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When I first heard about the SoundLink Max, I was a little surprised Bose would put out a $399 Bluetooth speaker after the $149 SoundLink Flex speaker did so well. The Flex was so successful because it not only sounds good for its compact size but it doesn’t cost that much, at least not for a Bose product. Not surprisingly, the 4.89-pound Max also sounds impressive — it may just be the best-sounding for its size — and has a premium design with a built-in rope handle that’s replaceable (the Max is fully waterproof and dust-proof). It’s a great Bluetooth speaker, but its high price tag may turn some folks off.

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I liked the original Soundcore Motion Boom, which made our best Bluetooth speakers list and was one of the better mini boom box Bluetooth speaker values over the last few years, selling for around $80. The 3.75-pound Boom 2 costs more but sounds substantially better, with more than double the power rating of the original, so it not only plays louder but kicks out more bass and offers better clarity at higher volumes (it’s equipped with two tweeters and one subwoofer). It also has a couple of built-in LED lights to help create that party vibe. It’s an impressive-sounding speaker for its size and a good value.

Waterproof (IPX7-rated) with a floatable design, the speaker’s battery life is rated at up to 24 hours at moderate volume levels (it charges via USB-C) and you can tweak the sound and customize the lighting with the Soundcore app for iOS and Android. There’s also a USB-out port to charge your devices.

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When the SoundLink Flex speaker launched, Bose made some bold claims about its new Bluetooth speaker, particularly its bass performance. It mostly lives up to the hype and is arguably the best-sounding wireless speaker for its compact size.

Available in three colors — black, white smoke and stone blue (pictured) — it’s equipped with Bose’s PositionIQ technology to automatically detect the speaker’s orientation and deliver optimized sound based on whether it’s upright, hanging or flat on its back.

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The 2024 edition of the Beats Pill has improved in some key ways from its predecessor, particularly when it comes to sound quality, durability, battery life and price point. I do like the form factor and lighter weight of the Bose SoundLink Flex. But the Pill does have a few extras like USB-C audio wired mode and speakerphone functionality that are appealing.

You’ll have to decide how important those extras are when weighing the Pill against the Bose SoundLink Flex. But any way you look at it, the Pill is a very good compact Bluetooth speaker. Like the Bose, it’s an easy portable wireless speaker to recommend, especially if its price dips by $20 to $30, as the SoundLink Flex’s price sometimes does during flash sales.

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The Sony ULT Field 7 is the successor to Sony’s SRS-SG500 Bluetooth boom box, which I liked but thought lacked clarity compared with some of its competitors, including boom box speakers from JBL. This new model not only sounds better but offers an an improved design with integrated handles on each side of the speaker, LED lighting and a new karaoke function (microphone not included). You can stand the speaker up vertically or lay it down horizontally. The sound does change a bit with the speaker’s orientation, but the overall clarity and treble performance has improved and I thought the bass had better definition.

Weighing in at a hefty 13.9 pounds (6.3 kilograms), the speaker does pack a punch, especially when you engage the ULT button, which has two low-frequency settings (there’s also a seven-band EQ) that both amp up the sound — and the bass in particular — making the speaker sound fuller (I always had the ULT button engaged). Battery life is rated at up to 30 hours at moderate volume levels and the speaker is IP67 waterproof, dust-proof and rust-proof. A charge-out port on back allows you to charge external devices like your smartphone.

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Pros

• Attractively designed and fairly compact
• Excellent sound for its size
• Fully waterproof and dust-proof (it also floats)
• Good battery life
• Links with other UE Boom speakers

Not too long ago, Ultimate Ears released its higher-end Epicboom Bluetooth speaker, which sounds very good but is pretty pricey at $300 and somewhat large. The newer Everboom is about half the size, weighing in at 2.1 pounds (the Epicboom weighs 4.36 pounds), and more travel friendly. While it can’t produce as much sound or bass as the Epicboom, it does play relatively loud, and I was in some ways more impressed with its sound than the Epicboom’s. By that I mean for its size, it’s one of the best-sounding speakers out there, delivering punchy bass and nicely detailed sound.

Fully waterproof (it floats) and dust proof with an IP67 rating, it offers up to 20 hours of battery life at moderate volume levels and can be wirelessly linked up with most of UE’s current family of Boom Bluetooth speakers, which includes the Boom 4, Megaboom 4, Epicboom and Hyperboom. Alas, the only strike against it is its relatively high price tag ($250).

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JBL Authentics line of retro-style wireless speakers includes the Authentics 200, 300 and 500. They’re all good speakers, with the 500 producing the best sound. But I’m most partial to the Authentics 300, which is fairly beefy but not too beefy and costs significantly less than the 500. While the speaker has more of a home vibe to it — and I do like its retro look — what’s nice is that it’s also a portable speaker with up to 8 hours of battery life at moderate volume levels.

