Some albums are considered tough to listen to, but Zaireeka by The Flaming Lips might just be the most challenging of the lot.

While Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Music assaults your ears with jagged shards of noise, and Captain Beefheart’s Trout Mask Replica often sounds like a work of musical absurdity, Zaireeka is a logistical challenge first and a sonic one second.

Originally released in 1997, Zaireeka is the kind of exercise in wilful experimentation that only a band as eccentric as The Flaming Lips could get away with: it comes split across four discs that you must listen to simultaneously to hear the songs fully.

At the time, and for many years afterwards, wrangling four separate hi-fi systems into the same room in order to listen to Zaireeka as intended just wasn’t practical for most people.

When I bought my copy as a skint but pretentious student in 2005, I had no idea how I was going to play it. I considered it more of a musical investment for the future.

As the popularity of iPods and speaker docks grew, listening to Zaireeka became more feasible, but I still only ever owned one of each at a time. And while the advent of multi-room music systems removed most of the technological barriers, logistical and financial ones still remained.

When the Sonos Play was launched earlier this year I decided the time had finally come. Could four of these wireless speakers allow me to realise a 20-year-old dream and listen to Zaireeka for the first time?

Not suitable for children

So why the Sonos Play? Technically any four Sonos speakers would do the job because they all allow you to play a different track on each one simultaneously. But while using the top-of-the-range Era 300 might seem like the obvious choice for my little sonic experiment, the Play made most sense for more practical reasons.

Before The Flaming Lips recorded Zaireeka, the band conducted a proof-of-concept experiment that involved playing up to 50 unique cassette tapes on the stereos of as many parked cars, giving them complete freedom over the positioning of each giant four-wheeled speaker. I needed the same flexibility just on a much smaller scale, so the battery-powered Play meant I wouldn’t be limited by my plug sockets when placing each one.

The Play is also compact enough that I can easily accommodate four of them in what an estate agent would euphemistically call my ‘cosy’ living room, but with three Class H amps, two tweeters, a mid-woofer driver, and dual passive radiators inside each one, they still punch above their weight (which, at 1.3kg, is fairly heavy for a portable speaker).

The most difficult part of the setup process was getting Sonos’s Mac app to recognise my laptop’s music library, which includes MP3 versions of Zaireeka’s four discs, but with the help of a very useful YouTube video I eventually had it ready to go.

(The album is on Spotify but unless you have four separate accounts, plus four separate devices to log into them on, you’ll only be able to play one ‘disc’ at a time.)

Zaireeka’s artwork includes a warning: “This recording contains frequencies not normally heard on commercial recordings and on rare occasion has caused the listener to become disoriented. These extremely high and low frequencies can cause a person to become disoriented, confused or nauseated. DO NOT listen repeatedly at high volume. Make sure infants are out of listening range. Zaireeka should not be listened to while driving.”

Having removed all newborns from the vicinity and made sure I was at home rather than behind the wheel of a Ford Fiesta, I placed a speaker at each corner of my living-room rug and parked myself in the middle.

Sonos’s smartphone app isn’t the most intuitive but it didn’t take long to get the first track of each disc cued-up on a different speaker, and the volume on each one set to the same level.

Ideally you want to start them all at exactly the same time, but the app only offers that function for grouped speakers that are playing the same song, so I staggered the start points slightly, hit play on each one from the Your System screen, and a couple of seconds later my quartet of wireless speakers burst into life.

A hi-fi seance

There is no ‘correct’ way to listen to Zaireeka, no ‘correct’ way to organise the speakers, and no ‘correct’ place to position yourself among them, but it quickly became clear that disc one was where most of what could be considered lead vocals and drums would be coming from, so I decided to rearrange the speakers slightly.

I positioned one at each of the four main points of a compass and sat facing ‘musical north’. To the uninitiated it would've looked like I was taking part in some sort of hi-fi seance, but it gave the whole thing a focal point that seemed to work pretty well for a first listen.

Over the next 45 minutes Zaireeka envelops me in an ever-changing sonic cocoon. Ghostly vocals swell from all sides during Okay I'll Admit That I Really Don't Understand; on Riding to Work in the Year 2025 (Your Invisible Now) the bass moves from one speaker to another like a game of pass the parcel; at the start of Thirty-Five Thousand Feet of Despair a rocket takes flight and I feel like I might ascend into the sky with it; a quartet of organs tessellate beautifully towards the end of The Train Runs Over the Camel, But Is Derailed by the Gnat; and at one point during A Machine In India I’m completely engulfed by the sound of a buzzing swarm of insects.

When track six, How Will We Know? (Futuristic Crashendos), comes around, I finally understand what that warning on the front cover was all about. The song includes sounds so high-pitched that I almost start to wonder whether the noise is actually coming from inside my brain. I’ve never heard anything like it on any other record, probably because it’s genuinely unpleasant.

The final track is the closest thing on Zaireeka to a conventional song, but in every other sense it’s still pretty bonkers. A spoken-word vocal tells an odd little story about pet dogs and giant plastic insects, before it bursts into a whole chorus of Wayne Coynes singing the song’s title, The Big Ol’ Bug Is the New Baby Now, from all four speakers at once.

The slight differences in timing give it the feeling of a mass crowd singalong, before the album ends by trapping you in the middle of a pack of ferociously barking dogs.

Hard of hearing

Over the following few days I listened to Zaireeka about half a dozen more times, experimenting with different speaker layouts and listening positions, including placing them at different heights and moving around the room as it played. One time I didn’t synchronise the discs particularly well and some parts sounded a bit wonky, but these choices and variations are all part of the reason this album exists in the first place.

In the liner notes Wayne Coyne says his intention was to make songs that would sound different every time you played them. “I wanted to abandon song structure but not abandon the song,” he writes – and Zaireeka succeeds in doing that pretty well.

The tracks on it are more abstract than the band’s most famous songs; there’s nothing here as immediate as Do You Realize? or Race for the Prize. But I haven’t paid attention to an album like I did with this one in a long time. Everything about it requires some element of active participation rather than just passive consumption.

It’s still not exactly easy to listen to. My quartet of Play speakers removed most of the previous obstacles, but if I hadn’t been able to borrow them from Sonos in order to write this feature, a financial one would still remain. To buy them would have cost me £1136 in total – that's a lot of money for playing just one album.

But this is a one-off musical proposition that I waited over two decades to experience. Sure, some of the tracks from the record can be heard as standard stereo mixes on The Soft Bulletin Companion, but that completely misses the point.

Listening to Zaireeka is supposed to be more difficult than the other albums in your collection – and that’s exactly what makes it so uniquely unforgettable.

MORE:

I went to a listening session held in total darkness, and I'll never hear this classic album the same way again

I listened to David Bowie in a 360-degree show, and now I've seen what spatial audio can do

Interview with The Flaming Lips: the band that filled a record with blood

A new Sonos product is just weeks away. CEO Tom Conrad announced the September launch in the firm's third quarter earnings call. And while he stopped short of revealing the device itself, he did hint that it will be focussed around AI.

Noting that "conversational computing and predictive intelligence are moving into the home," he bigged up Sonos' 20 years' experience in solving the issues this brings, which he defined as "sound, form, systemness, and intelligence."

(If anyone knows what "systemness" is, we'd love to know.)

Unsurprisingly, he said Sonos is uniquely well placed to take advantage of the AI boom thanks to its ecosystem of multi-room-enabled speakers, which encompasses soundbars, home speakers and portable models.

While all AI models will soon offer the same abilities, he thinks what will differentiate systems is "what surrounds the [AI] model in a real home: the hardware that can converse with quality across every room, the system that already knows the shape of a home and the way a family lives in it, the connectivity to reach the speakers, services, and devices that turn a request into coordinated action.

"That’s the operating environment for AI in the home, and Sonos has spent twenty years building it."

So, we can hazard a guess that we'll see a new speaker, but the biggest changes will likely be on the inside, pivoting the Sonos platform to encompass more AI abilities.

Sonos' most recent launch was the Play earlier this year, a portable speaker that earned four stars. It recently launched its new mobile app in beta, in an attempt to win back customers frustrated at the notorious botched app launch of 2024.

That disastrous move introduced bugs while removing certain existing features, and ultimately led to the then-CEO stepping down. Since then, Sonos has been on a major charm offensive to win back customers' trust, even cancelling its rumoured set-top box in order to prioritise fixing existing problems.

A move to AI does bring big opportunities for Sonos, but also a fair amount of risk. Will customers weary of having been put through the wringer over the last couple of years really want a whole new direction and focus for the platform? Or will they just want a bit of stability following all the chaos?

It all depends on what exactly Sonos is offering.

We'll bring you any rumours concerning the launch in the run-up to September.

MORE:

Sonos Play vs Move 2: what are the differences?

The best multi-room systems

And the best Sonos alternatives for the naysayers

The LS Luxe is the latest active wireless speaker system to emerge from KEF’s hi-fi oven. And, from what we have heard from our testing, it’s undoubtedly one of the finest.

KEF had previously laid down a benchmark with the outstanding LS50 Wireless II in the early 2020s. The Luxe builds upon that Award-winning legacy in some style. For us, it’s five stars all around.

