Welcome to my review today on some of the best Bluetooth speakers available. Now rather than focus on one particular category (such as portable Bluetooth speakers), I’m going to be talking about which speakers are the best picks among several different categories.
So whether your budget is $200 or $2,000, I’ll help you make a more informed decision about which speaker system would be best suited for you depending on your needs and what you’re looking for.
Portability and Ruggedness
So the first category we’ll start off with is portability and ruggedness. And for this, the UE Boom is the winner. What’s great about this speaker is that it’s incredibly durable, meaning it can handle everything from getting splashed at a pool to being knocked around. It also has quite a few useful features such as 360 degree sound and a 15-hour battery life.
Now the sound quality is good, but due to it’s small form factor, you’re not going to get an overwhelming amount of bass. But one of the great features about this is you can pair this with another UE Boom speaker which will definitely increase the overall output including the bass.
Portability and Sound Quality
Next, if sound quality and portability are your two main priorities then the Bose SoundLink III is the one to get. It’s light, compact and blends well into any environment. But besides being easy to take with you, you’ll get up to 14 hours of battery life and sound production that is quite a bit better than other portable Bluetooth speakers in this price range or under.
Whereas competing speakers can be a bit anemic in the bass department or overly boomy sounding, the SoundLink III produces bass you can hear and feel. And compared to the other portable Bluetooth speakers, Bose sounds richer, fuller and gives you a much more dynamic sounding listening experience overall.
Sound Quality
Now If portability isn’t a requirement and instead you want as much sound quality as possible for your money while not spending more than $500, then you’ll really love the Marshall Stanmore. It’s quite a bit larger than the SoundLink III but it’s still compact enough to easily find a place for it.
With the Stanmore you do need to have this plugged in to use it, which is why it’s not great for portable use. But the tradeoff is that it gives you a truly remarkable listening experience. This speaker has incredible dynamic range so whether you’re listening at a lower or higher volume, you can still hear all the detail in your music. The bass is surprisingly tight, well-defined and substantial enough when you want to feel a little more low end in your music. The mids and highs are also remarkably clear and detailed for a speaker of this size.
Despite the obvious size limitations of this speaker, you don’t get that impression when listening to it, this is a speaker that can easily fill a large room with plenty of sound. And to further benefit your listening experience, control knobs are provided so that you can fine-tune the bass and treble more to your liking.
And then combining the remarkable sound quality with the iconic Marshall look and you’re truly getting one of the coolest looking and best sounding Bluetooth speakers on the market today.
Speaker Base
Then, for those of you looking to improve the sound quality of your tv speakers without getting in the way of the TV itself a speaker base may be the way to go. Speaker bases or sound stands are growing in popularity as a way to improve the sound quality of your TV without needing a lot of extra space or possibly obscuring your screen the way a sound bar can.
There are quite a few different ones to choose from including some solid options from VIZIO, Yamaha and ZVOX. But if sound quality is your primary goal in a Bluetooth speaker base then the Pioneer SP-SB03 by Andrew Jones is the clear winner. The Pioneer speaker is simply richer and fuller sounding whereas the others sound either thin by comparison, or just can’t match the clarity and detail. And the Pioneer not only stomps the competition for how clear dialogue is but it also beats out many similar priced home theater speaker packages in this regard as well.
Soundbar System
And then for those of you wanting to take your TV and movie watching experience to the next level beyond what a speaker base can provide, a soundbar speaker system might be the perfect choice. They’re not going to take over the room and yet the addition of a subwoofer makes a huge difference, especially when watching movies.
Now, here again, there are LOTS of options available. But, not all of them are Bluetooth compatible and out of those that are, Pioneer and Vizio easily rise to the top as being the two best choices. Each has it’s strength over the other so here’s how to decide which one is right for you.
If pure sound quality is your top priority, then the Soundbar system by Andrew jones is the one to get. The bass is richer, fuller and more impactful which is especially noticeable during movies. Music also has more detail and energy to it while giving a cleaner presentation overall compared to the Vizio.
Now the advantage the Vizio has, besides being costing less, is the addition of two rear speakers which connect via speaker wire to a wireless sub. This definitely gives you a more immersive experience while watching movies as the sound coming from the rear speakers makes a noticeable difference. And the Vizio still sounds really good, but just not as good as the Pioneer.
So the bottom line is it will come down to what your preference or priorities are. The Vizio will make a better choice for someone either on a budget who still wants the best sound possible or for someone who does a fair amount of movie watching and having a more immersive movie watching experience is more important than better sound quality.
And then the Pioneer Soundbar system is really the one to get for someone who either prefers the simplicity of just a soundbar and sub combination or for anyone who’s after a higher quality sound experience over a more three-dimensional sound experience.
Sound Quality and Design
Our final category is for the best sound quality and versatility. And for this, the DLS Flatbox speakers are the obvious choice. These speakers have earned this top spot because currently there are no other on-wall Bluetooth speakers that even come close to sounding as good as as these do.
Everything from the lows to the highs sounds so pleasing and completely seamless. And what’s amazing is how they managed to create a subwoofer that you can literally hang on a wall, that’s able to produce thunderous bass that’s also extremely tight, well managed and musical sounding. These speakers will definitely surprise you by how incredible they sound despite their slim and compact form.
Yet not only is the sound quality impressive but how versatile they are to use. They’re designed in such a way that you can hang any of them, including the subwoofer on a wall just as you would a piece of art. Or if you prefer to have them standing on a desk, shelf, and so on, you can. No matter how or where you use them they sound absolutely amazing. It’s rare for speakers to be so forgiving about where you can place them but that’s one of the benefits of these speakers.
So for anyone looking for a hi-fidelity sound experience along with the convenience of Bluetooth, the DLS Flatbox speakers are the best choice for being able to bring these two worlds together in a very versatile design.
Wrap Up
Now as I mentioned earlier in this review, deciding on which Bluetooth speaker is right for you is really a matter of how you’re planning on using it and what your priorities are. All of these speakers have excellent Bluetooth capability, they’re all easy to pair and do a great job staying connected. So being on this list, that’s a given.
But here are some examples of how you might navigate through these different choices. For example, if having a Bluetooth speaker that’s portable and rugged is a top priority, then obviously the UE Boom would be your best pick. But a less obvious priority may be something like having a Bluetooth speaker you can use to watch movies with. In this case you have several options such as deciding between a sound base, sound bar or going with an on-wall speaker system.
In this example if you just want the most amazing listening experience possible for your money then the on-wall speaker system by DLS will be the perfect choice. But let’s say your budget needs to be around $400 or less, then you’d want to decide between the sound base and sound bar setup. If having something as compact as possible is the bigger priority, then the sound base would be the way to go. Otherwise if it’s more about sound quality then it will be between the two different sound bars and as I mentioned earlier, it’s then just a matter of whether you want the better sounding soundbar or the more immersive soundbar speaker system.
So ultimately you can’t wrong with any of these choices as they’re all outstanding Bluetooth speaker options. But if you keep your top priorities in mind as you’re making your decision, you’re sure to end up with something that not only sounds great but is the most ideal choice for you and your situation.