Best Bluetooth Speakers 2025 – Not just JBL, these sound good too

Almost everyone has some kind of sound-generating device at home, but the different types of Bluetooth speakers are not exactly a rare bird either. However, the different segments have undergone amazing development, from speakers designed for karaoke to party speakers, and this is only the tip of the iceberg. It really doesn't matter what you want to use it for, how many of them there are and what brand they are. JBL, Sony, Harman Kardon, Bose or one of the Chinese? Today, Earfun, Tronsmart, and Anker Soundcore also produce excellent devices, the selection is staggering.

We will guide you, readers, in this and help you choose the right tools for the given task.

contents

• These are the best Bluetooth speakers (2025)
• Everything you need to know about Bluetooth speakers
• How should you choose a Bluetooth speaker?
• Tips and tricks for choosing a Bluetooth speaker
• Pros and cons of using a Bluetooth speaker
• Frequently Asked Questions

Bluetooth speakers can be classified into several categories, depending on the purpose for which these devices are intended. We tried to fill our list with speakers that offer a 1-1 solution for all special tasks, but of course there are really outstanding models that can fulfill several roles at the same time.

These are the best Bluetooth speakers (2025)

The Bluetooth speakers on our list have been selected based on the following criteria:

• more than 10 years, based on our own experience as testers
• we all own several models and use them on a daily basis
• based on the service experience and long-term tests of our previous partners
• based on individual research, which is based on domestic and international customer opinions
• based on opinions read in various forums and special groups
• for your pleasure, we even broke one to see what's inside

READ THE DETAILED TEST OF THE SOUNDCORE MOTION X600 BLUETOOTH SPEAKER!

READ THE DETAILED TEST OF THE EARFUN UBOOM L BLUETOOTH SPEAKER!

READ THE DETAILED TEST OF THE TRONSMART T7 BLUETOOTH SPEAKER!

READ THE DETAILED TEST OF THE TRONSMART BANG MAX BLUETOOTH SPEAKER!

Which didn't make the list, but is worth noting

Of course, our list can never be complete, so you should not forget, for example, the LG Bluetooth speaker, the LG Xboom RP4 surround speaker, the Samsung BT products, or manufacturers that prefer studio monitors, such as Mac Audio. Our old favorite is the Thonet&Vander Kürbis, which had a Bluetooth model and we also drove one a few years ago. But today Makita also produces BT speakers, the selection is almost endless. The legendary models of GGMM - M3 -, DOSS - Soundbox XL - or Dockin - D-Fine - are also worth mentioning if you want to choose from Chinese manufacturers. Do you know which Bluetooth speaker has the coolest name? The Teufel Boomster, which is said to sound damn good.

YOU CAN FIND ALL THE BLUETOOTH SPEAKERS TESTED BY US AT THIS LINK!

Everything you need to know about Bluetooth speakers

Bluetooth speakers go by many names, on the one hand, because the manufacturers try to refer to the special use, and on the other hand, because it makes the product look cooler. In fact, all of the names below mean the same thing, at most the format is different:

• Bluetooth speaker, also known as BT speaker (more rustically: "Bluetooth speaker")
• boombox or ghetto blaster (the latter term from the 80s)
• party speaker
• sound bar, sound projector
• karaoke speaker
• steering wheel speaker (for bicycles)
• "Coke" speaker
• portable speaker

In fact, these are different types of speakers, their common point is the form of data transfer, which is the Bluetooth connection. Without exception, these are active devices, which means that they have a small amplifier that drives the sound channels, so they typically cannot be fitted into larger sound systems. Unlike loudspeakers - which are typically passive pieces, the control is carried out by a signal amplifying electronics - or amplifier for short - and they stand up independently. This does not mean that it cannot be combined with different sound protocols, such as TWS or Tronsmart's TuneConn, where the speakers imitate the characteristics of stereo systems using BT transmission.

Let's try to untangle the names a little so that you know what they mean. If we only look at which one does what, then any device that converts an electrical signal into audible sound is called a speaker. In common language, however, the names did not spread like this, but roughly as follows:

• Loudspeaker, speaker: Usually larger, passive sound generating equipment that is integrated into a sound system. It is customary to call them voice boxes or voice boxes, the latter being mostly used for subwoofers.
• Speaker: Originally, it meant a device containing a vibrating membrane, but today it is also used for separate products, which otherwise contain (six) several speakers, causing quite a bit of conceptual confusion. Devices equipped with a BT module are called BT speakers.
• Subwoofer or bass speaker: Speaker responsible for deep sounds.
• Treble: Tweeter, the speaker responsible for high tones is also called this.
• boombox: A portable, medium-sized speaker with a handle, often equipped with an LED. The party speaker is the same.
• Ghetto blaster: the portable speakers of the 80s, which were battery-powered at the time, integrated with cassette recorders (the BT standard did not exist yet).
• Karaoke speaker: An active speaker that has a microphone input and usually outputs the vocals from the microphone together with the background music. They also tend to include extra features, such as cutting the vocals of the track and the like.
• Soundbar: A strip speaker, which in most cases is associated with TVs and projectors, can basically be recognized by its elongated shape.
• "Steering wheel speaker": A small, hang-up speaker, usually with a cloth ear, leather strap or carabiner. They are usually hung on backpacks and bicycle handlebars.
• "Kolas" speaker: Cylindrical, circularly radiating speaker the size of a cola can or slightly larger.
• Portable speaker: Everything designed to be moved frequently. They are almost always battery powered, small in size and have a BT module.

