The Best Bluetooth Speakers

This sub-$100 speaker from Sony (8/10, WIRED Recommends) has become a go-to when riding to gatherings, thanks to a clever built-in strap, and the fact that it sits flat in a bike basket. It's got excellent battery life, is IP67-rated for dust and water resistance, and you can even link two of them together for stereo sound. It comes in a variety of awesome colors—my favorites include bright blue and orange—so you'll never be lost in the crowd. At just under 4 inches tall, it's small enough to take virtually anywhere, and it sounds a lot better than a speaker this size has a right to. —Parker Hall

Tribit’s line of Bluetooth speakers sound a lot better than they should for the price. The StormBox is our favorite line. The new StormBox 2 (9/10, WIRED Recommends) is largely the same as the original model, with dual-firing drivers and passive radiators in a 7-inch-long pill shape, but now it comes with upgraded controls and about 6 watts more output (up to 30 watts from 24). No, it can't fuel a trance dance party on its own, but its clarity is impressive, and it has a fun extra-bass button that adds some surprising, if slightly muddy, thump.

With 24-ish hours of battery and an IPX7 waterproof rating—which means it's not dust-proof but can be submerged in water—it's a great companion for backyard tunes, a trip down the river, or other informal gatherings. —Parker Hall

Apple’s latest Beats Pill (8/10, WIRED Recommends) loads up on features to make it surprisingly versatile. Quick one-touch pairing for iPhone and Android devices makes this an excellent speaker for folks in mixed-phone homes, while old-school callbacks like a built-in speakerphone and the ability to charge other devices can come in handy. Beats didn’t stop there, offering massive playtime, great dust and water resistance, and the ability to play lossless audio over USB-C with supported devices.

New drivers provide the slick treble and hefty bass you expect from Beats, but with a refined clarity and punctual definition to soup up everything you play. The design isn’t quite as robust as our top pick, but if you’re looking for big, polished sound and plenty of extras, the Pill delivers it in a posh package. —Ryan Waniata

I love the portable boombox renaissance from speakers like the JBL Boombox 3 and Sony's SRS-XG500, but there's one problem: They're really expensive. As it's wont to do, Tribit found a way to deliver the style, portability, and satisfyingly potent sound of those bigger brands at a fraction of the cost. The brand's latest Bluetooth bomber is raucously loud and tons of fun, living up to its name on multiple fronts.

Cranking the speaker revealed booming bass alongside clear instruments and vocals for a clean and powerful performance that had my friends and neighbors marveling at outdoor hangs and barbecues. The bass boost and fully customizable onboard lights take things up a notch, though battery life takes a hit. There's even a pair of controllable mic inputs for a breakout karaoke night (mics not included). It all adds up to a brilliant party in a box, though its weight of nearly 20 pounds will really work those biceps. —Ryan Waniata

The Bose SoundLink Max (9/10, WIRED Recommends) has quickly become my favorite speaker to drag along to outdoor events. It's not as big as the boombox that John Cusack would hold over his head in the 1980s, but this robust, rubberized speaker has bold sound and gets loud enough to woo your sweethearts with a love song. I also like that you can plug in your phone while it plays music, which is nice for those of us who are forgetful on our days off. Bold bass, even when outside, makes this good for dance parties in the middle of nowhere, and the handle is easy to tie up to packs, kayaks, or tents. —Parker Hall

JBL’s latest Charge speaker offers big and beautiful sound from its football-shaped frame. As you'd guess, the Charge's marquee feature is its ability to top off other devices via its USB-C port, and its beefy battery makes it well positioned to do so. Like the new Flip, the speaker can be plugged in for lossless playback on supported devices and uses Auracast to sync up with other new JBL models, though that leaves out older versions like the Charge 5.

