Wireless Bluetooth speakers are available in a variety of shapes and sizes, and their prices range from $20 to $500, or even higher for truly high-end models. Naturally, some speakers are superior to others, and some are also more cost-effective than others. This is an important consideration when selecting the products for our list of the best Bluetooth speakers. Additionally, we look at a speaker’s durability and resistance to water, as well as its design, sound quality, and battery life. Since these are portable speakers, they ought to be able to withstand the elements.
Mr Sablah audio experts have tested all the Bluetooth speakers on this list and we update the list regularly as new speakers hit the market and some products become outdated. As I said, some of the premium models can get pretty expensive. But we also have a number of value picks for those on a tighter budget.
Best Bluetooth wireless speaker for 2023
Marshall’s new-for-2023 Middleton speaker isn’t precisely minimized. However, you won’t have to work hard to carry it around because it isn’t too heavy. It is larger than Marshall’s Emberton speaker but smaller and more portable than its Kilburn II speaker at 4 pounds (1.8 kilograms). Regardless of how you look at it, it sounds great for its size, produces a surprising amount of high-quality bass, has good treble detail, and has natural-sounding mids (where vocals live). I also liked that it has equalizer controls on the speaker itself, and that it is fully waterproof and dustproof with an IP67 rating. I did bump the bass a little bit.
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At moderate volume levels, the speaker’s battery life is said to last up to 20 hours, and Marshall claims that it takes 4.5 hours to fully charge the speaker. You can use the speaker as a power bank and charge your devices thanks to the charge-out feature in its USB-C charging port.
The sound can be amplified by pairing two or more speakers, but you can’t pair two speakers together to form a stereo pair. Although Marshall claims that the Middleton has True Stereophonic, which is “a unique form of multidirectional stereo sound,” I did find the soundstage to be larger than typical for a speaker of this size. Although I was impressed overall, the speaker’s price is its only drawback.
Anker Soundcore Motion Boom Plus
Although it has been on this list for some time, Anker’s original Soundcore Motion Boom speaker (see below) is still a decent value at a little more than $100. However, the brand-new Motion Boom Plus, which will be available in 2022, has significantly improved sound quality. It easily ranks among the top 2023 Bluetooth speakers.
Weighing 5.29 pounds (very nearly a pound more than the Movement Blast), it utilizes Bluetooth 5.3 and is outfitted with redesigned double 3.5-inch woofers and recently added double 1-inch tweeters, conveying up to 80 watts of sound result (60W for the woofers and 20W for the tweeters). At moderate volume levels, the battery is expected to last 20 hours. In addition, it is dustproof and IP67 waterproof, and it floats in the event that you drop it in a body of water.
The sound quality, which compares favorably to a few of the more expensive and larger speakers on this list, impressed me. In Anker’s Soundcore companion app for iOS and Android, you can change the speaker’s sound profile (with EQ settings) and upgrade its firmware. The speaker has a button that lets you turn on bass boost. I found that the speaker gave me full sound with good clarity in the mids and highs and good bass definition when I had the bass boost engaged. The speaker, despite its small size, is capable of producing a significant amount of sound and avoiding most distortion at higher volumes. I usually kept the volume between 50% and 75%.)
There is some stereo separation if you are seated within a few feet of the speaker. However, if you really want to improve the sound quality, you can create a true stereo pair by wirelessly pairing two Soundcore Motion Boom Plus speakers. At the moment, it costs $180 on Amazon, but if you use the instant coupon on the product page, you can save $20.
