We do not test Wi-Fi speakers for this guide, so you won’t see products here from Bang & Olufsen, Bowers & Wilkins, Sonos, and other companies that don’t offer a Bluetooth-only home speaker. If you’re interested in Wi-Fi speakers, please see our guides to multiroom wireless speaker systems and smart speakers. For truly portable speakers designed for on-the-go use, please see our guide to the best portable Bluetooth speaker.We’ve tested 58 speakers over the life of this guide, many of which have been discontinued. Here are some speakers we’ve tested and dismissed that are still available:Although the Audioengine B2 sounded nice, it didn’t play as loud as, or deliver as much bass as, our picks.The Bose SoundLink Home has a rechargeable battery, but its design and name suggest it wasn’t intended for the beach. This small speaker doesn’t produce anywhere near as much bass as our picks do, but it does sound balanced and clear. It plays loud enough to fill a small office, but its max volume is considerably less than our picks can deliver. It’s a good choice if you want a small speaker that doesn’t look like it was made for picnicking, and you don’t mind paying more.The Doss SoundBox XL sounded great for the price. It produced satisfying bass in Audrey Nuna’s “damn Right,” and vocals in acoustic songs like Elliot Smith’s “Between the Bars” were quite clear. However, cranking the volume caused noticeable distortion in the lower frequencies. The Doss SoundBox Ultra has a higher maximum output, longer battery life, and a more balanced sound.The Fender ELIE 12 sounded superb. Bass frequencies maintained tightness, mids were spacious, and highs were bright and crisp. The speaker can pull double duty as an amp, but there’s a high operational learning curve. Switching between the ELIE 12’s many functions wasn’t intuitive, and our top pick, which is much cheaper, has comparable sound quality and maximum output.Given their low prices, the IKEA Nattbad and IKEA Solskydd sound good and look great. But the ultra-simplified controls are confusing. The Bluetooth pairing process was dicey with the Nattbad (we kept having to go into the phone’s Bluetooth menu to re-establish the connection). Plus, the speakers make an unsettling noise when you plug them in.The Marshall Acton III is a viable alternative to our top pick, partly because it’s about the same size and price. With some adjustment of the Acton III’s bass and treble controls, we were able to get it close to the sound quality of the One Plus, but its treble doesn’t sound quite as clear, so music seems a little less lively. If you prefer Marshall’s styling or you like having tone controls on the speaker, rather than nested inside an app, you might prefer the Acton III.The same is true for the Marshall Stanmore III. It’s roughly the same size as our best-for pick and is typically a little less expensive. Its performance is similar if you tweak the tone controls a bit, but it’s still not as clear-sounding as the Three Plus. Some people may prefer the Marshall’s design and having tone controls on top of the speaker.The Marshall Woburn III is a new version of our previous upgrade pick, the Woburn II; it adds an HDMI input that lets you connect the speaker to a TV and use it as a quasi-soundbar. It’s still a good speaker, but as with the previous model, the bass is overwhelming at the factory settings. Turning down the bass control to about 9 o’clock helps, but still, the Woburn III didn’t sound as clear as our top picks, and it doesn’t seem to have the big advantage in maximum volume that its predecessor enjoyed.Syitren’s N200 is tiny enough for a desktop and has a unique look. We enjoyed watching the dot-matrix display bounce to the beat, and found it easy to toggle between Bluetooth and the aux input. But the sound quality left a lot to be desired, with smaller speakers like the JBL Go 5 (a pick in our portable Bluetooth speaker guide) having better bass response and less distortion. The Soundfreaq Sound Spot II, which is of a similar size and only a tad pricier, delivered clearer sound, a higher maximum output, and more features.The Tivoli Audio Boutique sounds good for its size, with more bass than we expected from this roughly 4.5-inch cube-shaped design. However, all the controls are on the back, which we found inconvenient; we had to spin it around every time we wanted to turn the power on or off.The Tivoli Audio Revive sounded decent for its size, and the LED lamp and wireless charging pad made it a nice option for a bedside table. But we sometimes had to adjust our phone to get the charger to work, and the LED light controls were sensitive and prone to misfires. Distortion in the lowest and highest frequencies made it hard to swallow the price tag.The Tivoli Audio SongBook handled deep bass in Audrey Nuna’s “damn Right” without distorting, and vocals sounded clear and present. Some will appreciate the built-in preamp and amplifier capabilities for connecting a turntable or musical instrument (and we found this functionality to be easier to learn than on the Fender ELIE 12). But at the same price as our upgrade pick, it doesn’t have the same convenient form factor and can’t play as loud.The Treblab HD-360 sounds good, looks cool, and has surprisingly strong, deep bass response for its size, but we thought the similarly priced Doss SoundBox Ultra had a smoother sound and a more natural balance of treble, midrange, and bass. The HD-360 would be a good choice if you want a budget model that’s smaller than the SoundBox Ultra.This article was edited by Adrienne Maxwell and Grant Clauser.
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