The Best Bluetooth Speakers of 2023
By Linus Tan
Published Feb 2023
It can be difficult to decide which Bluetooth speaker is the best for you, with so many options available. That's why we have compiled a list of the best Bluetooth speakers.
We have considered a range of factors including sound quality, battery life, portability and price. Whether you are looking for the best overall or the best for a specific purpose, you will find the perfect Bluetooth speaker for you in this list.
Best Overall: Ultimate Ear Hyperboom
✓ Excellent sound quality
✓ Smart dual-connection
✓ IPX4 water resistant
✓ Up to 24 hours of battery life
Best for Portability: Sonos Roam
✓ Rich & dynamic sound
✓ Extremely tough & durable
✓ IP67 waterproof rating
✓ Up to 10 hours of battery life
Best for Features: JBL Charge 5
✓ Extremely loud & powerful
✓ Doubles up as a phone charger
✓ IP67 waterproof rating
✓ Up to 20 hours of battery life
Best for Budget: Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3
✓ Impressive bass
✓ Budget-friendly
✓ IP67 waterproof rating
✓ Up to 14 hours of battery life
Best for Quality: Sonos Move
✓ Premium sound performance
✓ Supports voice assistants
✓ IP56 water resistant
✓ Up to 10 hours of battery life
#1 Best Overall: Ultimate Ear Hyperboom
Ultimate Ear Hyperboom
As fun as it is to jam to your favourite songs, we know you'll agree that they sound better when played out loud. The Ultimate Ears Hyperboom is that speaker to buoy your mood and get the party started.
Weighing in at a hefty 5.9kg with dimensions of 364 x 190 x 190 mm, the Ultimate Ears Hyberboom is one big boy. It makes up for the size with a retractable rubber handle, so it's still easier to lug around.
The Ultimate Ears Hyberboom has an IPX4 rating so it can withstand pool splashes. Some have also tried dropping it from trucks and leaving the speaker out in the rain. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger indeed because it has been named one of the best-made Bluetooth speakers. And on a single charge, it can cover up to a full 24 hours.
Ultimate Ear Hyperboom
The Ultimate Ears Hyperboom has two stereo speakers in one box with tweeters for higher-frequency sounds, woofers for sounds with a lower frequency and passive radiators to further assist with bass reproduction. It also includes an Adaptive EQ feature, designed to automatically adapt the speaker's sound to the acoustics of its surroundings. However, indoor tests showed that the Adaptive EQ feature allows for too much bass, which can obscure treble sounds, giving acoustic guitars less twang and cymbals less ping. If you're looking for a loud, yard-filling sound, this wouldn't bother you as much.
Two unusual features accompany the Hyperboom. There's an optical input that makes it seamless to connect it to the TV. Secondly, with the top-mounted ring switch, you can choose between two Bluetooth sources and opt for optical and analogue inputs. With the app, you can pair the Hyperboom with other Hyperbooms or speakers from the Ultimate Ears Boom and Megaboom series.
Ultimate Ear Hyperboom
The Ultimate Ears Hyperboom is an impressive Bluetooth speaker, but it does come with some drawbacks. The first, and perhaps most obvious, is its weight. It is a relatively large and bulky speaker, making it difficult for some to move around and transport. Additionally, its price tag is quite high, making it an expensive investment. However, despite these drawbacks, the Ultimate Ears Hyperboom still provides a powerful sound and is a great choice for anyone looking for quality audio.
Overall, the Ultimate Ears Hyperboom is the life of the party, amplifying and extending sound. It provides a great audio experience for any gathering.
Ultimate Ear Hyperboom
Best Overall
✓ Excellent sound quality
✓ Smart dual-connection
✓ IPX4 water resistant
✓ Up to 24 hours of battery life
#2 Best for Portability: Sonos Roam
Sonos Roam
The Sonos Roam is the latest portable smart speaker from Sonos, and it's the perfect companion for anyone on the go. With its compact size and lightweight design, you can easily take the Roam with you wherever you go, so you can always have your favourite tunes playing.
With dimensions of 168 x 62 x 60 mm, and a weight of 0.43 kg, the Sonos Roam certainly lives up to its name as a speaker that can be taken with you as you roam. The Sonos Roam is also shaped somewhat like a triangular prism - meaning that regardless of whether you place it standing up or on its side, it won't roll off into nothingness anytime soon.
