The wirecutter bluetooth speaker: The 5 Best Portable Bluetooth Speakers of 2023

Sep 10, 2023 alexxlab

Great Sound on a Small Budget

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Photo: Rozette Rago

Updated September 2, 2021

With audio gear, you tend to get what you pay for, but there are some great deals to be had if you know where to look. We’ve reviewed hundreds of headphones, speakers, and other audio gear to find the best things to drive your tunes in your apartment, on your commute, or in your backyard, for around $100 or less.

Speakers

These speakers make it easy to fill an average room with good sound and little effort.

Portable Bluetooth speakers

3 picks, $28–$130

These Bluetooth speakers use your smartphone as the music source and can withstand the rain or a splash from a pool—and some can even take a dunk.

Portable Bluetooth speakers

3 picks, $28–$130

These Bluetooth speakers use your smartphone as the music source and can withstand the rain or a splash from a pool—and some can even take a dunk.

The best portable Bluetooth speaker

The Wonderboom 2 has a natural sound and a cool design, and it’s built to survive almost any outdoor adventure.

The best portable Bluetooth speaker

Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2

Read the review
The Best Portable Bluetooth Speaker

The Wonderboom 2 has a natural sound and a cool design, and it’s built to survive almost any outdoor adventure.

$100 from Amazon$90 from Walmart$100 from Best Buy

For bigger sound in a midsize package

The SRS-XB33 has a detailed, clear sound, with a rugged design and lots of features.

For bigger sound in a midsize package

Sony SRS-XB33

Read the review
The Best Portable Bluetooth Speaker

The SRS-XB33 has a detailed, clear sound, with a rugged design and lots of features.

$128 from Amazon$79 from Walmart$130 from Best Buy

Best for less

The Tribit XSound Go is the best speaker we’ve heard in its price range, and it’s compact and waterproof to boot.

Best for less

Tribit XSound Go

Read the review
The Best Portable Bluetooth Speaker

The Tribit XSound Go is the best speaker we’ve heard in its price range, and it’s compact and waterproof to boot.

$28 from Walmart$37 from Amazon

Home Bluetooth speakers

1 pick, $299

If you like the convenience of Bluetooth but use it only at home and don’t move your music around often, a tabletop Bluetooth speaker is a great choice. These speakers don’t need Wi-Fi or any apps, just a smartphone or tablet with Bluetooth capabilities.

Home Bluetooth speakers

1 pick, $299

Good sound, good price

The One II is small and simple, it sounds better than its competitors, and its tasteful styling should please everyone.

Good sound, good price

Klipsch The One II

Read the review
The Best Home Bluetooth Speaker

The One II is small and simple, it sounds better than its competitors, and its tasteful styling should please everyone.

$299 from Amazon

Smart speaker

2 picks, $75–$100

With wireless speakers and streaming music devices, you get easy access to almost any song using only the sound of your voice. These are great for one room, but you can expand them into a multiroom music system.

Smart speaker

2 picks, $75–$100

Best for Amazon Music

The fourth-generation Amazon Echo lets you play music, order pizza, and get answers to questions, and it can control popular smart-home devices and 10,000-plus other things.

Best for Amazon Music

Amazon Echo (4th Gen)

Read the review
The Best Alexa Smart Speakers

The fourth-generation Amazon Echo lets you play music, order pizza, and get answers to questions, and it can control popular smart-home devices and 10,000-plus other things.

$100 from Amazon

Best for Google fans

Google’s Nest Audio speaker produces pretty good bass for its size and can pair with another Nest Audio for a stereo set. It plays music on demand from YouTube and most popular streaming audio services, and it responds quickly to queries.

Best for Google fans

Google Nest Audio

Read the review
The Best Google Nest Smart Speakers

$78 from Walmart$75 from Lowe’s$100 from Best Buy

Computer speakers

3 picks, $109–$230

Active computer speakers are great for listening to music, watching movies, or gaming on your computer. The best ones can capably fill a small to midsize room with stereo sound.

Computer speakers

3 picks, $109–$230

Active computer speakers are great for listening to music, watching movies, or gaming on your computer. The best ones can capably fill a small to midsize room with stereo sound.

Everything you need in a computer speaker

No matter what music you like, the CR5-XBT pair can play it loud and clear without distorting. The set includes Bluetooth and plenty of inputs.

Everything you need in a computer speaker

Mackie CR5-XBT

Read the review
The Best Computer Speakers

No matter what music you like, the CR5-XBT pair can play it loud and clear without distorting. The set includes Bluetooth and plenty of inputs.

