5 Of The Best Bluetooth Speakers You Can Buy, According To Owners

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Industry-lauded Bluetooth speakers are not in short supply. From one year to the next, popular speaker brands like JBL, Bose, and countless others continue to put out wire-free portable audio products you can take just about anywhere and that pack a mean punch. Many of these devices even support multi-speaker connectivity, allowing you to link two or more Bluetooth speakers for an expanded soundstage. We and our fellow consumer tech outlets love what we've heard, but nothing beats hearing feedback from everyday device owners when you're trying to make a decision.

Indeed, learning the pros and cons from someone who was just as interested in researching a speaker as you are and who actually bought and used it can be the best kind of insider scoop. Not only will you get an education on how well a Bluetooth product worked for an individual, plus their friends and family, but you may even get some ideas on ways to use the speaker you hadn't thought of (e.g., using the 3.5-millimeter auxiliary cable to connect a speaker to your TV).

To that end, we did some digging on what Bluetooth speakers consumers are raving about. We also wanted to find out what Bluetooth products you should steer clear of, so don't be surprised if a few chart-topping options failed to make the grade.

More than 5,000 Amazon buyers shared feedback on the $200 JBL Charge 6, earning the speaker a 4.7-star rating (out of five). It also cleaned house over at Best Buy, where it scored 4.9 stars out of five based on over 1,100 reviews. The people love the Charge 6, with multiple users praising everything from sound quality and build to overall battery life. As to the latter, JBL claims you'll get up to 24 hours of playback on a full charge, but lab testing has revealed it's closer to 19 hours. Still, that's plenty of charge for a full day of tunes.

The Charge 6 is an improvement over the Charge 5, particularly for dust and water resistance (IP68 versus IP67), battery life, and portability. The speaker's rugged design makes it easy to take outdoors, and it can even float in water. Out of the box, the Charge 6 has excellent midrange and treble performance, and it does a decent job of bringing the bass. You'll have a tough time channeling ultra-low frequencies, but that's to be expected from small Bluetooth speakers. You can also use the JBL Portable app to change audio presets or the seven-band equalizer (EQ) to build your own sound profile.

Like many other Bluetooth speakers, the Charge 6 is forced to downmix stereo tracks to mono, but you can use Auracast to pair it with other compatible JBL speakers. Unfortunately, JBL doesn't provide a USB-C cable, so you'll need to purchase one separately. It also takes about two-and-a-half hours to fully recharge, and the USB-C port can be used to reverse-charge a phone, tablet, and other small devices.

The $400 Bose SoundLink Max is another favorite among consumers, and it's the largest speaker of the SoundLink family. On Amazon, users gave the Max a 4.5-out  rating, based on over 2,300 reviews. Many folks were pleased with the speaker's loud volume and well-balanced highs, mids, and lows. The Bose app will even let you toggle audio presets or build your own sound profile via the graphic EQ.

Thanks to its IP67 rating, the Max can safely travel along with you to every beach day or pool party, as you won't have to worry about a bit of water ruining your fun. Bose claims you'll get up to 20 hours of playback on a full charge, but setting the Max to a higher volume may result in less playtime. Fortunately, the app has a programmable auto-off timer with increments of five, 20, 40, 60, and 180 minutes to choose from.

Bose also provides a carrying strap for its biggest, meanest SoundLink speaker. We do feel it's worth mentioning that a few Max owners have reported defective buttons, but this doesn't seem to be an overarching quality-control issue. And if you care about color variety, the Max has three options: Black, Blue Dusk, and Citrus Yellow.

We love it when a minimalist, classy-looking speaker is able to put out impressive sound, and owners of the Klipsch The One Plus feel the same way. Traditionally known for its home theater speakers, Klipsch took a dip in the portable audio pool, and the results are pretty great. More than 450 Amazon users have left feedback about the One Plus, earning the product 4.3 out of five stars.

People love the way this speaker sounds, with one Amazon shopper reporting "I use this all day at my desk ... The sound is great with good bass." Experts have also complimented the One Plus' sound quality, especially when it comes to vocal fidelity. The free Klipsch Connect app even lets you choose from five audio presets, or you can build your own listening profile via EQ.

Something to keep in mind: This is the only Bluetooth speaker on our list that requires wall power at all times. That said, it also includes 3.5-millimeter auxiliary and USB-C ports, the latter of which can be used for reverse charging and playback. Walnut and Matte Black are the two color options, and the speaker goes on sale pretty often on Amazon.

There's nothing wrong with buying a Bluetooth speaker that costs $100 or less, especially when it's as good as the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4. Designed to float around in a swimming pool, the IP67 rating even protects against submersion up to a few feet. As far as sound quality goes, people love what the Boom 4 brings to the table, earning it 4.4 stars after more than 2,400 reviews on Amazon.

According to audio experts, the Wonderboom 4 doesn't get incredibly loud, but it puts out enough volume to satisfy most listeners. For a bit of extra kick, you can enable the Outdoor Boost or use the Podcast Mode for enhanced dialogue and vocals. You'll also get up to 14 hours of playback on a full charge, which is more than enough juice for a backyard BBQ. Do keep in mind that you'll need to provide your own USB-C recharging cable, though.

We actually like the fact that the Wonderboom 4 isn't supported by an app — what you hear is what you get! That said, you are able to pair more than one Boom 4 or Boom 3 speaker for stereo or Party Mode playback. In fact, the Boom 4 can also be paired with two Bluetooth devices simultaneously, should you need to outsource DJ duties when it's dessert time at the BBQ.

Anker's Soundcore sublabel is behind some pretty impressive audio tech, and the $130 Anker Soundcore Boom 2 is a fan favorite. More than 7,900 Amazon users have provided feedback, earning the Boom 2 a 4.6-out-of-5-star rating. It also fared well with Walmart shoppers, who gave the speaker 4.6 out of five stars, based on over 100 reviews. People really like the sound quality and portability of the Boom 2, and the Soundcore app gives you additional audio presets and a custom EQ for further fine-tuning.

One Amazon shopper brought up a good point: The Boom 2 downmixes stereo tracks to mono, which is actually quite common for lower-cost Bluetooth speakers. That said, you can pair up to 100 compatible speakers via the Soundcore app's PartyCast feature if you want a bigger soundstage. Folks love that the Boom 2 delivers all-day battery life, though; you can expect up to 18 hours of playback on average, depending on volume and EQ settings.

The speaker's IPX7 rating makes it safe to use at the beach or a pool party, and there are three color options to choose from: Phantom Black, Explorer Blue, and Adventure Green. And for a bit more bass and a wider soundstage, the $250 Anker Soundcore Boom 2 Plus is the next step up.

There are hundreds of Bluetooth speakers on the market, but what was most important for this roundup was finding the products that device owners loved, regardless of what the industry experts had to say. This isn't to say we didn't lean on professional intel at all; rather, our priority was hearing what the average consumer had to say about one of the five speakers we chose.

Sites like Amazon and Best Buy proved valuable for hearing what folks have to say about their daily drive tech. In particular, we made sure each of these devices was available on Amazon so you know you can get it if you want it, and we also only considered products with at least a 4-star rating. We also stuck to longstanding, reliable audio brands for each selection and did our best to highlight deals and discounts.