The Authentics 300 features punchy bass and good clarity and can fill a small to medium-sized room with sound (while it has multiple drivers, including two 25mm tweeters, a full-range 5.25-inch woofer and a 6.5-inch passive radiator, it’s essentially a mono speaker). Equipped with treble and bass dials on top of the speaker for tweaking the sound, it also has an integrated handle that makes it easy to move around (think of it as a rectangular boom box). At 10.8 pounds (4.9kg), it’s got some heft to it, and has both WiFi and Bluetooth options for wireless connectivity. Using WiFi, you can stream music through AirPlay or create a multi-room audio system with other Authentics speakers using Alexa Multi-Room Music (MRM) or Google Chromecast (you use the Amazon Alexa or Google Home apps to link speakers and control playback, depending on what multi-room option you choose).

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I consider the smaller Boom 2 the best value among current Soundcore by Anker Bluetooth speakers because it delivers very strong sound for a speaker that costs a little more than $100. But the larger and more expensive Boom 2 Plus is a better sounding speaker that plays louder and produces bigger sound with more bass. While it costs around $250, the key thing about it is that it competes well with boom box speakers from JBL and Sony that cost upwards of $400.

This speaker has dual 50W woofers and dual 20W tweeters, Anker says, and charges via USB-C, which is nice. There also a charge out option to charge your devices and the Boom 2 Plus is rated for up to 20 hours of playback time at moderate volume levels. The speaker has both a handle and removable strap to make it easy to carry around and is IPX7 waterproof. It also floats should you drop it in a body of water and has a customizable light show option.

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Tribit’s StormBox Flow is another Bose SoundLink Flex knockoff for less that shares some similarities with the Soundcore Motion 300, including the same list price. The Tribit may sound slightly better than the Motion 300, edging it out for bass performance by a tad, but the Anker speaker wins on design.

Like the Bose SoundLink Flex, the Tribit StormBox Flow can be laid down flat with its speaker firing up. You can also wirelessly pair two of the speakers together for stereo sound. It has an IP67 rating, which means it’s dust-resistant and fully waterproof. Tribit says it delivers up to 30 hours of audio at moderate volume levels. That’s impressive.

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JBL says has improved the sound of its smallest speaker, the Go 4, and after testing it, we agree that indeed it does have “more robust sound and punchier bass than its predecessor.” For such a tiny speaker that literally fits in your pocket, it sounds surprisingly good, though it has its limitations, of course (it can only produce so much bass and sound.

Available in nine color options, the Go 4 has an “updated silhouette” and a wider and more durable carrying strap. The speaker is rated for 7 hours of playtime at moderate volume levels, is IP67 waterproof and dustproof and comes equipped with Bluetooth 5.3 with LE audio. It also has multi-speaker connectivity via the JBL Portable app and Auracast.

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Pros

• Excellent sound for its compact size
• Attractive design
• IP67 waterproof and dust-resistant

Harman Kardon, which is owned by Samsung, makes popular JBL Bluetooth speakers like the Flip 6 and JBL Charge. The under-the-radar Harman Kardon Luna may just be the best mini Bluetooth speaker you’ve never heard of. It’s not only attractively designed — it comes in black or white — but sounds surprisingly good for its size, with clear, natural sound and punchy bass (it’s a mono speaker with a dual-driver design that features a woofer and a tweeter).

While it’s slightly bigger than JBL’s Flip series speakers and slightly smaller than the JBL Charge series, the Luna’s got a bit of heft to it, weighing in at 1.56 pounds (0.71 kg). Equipped with Bluetooth 5.3, it’s also fully waterproof and dustproof, with an IP67 rating. Battery life is rated at up to 12 hours at moderate volume levels. I did find it to be a better-sounding speaker than the JBL Flip 6 and preferred it in some ways to the JBL Charge 5.

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Pros

• Powerful sound with impressive bass response
• Replaceable battery
• Built-in light show
• Dual mic and guitar inputs
• Equipped with wheels and a handle

The JBL PartyBox Stage 320 is the successor to the PartyBox 310 and has some small but important upgrades, including a replaceable battery (extra battery sold separately) that allows you to keep the party going for several hours. The speaker is rated for up to 18 hours of playback, but that’s at moderate volume levels; if you crank it, party life drops considerably. It also has dual mic and guitar inputs, so you can use it as an amp for your guitar or turn it into a karaoke machine when you buy the optional microphones.

