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Title: The best Bluetooth speaker for 2024: 15 portable options for every
price range

Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2024 09:00:36 +0000
Link: https://www.engadget.com/best-portable-blueto...

One thing became apparent after testing dozens of Bluetooth speakers: there
are plenty of good options out there for most people. While that variety is
great to have, it can also lead to confusion and overwhelm when you go to buy
a new one ahead of your next camping trip, beach outing or backyard barbecue.
I set out to try some of the best Bluetooth speakers available now, at all
different price points, to see which are worth your money. IΓÇÖm happy to
report that most of them sounded pretty good upon first listen. But in
comparing them head-to-head, thatΓÇÖs when I began to suss out the nuances
among the best-sounding ones. Ultimately, out of all of the portable speakers
out there, you wonΓÇÖt find a single ΓÇ£bestΓÇ¥ one. But there are a number
of solid choices out there that should fit most use cases. These are our
favorites.

Factors to consider Weather-proofing

IP ratings (Ingress Protection) are the alphanumeric indicators you often see
in a productΓÇÖs spec sheet that define water and dust resistance. ItΓÇÖs
usually a combo of two numbers with the first indicating solid object ingress
and the second being water. The former goes from 0 (no protection) to 6
(dustproof). The water-resistance rating goes from 0 (no protection) to 9
(protected against immersion and high pressure jets). When an X is used
instead of a number, that means the product wasnΓÇÖt tested for resistance.
If itΓÇÖs waterproof, it may have some innate resistance to solids, but
thereΓÇÖs no guarantee.

IP67 is a common rating these days indicating highly resistant and
potentially rugged speakers suitable for outdoor adventures. These are safe
for quick dunks in the pool or tub and should be more than OK in the rain or
in the shower. TheyΓÇÖre also good options for the beach, playground and
other rough environs.

Additionally, speakers with ports and a high rating will often include a
tight-fitting cover over the charging or auxiliary ports. If you plan on
using the ports, that may limit the product's rated ability to fend off the
elements.

Consider the IP rating and also how you plan to use your Bluetooth speaker
when making your decision. It may be worth splurging on a better sounding
model with a lower IP rating if youΓÇÖll mostly be using it indoors, for
instance.

Battery life

The focus of this guide is on portable Bluetooth speakers, and while
ΓÇ£portableΓÇ¥ can be a relative term, these devices are generally for people
who are likely to find themselves far from a power outlet. These days, around
12 hours of runtime seems to be the baseline but obviously, the more battery
life you can get out of a speaker, the better.

That said, be careful when looking at battery specs, as they frequently list
a maximum runtime (ΓÇ£up toΓÇ¥ x amount of hours). This usually means they
tested at a low to mid volume. If you like your tunes loud, it can often end
up cutting the expected usage time in half or more. Luckily, some
manufacturers also list the expected hours of battery life when used at full
volume and that transparency is appreciated.

Additionally, if your Bluetooth speaker also happens to have WiFi
connectivity, they're usually designed for always-on functionality. Unlike
normal Bluetooth speakers that go to sleep after a short period without use,
these will usually stay awake (to listen for your commands) and slowly run
down the battery. If you're out and about, you'll want to remember to turn
these speakers off manually when not in use to maximize battery life.

Range

Bluetooth range is tricky business. Some companies list their productΓÇÖs
longest possible range, usually outdoors and in an unobstructed line-of-sight
test environment. Other companies stick with a 30-foot range on the spec
sheet and leave it at that, even though they may be running Bluetooth 4.x or
5.x. ThatΓÇÖs likely underselling the speaker's potential, but unpredictable
environments can affect range and thereΓÇÖs little point in promising the
moon only to get complaints.

IΓÇÖve seen signal drop issues when crouching down, with my phone in the
front pocket of my jeans, and barely 30 feet away from a speaker inside my
apartment. I ran into this issue across several devices regardless of their
listed Bluetooth connectivity range.

If youΓÇÖre hosting a patio party and duck inside, itΓÇÖs wise to keep any
wireless Bluetooth speakers relatively close by just in case. ItΓÇÖs hard to
gauge what aspects of any environment may interfere with a Bluetooth signal.
In general, take range specs around 100 feet or more as a perfect-world
scenario.

Latency

This is a minor mention for those out there who use a speaker for their
computer output, or as a mini soundbar solution for setups like a monitor and
streaming box. ItΓÇÖs annoying to find that your speakerΓÇÖs latency isnΓÇÖt
low enough to avoid lip sync issues. Luckily, it seems that most speakers
these days donΓÇÖt often have these problems. Only a handful of the few dozen
speakers I tried had persistent, noticeable lip-sync issues. Aside from
occasional blips, all of our picks worked well in this regard.