For how light it is, the Sonos Roam is frighteningly durable. it is IP67 rated and offers water and dust resistance. Not only can it withstand a few tough knocks, but it can also be submerged in up to a meter of water. Furthermore, its battery can last up to 10 hours. This all means that no matter where you go, or what you do, your Sonos Roam will be your faithful companion the whole way.
Sonos Roam
The Sonos Roam also does not disappoint when it comes to sound performance. It offers a relatively rich sound and is especially good when it comes to bass-heavy sounds. However, due to its emphasis on the bass, this sound may come off as slightly overwhelming if you're indoors. Regardless, if you intend to use it more on the go, the extra focus on bass works well.
Apart from the portability factor, the convenience of the Sonos Roam comes with a variety of other features available. One such feature would be Sound Swap, which allows you to transfer the music from your Sonos Roam to another Sonos speaker and vice versa seamlessly. This means no more endless fiddling with your settings - pausing your music, disconnecting one speaker, reconnecting another speaker, and finally restarting your music. We've all been there, and by the time you get around to pressing that play button again, some of the magic is gone. This feature means that you can ensure a seamless musical experience so that you can keep grooving non-stop.
Sonos Roam
Furthermore, the Sonos Roam is also compatible with many of the most popular voice assistant technologies, including Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, meaning you can access convenient voice commands and control your music with your voice.
Overall, the Sonos Roam is an excellent choice for a variety of reasons, particularly for those looking for a portable speaker that is both lightweight and easy to transport. Its durable design, impressive sound quality, and intuitive features make it a great choice for music lovers on the go, allowing them to take their tunes with them wherever they go.
Sonos Roam
Best for Portability
✓ Rich & dynamic sound
✓ Extremely tough & durable
✓ IP67 waterproof rating
✓ Up to 10 hours of battery life
#3 Best for Features: JBL Charge 5
JBL Charge 5
The JBL Charge 5 is an impressive portable speaker that packs a powerful punch. Not only does it deliver impressive sound quality, but you can turn your volume up a few notches to truly blast your music.
The JBL Charge 5’s rugged and durable design makes it perfect for those who like to take their music on the go, and its IP67 waterproof rating ensures that your speaker will survive any accidental splashes or spills.
It also has an extended battery life that allows for up to 20 hours of playtime on a single charge. Charging will be via the waterproof USB-C port found at the back of the speaker. There is also a flap concealing the USB-A port which can be used to charge up your phone when your battery is running low.
JBL Charge 5
The sound performance of the JBL Charge 5 is also impressive. The speaker has two drivers consisting of a 20 mm tweeter and a 52 x 90 mm full-range driver, along with pumping bass radiators on each side, that deliver a powerful sound with excellent clarity. The bass is strong and powerful, but it does not overpower the mids and highs, resulting in a balanced sound. The speaker also produces a spacious soundstage, making it perfect for outdoor parties and gatherings.
The JBL Charge 5 also has a variety of features to offer. It has physical buttons to control playback, volume, power, Bluetooth pairing and “Party Boost” which allows you to turn the volume up to 11. It also supports wireless stereo sound by pairing two JBL Charge 5 speakers together.
JBL Charge 5
The JBL Charge 5 has one main downside: its charging time. It takes more than 4 hours to fully charge, but this is a reasonable trade-off for the extended 20-hour battery life.
Overall, the JBL Charge 5 is definitely an impressive speaker, given its size. It delivers a powerful and balanced sound, with a good amount of bass that doesn't overpower the mids and highs, allowing you to get a full-range sound experience. The speaker's size makes it highly portable, while its sound quality makes it perfect for all kinds of occasions, from small gatherings to larger parties.
JBL Charge 5
Best for Features
✓ Extremely loud & powerful
✓ Doubles up as a phone charger
✓ IP67 waterproof rating
✓ Up to 20 hours of battery life
#4 Best for Budget: Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3
Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3
Don't judge a book by its cover. The Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 may be the more affordable option, but it packs a lot of great features for its price.