Of course, any of the above features can be claimed by a modern Bluetooth speaker, this can only be limited by the imagination of the manufacturers. But how do they work? Here's an impromptu technical explanation of what a noise-making device does.

How does a Bluetooth speaker work?

Loudspeakers actually consist of nothing more than a vibrating membrane and a damped oscillating coil inside a magnet, which is attached to the membrane. A current is applied to the coil, which moves the sheet - the cone - which, depending on the strength of the current, deflects in space. This deflection generates air pressure in the roughly 20-20 Hz range, which we perceive as sound. In other words, the speaker is nothing more than a device that converts electrical signals into acoustic signals.

The most common solution is the dynamic drive, you can read the description of this - it is dynamic because the coil moves in it - above, but there are other ones that work on a different principle - vibrating armature, piezoelectric, plasma, etc. – loudspeakers too. In fact, the construction of the speakers determines what kind of sound they can produce. We will not go into this now, because audio technology and its development history could fill a complete lexicon series, but for those who are more deeply interested in the topic, the On the Muzix site you will find a pretty good description.

What does the Bluetooth module do?

Bluetooth is a wireless data transfer standard, similar to Wi-Fi. It differs from the latter in that it requires significantly less power for its transmission, so it consumes much less, ideal for portable devices where sound and other data need to be transferred. Lower consumption means lower radiation power, so the range is also shorter, depending on the version of the standard 5-30 meters in open space, in return a long operating time can be achieved for Bluetooth speakers, but especially in the case of very small Bluetooth earphones.

You can guess how modern the BT version is from the version number of the Bluetooth standard, we are now at 5.4. The more modern the standard, the greater its range - 15-30 meters - and the more stable the data connection. You can try this by using a 5.x version number after a newer 4.x standard device, the difference will be surprisingly big.

In the case of audio transmission, the Bluetooth standard is only the "carrier", the quality of the transmission is determined by many other factors. One of these is that the audio information must be coded and decoded, and manufacturers use different coding procedures for this. In order to understand how this works, we need to step back a little, to the concept of uncompressed and compressed music, which basically depends on the quality of the music. Music can be:

• It is uncompressed, i.e. lossless: In this case, the music preserves the entire sound spectrum, we can say that this is "100% quality", or at least the file contains all the information emitted by the original sound source. Such a format is, for example, wav. The disadvantage is the extra large size.
• Compressed but lossless: Such formats were invented because of their large size, they can be used to reduce the file size, such as files with the flac extension.
• Compressed and not lossless: Small file size, but a part of the entire spectrum is lost (this is why they say that the "stage" is not wide enough), in exchange, a relatively large amount of music can be stored on portable data storage devices. Such are mp3 files. Streaming services also use this or a similar format - e.g. Spotify - to keep data traffic low. There are exceptions, such as Tidal.

Of course, the file format in which you store a song is only one piece of data, you should know it sampling frequency – kHz, i.e. how many samples of the given signal the converter takes per second during digitization - the higher the better. You need to know the bitrate – kbps, which tells us how much data we use to store one second of music -, the “higher the better” principle also applies here, and there are thousands of other parameters. By the way, you can check the latter under Windows under file information.

Now that we know what the music carrier is, let's go back a bit to the operation of BT, in connection with which I already mentioned that it is a low-power, economical standard, but its bandwidth is also small, which of course has increased along with the increase in versions. BT transfers the sound using different sound coding procedures, let's look at them in more detail now.

Bluetooth audio coding procedures

The sound has to be coded and decoded, as you store it in digital form - in a file - and this has to be converted into analog vibration using the BT speaker's diaphragms. The big question is how much transmission speed the BT standard supports and what encoding process it uses. If a device does not display this data, then SBC is the basis for Android devices, and AAC for Apple products, but of course there are encoding procedures with a higher bandwidth. The list is quite extensive:

• SBC (low complexity subband coding): Widely used standard, used by all stereo BT speakers and headphones. In theory, it can transmit a maximum of 345 kbps data, with 44,1 kHz sampling. In practice, it provides maximum average sound quality.
• AAC (advanced audio coding): The coding procedure used by Apple's iTunes platform, theoretically assumes better quality than SBC. It is capable of a transmission speed of 250 kbps.
• aptX: Developed by Qualcomm, designed for wideband stereo audio compression, capable of speeds of around 350 kbps. There is also an aptX LL version, which has a particularly low latency of around 40ms.
• aptX HD: An improved version of the former standard, 576 kbps transmission speed with 48 kHz sampling, plus the engineers added some other extras – e.g. lower latency, less background noise, etc. – also boosted the coding procedure.
• aptx Adaptive: An adaptive version of the former, which can change the bandwidth, depending on the use for which the sounds must be broadcast. Its maximum transmission speed is 420 kpbs.
• LDAC (lossless digital audio codec): Sony standard, as you can guess from its name, it is a lossless coding process. It can transfer 990 kbps, which is roughly the minimum you should use to play flac files.
• lHDC (low latency high-definition audio codec): Developed by Savitech, capable of 900 kbps transmission and 48 kHz sampling with very low latency. This also has an LL version, the delay of which is around 30 ms.

