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Looking to make a few upgrades? The new year is a great time to enhance your sound system. Whether you’re a music lover, a dedicated audiophile, gamer, movie buff, TV binger or a combination of all five, the speaker options are plentiful.
And with retailers such as Amazon, Best Buy, Target and Walmart offering major markdowns for the winter, you’re sure to find great deals on speakers and other electronics.
That said, having too many options can be overwhelming. When shopping for a speaker, it’s good to narrow down the style, size and price that best suits your needs. To make the search a little easier, we gathered up nine of the best speakers for music lovers to play all their favorite tunes, podcasts and more. The list is comprised of picks that we’ve tested out personally and other fan favorites.
From portable Bluetooth speakers to wired and freestanding speakers, see below for our picks for the best options to enhance your sound system. For more recommendations, read our roundups of the best record players, best over-ear headphones, best wired headphones and best Bluetooth earbuds.
Sony ULT FIELD 1 Bluetooth Wireless Portable Speaker
A bright orange bluetooth speaker.
This Sony ULT FIELD 1 Bluetooth Wireless Portable Speaker is for our readers who love music but are always on the go. Retailing for $99.99, 23% off its original price, the speaker comes with all the bells and whistles you need to get your tunes going. The tech is equipped with a Sound Diffusion Processor that essentially expands sound in any space, giving you larger-than-life audio that fills even the biggest of spaces.
The ULT FIELD 1 is a Bluetooth model boasting 12 hours of battery life and comes without wires, which means no awkward tangles. It’s also easy to carry thanks to the addition of a heavy-duty carabiner, our favorite feature, which means you can clip it to your bag on camping trips or hikes. It’s also waterproof, dustproof, and shockproof so you won’t have to worry about it getting damaged while out and about.
Another stand-out portable model, this time from Sonos. The Roam 2 Ultra currently retails for $179 and is durable, compact and lightweight, giving it that portable factor. Don’t let its compact size fool you. The base on this speaker is powerful and clear, making for a reliable audio output for whatever your adventures take you. This model not only sounds great, but it’s both waterproof and dustproof, great for listening to tunes by the pool or while on a hike. It can also withstand gnarly drops, perfect for our more accident-prone readers.
Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 4 Waterproof Bluetooth Outdoor Speakers
Mini speaker in gray.
We’ve got another portable model that gives you all the great audio output, with the durability you need to travel. The Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM 4 Waterproof Bluetooth Outdoor Speaker is one of the more affordable models on our list, coming in at $84 on Amazon. Like the other models mentioned, it’s waterproof, dustproof and even floats. It is a stand-out in our book because of its size, or lack thereof. The petite speaker can be easily packed away but has a powerful output that fills any room with 360 sound. The speaker also boasts one of the longest battery lives we’ve seen at 14 hours.
Starting with something basic but dependable, Bose Soundlink Flex is a good choice in portable speaker option, if you’re looking for a no frills, Bluetooth speaker that you can carry around. Bose has a nice selection of speakers in stock – the cheapest of which is the Bose Soundlink Micro ($119). The Bose Portable Smart Speaker is a bit pricier ($399), while the Soundlink Flex falls on the more affordable side of the price scale.
The Soundlink Flex is engineered with a custom transducer that’s designed to flood the room with powerful sound. Available in black, red, white or blue, the speaker’s rugged exterior makes it easy to take on the go, and with up to 12 hours of battery life, you can play tons of songs before it’s time to recharge. The accompanying utility loop is perfect for hanging the speaker on a clip or carrying it around (the Bluetooth range stretches up to 30 feet). The Soundlink Flex is also IP67 certified waterproof and dust-proof.
JBL Authentics 200 – Retro Style Smart Home Speaker
A box-shaped speaker from JBL.
JBL has a great selection of portable speakers including the JBL Flip 6, JBL Clip 4, JBL Go 3, Boombox 3 and the new JBL Authentics 200 Wireless Speaker. A modern speaker with a retro-inspired design, the JBL Authentics 200 delivers rich sound and deep bass with dual 25mm tweeters, 5-inch woofer, 6-inch passive radiator, Wifi, Bluetooth, Google Assistant and Voice Assistant. Measuring 6.59 inches x 10.48 inches x 6.76 inches, this portable speaker is equipped with a 200-watt sound output and weighs almost seven pounds. You can purchase the JBL speakers at Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, Crutchfield and JBL.com.