Buy from Amazon$200 from Walmart$230 from Mackie

A smaller form, but less bass

The Eris E3.5 BT pair offers excellent sound, a small footprint, and conveniently placed controls and inputs, but it lacks deep bass.

A smaller form, but less bass

PreSonus Eris E3.5 BT

Read the review
The Best Computer Speakers

The Eris E3.5 BT pair offers excellent sound, a small footprint, and conveniently placed controls and inputs, but it lacks deep bass.

$130 from Amazon$145 from Best Buy$130 from Walmart

If you want a subwoofer

The ProMedia 2.1 system comes with a subwoofer to improve bass response in movies and video games, and it has a clean, simple design.

If you want a subwoofer

Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 THX

Read the review
The Best Computer Speakers

The ProMedia 2.1 system comes with a subwoofer to improve bass response in movies and video games, and it has a clean, simple design.

$109 from Amazon

Stereo bookshelf speakers

1 pick, $50

These speakers require a separate receiver to work but don’t take up a ton of space, and they sound much better than similarly priced speakers that don’t require external amplification.

Stereo bookshelf speakers

1 pick, $50

These speakers require a separate receiver to work but don’t take up a ton of space, and they sound much better than similarly priced speakers that don’t require external amplification.

Best on a budget

The B652 set isn’t handsome, but it’s surprisingly good for the price, making it perfect for workrooms, kids rooms, and other places where expensive speakers don’t make sense.

Best on a budget

Dayton Audio B652

Read the review
The Best Bookshelf Speakers for Most Stereos

The B652 set isn’t handsome, but it’s surprisingly good for the price, making it perfect for workrooms, kids rooms, and other places where expensive speakers don’t make sense.

$50 from Amazon

Headphones

If you like to keep your tunes private, these earbuds, headphones, and MP3 players will make sure the music never stops.

Wireless headphones

4 picks, $16–$250

Wires are so yesterday—most high-end phones can’t even use wired headphones anymore without an adapter. Bluetooth headphones let you keep your smartphone in your pocket while your tunes stay in your head.

Wireless headphones

4 picks, $16–$250

Best over-ear

The Elite 85h over-ear Bluetooth headphones do nearly everything better than similarly priced competitors.

Best over-ear

Jabra Elite 85h

Read the review
The Best Bluetooth Wireless Headphones

The Elite 85h over-ear Bluetooth headphones do nearly everything better than similarly priced competitors.

$250 from AmazonBuy from Jabra

Best on-ear

This on-ear pair sounds, fits, and functions like it costs more than $100. There’s no option to use these with a cord, but the ultra-long battery life means you won’t need to charge frequently.

Best on-ear

Jabra Elite 45h

Read the review
The Best Bluetooth Wireless Headphones

This on-ear pair sounds, fits, and functions like it costs more than $100. There’s no option to use these with a cord, but the ultra-long battery life means you won’t need to charge frequently.

$100 from Amazon$100 from Jabra

Best budget noise-cancelling headphones

These over-ear wireless noise-cancelling headphones offer surprisingly decent sound, comfort, and noise cancelling at a low price.

Best budget noise-cancelling headphones

Anker Soundcore Life Q20

Read the review
The Best Noise-Cancelling Headphones

These over-ear wireless noise-cancelling headphones offer surprisingly decent sound, comfort, and noise cancelling at a low price.

$60 from Amazon$66 from Walmart

Best budget workout set

While the low price comes with some drawbacks, this true wireless pair has stabilizing hooks to help keep them in place, and IPX8 waterproofing protects them from moisture damage.

Best budget workout set

Aukey EP-T32

Read the review
The Best Workout Headphones

While the low price comes with some drawbacks, this true wireless pair has stabilizing hooks to help keep them in place, and IPX8 waterproofing protects them from moisture damage.

$16 from Walmart$42 from Aukey

Wired headphones

2 picks, $60–$103

You sacrifice a bit of convenience when you go wired, but you get it back in sound quality for your dollar. Best of all: No charging required.

Wired headphones

2 picks, $60–$103

You sacrifice a bit of convenience when you go wired, but you get it back in sound quality for your dollar. Best of all: No charging required.

The choice of music pros

The Sony MDR-7506 headphones, a longtime choice of audio professionals, offer better sound plus more reliability and comfort than on many headphones twice their price.

The choice of music pros

Sony MDR-7506

Read the review
The Best Audiophile Headphones for Everyday Use

The Sony MDR-7506 headphones, a longtime choice of audio professionals, offer better sound plus more reliability and comfort than on many headphones twice their price.