The term delay was mentioned several times. This means nothing more than how quickly the audio source can play the music compared to the time the source sent it to the device. By default, BT speakers play the sound with a delay of 200-300 ms - roughly a fifth/third of a second - which is not disturbing when listening to music. On the other hand, while playing a game or watching a movie, you may feel that the sound is constantly lagging behind the picture, so it "slips". Therefore, following the lower the better principle, you won't notice the delay much after 100 ms. Of course, the delay is lowest if the sound is not transmitted using the BT standard, but with a cable, but the new, low-latency encodings already know almost the same thing, you can expect a delay of roughly 30-40 ms, which is no longer perceptible.

Take this with you

If you didn't understand a single stinking word from the above, that's not a problem, because in practice these apply less in relation to BT speakers - more so with BT earphones and headphones. The reason for this is that you will not know in advance what acoustic characteristics the room where you are listening to the Bluetooth speaker will have. The sound will bounce off large, straight surfaces, break at corners and a thousand other effects will prevail. For this very reason, truly professional sound systems – in the price range of millions – are tailored to the given location and designed with sound engineers, and it is no coincidence that recording studios are full of sound-absorbing materials. Since this is a separate profession, we will not go into it in depth in this article.

The musical experience is also influenced by unique characteristics, such as your age, how much frequency range you can still hear - younger people have a wider range, older people have a narrower range - what your musical taste is like, and we could go on and on. The bottom line: music is a very subjective genre, but you can strive to bring home the best-sounding Bluetooth speaker for the same amount of money.

Shelf speaker with BT module

A couple of years ago, they started launching Bluetooth speakers on the market, which is a combination of two categories. In practice, they are active shelf speakers, which are not portable, but instead have a Bluetooth module. We also owned such, for example the German Thonet&Vander Kürbis type, but the Marshall Stanmore series is also worth mentioning.

Stereo, not stereo

Stereo is nothing more than two-channel sound. The easiest way to test this is to take two traditional speakers, and if both are playing, the amplifier will send one channel to each speaker. It's also easy to test with BT earphones, if only one sounds, it's mono, if both, it's stereo.

It is important that in the case of stereo sound recording, the sound recordings are also recorded on two separate channels, the sound is not only repeated, so that the two signals appear separately on the sound sources during playback (so it is not stereo if the same sounds on 2 speakers). This is primarily interesting because BT speakers usually stand alone, but more recently they can also be bought in sets, which can include 2 or even more. The question is, what does this mean? The answer is to be found in modern Bluetooth-based voice synchronization procedures.

TWS and TuneConn

A TWS stands for True Wireless Stereo, which is nothing but stereo sound on a wireless basis. Quite a few manufacturers use it for their Bluetooth speakers, and it can be considered basic for Bluetooth earphones. If you remember, in the past, all speakers were connected by cables, and the two diaphragms of the headphones are still connected to this day. In the past, there was also a galvanic connection between BT earphones, and a BT module was placed in the middle of the cord.

Today, this is considered an outdated technology among portable devices, but the need for stereo sound still remains, which is why TWS was invented. This does nothing but connect two speakers on a BT basis, where one speaker becomes the master and the other the secondary, the first takes control of the second as well. Not only does it split the sound into two channels, but it also manages the control on its own, so you can, for example, adjust the volume from a single device. The Tronsmart speaker palette is the master of this, but BlitzWolf, Xiaomi and EarFun also use it, for example. The technology can also be found in the case of Western and South Korean manufacturers, but not all manufacturers call it the same. Cheap TWS-capable Bluetooth speakers have another attractive feature: the price of Western brands often includes 2 speakers, so you can basically listen to a stereo pair instead of a single device. Finally, with the help of TWS technology, we managed to connect several different speaker types.

TuneConn is a Trademark of Tronsmart, this is nothing but a technology similar to TWS, which can be used to connect up to 100 Bluetooth speakers. To the best of our knowledge, the technology can currently operate as a 2.1 system, which means that it can control a bass channel separately in addition to the left and right channels. We haven't seen more than 2 devices connected at the same time in real life, but theoretically they could connect up to 100, increasing the performance quite a bit, for example. But TuneConn can also be suitable for placing the individual watching the video in the center, so that the sounds reach him from all directions.

Anker Soundcore's similar solution is PartyCast, which synchronizes not only the sound but also the LED lights.

Today, the Bluetooth speaker is not only good for listening to music

Modern Bluetooth speakers can no longer be used not only as speakers, but also as a power bank, and some models can even receive phone calls as hands-free speakers. Their functionality is largely linked to the connectors on the back, which can be the following:

• 3,5 mm jack (AUX): audio input
• 6,3 mm jack: audio input, a larger jack is standard, usually on karaoke speakers, which is either a microphone or guitar input
• AUX VA: an AUX connector where the speaker is waiting for an audio assistant, usually found on soundbars.
• S/PDIF: digital optical connector for audio transmission
• USB-A: often used as a data transfer port, but some models can charge other devices in power bank mode (reverse charge)
• USB Type-C: the Bluetooth speaker is usually powered here, but this connector can be both input and output at the same time (you can also charge other devices from here)
• TF reader: SD cards can be connected here, they usually work with micro SD cards
• HDMI ARC: HDMI is basically used for digital image transmission, but if there is ARC support, it also transmits sound, can be connected to TVs, usually occurs on soundbars
• IR: an infrared sensor is usually connected here, if it is separate from the unit

What is HDMI ARC?

