The Best Bluetooth Speakers for Your Home

During the week, days usually blend together and life can seem monotonous at times. However, your favorite tune can fill you up and bring you back to life, especially on those tough days that seem like they’ll stretch on for eternity. Music feeds the soul, so it’s important to find a quality Bluetooth speaker for your home that will provide you with crisp sound, doing justice to the artist’s lyrics. Retreat to your abode with a speaker that moves you.

When you’re choosing a Bluetooth speaker to fill your home with your life’s soundtrack, you want to look for certain details. The right music box will provide your home with full, rich audio that comes pretty close, or even matches, a home stereo system, minus the wires and laborious setup. Portability is somewhat important for a home Bluetooth speaker; however, you want it to be large enough that it can offer a fuller, richer sound and bass around the house.

Codecs: If you’re a self-proclaimed audiophile, odds are that one of the first things you account for is the device’s Bluetooth codec. But if you don’t fall in this category, odds are you’re asking, “what’s that?”. To break it down in layperson’s terms, there are five codecs you should know of, including SBC, AAC, LDAC, LC3/LC3plus, AptX, AptX HD, and AptX Adaptive– scratch that, there are eight. LDAC arguably reigns supreme when it comes to casual listening, often delivering a more balanced soundscape thanks to its lofty bitrate range that goes as high as 990kpbs. However, you’ll typically come across SBC-and-AAC-compatible speakers unless you pay top dollar. All that said, these shouldn’t fully dictate your purchase by any means.

Connectivity: Although most premium home speakers of yesteryear required a 3.5mm jack to operate, that’s obviously no longer the world we live in. Regardless, you should expect to find the option on several options out there, as it’ll surely come in handy when connecting to devices like your record player or laptop. However, the specified Bluetooth version is more important in this case. For example, the latest Bluetooth 5.2 utilizes LE Power Control and LE Audio, a pair of recent advancements in the audio world that promote superior results compared to what you’d expect from a Bluetooth 5.0-compatible speaker, albeit either offer an extensive connection range.

THE BEST HOME BLUETOOTH SPEAKERS

Sonos Roam SL

While some options in our guide will ensure Bluetooth connectivity and portability don’t go hand-in-hand, the Sonos Roam SL is not one of them. This small-scale model is practically built for the outdoors, with its trusty IP67 rating and all; that said, the booming speaker operates just as well when being transported from one room to the next. With its streamlined design, 10-hour battery life, and fully adjustable EQ, Sonos’ versatile device is the perfect starter option for achieving party-like sound on a more modest budget. Although the SoCal manufacturer doesn’t provide specific measurements for its drivers, the Roam SL still provides well-balanced sound.

Klipsch Heritage the THree Tabletop Speaker

Since this is a guide to the best home speakers, ensuring the one you buy looks as good as it works is just as important — that’s where Klipsch comes into play. The mid-century-inspired Three uses premium materials like genuine wood veneer and tactile-spun copper knobs for the ultimate shine while boasting aptX codec support and the famed founder’s transcendent acoustic tech. With seamless Wi-Fi connectivity and a 3.5 mm jack in addition to its Bluetooth 4.0 tech, the Klipsch Three is a great option for design and audio enthusiasts, but not for those seeking the latest wireless tech.

apple HomePod

We won’t bore you with everything you already knew about the original HomePod and how disappointing it was; instead, we’ll enlighten you on how much of a comeback Apple made in this department with its newly-revealed model. In adherence to the Cupertino giant’s Spatial Audio catalog, it’s no surprise to see this brand-new speaker serve as a compatible counterpart to the popular, immersive tech. Moreover, the same notion applies to Apple Music’s boundless library of lossless tracks, as the revamped HomePod can translate the same premium listening experience wirelessly, thanks to its AptX HD codec support; of all the options you’ll find in our guide, the sleek new smart speaker is the most affordable to offer it.

Bose Smart Speaker 500

Bose’s anodized aluminum-constructed Home Speaker 500 may have developed a new rival in Apple’s remodeled HomePod, but it’s hard to outdo a genuine audio manufacturer at its own game. Moreover, the high-end device offers everything you look for in a modern speaker, such as encompassing stereo sound, a built-in touchscreen display, and seamless AirPlay 2 compatibility. In addition to offering Alexa and Google Assistant, the speaker also features six preset buttons to make it as user-friendly as possible. And while all this is great, the relatively dated speaker offers Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity, meaning it’s only compatible within 30 feet of your device.

Marshall Woburn III

Arguably the most future-proof speaker on this list with its Bluetooth LE compatibility, Marshall’s latest Woburn speaker is a technological wonder with a fashionable vintage design. It boasts an old-school front fret, gold-colored metal details, and the iconic audio brand’s classic script logo front and center. And while you can use your bevy of Bluetooth-enabled devices to stream tunes directly to the Woburn, it also has a 3.5mm input, in addition to an RCA and optical input, so you can connect your Apple TV, cable receiver, or any music machines that have survived in your garage. Lastly, this 90W Bluetooth speaker is easy enough to carry around your home, so you can play your music in any room.

Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin

Using the same iconic design as the original Zeppelin, this modernized model is one of the best one-piece wireless audio systems imaginable. Packing two double dome tweeters, two midrange drivers with FST technology and a 6.5-inch subwoofer, providing a deep bass, this speaker can fill your home with crystal clear tunes that will truly move you. With AirPlay 2, Bluetooth aptX Adaptive support, and Spotify Connect just a button press away, you can dive into the music you love at any time. You know you’re getting quality audio with Bowers & Wilkins, as they have five decades of experience creating loudspeaker systems for world-leading recording studios.

Devialet Phantom II 95db

Boasting 600 watts of premium power and seamless Bluetooth connectivity, Devialet’s uniquely-shaped flagship speaker is virtually impossible to go wrong with. In addition to offering premium sound (especially when you buy two for stereo), the French manufacturer’s signature ADH audio architecture delivers an incredibly balanced listen, highlighting subtle frequencies using Class-A analog amps and powerful Class-D digital amps to deliver music however you want it. Lastly, Devialet’s Heart Bass Implosion technology also keeps the party bumping, much in part to a pair of lateral woofers cooperating for a massive sound soundscape.

Bang & Olufsen Beosound Level

Have you ever dreamed what it could be to hear every last bit of your favorite album from front to back? While you may never be able to revisit it for the first time, the Beosound Level’s ridiculous frequency range of 39-23k HZ delivers elements of music you have yet to hear, no matter how many times you’ve listened to it beforehand. In addition to offering premium sound via Class-D amplifiers bolstering its five-speaker array, B&O’s design language proves to be as sleek and modular as ever, allowing you to place the speaker flat on a coffee table, standing on its side, or hung up on the wall — its IP54 rating suggests you can even blast it mid-shower.

The Best AirPlay Speakers

The streaming age makes music hard to keep up with, but it’s never been easier to listen to. Our guide to the best AirPlay-ready speakers is here to make things even simpler.