If you plan to frequently use a speaker for video playback, look for devices
with the most recent Bluetooth versions (4.x or 5.x) and lower latency codecs
like aptX. Also make sure the speaker is close to the source device as
distance can be a factor. To avoid the issue altogether, though, consider
getting one with a wired auxiliary input.

Best Bluetooth speakers: $50 to $200

Best Bluetooth speakers: $200 to $450

Best high-range portable bluetooth speakers: $450 and higher

Other portable Bluetooth speakers we tested Sonos Roam

While there's a lot to like about the Sonos Roam, there are plenty of other
Bluetooth speakers with more features and better battery life. In our review,
we gave the Roam a score of 87, praising it for its good sound quality,
durable waterproof design and ability to work well within an existing Sonos
speaker ecosystem. But the price is just fine at $180, and we found Bluetooth
speakers that offer more at lower price points. Plus, the Roam taps out at 10
hours of battery life, and all of our top picks can run for longer than that
on a single charge.

Monoprice Soundstage3

The Monoprice Soundstage3 offers relatively big sound at a midrange $250
price, with a variety of inputs rarely found on a portable Bluetooth speaker.
The boxy, minimalist design is no nonsense, even if it's more of a less-
rugged, bookshelf-styled homebody. While the speaker puts out crisp highs
alongside booming lows, we found the bass can overpower the rest of the
output, so it's not for everyone. And after using the speaker for many
months, we also found the low-slung, poorly labeled button panel along the
top can be a bit annoying to use. If you want a speaker for road trips, favor
mids and highs, and plan on using physical buttons for volume control and
input selections, there are better options out there.

JBL Boombox 3

Fans of JBLΓÇÖs bluetooth speaker sound profile who want to crank up the
volume, but also want a rugged and portable option, may enjoy the JBL Boombox
3. ItΓÇÖs a decent grab-and-go speaker with a very loud output, although it's
not as good as some of the loud-speaker styled options for long-throw sound
and big outdoor areas. However, the price for this speaker line remains
prohibitively expensive compared to other options with big sound that cover a
bit more ground. If the JBL brand is your thing and you like the rugged,
portable form factor, we recommend looking for discounts, or shopping around
and exploring the available options including the (less portable) JBL
PartyBox series.

Soundcore Motion X500

Soundcore speakers have generally been good and often reasonably priced. The
Motion X500 loosely falls into that category. It has a tall, metallic
lunchbox vibe with a fixed handle and pumps out a respectable 40 watts of
crisp, clear sound for its size. It can get pretty loud and serves up a good
dose of bass, although its primarily a front-facing speaker.

ThereΓÇÖs LDAC hi-res audio support for Android users, but the main selling
point on this is spatial audio. This is done through an EQ change and the
activation of a small, up-firing driver. ThereΓÇÖs a slight benefit from this
if youΓÇÖre up close and directly in front of it, but itΓÇÖs not a total game
changer for your listening experience. The original pre-order price of $130
made it a decent option in terms of bang for your buck. But it went up to
$170 at launch, making it less appealing even if itΓÇÖs still a good middle-
of-the-road option if you want small-ish, clear and loud. If you can find one
on sale for the lower price, itΓÇÖs definitely worth considering. ThereΓÇÖs
also the larger and louder X600 ($200) if the overall concept is working for
you.

FAQs How does a Bluetooth speaker work?

Bluetooth technology lets devices connect and exchange data over short
distances using ultra high frequency (UHF) radio waves. ItΓÇÖs the frequency
range thatΓÇÖs carved out for industrial, scientific and medical purposes,
called the 2.4GHz ISM spectrum band. This range is available worldwide,
making it easy for companies to use with devices for global markets.

Bluetooth speakers include this tech, which lets them communicate with source
devices like smartphones, tablets or computers in order to exchange data. The
two devices pair by sharing a unique code and will work within the proscribed
range for the device and Bluetooth version.

Ever since Bluetooth 4.0 was released over a decade ago, new iterations
usually improve on range, use less power and offer expanded connectivity with
features like multipoint (allowing more than one device to be connected at
the same time, for instance).

Who should buy a Portable Bluetooth speaker?

If you want to play music while youΓÇÖre out-and-about on something other
than headphones, a portable Bluetooth speaker is probably what you want.
ThereΓÇÖs a broad range of devices for all types of circumstances. Many
adventurous people will want a relatively lightweight portable thatΓÇÖs
rugged enough to handle the elements while also packing enough charge to play
for hours on end. Others may simply need a speaker they can move around the
house or use in the backyard. In this case, you can choose larger less rugged
models that may offer better sound.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-
portable-bluetooth-speakers-133004551.html?src=rss

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