The HDMI ARC support is worth explaining a little separately. Basically, you can meet it in the case of home theaters. The point is that in the default case, the playback device transmits the image via an HDMI cable to the TV through the sound system, but since the signal here travels in one direction, the audio signal must be disconnected from the signal stream with the help of a cable from the TV output, and return to the sound system. This is caused by HDMI ARC, where the signal can travel backwards, towards the loudspeaker, so you can save an unnecessary cable.

Software features of Bluetooth speakers

Nowadays, it's cool if something is "smart", so there are countless applications available for Bluetooth speakers. Unlike Bluetooth headphones, where the control buttons do not fit on the surface of the sound generator, this is not the case with speakers. Therefore, in addition to the physical control, they used to create a software case, from which the same things can be adjusted as manually.

The advantage of the app is that everything can be customized: the brightness of the LED, the sound colors, you can play white noise to introduce the speaker membranes, there are functions to help you sleep - for example, simulating raindrops, wind, the sound of the sea - and much more. Most speakers can update software using the phone, but they can also use a pop-up window to indicate their charge level and many other status changes.

Other functions of Bluetooth speakers

More modern BT speakers are supplemented with countless other options, and according to our experience, more and more people are looking for noisemakers for this reason. Basically, two such come to mind, which I cannot classify in any other category.

LED lighting

LED is nothing more than a light-emitting element that is best suited to brighten up the mood. Many people don't like it because it gives off a very "gamer" and very "party" feeling, while others love it. The newer ones are able to follow the beat and repeat various pre-programmed patterns, such as "charging up", "breathing" and the like. For those devices that can be programmed from an application, individual patterns can also be edited for the LEDs.

It is important to know that LEDs consume an amazing amount of energy compared to what is needed to operate the speaker at a medium or slightly lower volume. LED lighting can easily cut the operating time in half, so you should definitely take this into account.

EQ, otherwise known as electronic tone adjustment

EQ is nothing but the abbreviation of equalizer. It is particularly fashionable to put a dedicated button on Bluetooth speakers so that you can set different predefined sound profiles, we used to call this hardware EQ. This is typically the case with bass enhancement, accentuation of vocals - middle range - or tweaking of the treble.

The same can often be adjusted from an app, this is the software EQ. It is not uncommon for a BT speaker to know both.

Operating time of Bluetooth speakers

Reproducing the factory operating time of Bluetooth speakers in practice is quite tricky. The companies always state these as a reference value, which typically means the following conditions: measured in a lab, with basic settings, with bass boost and LEDs turned off, and the speaker driven at 50% volume. In reality, this can be repeated relatively rarely, so it depends on the user how much the current operating time will be. In addition, other factors - e.g. the source of the music, interference, etc. - also influences.

One thing is for sure, you can become deaf even if you listen to higher-powered devices in a smaller room at 50% volume. Because of this, everyone lowers the volume, so it is even possible to achieve a better operating time than the factory one, at least we succeeded several times. Of course, the opposite is also true, the use of LEDs often halves the factory operating time.

Finally, here is literally what the English website of the Anker company says about this: "Battery playtime data is obtained via testing in the Anker laboratory using the speaker's default settings, at 50% volume, and with BassUp and light effects turned off. Actual playtime may vary depending on factors including volume, audio source, and environmental interference.”

Formal design: soundbar, surround speaker, "cube" speaker

The appearance of the speakers is not accidental. In most cases, non-design aspects are taken into account, although there are one or two astonishingly beautiful pieces. The acoustic characteristics are much more dominant, that is, how the sound spreads and whether the users enjoy a more pleasant musical experience because of this.

Most loudspeakers follow the rectangular body shape, speakers are usually vertical, and BT loudspeakers are mostly horizontal rectangular. Some of them have a bass reflex opening through which the deep bass leaves, mainly bookshelf speakers use such a thing. If it is backwards, it is worth keeping some distance from the furniture and the wall, but of course it is best if there is relatively free space around the speaker.

Most loudspeakers typically emit in one direction, the listener is facing the loudspeaker, as this is where the music can be heard the most. However, there are so-called surround speakers - omnidirectional - in which the sound spreads 360 degrees, along the speaker casing. These are usually achieved by laying the speaker down and "spreading" the sound with a physical element - a cone or hemisphere.

The other extreme is the soundbar, more specifically: strip speaker. These devices are often associated with TVs that are placed in front of or below them. Due to the low height and large width, usually several, smaller membranes are placed in the device next to each other.

Also important is the material of the enclosure of the speakers, which is ideal if it is made of wood - in fact, it does not matter whether it is made of acacia or rosewood, for example - it has the best properties from an acoustic point of view. However, modern loudspeakers are almost without exception made of plastic or metal, so these are relatively rare - e.g. Marshall, GGMM, etc. - you will meet.

Waterproof, not waterproof

Bluetooth speakers usually have an IP protection rating, which usually consists of two numbers, something like this: IP67.

The IP standard shows the protection against environmental influences of the enclosure that protects the circuits of technical equipment, based on two classification lists. The first applies to solids and the second to liquids. That is, for IP67, this means that:

• 6: fully protected against dust
• 7: protected against immersion in water for a limited time (at a depth of 15-60 centimeters, maximum 30 minutes)

Sometimes there is an "X" instead of one of the numbers, e.g. IP6X, in which case the product is only protected against dust, not liquids. In most cases, the speakers cannot be immersed in water for a long time, but they can be wet, so they are protected against spills, for example, and even against dust in most cases. However, there are BT speakers whose surface treatment is so fine that it would be a shame to put them on a sandy beach. They will last, but the paint or "polish" may be damaged.