$81 from Amazon$103 from Walmart

Best noise cancelling under $100

These over-ear wireless noise-cancelling headphones offer surprisingly decent sound, comfort, and noise cancelling at a low price.

Best noise cancelling under $100

Anker Soundcore Life Q20

Read the review
The Best Noise-Cancelling Headphones

These over-ear wireless noise-cancelling headphones offer surprisingly decent sound, comfort, and noise cancelling at a low price.

$60 from Amazon$66 from Walmart

Cheap earbuds

3 picks, $14–$80

Everyone needs a set of cheap earbuds just in case. They won’t blow you away with detailed sound, but any of our earbud picks will sound better than the ones that came free with your phone.

Cheap earbuds

3 picks, $14–$80

Everyone needs a set of cheap earbuds just in case. They won’t blow you away with detailed sound, but any of our earbud picks will sound better than the ones that came free with your phone.

Best earbuds on a budget

The Piston Fit BT wireless earbuds are water resistant and comfortable to wear—and they sound more expensive than they are.

Best earbuds on a budget

1More Piston Fit BT

Read the review
The Best Earbuds Under $50

The Piston Fit BT wireless earbuds are water resistant and comfortable to wear—and they sound more expensive than they are.

$25 from Amazon

Best cheap true wireless earbuds

This affordable pair of true wireless earbuds is loaded with features and performs respectably well.

Best cheap true wireless earbuds

EarFun Free 2

Read the review
The Best Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds

This affordable pair of true wireless earbuds is loaded with features and performs respectably well.

$80 from earfun

Best cheap wired earbuds

The RP-TCM125 ErgoFit wired earbuds sound quite good for their super-affordable price, and they come with an optional single-button remote and microphone.

Best cheap wired earbuds

Panasonic RP-TCM125 ErgoFit

Read the review
The Best Earbuds Under $50

The RP-TCM125 ErgoFit wired earbuds sound quite good for their super-affordable price, and they come with an optional single-button remote and microphone.

$14 from Amazon

Something to skip

Portable DAC

The audio improvement is only slight. Get better headphones instead.

Why We Love the UE Wonderboom 2 Bluetooth Speaker for 2023

We independently review everything we recommend. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Learn more›

52 things we love

Photo: Michael Hession

The Wonderboom 2 makes it easy to fill any space with great-sounding music and podcasts.

The UE Wonderboom 2 Bluetooth speaker has quickly become one of my family’s most-used gadgets. It has enabled me to chill to Miles Davis as we roast marshmallows around the firepit in our backyard. It allows me to fill my basement gym with Ezra Klein’s intellectual insights (yes, I often lift weights to the not-so-soothing sounds of wonky podcasts). And this speaker rocked Disney hits at my son’s third birthday.

Our pick

Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2

The Wonderboom 2 offers a natural sound and a cool design, and it’s built to survive almost any outdoor adventure.

The UE Wonderboom 2 Bluetooth speaker has a welcoming curved design, and it’s impossibly small and light—barely bigger than a baseball. But, boy, can it boom great sound. (“As euphonious as Ariana Grande,” according to senior staff writer Brent Butterworth’s memorable description in our guide to portable Bluetooth speakers.)

When I stream music from my phone to the Wonderboom 2, the result is crisp, clear, and loud. It’s not as robust or perfect as what I could get from a high-quality surround system, but it’s surprisingly clean and powerful. During my son’s backyard birthday, I could hear Elsa belting “Let It Go” from 75 feet away.

The Wonderboom 2 can also survive a 5-foot fall.

Before the Wonderboom 2 came into our lives, we were mostly using Amazon Echo devices to stream music throughout our house. And sometimes (cringe) I’d just listen directly through my iPhone’s lousy speaker. I’m not proud to admit this, but there was a time, several years ago, when we regularly tried to amplify sound outside by slotting an iPhone into a janky silicone sound amplifier like this one. How lost we were.

This nifty little speaker is also impressively durable. It’s waterproof, and it can tolerate being dunked fully underwater for 30 minutes (though since it floats, this would likely never happen). The Wonderboom 2 can also survive a 5-foot fall. (Here’s video evidence of us validating this claim.)

This is particularly critical for my son, who takes every opportunity to throw anything even marginally resembling a ball as far and hard as possible. If our Wonderboom 2 can survive his constant heaving, it should hold up well for you.

There’s plenty more to love about the Wonderboom 2, particularly its thoughtful design features—a small elastic loop that lets you hang your speaker on any number of objects, giant + and – buttons that make volume control obvious, and its ease of use (initial pairing of your phone and speaker is a breeze via Bluetooth).

