Best Bluetooth Speaker for 2024

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.

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 water-resistance 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.

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.

Bose makes its excellent SoundLink Flex Bluetooth speaker that sells for around $150 and sometimes goes on sale for less. The Soundcore Motion 300 is Anker's answer to that Bose speaker. Around the same size as the Bose, it doesn't sound quite as good, but it sounds impressive for its compact size and lists for only $80 (it's been on sale for as low as $55). 

Like the SoundLink Flex, it can be laid down flat with its speaker firing up toward the ceiling or propped up as shown in the photo above. It's IPX7 waterproof and delivers up to 13 hours of audio at moderate volume levels. There's also support for Sony's LDAC audio codec for Android and other devices that support Bluetooth wireless streaming with LDAC. 

The speaker has a bass-boost button that does amp up the low end a bit, but I actually thought the speaker sounded a little better without the bass boost engaged because the speaker seemed slightly overdriven with the boost. 

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.

Back in 2020, Tribit released the StormBox Micro, a budget version of Bose's excellent SoundLink Micro speaker that delivered surprisingly good sound for its size and modest price. The second-gen StormBox Micro 2 offers improved sound and battery life, along with a charge-out feature that turns the speaker into a power bank for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. An integrated strap allows you to clip it to your backpack or your bike's handlebars.

Like the original, it's an excellent value and easy to recommend if you're looking for a super-compact portable wireless speaker. It does cost $60 but sometimes goes on sale for closer to $50.

Sony launched the SRS-XB23 a few years ago and it was a fairly popular portable Bluetooth speaker. The lightweight and compact ULT Field 1 sort of looks like a cross between the XB23 and the newer SRS-XE200. It sounds significantly better than the XB23, which had bass forward sound but just didn't offer enough clarity and detail for my tastes. The ULT Field 1 sounds fuller and more balanced and competes favorably with JBL's popular Flip 6, which lists for the same price.

The speaker comes in four colors -- off-white, orange, black and forest gray -- and it's waterproof and dust-proof, with an IP67 rating. It also has speakerphone capabilities and is rated for up to 12 hours of battery life at moderate volume levels.

When you press the ULT button, you get a bass boost and overall fuller sound. Unlike with the ULT button on the Wear headphones that I thought boosted the bass too much, in the case of the Field 1, the speaker didn't have enough bass unless the ULT button was engaged.

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.