The Charge isn't as easy to pack as our top pick, weighing 3 pounds and stretching 9 inches across, but if you bring it along you’ll be rewarded with clear, full, and loud sound with plenty of bass. A new removable strap offers a more convenient way to carry it, but mine arrived broken, so I’m not overly confident about its longevity. Strap and size aside, the Charge is an impressively loaded speaker for its price, with enough bravado to pump up crowded campgrounds or backyard parties. —Ryan Waniata

If packability isn’t of top concern, the 9-inch-tall Megaboom 4 is one of the best portable Bluetooth speakers you can buy. It's got rich and full 360-degree sound with plenty of low-end punch. Its drop-tested, weatherproof body is ready for any outing, from surf to sand, and it offers over 150 feet of wireless range and up to 20 hours of battery life (more like 15 hours at volume). As with other UE speakers, the app adds features like the ability to connect multiple speakers in a group or two Megaboom 4s in stereo, adjust the EQ, and wake the speaker from sleep. This rugged sound pillar is key to my backyard jams and well worth adding to your semi-mobile arsenal. —Ryan Waniata

Tribit has been raising its game in the portable audio category, and the Stormbox Flow (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is another great example of the brand’s portable prowess. The headline here is a rival-stomping 30 hours of max battery life, but the Flow has plenty more to give, from an elegant yet weatherproof design to clear and punchy audio with thumpy bass to match. Maybe the speaker’s best feature is its low price of $80 or less, making it a fine fit for budget shoppers seeking a versatile option that keeps rocking long after the party dies. —Ryan Waniata

The JBL Clip 5 is a tad pricey for a micro-sized portable, but this is a classic case of getting what you pay for. I think of the sound as “fat” in a good way, with fuller bass and midrange frequencies than expected. The warmer sound still offers rich detail and definition, and you can adjust the sound in the JBL Portable app. I love listening to podcasts in the shower, or even clipping its wide carabiner on my belt loop for cranking tunes while doing yard work.

The speaker's stout body is dust- and water-resistant, and adds advanced features like the ability to stereo-pair two Clip 5s or connect to newer JBL speakers via Auracast. Battery life is still middling, but a two-hour boost over the previous Clip (five extra hours with Playtime Boost) provides a solid upgrade that makes the Clip 5 more versatile than ever. —Ryan Waniata

Brane Audio's Brane X speaker (9/10, WIRED Recommends) may seem like a shockingly spendy choice for a portable speaker, and it certainly is that. But this lunchbox-sized bomber has something no other portable we've tested has: A true, fully functional subwoofer. Thanks to Brane's mystifying RAD (Repel Attract Driver) technology, the Brane X hits all the notes in your music, with unadulterated bass to bring more punch, gravitas, and sheer emotionality to everything you play.

The physics-defying sub joins five drivers up top to mix deep bass with impressive stereo expansion for a portable package. You'll get both Bluetooth streaming and Wi-Fi, with support for AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, and Alexa. The speaker lasts up to 12 hours per charge, and adds solid dust and water resistance. The price is lofty, but less so now that the brand has permanently dropped it by $100. If you can afford the splurge, Brane X's clear and fantastically full sound gets you very close to the performance of a home audio system virtually anywhere you roam. —Ryan Waniata

We loved the first generation of the Tribit StormBox Micro for its easy-to-use silicone strap, which firmly held it against bicycle handlebars. In this update, Tribit has maintained the rugged IP67 rating against water and dust, and given us more battery life (around 12 hours), plus better bass response and upgraded Bluetooth for improved connectivity. —Parker Hall

★ Also handlebar-ready: Bose makes a great speaker of a similar design called the SoundLink Micro ($119), which was previously our top bike handlebar pick. It sounds about the same but is twice as expensive as the Tribit.

Positive Grid's Spark Mini (9/10, WIRED Recommends) is one of our favorite portable tools for musicians. You can pair your phone and play music via the cube-shaped speaker, but also plug in a guitar and blend yourself in to jam along. It's a perfect playing tool for campfires and backyard barbecues (eight hours of battery), and it even doubles as an audio interface if you need to scratch down an idea quickly. Because it's a guitar amp, the thing is much louder than it looks, easily able to fuel sing-alongs and shredding interpretations of The Star-Spangled Banner on Independence Day. —Parker Hall

★ Miniaturize it: Looking for a smaller way to shred on the go? The Spark Go ($129) is about half the size of the Spark Mini and comes with all the same great sounds, making it perfect for those who don't need much volume (or who plan to practice with headphones anyway).