The Wonderboom 2 is surprisingly valuable and useful. And this little speaker makes it supremely simple to fill any space, indoors or outdoors, with the mellifluous ambience of your choice.

How it compares

We’ve tested roughly 300 (yes, 300) portable Bluetooth speakers for our guide. And even though many provide good value and performance, we’ve concluded that the Wonderboom 2 will please most people who are looking for a portable Bluetooth speaker.

It’s been our pick since 2019.
In our brand-concealed listening tests, our panel of audio experts ranked the Wonderboom 2 as the all-around most versatile choice.
At roughly one-fourth the price of our upgrade pick, the Wonderboom 2 is a great value.

When to buy

We’ve seen several holiday sales for the Wonderboom 2, so expect a good deal in November, though there may be other solid deals throughout the year.

The numbers

$80 Average street price
$50 Best price we’ve ever seen

Use it better

Make sure your speaker is charged. It’s a total bummer to grab your Wonderboom 2 for a rollicking backyard shindig only to discover it’s out of juice. Checking battery life is easy—just hold down the + and – buttons simultaneously for a few seconds, and the speaker plays noises that intuitively correspond to battery levels. Anytime my speaker is at half battery or less, I recharge it for next time, so it’s always ready to go.

I also recommend keeping your phone (or other streaming device) relatively close to the speaker. Our journalists have measured the Bluetooth range at nearly 100 feet, but I’ve definitely made the mistake of wandering—phone in pocket—too far from the speaker and unintentionally killing a backyard get-together’s vibe when the music cuts out.

This post is part of our 2021 “52 Things We Love” series, an ode to Wirecutter picks that have withstood the test of time. Read the entire series.

Meet your guide

Ben Frumin

Ben Frumin is Wirecutter’s editor-in-chief. Before Wirecutter, Ben was the editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com, a senior editor at Talking Points Memo, and a professor at Columbia Journalism School. He is married to the journalist Aliyah Frumin. They live in New York with their two children and indispensable robot vacuum.

Five unusual speakers from Kickstarter

Gazeta.Ru

November 25, 2021, 16:21

Van der Waals dancing music is a wireless audio-visual speaker with ferrofluid presented on Kickstart er, a platform designed to raise funds for the implementation projects. The device allows the user not only to listen to music, but also to watch the “dancing” drop. The ferromagnet, which is in the column, fluctuates depending on the composition being listened to. The tempo and speed of vibrations depend on the frequency and volume of the music. As reported on the project page, the speaker was named after the Dutch physicist Johannes van der Waals, most of whose work is devoted to the study of molecular physics. According to the creator of the column, Sergey Kuznetsov, the idea for the device came to him in 2019.year after watching a video with an equalizer in which a ferromagnet was used. “This is a fairly complex device, and we are still optimizing both the design and the algorithm for converting the rhythm into a signal to an electromagnet, which creates an electromagnetic field that forms the “dance” of the drop. We launched the project quite recently and are at the beginning of the journey, but we plan to in the coming days, record the movement of the drop under popular tracks and more clearly show how the device works,” Kuznetsov told Gazeta. Ru. To launch the project, the creators requested $25,000. In two days, they managed to raise $37,000, and the fundraising is still ongoing. Plasma Speaker Another unusual Kickstarter device is the ARC Plasma Speaker. The device emits sound using an electric plasma arc. It ionizes the air around it, which expands and contracts because of this – this is exactly what is needed to play music. According to the project page, the user has to assemble the speaker by himself. To do this, you need to have pliers, a screwdriver, wire cutters, as well as a soldering iron and solder. In addition, the user will need to find a power source for the speaker. According to the creators, a laptop power supply is suitable for this. The device has a standard audio jack, so it can be used with a PC or smartphone that has the appropriate jack. It is also noted that the speaker plays music quite loudly and glows in the dark. The project was launched in 2014, the creators managed to raise $74,000. To get a speaker assembly kit, you need to pay $99, the already assembled device can be purchased for $119. The speaker in the Soree picture is a Bluetooth speaker designed as a frame for a picture. “We love music. But most of the speakers look too unbearable. They don’t fit well with the rest of the space. That’s why we decided to rethink the appearance of the speakers – thin, clean, but just as functional,” the project’s Kickstarter page says. Thanks to the patented vibration technology, the sound becomes more balanced. It also allows the sound to reach all corners of the room without getting quieter. The column is made of steel, which emphasizes the middle and high notes of music, which is convenient for lovers of jazz, classical, pop music and R&B. According to the creators, Soree can fit into any interior, because the customer himself chooses the image that will be in the frame. The manufacturer uses a special high-precision printing technology that does not dampen the sound of the speaker. In addition, the user can order different images in order to independently change the picture depending on their mood. Fundraising on Kickstarter started in May 2021, in a month the creators managed to get the amount of $10,000 necessary to launch the project. You can buy a device for $500. Light speaker The Scandinavian brand Transparent introduced the Light Speaker Bluetooth speaker on Kickstarter. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that it is made in the form of an old kerosene lamp. The device performs the functions of both a speaker and a lamp. The light flickers to the beat of the music and the flashlight can be dimmed from “soft charcoal to bright white”. As for the sound, the creators promise high-quality, surround and transparent sound. On Kickstarter, the creators of the project managed to raise $165,000. At the same time, they initially announced the amount of $44,000. You can buy a speaker on the company’s website for €300. Cyberpunk audio Another speaker with an unusual form factor is the three-kilogram Bluetooth speaker “Kranio – music from the soul.” The column is made in the shape of a lynx skull, hand-painted and complemented with cyberpunk elements. The developers assure that not a single lynx was harmed during the creation of the device. Music is played through a four-inch full-range speaker. The system operates in the frequency range of 20 Hz – 200 kHz and provides less than 0.5% distortion. The project was launched https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kranio/kranio-music-from-the-soul?ref=discovery&term=speaker in the winter of 2021 and raised $96 thousand, with $10 thousand initially required for its launch. You can buy a speaker on Kickstarter for $300. In the future, the developers want to expand the range of speakers and create a T-Rex column, which will be made in the form of a Tyrannosaurus rex skull.

