5 Bluetooth Speaker Brands That Offer The Best Sound Quality

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To most, Bluetooth speakers aren’t exactly synonymous with excellent sound quality. Amazon’s best-selling Bluetooth speaker is still the Anker SoundCore 2, a surprisingly capable budget speaker, but one that no one would try to compare to even a budget hi-fi setup. However, if you’re willing to spend a little more (or, in some cases, a lot more), you’ll find that Bluetooth speakers can absolutely deliver excellent sound quality. Considering Bluetooth hardware and batteries aren’t incredibly expensive, there’s no reason why the speaker itself can’t be reasonably high-quality, even on a budget. Sure, there are questions about whether wired headphones sound better than Bluetooth ones, and sometimes that wireless connection can be problematic. Still, you can avoid it altogether with a simple aux cord, which most Bluetooth speakers support.

If you’re looking for a high-quality speaker that is easy to bring along, more affordable than most hi-fi gear, and doesn’t absolutely need the mess of cables that audio gear tends to generate, then a Bluetooth speaker is probably your best choice. And while you should absolutely check the individual models before buying something, these are the brands you want to take a look at first.

Sonos is not the most popular speaker and headphone brand, but it makes some solid, high-quality Bluetooth speakers. The Sonos Move 2 is the brand’s most versatile speaker, coming with stereo support and more than acceptable sound quality. According to a review on RTINGS.com, the only letdown is that the sound becomes a little compressed at very high volumes. Unless you’re chasing a very clean sound, this shouldn’t be a dealbreaker.

Unlike what its name implies, the Move 2 isn’t especially easy to transport, as it’s quite large and weighs over six pounds. Big and heavy is just what good speakers look like, but portable speakers are usually a little lighter than that. The Sonos Era 300 and 100, on the other hand, are not portable at all, unless you’re transporting them from one wall outlet to another, as they aren’t battery-powered.

The Sonos Era 300 and the cheaper Era 100 won’t appeal to everyone. They don’t have internal batteries, and they weigh almost 10 pounds. The price of $479 is hard to swallow on the best of days, and even a cheap third-party stand costs an additional $100. So, why would you buy this speaker? First, because it’s a beloved home Bluetooth speaker with plenty of great reviews, a room correction tool, and lots of extra features. Second, because it’s one of the few single speakers (let alone Bluetooth speakers) that support Dolby Atmos, a new-ish surround system that promises an immersive listening experience. With only a handful of streaming services supporting Dolby Atmos, if you end up getting the Era 300, however, know you’ll be an early adopter of a system that may never become the standard.

Bose is a big name in the audio world, and the only reason it’s not more popular with average users, in our opinion, is because of its prices. The SoundLink Max is one of the best high-quality Bose speakers for most users, with a big battery, strong (but not neutral) sound, a tough-looking construction with an IP67 rating, all in a package that weighs just 4.9 pounds. You may or may not care, but some reviews lament the lack of extra features like room correction. What you’ll certainly care about is the $400 price tag, a tad expensive for a portable speaker.

The SoundLink Max has two cheaper siblings, the SoundLink Plus and the SoundLink Flex. Of the two, the Plus certainly has the highest audio quality, while being a good $130 cheaper than the Max. As the “Link” in the name implies, two identical speakers in this lineup can be synchronized to become two sides of a stereo pair. Some connectivity is possible even between different SoundLink models, as well.

And then, if you want to go completely overboard, there’s the Bose S1 Pro+a PA system speaker with Bluetooth support and an internal battery, for sale at a reasonable $699. The biggest downside is that, being a PA system speaker, it’s not plug-and-play nor easy to transport. It won’t sound great, either, unless it’s part of a PA system.

Sony isn’t quite the king of Bluetooth speakers, but it’s a big name in the music world and was often at the forefront in audio technology. It revolutionized music listening in the 1980s with the Walkman, and it even produced the world’s first CD player in 1982. Is Sony about to do the same with Bluetooth speakers? Not quite, but the company does have some nice high-budget models.