Sleep aid with Bluetooth speaker

Some models have an application that integrates sounds to help you sleep. There are imitations of waterfall, rain, wind and the like that can help you fall asleep. Of course, these can be alternated and timed, and there are specific target devices that are primarily sleep aids and secondarily Bluetooth speakers.

The generation of white noise is not particularly far from this function, which is also a type of sound, but it is not intended to help you sleep, but to introduce speakers. Not all models know this, but you can find files suitable for this on the Internet, which, after running for 10-20 hours - the manufacturer selects which one says how much - you can break in the membranes of the BT speaker.

Why is there so much hype around JBL Bluetooth speaker products?

The American brand JBL - after the abbreviation of the name James Bullough Lansing - has been part of the famous Harman Kardon and owned by Samsung for some time. The company was founded in 1927, their first speaker was launched in 1946, their most famous product is probably the JBL Paragon, which is a vintage speaker, manufactured from 1957 to 1981, so they did not start the speaker industry today, the company has a serious tradition.

Although JBL products were already very popular, from 2017, under the auspices of Samsung, the budget increased significantly and JBL advertisements began to flow from the faucet. They specifically manufacture quality products, but of course these come with a higher price tag than the prices of competitors with similar skills. It's far from a premium brand, but among average customers who don't wink in the audiophile direction, JBL has become a kind of reference point, almost everyone wants to beat them.

Their portable speakers are the most popular, the best known perhaps being the mid-sized JBL Charge 5, which is the 5th edition of the series. Speakers smaller than the JBL Charge are the JBL Flip, JBL Clip and JBL Go - this is the fourth series called the JBL GO 4 - and the JBL Wind aimed directly at bicycle handlebars, which nicely cover the handlebar and cola can speaker categories that we also mentioned. . They also have different JBL Partybox variants with microphone support and karaoke functions. The popularity of the JBL Charge 5 is probably due to the fact that it is not yet so financially burdensome - the price range is $150-200 - it is not too big, so it can be moved quite easily, it already sounds sufficiently rich and has a WiFi version that can be used for streaming . The bigger brother of the JBL Charge 5 is the JBL BoomBox, which is still on the portable border and also has a sound image that meets modern needs. The manufacturer promises the release of the JBL Charge 6 Bluetooth speaker by the end of 2025.

The above is roughly true for JBL headphone products as well, great hype, good quality, higher than average price.

On what basis should you choose a Bluetooth speaker?

A lot of aspects could be listed in an essentially subjective topic. It's easy to imagine that each of three people hears a sound source differently, but we did our best to give you the right clues for the selection:

• Price range: Perhaps the most important aspect. In general, the smaller a BT speaker is, the cheaper it is, but in return its performance is also lower. Entry-level devices start around $30, and the limit is the sky.
• Place of use: It doesn't matter whether you want to use the speaker indoors or outdoors. In the case of the former, compatibility with the apartment and other aesthetic aspects also play a role. And the latter should be relatively easy to carry and pack, while delivering high performance.
• Aesthetics: The eye eats first, as they say. In the case of a shelf loudspeaker, it is extremely important - think, for example, to the GGMM M3, how hot it looks - the exterior.
• Running Time: One of the most important, especially if you want to play hurcibals. There are already speakers that last a full day at medium volume, but this is not the norm.
• For what music: Most speakers modify the audio signal depending on the intended use. Of course, you can also adjust this using the equalizer, but obviously you have to expect something different from a boombox than from a bookshelf speaker.
• IP standard: Rough impacts mean the end of many BT speakers. It's worth checking which IP standards they meet, if you want to take it with you on vacation, for example, and put it down in the sand or on the beach.
• Csatlakozók: If the Bluetooth connection is enough, you don't actually have to look at a lot of things. If, on the other hand, you want to use it as a power bank or need other input ports, then check what connectors the device has.
• One or more pieces: Since there is TWS mode, you can connect several speakers together, so not only stereo, but even multi-channel systems can be created (if the protocol supports it, otherwise only the music is repeated).
• Additional options: Countless models can now be controlled by application, they have LEDs, they have built-in equalizer profiles, but they can even help you sleep. The possibilities are almost endless.

Of course, you may have countless other aspects of your own, so it's worth looking a little through the technical parameters of BT speakers, many things can be revealed along the way.

Tips and tricks for choosing Bluetooth speakers in 2025

In most articles, you can find general lists of how to choose a Bluetooth speaker. However, we would also like to share our personal experiences with you, as we have already had hundreds of products in our hands.

The first and perhaps most important is that it is your expectations are realistic to be The loud things are typically the stuff that everyone has 5-6 of for the right task. We only have about 4-6 Bluetooth earphones and headphones per person, and we also have a separate Bluetooth speaker set and shelf speaker. If you want to combine functions, for example listening to a portable noise generator indoors, then by definition you will not be able to achieve the same quality as with two devices. According to our experience, the Anker Soundcore Motion X600 is the closest to all-rounder devices combined with high music quality, but it would be a big heartache to put it down in the sand.

Most eye candy extra is more harmful than useful. The LEDs look good, and after three beers, it's funny how they flash to the beat of the music, but they eat up the operating time. High IP standards mean that users start not taking care of their stuff. Have you ever tried to clean sand from the holes of the grille protecting the speaker? The device can handle it, but it is not a pleasant chore.

