of sound. So, if you're looking for a small, portable Bluetooth speaker to use casually on the table in a small space, a relatively low-powered speaker output (10W or thereabouts) will get that job done for you without any problems.
However, if you've got a big, spacious room or the outdoors that you want to fill with sound at decent volumes, a bigger speaker with a higher watt output (25W to 50W) will likely serve you best.
How does a Bluetooth speaker work?
Bluetooth is a short-range, low-powered, low-bandwidth streaming protocol used to connect compatible devices together wirelessly. Bluetooth uses radio waves just like wi-fi does but at a different scale.
A Bluetooth speaker relies on this short-range Bluetooth connection to connect to a Bluetooth-supporting audio source and accept audio data from it. Both the speaker and source device need to have compatible Bluetooth codecs to send this information between them – SBC and AAC are the standard codecs. A wireless speaker operates similarly but instead relies on a wi-fi network connection to accept audio data transmitted from an audio source.
Pairing a Bluetooth speaker and Bluetooth device is easy: you simply put the speaker in 'pairing mode' (usually by pressing a button), go into a device's Bluetooth settings and 'scan' for available speakers and then select your speaker.
Is JBL a good brand? Better than Bose?
At What Hi-Fi?, we have reviewed many products from both JBL and Bose and find that many of JBL's current speakers provide excellent audio quality and great value, earning them many five-star reviews. Bose speakers tend to satisfy on the features and design front, and while we used to see budget and great-sounding speakers from Bose a few years ago, recent models have seen costs rise. These pricier models don't always offer the same performance-per-pound value as their rivals.
In the audio world, it is tough to compare how good one brand is to another on the whole, especially when it comes to big brands that have many products in their arsenal. While we do recommend a fair few JBL speakers on the above list, don't assume that everything JBL makes is better than everything Bose makes.
Recent updates
- October 2024: Gave the JBL Xtreme 4 and the Audio Pro C20 new straplines to reflect their What Hi-Fi? 2024 Award wins.
- September 2024: Added the JBL Go 4 to our 'also consider' section following a five-star review.
- August 2024: The new five-star JBL Xtreme 4 speaker has been added to our main list, replacing the Dali Katch G2 (which is still a firm recommendation in the also consider section).
- July 2024: Added five-star Bose SoundLink Max to the also consider section and referred to new or upcoming Bluetooth models in the intro.
- April 2024: Added the Audio Pro C20 following a five-star review.
- March 2024: Added an also consider section to offer more alternative buying options for readers.
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