The ULT Field 7 is the Sony Bluetooth speaker that will appeal to most users. It’s quite expensive, coming in at $498, but has a max battery life of 30 hours, 100 watts of maximum output, two pairs of woofers and tweeters (making it a stereo speaker), and a lot of input options. It can be plugged into AC power, has Bluetooth 5.2, mini and full-sized jack inputs, and a well-thought-out karaoke system.

If you’re hosting a big party, the ULT Field 7 is a good choice. If you’re hosting a massive party, the $900 Sony ULT Tower 9 (or any other ULT Tower) may be the best choice. Sound quality is not a second thought and the volume can be driven to the extreme, but the star of the show is extensive karaoke support. Like the ULT Field 7, there’s key control, which can pitch the music track up or down, and independent volume for two microphones, instead of just one. Even more options are available in the companion app, including the ability to isolate and quiet down the track’s original vocals; though, according to SoundGuys‘ review of the Tower 9, this function doesn’t work as well as some of the competition.

If you’ve shopped for a Bluetooth speaker in the last 10 years, you won’t be surprised to see JBL on this list. It’s one of the most prolific companies in the business, with over a dozen Bluetooth speakers currently for sale, and is often named among the best Bluetooth speaker brands around. Many of JBL’s Bluetooth speakers, like the JBL Flip 6, are very affordable and lightweight, but they don’t necessarily excel in sound quality. The JBL Boombox 4 isn’t quite as portable, and it’s definitely not cheap, at $380. It does, however, have a number of very positive reviews that praise its audio quality, high volume, and internal adjustable EQ.

If you’re looking for something more portable and affordable, or simply don’t need your Bluetooth speaker to get super loud, the JBL Xtreme 3 (and the newer, more expensive Xtreme 4) is a very popular option with good battery life, many connectivity options, and, according to SoundGuysgood sound quality and high maximum volume. Plus, it has an IP67 rating, making it safe to use near a pool or on the beach. One downside: It’s not much cheaper than the Boombox 4, with a price tag of $330. A tad bit cheaper and smaller (and, presumably, less loud) is the JBL Charge 6coming in at $200.

Of course, JBL also sells some stationary Bluetooth speakers that don’t have an internal battery, like the Authentics 500. This is a premium speaker with Dolby Atmos support and 3.1 channels, great sound quality, and software for automatically adjusting sound playback to the room’s characteristics, all for a cool $750. It seems like it’s often discounted to $500, but according to some users, a connected pair of 500s is when this model really shines.

Anker makes a lot of tech gadgets, from power banks of all shapes to a phone charger with a screen. While no one will be surprised to learn it makes Bluetooth speakers, the brand’s audio department isn’t exactly known for its commitment to quality. Perhaps it’s time to change that reputation. According to RTINGSon a technical level, the Anker Soundcore Boom 2 Plus is very comparable to (and sometimes surpasses) the JBL Xtreme 4 on many grounds, while being $250 at full price; that’s $130 cheaper than the JBL.

The Anker Soundcore 3i is an even cheaper alternative that has the added benefit of an IP67 rating, while being much smaller and lighter than the Boom 2 Plus. It may not have unbelievable sound quality, and the metal grills and colored LEDs make it look like a parody of a gaming PC, but it retails for just $140 and often goes on sale at a nearly 50% discount.

Alternatively, Anker’s Soundcore line includes the Motion X600 speaker. Unlike the previous models, the X600 is as expensive as it looks, with no neon lights in sight and only a monochrome handle to indicate it can be moved at all. It comes with some extra features, like LDAC support for high-res Bluetooth data transfer and “spatial audio,” which some reviewers found underwhelming and may or may not just be a weirdly named EQ setting. But it has good battery life, great sound quality, and, unlike most speakers on this list, wouldn’t look out of place in an office or a conference room. For an (often discounted) price tag of $200, the X600 does more than enough to justify its price.

To select the brands of Bluetooth speakers that offer the best sound quality, we referenced professional review sites like RTINGS, SoundGuysand What Hi-Fi. All of the speakers we highlighted have at least four stars on Amazon, and most have an even better score.

While cost and portability (weight, dimensions, and battery) were taken into consideration, the sound quality of the selected Bluetooth speakers was our priority. This includes a wide sound spectrum, solid EQ options, high max volume without distortion, room correction tools, etc.