That is provided you get the best out of the LS Luxe, of course. This is an outstanding system with serious ability, and while KEF’s latest is capable of putting up with less-than ideal sources, stands and situations, you’ll want to pamper it as much as possible if you want to see just how stellar your five-star system can be.

With that in mind, this is how you coax the maximum performance from the mighty KEF LS Luxe.

Get a pair of S-Luxe speaker stands

The £3500 / $4000 / AU$6375 asking price for the LS Luxe is not mere pocket change, so we understand that would-be buyers might be put off at the prospect of having to part with a further £800 / $800 for a pair of dedicated S-Luxe stands. The LS Luxe is an unfussy, fairly forgiving wireless speaker system, so surely your own stands will do?

To some extent, they will. We spent a good chunk of time listening to the Luxe sitting atop our own Custom Design FS104 Signature stands, and there is no question that the resultant performance remained an enjoyable one. This is a talented system, after all.

Clarity, punch, dynamism and control remained in ample supply, and we don’t doubt that we could quite happily have lived with the Luxe perched upon our in-house plinths.

The thing is, KEF’s latest system is so good, you’ll want to get the best out of it. To do that, you’ll want the S-Luxe stands. £800 / $800 is not a small sum, but the dedicated plinths allow the Luxe to soar to new heights across practically every area of sonic performance, all while matching the speakers’ aesthetics and providing stability by screwing into each cabinet’s base.

Yes, you could put standard petrol in a Ferrari, but it’s a Ferrari. It needs premium, dude. Premium!

Use the app to fine-tune your listening

For getting the most out of your shiny new KEF system, you will need to download the accompanying KEF Connect app.

Naturally, this is the place from which you’ll find the streaming services you want, do a bit of EQ tinkering and check your general settings. But the depth of tweakery on offer allows you to really get into the nitty-gritty of optimising your system’s performance.

For a start, we’d strongly urge you to check out the app’s calibration settings.

KEF’s ‘Room EQ’ digital signal processing helps you fine-tune your sound to your listening space. It’s worth spending a bit of time with the app’s calibration parameters, wherein you can adjust your Luxe’s sonic output depending on factors such as room size, the distance you have placed your speakers from your wall, and how damped your listening space is.

You can also choose the level of depth you want to go into when tinkering with your settings, with a ‘Basic’ mode for more casual changes sitting alongside an ‘Expert’ mode for listeners who want to dig into the minutiae of their experience.

Either way, you should notice a big difference.

Use the interconnect cable

We know it’s not particularly attractive to look at, but if you want to get the best sound from the LS Luxe, the provided interconnect cable is a must.

The Luxe is capable of accepting PCM files up to 24-bit/384kHz, but if you are using a wireless connection between your speakers, this is downsampled to 24-bit/96kHz. Connecting the master and slave speakers using the included cable, however, pushes playback up to 24-bit/192kHz.

It’s totally worth it in our book. Wires have always been a more efficient means of transmission than wireless methods, and the sonic dividends you’ll reap from having that interconnect are significant. Everything sounds crisper, cleaner and more defined, with more punch and authority than a wireless connection can provide.

And the cable is literally included in the box. Aesthetics aside, you’ve got nothing to lose. And, if you also end up picking up a pair of S-Luxe plinths, they are designed so that you can hide your cables away at the rear of each stand.

Get the right look for your space

This isn’t a design that will suit everyone.

The speakers themselves, designed by Ross Lovegrove, continue the distinctive aesthetic language of Lovegrove’s previous collaborations, with smooth, edgeless cabinets that have elicited mixed responses in our offices. Some of us like their looks; others are less keen; some have found that the aesthetic has grown on them over time.

The point is, the LS Luxe is designed to be an artistic statement, as well as a musical one. With that in mind, you’ll want to make sure that the speakers will fit in with your listening space. You could find that they stick out like a sore thumb if you try to place them in your panelled reading room or Victorian boudoir. Whatever a boudoir is.

Our advice? Find a physical retailer and go to see the LS Luxe for yourself. Partly to figure out if the design will fit with your space, partly because you may be able to hear them for yourself, and partly because you’ll be able to appreciate the different finishes on offer.

From what we have seen, the shiny, luxurious texture of our silvery ‘Dusk Titanium’ test sample is very different from the matte finish of the ‘Mineral White’ option or the rather foreboding visage of the ‘Eclipse Black’ colourway.

These things make a big difference, especially as this is going to be a purchase that you may well be planning to keep for years or even decades.

Experiment with positioning

Thanks in part to its signature Uni-Q driver array, the LS Luxe is impressively unfussy about placement. The Uni-Q array has always been a winner when it comes to producing a supremely well-integrated, consistent sound that times brilliantly – and with the LS Luxe, it's the same old story.

Naturally, we experimented with positioning when testing KEF’s latest; and you should too.

Not all listening spaces are born equal, however, and while we found that our test sample performed around its best with the speakers firing straight ahead on their dedicated stands sitting roughly 30cm from the back wall of our smaller 3m x 4m x 7m listening room, that won’t be the case for everyone.

It’s always worth seeing what works for you in your listening room to optimise the performance you receive, even with a system as unfussy as this one. Moving a little closer or further to or from your back wall will affect the resultant bass output, while you might find that you prefer the way the speakers sound when they are angled slightly towards you.

We advise you not to use the Luxe on a desktop unless you really have to. The speakers will perform admirably when plonked on a desk or table, but you’re simply not going to get close to revealing the limits of their considerable abilities.

To us, it just seems like a bit of a waste.

MORE:

Read our KEF LSX II LT review

And our KEF Coda W review

Our guide to the best speakers we have tested and recommend across all budgets and types

The Bang & Olufsen A1 (2nd Gen) has been high in our estimations for quite some time, occupying a comfortable position in our best smart speakers list. It’s a handsome devil, too, and we think that spending a little extra on aesthetic charm to accompany talented sound is worthwhile.

But, right now, you don’t have to worry about forking out on good looks, because the Beosound A1 has fallen to just £179 at Peter Tyson. That’s not the cheapest we’ve ever seen the speaker – it dropped to £169 last December – but with a reduction of £120, it’s still a serious saving.

Admittedly, the Beosound A1 (3rd Gen) is now on the market, but it will cost you more and doesn’t feature Alexa integration. For those reasons alone, we would recommend the five-star 2nd Gen, especially at this price.

Portable Bluetooth speakers come in all shapes and sizes. It just so happens that we rather like the look of the Beosound A1 (2nd Gen), but that’s far from all that has won us over about this speaker.

Competition for small portable speakers is tough, with companies like JBL and Tribit making serious offerings, but B&O’s prioritisation of luxury and style carves the company a unique position in the market.

Admittedly, the Beosound A1 (2nd Gen) isn’t the newest model, with the 3rd Gen now available, but it won five-stars, compared to the 3rd Gen’s four stars, at review.

That rating was achieved in part by the 2nd Gen’s multi-talented performance, which sees the attractive, solidly constructed unit providing a pleasingly comfortable and authoritative performance “that you’d be happy to listen to all day”.

In our full review, our expert testers said: “Bang & Olufsen has succeeded in maintaining its trademark sound profile in this diminutive and affordable proposition – no small feat considering Bluetooth speakers of this size and price can easily come off heavy through the mids and harsh in the treble in an effort to offer volume and clout.”

But the Beosound A1’s virtues don’t end there.

Alongside Bluetooth 5.1 with AAC, the speaker also supports Qualcomm's aptX Adaptive codec, allowing high-quality streaming. The Beosound A1 (2nd Gen) also contains a three microphone array for clear voice assistant operation and hands-free calling.

What’s more, when it comes to battery life, an impressive 18 hours can stretch all the way to 48 hours when listening at conservative volumes.

A handy strap is also included with the speaker, meaning you can take this handsome, portable unit wherever you go.

So, if you’re on the hunt for a Bluetooth speaker that is convenient to use, includes Alexa, sounds great and has a sleek design, the Beosound A1 is a strong choice, even more so now that it’s available for just £179 at Peter Tyson.

MORE

Read our full Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 (2nd Gen) review

Take a look at the best Bluetooth speakers you can buy

Check out our best B&O speakers: portable, hi-fi and wireless

We had hardly finished writing about a whopping £50 reduction on the JBL Xtreme 5, when we noticed that its predecessor, the Xtreme 4, had just returned to its all-time lowest price of £179 at Richer Sounds.

Both speakers won five-stars at review, and are solid contenders for anyone looking to harness the heatwave, or simply beat the post World Cup blues with some outdoor listening.

With a £100 discount available for members of Richer Sounds’ VIP Club (worry not, sign-up is free), this is the perfect opportunity for anyone looking to step into the world of JBL’s outdoor speakers without breaking the bank.

Best JBL Xtreme 4 deal

The Xtreme 4 boasts a clear, detailed and weighty sound, all packed into a robust speaker that will handle the elements as well as your music.

The speaker has the cylindrical shape of other models in the Xtreme range and a tough, wrap-around grille made from a combination of recycled plastic and fabric. Earning its ‘Xtreme’ nomenclature, the speaker is both waterproof and dustproof.