Like other PartyBox speakers, the Stage 320 has a built-in light show. Because it weighs 36.38 pounds, the PartyBox Stage 320 has wheels and a handle to help you transport it. You can also stand the speaker up vertically or lay it down horizontally. If you can afford it, you can pair it with another Stage 320 and create a stereo pair, which sounds great. It has Bluetooth 5.4 with Auracast and can link with other JBL Auracast-enabled speakers. This speaker can really play loud and has impressive bass response. It’s also IPX4 splash-proof.

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Pros

• Excellent sound for its size
• Strong battery life (up to 20 hours)
• Charges via USB-C, can charge other devices via USB-A
• IP67 waterproof and dust-resistant

Marshall’s 2023 Middleton speaker isn’t exactly compact. It also isn’t so beefy that you get a workout carrying it around. Weighing 4 pounds (1.8kg), it’s bigger than Marshall’s Emberton speaker and smaller and more portable than its Kilburn II speaker. Any way you look at it, it sounds very good for its size and puts out a surprising amount of quality bass while offering good treble detail and natural-sounding mids (where vocals live). I also liked that it has equalizer controls on the speaker itself — I did bump the bass a bit — and is fully waterproof and dustproof with an IP67 rating.

Battery life is rated at up to 20 hours at moderate volume levels and Marshall says it takes 4.5 hours to fully recharge the speaker. Its USB-C charging port also has a charge-out feature that allows you to use the speaker as a power bank and charge your devices. You can pair two or more speakers to amplify the sound, but you can’t pair two speakers together to create a stereo pair. Marshall says the Middleton uses True Stereophonic, “a unique form of multidirectional stereo sound” and I did think the soundstage was bigger than what you typically get from a speaker this size. The only downside to the speaker is that it’s fairly expensive but I was otherwise impressed.

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Pros

• One of the best-sounding speaker for its size
• Good design
• Listen to it horizontally or vertically
• IP67 waterproof and dustproof

With each new version of the Flip, JBL makes small improvements, and while the latest model, the Flip 6, doesn’t look much different from the Flip 5 on the outside, it does feature improved sound. It has two-way drivers with a woofer and tweeter and dual passive radiators that help the Flip 6 deliver much deeper bass than you think it could.

It’s fully waterproof and dustproof with an IPX67 rating. Like the Flip 5, it’s rated for up to 12 hours of audio playback at moderate volume levels and charges via USB-C. Available in multiple color options, it’s one of the best-sounding speakers for its compact size.

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Pros

• Pros:
• Good balance of size, performance and durability
• USB-A out charging port
• Listen to it horizontally or vertically
• IP67 waterproof and dustproof

JBL’s Charge 5 offers a good balance of size, performance and durability. It’s bigger than some of the mini speakers on this list, like the Flip 5, but is still compact and packs more bass punch and overall volume. Featuring a built-in USB charging port for juicing up your mobile devices, it offers improved audio and a dustproof and waterproof design that’s elevated from the previous Charge. According to JBL, the speaker is equipped with a “racetrack-shaped driver,” with a separate tweeter and dual passive radiators, to improve both clarity and bass performance over the Charge 4. (In my tests, this indeed proved to be the case.)

Battery life is rated at 20 hours at moderate volume levels. This model is also equipped with JBL’s PartyBoost feature that allows you to connect it to other compatible JBL portable speakers to augment their sound. The Charge 5 comes in six color options: black, blue, gray, red, teal and “squad,” which looks like a kind of camo.

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Pros

• Big sound that packs some serious punch
• Guitar and mic inputs
• Built-in light show
• IPX4 splash-proof
• Replaceable battery
• Link multiple JBL Auracast-enabled speakers

The successor to JBL’s popular PartyBox 110, the Club 120 packs some serious punch and delivers a bigger sound than many portable boombox speakers, including JBL’s own Boombox 3. The speaker has been slightly redesigned from its predecessor and now features a replaceable battery (you can swap in a second battery to extend battery life, but only one battery is included) and Bluetooth 5.4 with Auracast.

There’s an integrated foldable handle for toting the speaker, but the Club 120 is pretty hefty, weighing in at 24.4 pounds (1 pound more than the PartyBox 110) and measuring slightly more than 22 inches tall. You can stand this Bluetooth boom box up vertically as shown in the picture above or place it horizontally, as it has rubber feet on both sides of the speaker.

It’s rated for up to 12 hours of playback time at moderate volume levels and has a light show that syncs to the beat of your music (you can customize the light show from the speaker itself or use the JBL PartyBox companion app). The speaker has Bluetooth or a wired USB connection and there are guitar and mic inputs. It’s also worth noting that the speaker is IPX4 splash-proof and you can wirelessly link multiple JBL Auracast-enabled speakers for even bigger sound.