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Speakers

We have done thorough meta-reviews analyzing Bluetooth speakers in various categories, from large units to travel speakers to small, wearable, personal speakers. Generally, the bigger speakers sound best, so there’s almost always a trade-off for portability versus great sound and loudness. First think about how big of a speaker you’re willing to heft around, and then we’ll recommend the best possible Bluetooth speaker at that size, at various price points.

The Loudest Portable Bluetooth Speakers — Which Sounds Best?

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The Best JBL Portable Bluetooth Speakers: A Side-by-Side Comparison, Mini-Reviews, and FAQ

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The Best Portable Bluetooth Speaker for Marijuana and Psychedelics Trips Is Obviously…

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College Dorm Speakers: The Best Sound for Small Rooms, for Large Parties, and for a Shoestring Budget

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The Best Bluetooth Speaker for Gardening

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  Update: All of these models are now replaced by much newer, better options from the respective manufacturers. Head to our review of the best portable travel speaker for the latest recommendations from Ultimate Ears (formerly UE), JBL, and Bose. In the current bluetooth speaker market deluge, three models consistently float to the top of …

Update: While these were fine speakers they’ve been supplanted by newer models. For the latest, see our comparison of the JBL Flip 5 vs Flip 6 and the JBL Charge 4 vs Charge 5. We’ve run our usual thorough analysis on JBL’s two most convenient and portable Bluetooth speaker options: the JBL Flip 4 and …

Update: These speakers are both now outdated; check out our review of the JBL Charge 4 vs. JBL Charge 5. Newer is not always better; we’ve seen this sometimes even with JBL’s speaker designs. So we were curious to unravel the differences between the JBL Charge 3 and the newer JBL Charge 4. First of …

Update: Bose released new models of these speakers in 2021. You’ll probably want to instead check out our full comparison review of the new Bose Soundlink Revolve and Revolve+ vs. the new Bose Soundlink Revolve II and Revolve+ II. But, if you’re just torn between these outdated models or like our old stuff for the …

We’re generally fans of small, outdoors-ready speakers and so were excited to see and hear the upgrade to the short, squat nearly pocket-sized speaker, which was the best-sounding speaker for its tiny size, price, and super-indestructibility. And the new is absolutely an improvement over the original; as we’ll discuss below, it goes a bit louder …

UPDATE: JBL has released better versions of both of these speakers; check out our new comparison of the JBL Charge 5 and Xtreme 3. They are both a small but solid step up in sound performance and features. (You can also check out the differences between the JBL Charge 4 and 5 and the JBL …

Note: This article covers a previous-model speaker: The Xtreme 2. For a comparison of the latest from JBL, check out our review of the JBL Xtreme 3 vs JBL Boombox 2. The JBL Xtreme 2 and JBL Boombox 2 can look quite a bit alike, especially if you’re just glancing at online photos of the …

We generally, though not always, enjoy JBL speakers; let’s take on their big boys. The loudest, bossest JBL speakers that you still might want to carry (lug) around are the JBL Boombox 2 and JBL PartyBox 100. Both have large internal batteries and so can work away from the grid, and both are ideal for …

We ran an exhaustive meta-analysis on Bose’s Bluetooth speakers, and what  major European and American consumer organizations had to say about them. We also took into account the commentary from all sorts of audiophile critics and tech bloggers. Which is best for whom among the Bose Soundlink Revolve, the Bose Soundlink Mini II, or the …

We’ve run a thorough investigation of UE’s foremost smart speaker, the Ultimate Ears MegaBlast, and compared it to the company’s similar critical darling, the UE MegaBoom. Both speakers are excellent portable outdoor options; frequently people want to know which has better bass, which is louder, which sounds better, and if the small price premium of …