The JBL has a power of 100W when mains powered, which falls to 80W when using the built-in battery. We felt that the gains in power and scale were hearable when plugging the speaker in, but the sonic character of the speaker stayed consistent even when unplugged.

Across our music library we found the Xtreme 4 sounded “wonderfully clear and consistent” with low frequencies that were “poised and punchy” without lacking weight, and “crisp” highs.

Listening to Brazil by Declan McKenna, we said: “The JBL entertains us from the off. It captures the playful electric guitar and percussion, and delivers the song with plenty of energy. When the bassline kicks in it sounds weighty and goes deep, but there’s detail and texture and you can hear the difference in weight between each note.”

In terms of features, Bluetooth 5.3 and Auracast are both available. For Bluetooth 6, you’ll need to upgrade to the more expensive Xtreme 5, but this speaker will still pair with other compatible JBL units via Auracast.

With 24 hours of battery life, plus the option to stretch that to 30 hours thanks to the speaker’s Playtime Boost feature, running out of charge shouldn’t be too much of a worry with this speaker.

AI sound boost is also available, which helps the speaker maintain sound quality at loud volumes and prevent distortion. When we pushed the JBL hard during testing, we found that it remained “composed and controlled” even when we cranked it past 11.

If you are looking for a great JBL wireless speaker, but don’t want to fork out on the Xtreme 5, this speaker could be yours for just £179 as a Richer Sounds VIP Club member.

MORE

Fancying an alternative? Read our Bose SoundLink Max review

Feeling loyal to JBL? Take a look at the JBL Charge 6

Check out our best Bluetooth speakers 2026: tried and tested for every budget

The World Cup is over, and that's left a lot of us with a gaping hole in our summer schedule. What are you supposed to do without wall-to-wall football to keep you entertained into the wee hours of the morning?

Well, you could go out and touch some grass, as the kids say, and there's never been a better time to do so. The footie's over, the weather's great, and JBL's five-star Xtreme 5 Bluetooth speaker has dropped to its lowest-ever price, making it the ideal companion for those out-of-the-house adventures.

We've previously seen the Xtreme 5 fall to £300, but now that it's currently £279 at Amazon – a saving of £51 – that figure has been well and truly beaten. Result!

Best JBL Xtreme 5 deal

It hasn't been around for long, but Xtreme 5 has gained a reputation as a robust, rugged speaker with a clear, detailed and musical sound, all housed in a super-durable build and backed by more features than you can shake a stick at.

An increase in power from its predecessor – the Xtreme 5 offers a claimed 130W when mains-powered, 90W when running off the built-in battery – is immediately obvious, bringing a greater sense of scale and size compared with the Xtreme 4.

In short, the high volume levels will easily go loud enough to power a summer party. Or annoy the neighbours, depending on your mood.

Bass weight is impressive without overpowering the rest of the track, and JBL's speaker is so clear it makes the Xtreme 4 sound slightly hazy and cluttered in comparison.

As we wrote in our review: "Play Run by Stephen Fretwell, and there’s more separation around the individual elements, so you can hear what each one brings to the music.

"You can inspect around the edges of that crisply defined percussion and piano, but the whole presentation remains cohesive, and the track remains confidently knitted together with the lead vocal at the centre. It’s still a hugely musical listen and captures the slow, gentle rhythmic flow and rise and fall of the track."

The Xtreme 5 is a tad chunkier than its predecessor, but it comes with a carry strap that easily attaches to the floating loops. There are also light strips on the front that are perfect for parties, as is the built-in bottle opener.

When it comes to features, there's Bluetooth 6 and Auracast, the latter of which allows you to connect multiple compatible JBL speakers together. There's also lossless audio up to 24-bit/48kHz through a wired connection and Playtime Boost, which extends the battery life from 24 hours to 28 hours, though with a rather drastic impact on sound quality.

If you want one of the most powerful and best-sounding Bluetooth speakers around, then the JBL Xtreme 5 is the speaker for you. It'll handle any outdoor gathering you throw at it, and a £51 saving at Amazon will almost certainly help you beat those post-World Cup blues.

MORE:

Seeking an alternative? Read our Bose SoundLink Max review

Want something cheaper? Check out the JBL Charge 6

Discover our guide to the best Bluetooth speakers for every budget

Rejoice, Sonos fans! After months, even years, of turmoil and trouble, Sonos is making serious steps towards fixing the app that, after a disastrous redesign in 2024, threatened the company's future and forced its then-CEO to step down.

Now, Sonos is doing everything it can to repair the damage. We reported in June that CEO Tom Conrad had written on Reddit detailing some of the changes set to come to the platform, promising that the Sonos team had spent "hundreds of hours" watching people use the app to find its weak spots.

Now, Sonos is ready to put it all into practice, making the new version available in public beta form for Android and iOS users. Any customer with app version 87 can switch on 'Enable Improved Navigation' in their Settings to access the Beta as Sonos collects feedback over the next few months.

That new beta iteration touts some promising upgrades, including improved navigation, more intuitive system tab controls and an overhauled volume tuning system, as well as what Sonos terms 'Quality-of-life fixes' across Now Playing, playlists and iPad views.

The new changes are currently rolling out in their beta form as part of an opt-in public test phase, with changes set broadly to become the default once feedback has been gathered. This could be in the autumn, but no definitive date has been given.

Has Sonos learned from the mistakes of its past? You can switch to the updated version of the app in your settings and judge for yourself.

MORE:

Which Sonos speaker should you buy?

Check out our recent Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker review

Sonos Play vs HomePod 2: which should you buy?

Bose has been conspicuously absent from the premium wireless multi-room speaker space of late.

Denon has recently unveiled its revamped Home 2 series of versatile smart speakers, Apple has plenty of iOS fans enjoying the talents of its HomePod 2 and HomePod Mini, and Sonos continues to cling to its multi-room supremacy courtesy of the established Era 100 and Era 300. Bose, conversely, has tended to focus on the portable end of the market in the past couple of years – until now.

Most of the above contenders are locked into their brand’s own dedicated ecosystem, and most have been designed to co-operate with their extended family of connected siblings. Brands these days aren’t just offering you products – they’re pledging a way of life.

That’s certainly the impression we get from Bose and its new Lifestyle range. The US brand launched the Ultra Speaker wireless speaker alongside a Dolby Atmos soundbar and a new subwoofer, teasing a “reimagined approach to home audio" from a new range of products clearly designed to work alongside one another and tie you into a particular ecosystem.

That begs a very important question: what is Bose’s Lifestyle Ultra Speaker offering that the likes of Sonos and Apple don’t already have covered?

Price

The Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker’s price differs depending on the finish. The speaker currently sits at £300 / $299 / AU$550 if you go for the standard Black or White Smoke colourways, but if you want to push the boat out and go for Driftwood Sand, that’ll be a hefty increase to £349 / $349.

You can pick up the Award-winning Sonos Era 300 for £359 / $359 / AU$649, offering stern competition for Bose straight out of the gate. You can also get yourself a still-excellent HomePod 2 for £299 / $299 / AU$479 if you’re into the Apple way of life.

Build & design

Bose’s new wireless speaker might be closer to the Sonos Era 300 price-wise, but in terms of its size and shape, it’s more akin to the form of the cheaper and smaller Era 100.

If that shorthand comparison doesn’t help you out much, then imagine a speaker that stands about as tall as an average notebook, with a curved, fabric-covered front panel. It’s a compact and neat design, and while the hourglass configuration of the larger Era 300 may catch more admiring (or quizzical) glances, the Lifestyle Ultra Speaker fulfils its brief as a subtle sentinel capable of blending into your audio or cinema set-up.

Bose tends to make its products to a high standard, and the Ultra Speaker is no exception – this is a product that feels built to last.

At the top of the unit are a series of touch-capacitive controls, including volume, a play/pause toggle and a Bluetooth pairing button. We understand that some users feel that touch controls grant a sleeker, more premium appeal, but we find the buttons’ lack of feedback here – be it physical or auditory – undermines the experience somewhat.

Knowing that the speaker has actually registered an action with an accompanying small sound or click would be much more useful than simply having to guess, especially with tricky tasks such as trying to perform a connection reset. You get a chime when toggling the microphone on and off, but that’s about it.

Taking care of sonic duties are a trio of drivers – a 25mm tweeter and a 7.6cm mid/bass driver alongside a 3.8cm up-firing driver – designed to disperse sound evenly around your listening space. Bose doesn't disclose the specific power rating, but we do know that the drivers are powered by Class D amplification.

Like its soundbar and subwoofer siblings, the Lifestyle Ultra Speaker uses Bose’s ‘CleanBass’ technology, which combines a rear-firing bass port with digital signal processing to deliver “deep, tight bass”. We’ll get to that later on.

Features

The Ultra Speaker is built, at least in part, to play ball with the rest of the members of its new Lifestyle product family. The speaker can be used on its own or in a pair for stereo playback, or you can add them as surround channels when used with the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar. Do be aware that the speakers aren’t backwards compatible with any of Bose’s older soundbars.