Most people associate a Bluetooth speaker with a portable device, that is, it is not worth buying either too big or too small. The ideal size is roughly the JBL Charge 5 and its counterparts or slightly smaller speakers - e.g. Earfun Uboom L -, this should be considered as a reference. The ones that are too small do not have enough space and performance to sound well, and the bigger ones are difficult to carry for a long time. The JBL BoomBox and Tronsmart Bang series are still quite good and they are one category bigger than the JBL Charge 5, so if you are looking for devices for partying, then one - or two - of these speakers is not a bad choice.

You have to pay more for the bigger names, and it's no different here. In addition, you will regret them even more if the goal is to use them with punches. There are two ways to make it cheaper: buy similarly good products from a smaller brand, or buy devices in pairs. Speakers are often given in bundles, for example 2 TWS-capable cola box speakers at the same time due to the stereo effect. The unit price of these is lower than if you buy them separately and at most give them to your friends if you only need 1 piece. Also working practice a warehouse for sweeping Or the for the appearance of new models wait, they always push prices down.

Although the sound itself does not become obsolete, so you could easily buy an older speaker, there is the so-called a phenomenon of moral obsolescence, when technology surpasses the knowledge of previous devices and manufacturers introduce new functions. The lack of them, if you already use them, can certainly hurt, for example, the application-based control does not seem important at first, but you can get the hang of it. The opposite of the above is also true, some manufacturers innovate almost nothing, so they quickly disappear from the market. Examples include GGMM, Dockin or Doss. Their older products are perfectly good, but the new ones haven't been such a big hit so far.

Az operating time the second most important parameter after sound. Almost everyone clicks on this, because it is unpleasant when the BT speaker runs out of power during the party. What is the solution to this? Take a power bank with you and start charging your device on the go. It's worth looking for Type-Cs solutions - instead of those with power supplies - because in the long term, almost all devices will be like this, so you can also use your phone charger as a power source, and you don't have to fiddle with spec cables.

As the sound regarding the best solution is to simply listen to an instrument, whether its sound image suits you or not, there is no better way. Of course, this is not always possible, but since everyone hears sounds in a unique way, you will achieve the closest result.

Everyone drives for sales, which are sometimes also provided by stores such as Spar, where there was a Spar JBL sale. Typically, in this case, you have to collect points, for which you get a discount. It is worth treating all of these with reservations and comparing the prices with those of other webshops, because you can often get a good deal from such promotions, but sometimes not. But for this comparison, for example, it is excellent Product searcher.

Pros and cons of using Bluetooth speakers

Advantages of Bluetooth speakers:

• they are portable
• they are relatively cheap
• most have the IP standard
• the app-based ones offer countless extras
• sometimes they have a surprisingly long operating time
• They can sound like stereo speakers in TWS mode
• you can choose from quite a wide spectrum, there are boomboxes, karaoke speakers, handlebar-mounted solutions and much more
• WiFi solutions can also stream music

Disadvantages of Bluetooth speakers:

• it is difficult to compare the knowledge of the products against each other
• There are so many products on the market, it's hard to choose
• in most cases, the sound quality is lower than in the case of more serious systems at home

Frequently Asked Questions

What Bluetooth speaker should I buy?

It mainly depends on the type of use you are looking for a BT speaker for. Be sure to choose from the well-known Chinese or Western brands.

What Chinese BT speaker should I buy?

The situation in the Bluetooth speaker market is very similar to that of robot or stationary vacuum cleaners, but we could also mention electric scooters, we wrote about all of them in In our Professional Head Enlarger section. The Chinese seized the market amazingly quickly with their cheap but exceptionally high quality devices. Today, the products of some brands easily beat - or in certain parameters even exceed - their Western competitors.

Where Chinese companies are not so strong is the high-end segment and the construction of unique audio systems, simply because it is very difficult to build a Mark&Levinson, Bang&Olufsen or Bose-level brand power without traditions, and you cannot conquer this market with dumping products. .

On the other hand, there is a segment in the mid-range or below price range, and in the last 10 years some very decent brands have developed their product range here. In general, it can be said that for the same money, these products offer more than Western brands, with similar or slightly lower sound quality.

• Tronsmart: They make some of the best stuff, have the TuneConn trademark attached to them, and are usually ahead of the curve in uptime.
• Xiaomi: The company launches fairly high-quality products, which are usually tuned by 1MORE (at least in the case of their earphones).
• Soundcore by Anker: First we were blown away by their earphones (Q Lite series), then they conquered DXOMARK's top list with their Motion products, and then came the Boom models. One of the best Chinese manufacturers.
• BlitzWolf/AirAux: The latter is a sub-brand of the former, in the past they launched great devices on the market.
• ear fun: Relatively new brand, they have two amazingly good value for money BT speakers. We also own an EarFun Uboom Lt.
• Edifier: Legendary shelf speaker manufacturer, the RT series is very well known, but they are also at home in headphones and earphones.
• Huawei: You hear less about them these days, but they are a real global brand alongside Xiaomi. In the past, they entered the market with quite good speakers, such as Sound Joy.

Our secret tip: a good Xiaomi Bluetooth speaker is always a good choice, the quality is very consistent, it's hard to go wrong with them.