Gadgets, Gazeta.Ru

Gazeta.Ru: top news

Rexant Speaker 2109 Bluetooth, microSD, AUX 18-2109 Holder

Rexant 18-2109

Speaker 2109 Bluetooth, microSD, AUX black

Buy at low prices Rexant 18-2109

Description Rexant 18-2109

Speaker Bluetooth, microSD, AUX black i-sound-2109 will allow you to enjoy your favorite music in excellent quality on vacation or in any convenient You place: at home, in nature, in the workplace or in the car. There are several ways to transfer music to a portable speaker: via a Bluetooth device from your phone or other audio equipment that supports this function, via a micro SD card or via an AUX line input (player, mp3 player, phone, smartphone, laptop, etc.) . To implement the Bluetooth Hands Free function (English – free hands), a microphone is built into the body, made using advanced technology of crystal clear sound, with noise suppression function. Now you can hear your interlocutor via Bluetooth cell phone hands-free, without looking up from your current activities (driving a car or other activities) by pressing one button. The capacity of the lithium-ion battery is enough to listen to music for at least 3 hours. To prolong the enjoyment of listening to music, we recommend using this device in combination with the REXANT portable charger (art. 30-0210, 30-0500, 30-0780, 30-1300). The built-in battery is recharged via the mini USB connector (DC, 5V). To make the music heard by everyone around, a powerful speaker of 3 watts is installed in the column. On the case there are buttons for controlling the volume level, play / pause / receive an incoming call, and rewind tracks. This i-sound system will provide high-quality and loud music playback and good audibility for incoming or outgoing phone calls.
Main characteristics:
Overall dimension (ø*h): 6x5cm;
Charging connector: mini USB;
Bluetooth range: 10 meters;
Speaker power: 3W;
Volume control: yes;
Built-in battery capacity: li-ion 400mAh;
Full charge time: 2 hours;
Operating time when fully charged: at least 3 hours;
Maximum micro SD card size: 32GB.
Completeness:
Acoustic speaker Bluetooth, microSD, AUX black i-sound-2109;
Cord 3.5 jack to 3.5 jack cable;
Instruction.

Specification Rexant 18-2109

Packing width
10 cm

The wirecutter bluetooth speaker: The 5 Best Portable Bluetooth Speakers of 2023

Great Sound on a Small Budget

Speakers

Portable Bluetooth speakers

Home Bluetooth speakers

Smart speaker

Computer speakers

Stereo bookshelf speakers

Headphones

Wireless headphones

Wired headphones

Cheap earbuds

Something to skip

Portable DAC

Further reading

Why We Love the UE Wonderboom 2 Bluetooth Speaker for 2023

Our pick

Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2

How it compares

When to buy

The numbers

Use it better

Meet your guide

Further reading

Speakers for Streaming Music

The Best Portable Bluetooth Speaker

Great Gifts for Listening to Music

Five unusual speakers from Kickstarter

Rexant Speaker 2109 Bluetooth, microSD, AUX 18-2109 Holder