Stereo pairing is a nice asset to have, if you can get it to work. While getting our two test samples to play ball with each other works reasonably well most of the time, the resultant sound is often so out of sync that it becomes unlistenable. We’re not the only ones to have experienced this issue, so let’s hope that Bose will come to the rescue via a firmware update soon.

Stereo pairing bugs aside, the Lifestyle Ultra Speaker has ample streaming connectivity. Connecting to your wi-fi network gives you access to streaming features such as Google Cast, Apple AirPlay 2 and Spotify Connect, as well as the Alexa Plus voice assistant which you can connect via the app. Tidal Connect and Qobuz Connect aren’t available at launch, but we're told both will be arriving via a firmware update down the line. It’s worth noting that there’s no ethernet port for a wired connection to your home network.

If you want a multi-room set-up, the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker is accommodating in this regard. You can use the Bose app to create a stereo system or integrate other Lifestyle products, such as the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar, into a neat home cinema system, or use the likes of AirPlay or Google Cast to integrate other compatible devices into your set-up.

You can stream using Bluetooth 5.3, too, with the standard AAC and SBC codecs supported. There’s no sign of higher-quality aptX or LDAC codecs here, which might be disappointing for some. An auxiliary 3.5mm input is available around the back of the unit if you want a physical connection to your audio source.

If you’re wondering how you control your new Bose speaker, then yes, there’s an app for that. You could go all Medieval and use the on-unit controls, but if you want to really get the most out of the Lifestyle Ultra Speaker, you’ll need the official Bose app.

We might have had issues when it comes to the stereo pairing process, but the Bose app is a good one. It’s a logical, uncluttered and orderly platform that we find very easy to navigate thanks to its big, bold menus and helpful set-up guides.

Sound

We’ll get a quick caveat of our assessment of the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speakers’ sonic capabilities out of the way by confessing that we have to do a bit of tinkering before we get it sounding how we want. The balance you pick will often depend on the characteristics of your listening space and your personal preferences, but we feel the need to increase the bass levels in the EQ settings in order to compensate for what would otherwise be a rather thin reproduction.

Bolstering the lower end does grant, to our ears, a more balanced feel to the speaker’s sound, allowing our test sample to more capably reveal its particular talents.

The Lifestyle Ultra Speaker’s reproduction is clear and composed, with a sound that rarely grates the ear. Notes are well-defined upon arrival, even if the Bose can sound like it overemphasises those all-important leading edges just a tad.

Instruments are crisp and sharp as they land, but the Ultra Speaker could conceivably add more body to that initial bite. The rival Sonos Era 300 is far better in this regard, reproducing instrumental textures – swooning strings, twinkling pianos – with a more natural weightiness that simply outshines the comparative thinness of its Bose rival.

The Lifestyle Ultra Speaker is capable of granting tracks a sense of dimensionality thanks to its upward-firing driver. The Bose speaker doesn’t officially support Dolby Atmos, with its ‘TrueSpatial’ technology taking care of spatial processing. This analyses the dimensions of the room in which the speaker is positioned and then optimises your audio to suit your listening space for a more immersive soundstage.

You can adjust the height channel in the app, and you’ll certainly notice the change as you move the in-app slider from 0-10, depending on how much height effect you want from the speaker.

When working to full effect, the resultant soundstage is admirably wide-reaching for a speaker of this size and type, but again, it’s simply outshone by the stunningly cinematic reproduction of the Dolby Atmos-powered Era 300, which renders spatial audio in a more convincing, wide-reaching and immersive manner.

The Era 300 is more convincing in other areas, too. Via Bluetooth or AirPlay, Sonos’ speaker excels across small and large scale dynamic shifts, putting the Bose rival’s somewhat flattened presentation in the shade.

Listen to the first minute of Lana Del Rey’s First Light and you’ll hear what we mean. The introduction of punchy drums and powerful brass land with more authority and power via the Era 300, contrasting starkly with the track’s quiet, enigmatic opening. The track propels itself forward with more vigour via the Sonos, with a purposeful momentum that we don’t find when switching back to the Lifestyle Ultra Speaker.

All isn’t entirely lost for Bose. The Lifestyle Ultra Speaker keeps its taut lower-end reproduction nicely in check, even if we have to boost it a bit to hear it properly, with ‘CleanBass’ tech working nicely with that rear port to deliver upon Bose’s promise of decent low-frequency control.

Bass is reasonably well-integrated with the rest of the frequencies, and rarely do we feel as though those lower registers sound disjointed or overly separated from the rest of our music.

Verdict

The Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker does not come cheap. Bose has positioned it as a committedly premium wireless smart speaker, and that’s put it up against some serious competition.

Sadly, Bose’s otherwise game contender doesn’t do enough to justify its considerable outlay, especially when there are more convincing alternatives available at this level. If you’re after a speaker that gives you great spatial audio, an impressive spread of features and better sound overall, we recommend that you pick the five-star Sonos Era 300 instead.

Review published: 13th July 2026

SCORES

• Sound 3
• Build 4
• Features 5

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Read our review of the Sonos Era 300

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It's summer party season, and while we hope you're managing to find some shade, it's definitely sunny enough for an outdoor party or garden get-together.

But if you're planning a shindig, you will need some music. Enter the Bose SoundLink Max, now £299 at Amazon: a powerful, premium Bluetooth speaker that is more than up to the job.

With outstanding battery life and buckets of likeable sound, our expert testers saw fit to put the SoundLink Max on our best outdoor speakers list.

The Bose SoundLink Max will do a mightily impressive job delivering a soundtrack for park picnics or your latest garden gathering.

With a water and dust-proof IP67 rating, the SoundLink Max should be able to withstand rain or shine. It's tactile and rugged, wrapped in a silicone casing and with a carry-handle ideal for frequent movement.

But most importantly, the sound is befitting that of a premium Bluetooth speaker.

"The Soundlink Max shouldn’t have any issues getting the party started – thanks, in the main, to its lively, punchy delivery," our Bose SoundLink Max review reads. "It’s in its element rocking along to Guns N’ Roses Welcome To The Jungle.

"The wireless speaker’s expressive midrange enthusiastically sprays out Axl Rose’s wailing lead vocal, while every thwack of the band’s drum kit is dispatched with force and vigour. There's an energy to the band’s performance that is easy to tap into and makes for a hugely enjoyable listen."

The sound is a tad bassy straight out of the box, however, so we recommend turning this down to minus five or six – and then you're good to go.

With a claimed range of 30ft and an impressive 20 hours of battery life, this is a Bluetooth speaker that can go big and go all day.

There’s also aptX Adaptive Bluetooth codec support, Google Fast Pair for Android users and Bluetooth multipoint for connecting two devices at once for easy switching. The SoundLink Max can also double as a power bank, ideal if you're out at the park all day.

The JBL Xtreme 5 is also available at a similar price, and one we'd recommend considering too. It's a bit bulkier than the SoundLink Max, but it does have a great sense of scale and sonic presence.

But if you're turning to music to get you through this heatwave, the Bose SoundLink Max is still an excellent pick, especially with £100 off at Amazon.

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Read our full Bose SoundLink Max review

Check out the best Bluetooth speakers: tried and tested for every budget

And the best speakers: budget to premium models tested by our expert reviewers

We've already looked at the impact that Apple, especially the iPod, had on the audio world over the past 50 years, ushering in portable music listening and speaker docks that eventually led to the wireless/Bluetooth speakers of today.

But when looking back at the history of hi-fi – especially as we're celebrating 50 years of What Hi-Fi? this year – it's usually the 'glory' days of hi-fi, i.e. the '70s and '80s, that we pore over, ogling vintage turntables, the first few CD players, affordable speakers and hefty stereo amplifiers.

What we don't do often enough is to look at the more recent history of the 2000s; it may feel recent, but there is so much technology peppered through the mid-00s that just doesn't exist anymore.

Case in point: iPod docks. It's easy to forget just how rife the things were after the introduction of the Apple iPod. iPod speaker docks and systems came in a variety of shapes and styles, from cheap and cheerful to premium and approaching hi-fi quality. There was something about that post-Y2K era, in the dawn of a new millennium, that allowed audio brands to experiment and be creative with their speaker dock designs.

You had simple, discreet (all Apple-white, of course) models rubbing shoulders with beefy one-box speakers that experimented with all kinds of curves and unique silhouettes, while a surprisingly tall iPod dock speaker existed alongside a valve-based system.

The iPod dock is now extinct, and the original 30-pin connector with it, but it paved the way for the modern Bluetooth/wireless speakers that we use to stream music from our smartphone every day. Here, we've paid tribute to the five iPod speaker docks that stood out to us in that short-lived but exciting era.

1. Bose SoundDock (2004)

£249
4 stars

The original Bose SoundDock was one of the very first speaker systems dedicated to the iPod. Launched in 2004, it catered to all varieties of the iPod with the 30-pin connector in a compact unit, with a credit card-sized remote letting you control playback and volume. It was a slick system. The cons against it were the slightly loose cradle fit, and no aux-in for non-iPod MP3 players.