There are also companies whose brand name was shining a few years ago, but since then they haven't really come up with anything. Their older models are still very desirable, such as: GGMM M3, Dockin D Fine, Doss Soundbox XL and some Mifa products.

What is the DXOMARK list?

A DXOMARK list BT is to speakers looking for what Transfermarkt is to soccer fans. Loudspeakers are ranked primarily based on sound quality, and these are sorted into categories, although relatively few models are tested. Nevertheless, the site can be used as a reference.

What is the best Bluetooth speaker?

It is an undecidable question, which is the most suitable for you. You can also approach the question from the point of view of which products are at the top of DXOMARK's list. Of course, the list is far from complete, but it is a good guideline for roughly which devices are considered appropriate in the given category. We also tried a few products from the list and they produced the results described on the site.

What is the best cheap Bluetooth speaker?

The question is difficult to answer because not everyone is cheap. If you started from foreign customs, you will typically find lists like this: the best Bluetooth speaker under 100/200/500 dollars. DXOMARK, for example, set the upper limit of the "essential" entry category at $200, the advanced at $600, and the premium above $600.

In our opinion, this is excessive in Hungarian terms, we would put the amount of money that can be spent for which it is worth looking at Bluetooth speakers at around 30 dollars, which at the current exchange rate is slightly more than HUF 10. For this amount, the Tronsmart Trip, the Tronsmart Groove and perhaps the Tronsmart T000 Mini is available. From bigger brands, JBL Go Essential or JBL GO 7 can be considered. Of course, those for whom the best cheap Bluetooth speaker means a different price range can look at higher categories as well.

What is the best BT speaker brand?

According to public opinion, in the consumer category, JBL's products are the most sought-after, or at least they sell the best, including the JBL Charge 5.

Of course, we can mention countless other Western or Far Eastern brands, such as Sony, Tribit, Sonos, Marshall, Bose and so on. What's more, major technology companies are also launching Bluetooth speakers, such as Amazon with the Echo or Apple with the HomePod.

What is a mini Bluetooth speaker?

In general, small loudspeakers with earcups are called this. They are used to hang them on bags or bicycle handlebars with carabiners. Examples include JBL Clip, Tronsmart Trip and similar models.

What makes a speaker passive and what makes it active?

Passive speakers are those where the sound is controlled by an amplifier - this is a characteristic of home systems - and active are those where the signal amplification electronics are integrated with the speakers. Bluetooth speakers are always active.

Do you need to turn on the Bluetooth speakers?

It's a very divisive topic, some think it should be included, some think it shouldn't. In the past, it was believed that all loudspeakers had to be driven in, and for this there are white noise files - practically sine waves of different frequencies - that move the diaphragms along.

According to the other opinion, and this is more likely to be realized in practice, users should simply listen to music on the device and train their ears to the speaker, so after a few hours of listening to music, the sound will be heard clearer and more mineral.

How long do Bluetooth speakers last?

Manufacturers give this value based on a standard, usually with all special functions and LEDs turned off, driven at 50% volume. The top products can play like this for up to 24 hours, but the products of the Tronsmart company, for example, are particularly strong in this category, most of their devices have operating times of 12-15 hours.

What is a boombox?

The boombox, also known as a party box or a ghetto blaster, is basically a high-powered, portable Bluetooth speaker that is designed for deep bass and is recommended for gatherings, even outdoors. Their sound image is not particularly polished, but they are perfect for parties.

What is a soundbar?

A soundbar, otherwise known as a strip speaker or sound projector, is an additional sound source that can be associated with displays. They are usually used with TVs or projectors and replace the factory low-power speakers.

What is aptX? Which is the best audio encoding?

aptX is a development of the Qualcomm company and basically results in a higher transmission - and thus a better sound quality - compared to the usual SBC/AAC encodings. There is an adaptive mode that changes the bandwidth, and an LL variant that has low latency. There is no such thing as the best audio encoding, LDAC provides the highest bandwidth.

What is the range of a Bluetooth speaker?

This mainly depends on the major version of the Bluetooth standard. BT 4.0 knew roughly 10-15 meters, starting with BT 5.0 it is more like 15-30 meters in an open area, where the signal is not broken. Starting with BT 5, the stability of the signal is also greater, which you can test by standing behind a wall and seeing if the signal breaks or if the sound transmission becomes fragmented.

Can we also stream music to the BT speaker?

Yes, some manufacturers offer such models - e.g. GGMM M3, JBL Charge 5 WiFi or the Sonos One - whose applications can be integrated with some streaming providers, such as Spotify, but you can also listen to online radio broadcasts in this way. It basically requires a WiFi connection. There is also the possibility to store music on your phone offline within a given service in the form of a playlist, which you can play even without internet access. In principle, the technology would allow them to be loaded into the storage in the speaker, but we have not yet encountered such a thing live.

Is it possible to use a Bluetooth speaker as a sound source while watching a movie?

Yes it can be. Actually, only the display dictates what kind of sound system it can be connected to. Most TVs or projectors can transmit sound via a jack or HDMI connector, but speakers can also be connected to devices via a wireless connection - Bluetooth or WiFi.

Does hands-free use make sense?

Some Bluetooth speakers have a microphone, so if you connect it to your phone, it can answer and reject calls, as well as act as a speakerphone. However, according to our experience, the phone experience is not the real one, you are much better off with a bluetooth headset or headphones, and the conversation will be more discreet.

What is the IP standard for Bluetooth speakers?