At first glance, the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 is very unassuming. It's a very compact, easily portable Bluetooth speaker, with the trademark design being the "+" and “-” signs emblazoned in large print. With dimensions of 104 x 95.3 mm and a weight of 0.42kg (lighter than a water bottle!), you'd be hard-pressed not to agree that this Bluetooth speaker is very portable.
Don't be deceived by its simple appearance either as this Bluetooth speaker is astoundingly durable. With an IP67 rating, it's dust, sand and water-proof. Whether you accidentally drop it into the water, or onto concrete, your Wonderboom 3 remains as good as new.
The Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 also boasts an impressive battery life of 14 hours - an improvement from the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2, among other improved features.
Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3
The Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 ups the intensity of sound compared to its predecessor, especially when it comes to bass. For those looking for a more throbbing, hearty bass, this speaker definitely delivers.
The Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 is also made to be more sensitive when it comes to nuances in sound and presents an overall well-calibrated and detailed auditory experience.
The Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 continues to feature an outdoor mode that increases the maximum sound output to better cater to your needs when you're not at home. This makes the speaker especially versatile - no matter where you go, you can rely on this Bluetooth speaker to provide you with the best stereo experience.
Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3
The Wonderboom 3, like its predecessor, also offers the option of pairing two Wonderboom 3 speakers for a more realistic stereo experience.
The main drawback of the speaker is its charging time. It will take more than two hours to get the speaker fully charged. This is likely due to the outdated Micro-USB charging.
Overall, the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 is the ideal choice for anyone looking for a top-quality speaker that is capable of delivering an outstanding audio experience without breaking the bank.
Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3
Best for Budget
✓ Impressive bass
✓ Budget-friendly
✓ IP67 waterproof rating
✓ Up to 14 hours of battery life
#5 Best for Quality: Sonos Move
Sonos Move
The Sonos Move is perfect if you're looking for a Bluetooth speaker to up your music-listening experience a few notches. Dubbed one of the best Bluetooth speakers and the best-sounding portable speaker ever made, the Sonos Move definitely deserves its spot on this list.
When we think of Bluetooth speakers, their portability, in particular their size and convenience, comes to mind. Weighing in at 3kg and with dimensions of 240 x 160 x 126 mm, the Sonos Move is slightly bulkier than your traditional Bluetooth speaker.
Nevertheless, the Sonos Move remains portable thanks to the handle integrated into its back. While it may not be the device you bring along with you for picnics, its sound and volume remain impressive if you take it to the park or beach.
Sonos Move
Furthermore, the Sonos Move is very user-friendly when it comes to handling its battery. The Move can last up to 10 hours and is easily charged by the dock that comes with the speaker. Should the battery stop being able to hold a charge, you can easily replace the battery rather than buy a whole new Sonos Move.
Sound-wise, the Sonos Move will definitely get you moving. Its sizeable build is not just for show — the Sonos Move is easily able to fill rooms with its rich sound, providing an omnidirectional soundstage. Across the bass, mids, and highs, at high or low volume, the Sonos Move does not falter in any aspect, delivering a fantastic sound by every measure.
Want to create a cleaner stereo experience? Simply pair two Sonos Move speakers together!
Sonos Move
The Sonos Move is truly killing two birds with one stone — it also functions as a smart speaker and supports Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. Who wouldn't want a tool where you can both jam music from and offers assistance at home?
Overall, while the Sonos Move does carry a hefty price tag, it is definitely a worthy addition to your life not only as your on-the-go music station but also as the main home wireless speaker. Sometimes, all we need is to manifest being in a movie montage. The Sonos Move promises an immersive musical experience for you.
Sonos Move
Best for Quality
✓ Premium sound performance
✓ Supports voice assistants
✓ IP56 water resistant
✓ Up to 10 hours of battery life
Compare Bluetooth Speakers
Final Thoughts
Whether you're after something rugged or a multi-room sound system, it's undeniable that Bluetooth speakers lift your spirits and make life more enjoyable. Their ability to share music, portability around the house, and even take calls make them one of the most sought-after tech products.
If you like to read more on Bluetooth speakers, check out our other relevant guides here:
Sonos Move vs Ultimate Ears Hyperboom
Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 vs Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2
Don't miss out on tech
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date on the latest tech trends and guides on the best gadgets around.
Recommended reading