We praised its impressive musical credentials, calling it "terrific" thanks to its solid, full-bodied sound, with clear, natural vocal delivery. It had none of the thinness blighting poorer-quality rivals; a lively, punchy rhythm, good bass and detail levels completed the set.

This being the 2000s, we did call the white-and-grey, SoundDock "ultra-stylish" and it was the "most sophisticated" iPod dock around.

That was, until...

2. Monitor Audio i-deck (2005)

£250
5 stars

Monitor Audio launched the i-deck in 2005 and swiftly nabbed five stars and a Product of the Year win at that year's What Hi-Fi? Awards. It was the first iPod speaker dock system that truly impressed us in terms of sound quality. We said "it gives you the looks, flexibility and sound quality of a good hi-fi micro system" and praised its "tremendous" sound quality that went loud with composure and offered a healthy-size soundstage.

"Tunes race along with infectious energy and plenty of enjoyment," we said as the i-deck won yet another group test. A drop by £50 in 2006 further cemented its status as a great sound-per-pound value buy, even as new models from Altec Lansing, Jamo and Apple's own iPod Hi-Fi tried to get in on the action.

The i-deck featured swappable bezels to fit the different styles of iPods around at the time, and even came with a 3.5mm mini-jack input to plug in other MP3 players. It's not the most compact system as it involves three boxes, but the beauty is that you can upgrade those speakers for a better pair too.

We also have to give props to Monitor Audio for making one of the most eye-catching designs – the 'tulip' shaped i-deck 100 from 2011 (£200, 5 stars) – which looks more sci-fi than its earlier efforts.

3. JBL OnBeat Xtreme (2012)

£400
5 stars

JBL is ubiquitous with the best Bluetooth speakers these days, so it should be no surprise that the brand had a whole range of iPod dock speakers. In fact, in November 2012, JBL was the very first brand to launch iPod docks with the new Lightning connector – the OnBeat Micro and Venue LT – when Apple ditched its long-lived 30-pin connection.

Before then, the JBL OnBeat Xtreme snagged the best iPod speaker dock Award in 2012. The OnBeat Xtreme could play music from your portable player in two ways: docking it, or be wirelessly streaming over Bluetooth. It brought non-Apple players into the fold, expanding its versatility and becoming a viable replacement for ageing hi-fi microsystems.

The 'crossed-arms' design was eye-catching, with a solid, appealing build quality for the relatively high price. It sounded great – a fun presentation, ample low-frequency heft (impressive, given the relatively small drivers), and plenty of detail in the clear highs and sweet midrange.

There’s certainly no shortage of low-frequency heft here – impressive, given the OnBeat’s relatively small drivers. Instruments get plenty of breathing space and dynamically it's plenty enjoyable. It can go loud enough to be at neighbour-baiting levels, although the midrange could harden up at this point.

The OnBeat Xtreme was so good it not only was the What Hi-Fi? team's office speaker in the old Teddington office for a good few years, but it also beat a legendary icon...

4. Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin (2007)

£400
5 stars

This is the big one. If it wasn't for the iPod, we wouldn't have the now-iconic blimp-shaped Zeppelin speaker dock. When we first reviewed it in the February 2008 issue, it didn't appear in our usual "First Tests" section at the start of the magazine – it appeared in our dedicated "Temptation" section that was reserved for pricier, "most desirable" high-end models.

That's how much of a novelty the premium, luxuriously built Zeppelin was in comparison to the other humdrum iPod docks of the day. It gave permission for other brands to aim higher – the JBL OnBeat Xtreme (above) and NAD Viso 1 both launched at £500 after the B&W.

The distinctive curved, elongated shape isn't just for style points; it helps minimise the cabinet around each driver unit, which improves dispersion. The drivers underneath were ones used by B&W loudspeakers: a 13cm Kevlar bass driver powered by a 50W digital amp is flanked on either side by 9cm midrange drivers and 25mm metal dome tweeters, each powered by 25W amps.

The resultant sound exceeded all our expectations. "You'll be amazed at the Zeppelin's pace, scale, weight, rhythmic ability and timing," we enthused in our five-star review. Its sense of attack and energy was "thrilling", with our only complaint being that it didn't image as well as rivals with widely spaced speakers.

It was also a tactile joy to use, and its combination of style, build quality and sound left us "smitten".

The Zeppelin gave birth the smaller, less expensive Zeppelin Mini a couple of years later, while you can buy a fully hi-res wireless version of the Zeppelin Pro Edition these days.

5. Fatman iTube Carbon v2.0 (2008)

£350
5 stars

If you don't remember Fatman Audio, you're not alone. The brand specialised in combining iPod docks with valve-based systems, and rather successfully, too. The year after the Zeppelin launched to rave reviews, the Fatman iTube Carbon v2.0 got put in a Group Test with the iconic speaker dock in the September 2008 issue... and won.

The iTube Carbon was far from a discreet-looking iPod dock. "Alongside the Zeppelin's sleek, Manhattan-skyscraper aesthetics it does look like a bit of a shanty town," we said, and not everyone was enamoured of a multi-box system that required separate speakers. You could buy the system sans speakers for £100 and provide your own pair, though.

Despite the inelegance, the Fatman was praised for being the best-sounding iPod speaker dock – it had an "endlessly listenable sound". The warm, eloquent valve characteristics gave songs like Steely Dan's Any Major Dude Will Tell You low-end weight and substance, while percussion and vocals were polished and bright enough. The Carbon "integrates and separates the differing elements confidently" and "excels when it comes to stereo focus and imaging" – the benefit of having separate speakers.

The first iteration of this unit was marred by build and reliability issues, even as we praised the the rich musical insight and "stunning" sound for this price; this v2.0 model addressed our concerns and smartened up the cosmetics considerably, and featured a 3.5mm socket alongside RCA stereo inputs.

Versatile, great-sounding and a unique valve-dock design – the Fatman may not be as fondly remembered as more famous iPod docks, but its spark burned bright at the height of the iPod dock's popularity.

Apple's stronghold over the audio world with the iPod and its 30-pin connector faded when it switched to the smaller Lightning connector. Adoption for the new connector was slow, as having to completely re-haul current audio products proved a pain for many brands.

The introduction of wireless AirPlay and rising popularity of Bluetooth around the same time carved a path towards today's wireless speakers that ditch the dock and feature streaming via Bluetooth, AirPlay, Google Cast and more – proving you don't have to be dependant on the whims of one (giant) tech brand.

But if it were not for the iPod, we wouldn't have such daring, creative, fun and, yes, silly designs that were affordable, compact, and made music available for all.

Below, you'll find a gallery of the variety of iPod docks and speaker systems we tested in the 2000s/2010s, straight from the pages of our What Hi-Fi? magazine archive. You can click on the arrow sign in the bottom-left corner to read the full-size text on each image.

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Amazon's summer Prime Day event has been and gone, but it seems no one told JBL.

One of the firm's star products, the JBL Charge 6, is now even cheaper than on Prime Day, dropping to a new low of £96 at Amazon.

This isn't just any Bluetooth speaker, though – this is our Product of the Year Bluetooth speaker, which beat out some tough competition to claim the top spot.

And just in time, too – its powerful, clear and energetic sound will make it perfect for garden parties and outdoor gatherings, especially with another heatwave on the horizon.

If you're looking for the best Bluetooth speakers, then the JBL Charge 6 is top of our list.

The Charge 6 is the successor to, you guessed it, the Charge 5, which was itself outstanding and our go-to recommendation during its lifetime.

The Charge 6 manages to improve on the five-star Charge 5, starting with a more waterproof, dustproof and drop-proof IP68 rating, beefier bumper guards and a handy carry-handle for portability.

But it's the audio improvements that excite us most. The Charge 6 features a newly developed woofer, but the benefits extend beyond bass.

"The same familial sound between the two Charge generations remains, but the Charge 6 is that bit more energetic and rhythmically driven, with a newfound sense of clarity going hand-in-hand with the added dose of power and punch," our JBL Charge 6 review reads. "This is a sound that goes far beyond the confines of its portable dimensions; we’re always struck by just how mature the sound balance is, even as you push the volume up."

There's a new 'AI Sound Boost' too that analyses the sound in real time to ensure that the sound is always as punchy, exciting, and clean.

There's also a hefty 24 hours of power should you wish to party all day, with an extra four hours available in Playtime Boost mode. Audio aficionados will be glad to hear that 24-bit/96kHz lossless audio is available via USB-C, while there's also support for Auracast audio sharing and the ability to charge your phone.

While several Prime Day deals have gone back up, the JBL Charge 6 has the rare distinction of going down. And honestly, it couldn't have happened to a much better product – it's one of the best Bluetooth speakers we've ever tested, and well worth the £96 at Amazon if you're happy with the black colour.

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Canadian manufacturer, PSB Speakers, has launched two new all-in-one wireless speakers as part of its iQ series. The range includes the iQ1, priced at £899 / €999 / $999, and the iQ2, available for £1299 / €1399 / $1499. At this price point, the speaker systems fall into competitive territory, rivalling the five-star KEF LSX II and Award-winning LSX II LT.