The IP standard shows the resistance of electrical equipment against dust and liquids. The higher the number behind the IP marking, the more resistant the equipment is. For example, IP67 means dust and water resistance, the product can be immersed in a small amount of water for 30 minutes.

What should I do if the BT speaker is dead? Is the battery replaceable?

Most modern speakers can be charged via a Type-C port, and 100% of portable products today run on batteries. They can usually be charged on the go, so they can be connected to a quasi-fixed power source using a phone charger. Even then, they remain operational, you can listen to music from them.

In 99% of cases, their batteries cannot be replaced. In our opinion, this myth originates from the fact that in the 80s and 90s shoulder-mounted cassette tape recorders could still be operated from a Goliath battery and were still replaceable. Today, the same problem can be solved with a power bank, and the operating time of the BT speaker can be significantly extended with this method.

Can a BT speaker be used while charging?

In the vast majority of cases, yes.

If I don't want to use BT transfer, what other options do I have?

Most speakers have several input ports, so you can use a pen drive or micro SD card as a data source. They almost always have a jack connector, so this can also be considered. Products that can also use music streaming services have WiFi instead of/in addition to Bluetooth.

What is the sleep aid function?

Some smart speakers can also be controlled by an application, which may contain sounds that help you sleep. Playing them can make life easier for those who have trouble sleeping and help them fall asleep. However, these are not medical diagnostic tools, so the source of sleep problems - e.g. apnea - they cannot eliminate it. In this case, always consult a doctor!

Can you listen to the radio from Bluetooth speakers?

Yes, in more ways than one. In the past, there were solutions - in fact, such soundbars still exist today - where you could connect an antenna instead of the jack connector, and they could also function as an FM radio, but these are almost all extinct today. Instead, they can integrate net radios into their application and stream them via a WiFi connection.

What is the real performance of a Bluetooth speaker? What is PMPO?

Measuring the performance of Bluetooth speakers - which is expressed in watts (W) - is quite problematic. The W value given by the manufacturers is actually a poster data, which represents the power required to control the entire system. That is, what the speaker picks up from the socket - or, in the case of BT speakers, from the battery. In addition, it is not possible to measure the sound power under real-life conditions, the watt value does not say much here.

The volume that you can hear is measured by sound pressure level, the unit of measure of which is the decibel (dB), which is actually the air pressure that hits your eardrums. By definition, this changes depending on the distance, it is influenced by the acoustic characteristics of the space and a thousand other things. At most, real test conditions could be reproduced in a studio prepared for this. Almost no one ever listens to these devices at maximum volume, because then everyone would soon become deaf. Here is an interesting article on the problems of performance measurement Rode Audio from the side.

However, from the watt value specified by the manufacturers, it is possible to infer how much space a speaker can "irradiate" with its sound. The larger the open space, the more power is required for this. In a closed space, too much power is more harmful than helpful in achieving good sound, as sound waves reflect off objects and start to interfere with each other.

The term PMPO refers to the power spike a speaker can withstand without damage. Since this could be expressed with a high watt value, in the past, all speakers were labeled as 500 W PMPO, fortunately, most manufacturers have gotten used to this nowadays.

What good is the NFC chip on BT audio devices?

NFC is nothing more than a contactless transmission technology that allows devices to be paired via a BT connection. You can mostly meet it in connection with electronic payments, but such a chip is also used in speakers. All you do is touch a smart device to the BT speaker to establish a Bluetooth connection.

What good is the WiFi module for a BT speaker?

Compared to Bluetooth, WiFi is a standard with higher performance and bandwidth, which is basically suitable for transferring large amounts of data. Among other things, you use it to surf the net. Most of the smart bookshelf speakers have a WiFi module, so they can connect to computer networks, performing a kind of voice-based multimedia server function.

Most smart speakers can play audio-based streaming services – Spotify, Tidal, etc. – to integrate, broadcast non-radio broadcasts, store profiles in the cloud, save playlists and much more. There are often two versions of a Bluetooth speaker, one without WiFi and one with WiFi, obviously the latter is more expensive. A good example of this is the JBL Charge 5 and the JBL Charge 5 WiFi.

What is EQ?

EQ is the abbreviation of equalizer, which means tone adjuster in Hungarian. These are usually predefined profiles, which can be used to change the tones, for example to emphasize the bass or vocals. On more serious equipment, the frequency ranges are tied to a potentiometer or can be adjusted digitally from an app.

What is latency? Why does the sound slide during movies?

The delay tells you when the sound played by the sound source arrives at the speaker membrane and from there to your ears. This delay occurs primarily because the BT standard cannot encode and decode sounds in zero time. Its unit of measurement is the millisecond, that is, the fraction of a second that elapses before you hear the sound. To put it a bit loosely, we consider the cable connection to have zero delay - not zero, but not perceptible -, in comparison, Bluetooth is delayed a lot. What do we consider good? Most users don't notice the delay below 100 ms.

The high delay can be annoying for two uses: watching movies and playing games, because in this case the sound slips. Therefore, if you are looking for a tool for one of the two activities, take this into account. When wired via a jack connector, the delay will be practically zero, which is why some manufacturers still use this connection method.

If you couldn't find one of your questions in the FAQ, or if we didn't have a clear answer, then contact us at one of our contact numbers listed on the page, or Facebook. To the best of our knowledge, we try to answer all questions about Bluetooth speakers!

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