Marshall Emberton II Portable Bluetooth Speaker, Black & Brass
Marshall portable speaker.
Marshall is a personal favorite among music artists and fans (including our editors). You can’t really go wrong with a Marshall speaker, but if you’re looking for something not quite as small as a handheld option but not as big as a floor-standing speaker, the Emberton II might be the perfect fit. It combines the brand’s iconic retro design with contemporary technology delivering mega-sound in a smaller package than some of the larger Marshall designs. Emberton II has two full-range drivers, two passive radiators, dual tweeters and Bluetooth 5.0. Connecting the speaker to the Marshall App turns your phone into a control panel to adjust things like volume and playlists. The Emberton II is available at major retailers such as Amazon, Best Buy and at Marshall.com.
The Sonos Era 300 is one of the newer speakers to make our list and one of the best in its class. Era 300 serves up superior sound quality that can drizzle or flood the room with sound, depending on what you’re in the mood for. Available in black or white, the speaker’s compact, curvy design makes it stand out wherever its placed. Another great feature: intuitive touch controls that make it easier to turn up the volume or skip to the next track.
On the technical side of things, Era 300 features four tweeters, dual woofers and six, class-D digital amplifiers. Made from 40% recycled materials, the energy-efficient speaker is equipped with Wifi, Bluetooth, TruePlay, Dolby Atmos, Apple Airplay 2 and voice assistant (this feature can also be disabled). Era 300 allows you to jam away to your favorite tunes, playlists, podcasts and more on Amazon Music, Tidal, Apple Music and more. Another thing to note, Era 300 is incredibly easy to set up (around 10-15 minutes) and it comes in recycled packaging.
Klipsch – Reference Series 5-1/4″ 340-Watt Passive 2-Way Bookshelf Speakers
A pair of two bookshelf speakers.
Klipsch is another star in the realm of premium-quality sound. For music lovers who have the square footage to build a robust sound system, Klipsch offers everything from floor standing speakers to bookshelf speakers, computer speakers, home theater speakers, sound bars and subwoofers. Not sure where to start? The R-51M Bookshelf Speakers are perfect for blasting your favorite tunes. This dynamic speaker duo offers powerful sound, booming bass and award-wining acoustics courtesy of Tractrix horn technology, which mimics the sound, precision and emotion of a live concert. These 13.3-inch speakers are equipped with one-inch titanium dome tweeters, 5.25-inch copper woofers and a removable magnetic grill.
Sony SRS-XP500 X-Series Wireless Portable Bluetooth Karaoke Party Speaker
A kareoke speaker.
Sony’s SRS-XP500 Bluetooth speaker is a nice investment if you’re looking for a boombox-style design. An alternative to the JBL Boombox 2 ($329.95), the SRS-XP500 delivers amazingly crisp sound thanks to Sony’s uniquely designed X-Balance speakers that pump out thumping, room-shaking bass. The battery delivers up to 20 hours of play time to keep the party moving all night long (literally). The speaker weighs about 24 pounds, but there’s a built-in handle that makes it easy to carry around, and LED ring lighting for added flair. Sony’s SRS-XP500 speakers are IPX4-certified water-and dust-resistant.
Polk Audio – Signature Elite ES60 Hi-Res Tower Speaker – Stunning Black
A high-res tower speaker.
We love a tower speaker because it blends in, and stands out. Polk Audio’s Elite Signature ES360 provides an enveloping, true-to-life sound experience that’s especially useful for Apple Music, Tidal, Amazon Music, Spotify and other streaming platforms. The floor-standing loudspeaker provides crystal-clear, hi-resolution sound with bass so incredible you might be able to feel it.
Perfect for your man cave or billiards room, according to one customer, the speaker is powered by Polk’s Patented Power Port Bass Enhancing Technology, which expands the overall bass port to provide a larger surface area for distortion-free, louder bass impact. The sleek ES60 features 1-inch High-Resolution Terylene Tweeters, 2.5-way cascading crossovers and a trio of 6.5-inch Mica-Fortified Polypropylene Woofers. Speakers in Polk Audio’s Signature Elite Series are designed with quality, timbre-matched components that let you seamlessly mix and match models to build the sound system of your dreams. This speaker is on sale at Amazon, Crutchfield and Polk Audio.