Both the iQ1 and iQ2 use the established BluOS streaming platform to give users access to popular music streaming services such as Amazon Music, Deezer, Qobuz, Tidal, as well as internet radio stations such as TuneIn, while also allowing hi-res streaming from connected hard drives.

Other streaming methods include Apple AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, and Bluetooth aptX HD. In both models, the internal DAC can natively handle hi-res files up to 24-bit/192kHz PCM.

Wired connections for both models include a pair of RCA stereo inputs, HDMI eARC for connecting to a TV, optical, USB-A and USB-C audio inputs, and a subwoofer output. The speakers also feature a built-in moving-magnet phono stage for connecting a turntable directly.

PSB says the iQ1 and iQ2 systems have been designed to “fit comfortably into everyday spaces”, with humble dimensions of just 14.5 x 24.6 x 19.2cm per speaker.

Both speakers feature fully active designs and DSP crossovers, with tuned bass ports providing “deeper, more powerful bass”.

Their similarities don’t end there. The iQ1 and iQ2 have identical total power outputs of 270 watts via Class D amplification, and they even share the same drivers, employing a 1.9cm aluminium-dome tweeter paired with a 10cm propylene mid/bass driver.

Each speaker has a 90-watt amplifier dedicated to each woofer, but they differ in the way they drive their tweeters; the iQ1’s tweeters share a two-channel amplifier, delivering 45 watts to each unit, while the iQ2’s tweeters are fed by independent 45W amplifiers.

They also differ in how the left and right speakers connect: the iQ1 uses a wired speaker cable; the iQ2 employs a low-latency wireless link.

The iQ series can be controlled using the BluOS Controller app, which is compatible with Android, iOS, macOS and Windows, or via a touch panel on the primary speaker.

Both iQ speaker systems are available now, and the iQ1 comes in in black or white vinyl finishes. The more premium iQ2 comes in black, white, ember red, boreal green, granite grey, and sandstone beige, while a walnut veneer finish costs an extra £100 / €100 / $100.

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Put that pizza down! Bin those takeaway menus, resist the urge to boot up the Dominos app and do something that your ears, and waistline, will thank you for: spend your money on a brilliant Bluetooth speaker instead.

For about the same price as your Saturday night takeout, you could get yourself a JBL Go 4 for just £27 at Amazon this Prime Day, down from its original price of £40. That's a saving of around 33 per cent on the best pocket-sized Bluetooth speaker on the market.

It doesn't taste particularly good (although we haven't actually tried), but it does sound the business.

Best JBL Go 4 Bluetooth speaker deal

It's remarkable how much performance JBL has managed to wring out of the soap-sized Go 4. It's handsome, well-equipped, durable and, for its size, remarkably talented sonically

The Go 4's IP67 rating means that dust and limited submersion in water will leave no lasting damage, and the general robustness of construction here is truly admirable.

Battery life is up to roughly 7 hours of standard playtime, with two more hours via Playtime Boost.

Playtime Boost will suck out most of the bass from the speaker's presentation, but that aside, the Go 5 sounds remarkably good considering its size and price. Thanks in part to its 45mm driver and that hollow-contour logo, the fifth-gen model is the meatiest, most robust sounding Go that we've yet heard, with a fuller, more powerful reproduction than its fourth-gen predecessor.

As our review stated, the fifth-gen speaker is tuned "to have an innate understanding of how your music should sound. Nothing here is overdone or overly coloured, but it shares its bigger siblings’ ability to go with the flow as we bounce around tracks and genres".

If your budget is limited, the Go 4 is our go-to recommendation – ditch the late night curry and pick one up on Amazon.

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Discounts galore! These are the best Amazon Prime Day Bluetooth speaker deals

Amazon Prime Day 2026 is officially in full swing, and if you've been on the hunt for one of the best Bluetooth speakers at a dropdown price, now is the time to strike.

For just £100 at Amazon, the five-star JBL Charge 6 can be yours for a mega £70 off its official RRP, making this the joint-lowest we've ever seen the class-leading speaker sink. The last time, in case you're interested, was during Black Friday of last year.

Either way, the Charge 6 demands your attention. At around the £100 mark it's by far the best in the business – if we had to recommend one Bluetooth speaker deal this Prime Day, it would be this one.

The JBL Charge 6 holds the top spot amongst the best Bluetooth speakers we've ever tested, a position that was previously held by its longstanding predecessor, the outstanding Charge 5.

If you're looking for an excellent all-round performer that has all the bases covered, the Charge 6 reigns supreme. The sixth-gen model took what we loved about the Charge 5 and improved upon it, so much so we rewarded it with a What Hi-Fi? Product of the Year Award for its troubles.

When it comes to the Charge 6, you get an even more waterproof, dustproof and drop-proof model boasting an IP68 rating, beefier bumper guards and a handy carry-handle for portability.

The audio has been upped, too. To quote from our review: "The Charge 6 certainly sounds more powerful, but that muscle and authority are heard throughout the frequency range, not just in the lower end. The sound is clearer and more detailed than before, with vocals given extra solidity and textural depth; the highs soar with punch but clarity."

Plus, the 'AI Sound Boost' is on hand to analyse the speaker's sound in real time to optimise its output and ensure that you're getting the punchiest and most powerful sound, at all times and in all places.

On top of all this, there's plenty of features to boast about, too. There's Auracast audio sharing, 24-bit/96kHz lossless audio via USB-C, and a hefty 24 hours of juice, plus four extra with Playtime Boost, as well as doubling up as a power bank for your smartphone or portable device.

With a barnstorming £70 off at Amazon, you could secure yourself one of the best Bluetooth speakers we've ever tested at its joint-lowest price. If you're happy having it in a natty white finish, of course.

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Danish hi-fi brand Tangent overhauled its Spectrum speaker range only a few months ago, but now it has a new addition: the Tangent Spectrum II X5 Active BT.

These are active speakers, featuring two 50W Class D amplifiers, so you don't need an external amp. The 130mm cellulose‑pulp mid/bass driver and 25mm soft‑dome tweeter combine to deliver a soundstage that is described as “balanced, dynamic and natural”, with precise bass, expressive vocals and refined, transparent highs.

But that’s not the only improvement. The feature set has been beefed up, offering Bluetooth 5.3 with aptX HD for better-quality wireless playback, and a built-in moving magnet phono input for hooking up a turntable. You can use these speakers for your TV audio too, thanks to the HDMI ARC port, while you also get optical, coaxial and hi-res USB Audio inputs, plus a subwoofer output for adding more bass.

As you would expect from Tangent, the aesthetic is best described as clean and minimalist, i.e. very Scandi. They come in black or white, one of which should, no doubt, match your interior style.

The Spectrum II X5 Active BT are out now for £499 (around $660 / AU$940) per pair.

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It was Jane Austen who once wrote: “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man (or woman) in possession of a good chunk of cash must be in want of a Bluetooth speaker.” Okay, we might have tweaked that quotation just a little, but she would probably have written something similar had Bluetooth been around in the 1800s.

Thankfully, we can’t think of many product categories that enjoy more major discounts during Amazon Prime Day than Bluetooth speakers. Perhaps wireless headphones and wireless earbuds are also in the running, but if you’re in the market for belting bargains, Bluetooth speakers are where it’s at.

We are already seeing major discounts on some of our favourite models during the early Prime Day sales, and we predict that even more drops will come flooding in as things really kick into gear. Don’t worry, we’ll keep updating this page, and our Prime Day hubs, to make sure you don’t miss a thing.

The best early Prime Day Bluetooth speaker deals

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Google's long-awaited new smart speaker is finally here. The Google Home Speaker is being marketed as a new era for the tech giant's roster of AI-powered products.

Highlights include a new app, improved hardware and the inclusion of the Gemini smart assistant to take on the brainpower of Amazon's Alexa and Apple's Siri.

We first covered the Home at the back-end of 2025, but Google has only just revealed the date when buyers will be able to get their hands on it.

The smart speaker will officially launch on June 25th, while you can pre-order now for £100 / $100 if you've got an itchy trigger finger and want to guarantee a new Home for your home.

Am I set to become one of those keen beans desperate to test out what the Home can do? Pre-ordering might be a step too far, and the need to pay £8 / $10 per month for a Google Home Premium subscription sours the deal somewhat, but I'll readily admit that I'm fascinated by Google's re-entry into one of audio's most fast-moving markets.

The current problem for Google is that it has been badly left behind by the current market. While Amazon and Apple surged ahead by offering a host of products – be they in-house or made by licensed third parties – Google fell badly behind.

Our list of the best Google Assistant speakers has become increasingly thin as time has gone on. The JBL Authentics 300 and Authentics 500 are the most recent speakers to house Google Assistant in one form or another, and they came out almost two years ago.

Alexa, on the other hand, has gone from strength to strength, not only through licensed Apple products such as the Echo Dot (5th Gen) and the Echo Dot Max, but through third-party speakers integrating one of the best smart assistants into their respective feature sets.

Just look at the Sonos Era 300, the Sonos Play, the upcoming Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker or the new Denon Home multi-room range as proof of just how keen major brands are to have Alexa on board.

