5 Of The Worst Wireless Speakers, According To Consumer Reports
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Wireless speakers are an easy way to share your favorite music with friends and family without relying on poor-quality sound from your mobile device. They’re portable and often lightweight, so it’s not too hard to take one alongside a phone or music player on long trips. But, of course, there’s not much point in keeping a wireless speaker if it doesn’t manage to sound better than those devices in the first place. The best Bluetooth speakers wouldn’t be worth recommending at all if that were the case.
Consumer Reports (CR) has performed its own research into the best and worst wireless speakers you’ll find. It’s helpful if you’re looking for top-tier sound quality, but if you just care about getting something that works, it’s still worth looking at the results. Everything listed there is rated based on sound quality and features, which helps put your purchases into perspective. Getting one of the worst-rated speakers on its list could leave you stuck with a subpar product that provides worse sound than what you’d get from just putting your phone up to your ear.
5. Ion Audio Magnet Rocker (2-pack)
Technically, CR’s rating for the Ion Audio Magnet Rocker covers two speakers at once, as it’s only sold as a two-speaker set. On one hand, this gives the wireless speakers a leg up on the competition, especially since the MSRP was set at $50 (though it’s not too difficult to find them on sale for $30 or less). On the other hand, that additional stereo capability doesn’t help this pack out too much, as it falls short in sound quality. A lack of bass and midrange frequencies leaves the speakers unable to provide a good listening experience, even with the help of a second speaker.
Granted, the size of each speaker makes them just as versatile as some of the best budget-friendly portable Bluetooth speakers out there. Each one is also claimed to be water-resistant with a battery life of 12 hours, so you’ll be able to use them without much issue for a long period of time. Its audio quality might be subpar at best, but the Magnet Rocker two-pack will still work for as long as you need it to.
4. Billboard BB742
The Billboard BB742 — also known as the Billboard ESI Water-resistant Speaker — is the only “pill” speaker on this list. This makes it a bit more difficult to carry around than the smaller speakers here, but the real problem here is sound quality. CR noted that its overall balance was exceptionally poor, which was compounded by how the nearly-$30 speaker had problems regarding its stereo channels. This thing isn’t going to compete with a similarly-shaped Beats Pill+ wireless speaker, even though that one arrived over a decade ago.
However, Consumer Reports actually gave this speaker a decently high score in terms of versatility. It does manage to include a microphone and support for USB drives and micro SD cards, and it even has a built-in FM tuner (though instructions on how to use it were practically nonexistent in CR’s testing). In other words, you don’t even need a separate device to make use of the BB742. Despite its problems, it manages to have some uses even if you don’t have a phone to pair it with.
3. Ikea Vappeby
Ikea has a number of Vappeby-branded speakers, but for the purposes of this list, the ~$16 portable Bluetooth speaker is the one we’ll be focusing on. (In other words, don’t expect the Vappeby Bluetooth speaker that doubles as a lamp to show up here.) Interestingly, CR lists its price at $80, but you won’t find it for anywhere near that cost unless you’re buying from an unreputable seller. And that’s a good thing, because this speaker has a lot going against it.
Between awful sound quality at every frequency and a harsh lack of additional features, it’s not shocking to see this speaker rank so low. Its claimed battery life of 80 hours helps keep it from sinking lower, and its low cost makes it a fair stereo competitor to the Magnet Rocker two-pack if you buy a second speaker. Even so, the three-inch Ikea Vappeby speaker is a clear example of getting what you pay for, which, in this case, isn’t very much at all.
2. Monster X6
Considering how this is a list of worst-rated speakers, the Monster X6 finds itself in a very poor spot by also being the most expensive product here, with its MSRP set at around $200. That’s probably why it received such a low CR rating, in spite of having surprisingly fantastic versatility. Its sound quality isn’t anything to write home about, either, though it was given more praise than other speakers on this list.
This particular example is one of a few Bluetooth speakers with wheels, so its larger size doesn’t hurt its portability quite as much as you’d think. Because it’s larger, it can also provide good volume for a large area, and it comes with light-up effects for some extra style. In the end, it’s a speaker with more features and comparable sound to its competitors. But when those competitors are already at the bottom of the barrel, a price tag of $200 isn’t justified.
1. Polaroid P1
The Polaroid P1 is the lowest-rated speaker in CR’s rankings. It’s basically a Vappeby speaker with double the cost, worse water resistance, and a longer warranty period of two years instead of six months. That warranty seems to be the one thing carrying its versatility, which is somehow higher than the Vappeby’s. It still falls below every other speaker, though, thanks to sound that randomly increases and decreases in volume at certain frequencies.
Interestingly, it’s not easy to find these speakers in stock. Polaroid shifted to music not too long ago, but the P1 speakers aren’t nearly as available as the brand’s other offerings. This availability issue could be another reason to avoid this product entirely, especially since you’re most likely to find it from secondhand sellers. It’s one thing to get a brand-new low-quality speaker, but getting one that’s already been used and abused offers no guarantee it will function reliably, even for longer than a minute or two.