Google has recognised the need for a big swing to get itself back in the game, and while there's no guarantee of a home run, the integration of fully-fledged Gemini powers does point to a serious shift for the brand.

Whatever your views on AI, Gemini is a seriously powerful tool to pack into a smart speaker, and one that could genuinely tempt users away from the safety of Apple or Amazon.

The flipside of that, of course, is that Google might have focused more on headline-grabbing AI integration than it has on audio quality.

A smart speaker is still a speaker, after all, so that promise of 360-degree audio and a "uniform sound that you can hear from every direction" needs to be delivered upon.

Amazon recently dropped the ball with its mediocre-sounding Echo Dot Max, but Apple's HomePod 2 and HomePod Mini remain five-star sonic powerhouses. Plus, new models will surely arrive at some point, something which Google should have factored into their calculations when producing the new Home Speaker.

I'm fascinated to see whether Google can still compete in the smart speaker arena. This is a corner of the market which has become something of a duopoly between Amazon and Apple, but the revamped Home Speaker, complete with Gemini powers, could turn that two-horse race into a triple-threat standoff.

That monthly subscription price will be off-putting to some, while Google hasn't yet forged a reputation for itself as a purveyor of the finest audio quality around, but who knows? Maybe the Home Speaker is about to change all that.

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At last, Sonos is making some real progress fixing its mobile app. A major refresh is due this week, which should make it a lot more intuitive to use.

If you're late to the party, let us fill you in.

Back in April 2024, Sonos redesigned its app to coincide with the launch of the Ace, its first pair of wireless headphones. It was a disaster – the new app was buggy, and lacked a lot of the old one's features. (It didn't help that the headphones weren't much cop either.)

Since then Sonos has been on a mission to restore the app and win back customer trust. This week's refresh could go some way to doing so.

The improvements are aimed at making the app easier to use. It's "Not a new app, but a new way of navigating Sonos inside the app you already have," CEO Tom Conrad wrote on Reddit.

From spending "hundreds of hours" watching people use the Sonos app, his team found out what the sticking points are: too many content cards, swipe-up gestures to switch speaker orientation, close boxes in place of back buttons, and custom interface elements that feel out of place on an iOS or Android device.

So what takes their place?

We can look forward to more straightforward navigation, with three tabs (Home, System, Search) replacing the hidden gestures and content cards on both iOS and Android. There's a new volume interface, a "core mechanism that is easier to grab and fine tune" along with buttons to press to alter it and a new way of synchronising it across a group of rooms.

You'll get more control over how your players are listed and displayed, and there are dozens of smaller fixes like the ability to swipe to delete a track in a playlist, and a refreshed Now Playing screen.

The update will roll out to beta testers this week (you can sign up here), but they will have to enable it from within the settings menu. Even once it's rolled out wider, it will only be available as an opt-in toggle, so you can turn it off if you don't like it. Sonos will continue to polish it before making it the default.

Conrad says this is the way Sonos will work from now on, as "this is the beginning of a different way of working here at Sonos, where what gets built, and in what order, is shaped by the conversations here and with all our customers."

Maybe it's learned from its mistakes after all.

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Not everybody has time to watch all of the 2026 World Cup's games. Tragic, we know. But why should we be the only ones juggling commitments? If you are looking for a wireless speaker that can stream music, be used with a turntable and also double up for as a soundbar for your TV during this summer of sport, Audio Pro might have your back.

We are big fans of the Audio Pro C20 W wireless speaker, so much so that we gave it a five-star review and a What Hi-Fi? Award win. Great for listening to music and even used as a soundbar alternative for your TV, the C20 W is an enjoyable all-rounder. And now, it has a whopping discount of over £90.

This deal applies to the C20 W's black, grey, and walnut models, which are currently available for the discounted price of £359 for Richer Sounds VIP members. Even better, VIP membership sign-up is free.

The Audio Pro C20 W had some living up to do if it wanted to rival the original Audio Pro C20, which we described as being "as multi-faceted as Inspector Gadget and as polymathic as Stephen Fry". Naturally, after such high praise, we were hoping the new model wouldn't have deviated detrimentally from its predecessor.

Thankfully, Audio Pro answered our prayers. The C20 W bears a striking resemblance to the C20 – the only obvious visual change being a silver, rather than black, back panel. The main drivers are also the same between models, with the C20 W featuring a single 16.5cm woofer flanked by twin 25mm tweeters, all powered by a total output power of 190W.

There were, however, significant changes in the Audio Pro C20 W's updated app, which allows easy control of the speaker's extensive wireless connectivity options.

Google Cast and Airplay 2 are both enabled for wireless playback up to 24bit/96kHz hi-res files, and the speaker supports Bluetooth 5.0. Users can also access Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect, as well as Audio Pro's own multi-room offering if you want to add more speakers.

In terms of physical connections, RCA stereo inputs, a moving magnet phono stage, an optical input for digital sources, and HDMI ARC for hooking up to the TV have all been included. The C20 W also features a subwoofer output, just in case you are hankering for some extra bass.

So, with all that in mind, how does the speaker actually sound?

We found the C20 W to have a clear and detailed sound, with "tight, well-defined bass reproduction". What's more, the speaker's "well-integrated midrange" was a highlight for us, sounding "cohesive enough to be a part of the ensemble but distinct enough to shine on its own terms", perfect for picking out commentary above the roaring crowd.

For a wireless speaker, this is an impressively versatile buy, especially considering the savings you'll make by picking it up for just £359 from Richer Sounds.

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Read our full Audio Pro C20 W review

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When it comes to multi-room music systems, Sonos has ruled the roost for years now. The Era 300 is perhaps the jewel in its crown – but there could be a new pretender to the throne in the shape of Denon’s Home 400.

Launched as part of a new range of Home 2 wireless speakers, the Denon Home 400 has a lot in common with the Sonos Era 300. Both offer spatial audio, have similar sonic architecture, and can form part of much larger audio ecosystems, so it only felt right to take a closer look at what sets them apart.

While we’re yet to give the Denon Home 400 the full What Hi-Fi? review treatment, we can still compare the two and see where it might hope to outdo the Era 300. Here’s the tale of the tape.

Denon Home 400 vs Sonos Era 300: price

The Denon Home 400 hit the shops recently with a pretty substantial price of £449 / $599 / AU$999.

In the UK that’s exactly how much the five-star Sonos Era 300 would have set you back when it launched just over three years ago, but it’s now available for a much more wallet-friendly £359 / $379 / AU$695 (and we’ve even seen it drop very slightly lower).

That’s a fair chunk of extra cash you’ll need to find for the Denon, so we’ll be expecting big things when it comes to testing it.

Denon Home 400 vs Sonos Era 300: design

There’s no denying Sonos took a bit of a risk with the design of its Era 300, but there’s sonic logic behind its unusual shape.

In order to facilitate its spatial audio skills, Sonos fitted the Era 300 with four tweeters (one forward-firing, two side-firing, one upward-firing) and two horizontally angled woofers – so while it might be divisive, its design is born out of the physical positioning of the drivers.

In every other way the Sonos Era 300 is pretty minimalist. It comes in either black or white and there’s no display, but you do get a set of touch-sensitive controls on top that blend in nicely. The build quality is typically high, too.

Denon’s Home 400 also feels suitably premium as befits its price. It’s a touch bigger but weighs slightly less and has a more familiar shape, while the fabric covering gives it a softer appearance. A set of rubberised buttons down the side offer control over volume and playback, plus a trio of shortcuts for your favourite sources or sound modes.

The Home 400 comes in either charcoal or stone colours (basically black or silvery grey) but overall feels like the nicer of the two on a purely aesthetic basis, with the Sonos perhaps a little too stark for some tastes. At the end of the day, though, it’s purely personal preference.

Denon Home 400 vs Sonos Era 300: features

Both these speakers can form discrete parts of wider multi-room music systems but they’re also equally happy operating on their own, with spatial audio support the main way to differentiate them from a lot of their wireless speaker siblings.

Both speakers have six drivers inside, but the Denon Home 400 has two that point upwards compared to just one inside the Sonos Era 300.

Both also support Dolby Atmos, but the Denon is a little more flexible over where you source your Atmos-powered spatial tunes from. On the Era 300, you’ll need to use Amazon Music or Apple Music, while the Home 400 is happy playing them from Tidal’s catalogue as well.

In terms of wireless connectivity, there’s no separating them. Wi-fi, Bluetooth and AirPlay 2 are all on the menu for streaming from Spotify, Tidal et al, but the Denon is a little more welcoming to wired sources.

There are USB-C and 3.5mm connections on the back of the Home 400, whereas the Sonos only has the former, with a separate adapter required if you want to connect something using an aux cable.

As well as full multi-room use, you can also create stereo pairs with both of these speakers, plus they’re compatible with soundbars from their respective manufacturers and can be used as rear channels in a surround set-up.

If you like telling your speakers what to do, you’ll probably be better served by the Sonos Era 300, which has native support for both Amazon Alexa and Sonos’s own voice assistant.

There’s a microphone onboard the Denon Home 400 (and a mute button on the back) but it doesn’t support voice control out of the box. In fact, the only way to talk to it (at least if you want to get a response) is to use Siri, but that's only if you have an Apple HomePod or HomePod Mini connected on the same network. You can then link them together within the HEOS app and summon Siri via the Home 400. It's a rather bizarre workaround, we admit, and we'll explore more when we have our review sample in for testing.

Denon Home 400 vs Sonos Era 300: sound

We’re yet to get the Denon Home 400 into our testing rooms for a full review, so a definitive verdict on its abilities will have to wait, but after hearing it at the launch of Denon’s full Home 2 range back in March, plus some further dedicated ears-on time for this piece, some initial assessments are possible.

The impact of those two upward-firing drivers is immediately apparent, with a real sense of space between the instruments. The soundstage has a really nice three-dimensional quality to it that makes music sound more lifelike, although, as is often the case with spatial audio, the mixes can sometimes be a little off depending on the particular song being played.

In general, though, first impressions are good. The Home 400 puts on an engaging performance that seems to strike a nice balance between all aspects of the frequency range.

When it comes to the Sonos Era 300, however, there’s no such uncertainty surrounding its performance. In our five-star review first published in March 2023, the Era 300 was described as an “immensely immersive experience”.

Particularly impressive is the sheer scale of the sound it’s capable of producing, which projects more effectively than any similarly sized wireless speaker we’ve tested so far, particularly when you feed it Dolby Atmos tracks (although quite how effective it is varies by song).

On the whole it sounds detailed, dynamic and cohesive, with deep, impactful bass and plenty of rhythmic flair.

Fundamentally the Era 300 has set a high standard for the Denon Home 400 to reach, but there are reasons to believe it could give Sonos a real run for its money.

Denon Home 400 vs Sonos Era 300: early verdict

With smart looks, an extensive list of features and promising early signs of its sonic performance, the Denon’s Home 400 looks like it could be a serious contender. The lack of voice control is slightly surprising, but with Alexa and co. popping up in so many other devices around the average home it doesn’t feel like a huge absence.

Can it beat the Era 300 though? Sonos’s unusually shaped speaker was the first one to convince us that spatial audio was more than just a gimmick, and its standard stereo performance is hugely enjoyable too, so it’s not going to be easy for the Denon to take the crown.

Once we’ve had the opportunity to fully scrutinise the Denon Home 400 and compare it with the Era 300, we’ll be able to pass judgement on which of these wireless speakers is the best – and it could well be a close battle. Stay tuned for the full review.

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Which Sonos speaker should you buy? Find out here

The best multi-room systems around

Check out the best Sonos alternatives

Marshall has added to its extensive roster of Bluetooth speakers with the new Stockwell III.

Designed for listeners "who want powerful sound without sacrificing portability", the new speaker makes use of Marshall's 'True Stereophonic 360-degree' sound technology, designed to fill any space with more immersive, expansive audio.

The Stockwell III also features a 'Dynamic Loudness' feature which automatically balances bass, mid and treble frequencies "to preserve detail and clarity" at any volume.

Marshall's latest can stretch to around 40 hours of battery life, while an IP55 dust and waterproof rating add to its portable credentials. You an also use the speaker as a charging bank to give portable devices such as smartphones a quick charge on the go.

To behold, the Stockwell III is very much a Marshall product, designed to look like a mini guitar amp and boasting a leather carry strap, top-mounted control dials and an external grille emblazoned with the Marshall logo.

According to Simon Berbec, Product Manager at Marshall Group: “Since launching Stockwell II in 2019, technology has moved fast, and Stockwell III takes full benefit from this. Extended battery life, more powerful acoustics, and improved water and dust protection are just some of the key enhancements we’ve made."

The Marshall Stockwell III will be available from 25th August in black and brass or cream colourways, priced at £200 / $250.

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We have seen several feature-packed all-in-one hi-fi systems enter the market from traditional manufacturers in recent times. Cambridge Audio, KEF, Sonus Faber, Naim and Ruark Audio, to name but a few, all offer one-box solutions which include source(s), input and speakers built-in. And now we can add Danish speaker manufacturer Dali to that list.

At High End Vienna 2026, it launched Vega, a hi-fi system with a twist, and one that the company has actually been working on for four years. Obviously, we couldn’t resist dropping by the Dali stand for a closer look to see the system in action.

Price

The Dali Vega costs £2599 / $4500 / AU$4499 and launches in October. This makes it more expensive than the Ruark Audio R410 (£1299 / $1699 / AU$2599) or Cambridge Audio Evo One (£1299 / $1499 / AU$2499.

However, it does sit below the £2999 / $3600 / €3300 asking price of the Focal Mu-so Hekla, which will be one of its key rivals.

Design and build

Dali claims Vega has been designed to be “the most versatile and user-friendly audio source in the home”. And it definitely delivers the kind of flexibility and thoughtfulness we haven’t seen in this arena before.

Besides placing Vega horizontally on a tabletop, you can also wall-mount it. Not only that, but you can flip it through ninety degrees so it hangs upright.

It’s a clever idea and offers users an extra solution when room space might be tight, and attaching it to a wall is an option.

Although it does offer HDMI connectivity, Dali is at pains to say this is a wireless sound system and not a soundbar – there’s no Dolby Atmos or upfiring drivers.

What it does have is a 400W digital amp running 8 channels of audio. Under the woven fabric speaker grilles are two 25mm soft dome tweeters and two 4.5in wood-fibre/paper mid/bass cones on the front, and you'll find the same driver configuration on the rear.

At either end of the unit is an anodised aluminium passive radiator, which matches the finish of the speaker. They’re black on the dark oak finish and silver on the light oak silver finish.

You can’t miss the large circular control on the top of Vega. Dail has spent a lot of time trying to make it tactile and nice to use, and when we try it out, it seems smooth to operate.

It uses a military-grade ball-bearing, while the housing of the wheel is metal with a glass top. Tap the glass, and it brings up Vega’s menus, which are located on a small OLED screen positioned next to it.

The writing on the screen switches to match the unit's portrait or landscape orientation, which is a neat touch. Dali explained that this functionality would have been difficult to achieve with a more traditional dot-matrix LCD display.

It does seem a little small, especially when trying to read the speaker’s settings from a distance, but once the speaker is set up, you’ll mainly be interacting with the BluOS app on your smartphone or tablet.

To the left of the control dial is a row of buttons which includes power, mute and input switching. You also get five customisable preset buttons, which you could assign to a radio station or streaming service – you can even map one to a particular input.

Features

As we’ve mentioned, Vega is powered by BluOS, which we've found to be a stable and well-featured streaming platform. Everything else for Vega has been designed in-house by Dali.

This includes a patent-pending Adaptive Stereo Enhancement (ASE) DSP processing that monitors the incoming stereo signal in real-time and adapts it to fill your room in a spacious and immersive manner.

Out of the box, Vega is set up for use on a shelf or tabletop and has three settings to choose from depending on its placement: free space, medium, and close.

Each one of these affects the sound output from the rear of the speaker, which is at its maximum when in free space mode.

You also have not one but two wall mounting options (it comes with a bracket in the box). It can be positioned horizontally or vertically and uses an internal accelerometer to work out its orientation, and it will automatically switch the output of the speakers to match.

So, when it’s mounted vertically, instead of still having left and right channels firing out of the front and rear, the whole left side of Vega becomes the left channel, and the right side becomes the right channel. Very clever.

To accommodate wall mounting, all connections are underneath the system as opposed to on the rear – Vega offers HDMI ARC, an RCA analogue input, an optical digital connection and a USB input for an external drive. There’s also a subwoofer output, should you want to up the bass at a later date.

In addition to the BluOS streaming smarts, Vega’s wireless connectivity also includes Bluetooth aptX HD, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Qobuz Connect and AirPlay 2.

Sound

During our demo with Vega, we were shown the effect of having the ASE processing on and off, and although it was tricky to hear too much, thanks to the noise coming from other areas of the exhibition space, you could still hear the sound shrink and become smaller scale when it was turned off.

Turned back on, you could hear the sound open up again and become larger and fuller.

We’ll obviously need to get it into our test rooms for a full sound quality evaluation, but we heard a few seconds of Ray Charles and Natalie Cole’s version of Fever and the double bass and finger clicks seemed to be nicely defined and have decent snap to them.

Vega seems to serve up an open and dynamic sound, although it was difficult to really evaluate the detail and definition that managed to cut through the noise on the stand.

We switched up the pace with the Stereo MC’s Step It Up, and the Dali seemed to have a skip in its step with seemingly decent punch and power. We couldn’t really hear anything stick out of the frequency range, but it was competing with a lot of environmental noise.

Initial verdict

Obviously, we won’t know how the Dali Vega truly fares until we’ve had a chance to put it through its paces in our test rooms, but it’s an eye-catching offering from the brand in the category of all-in-one hi-fi systems.

Not only does it boast interesting tech developed in-house, Dali’s managed to package its wireless sound system with an attractive amount of versatility.

Some might see the wall-mounting as a bit of a gimmick, but we think the extra flexibility has legs and is a novel approach where space in many living rooms is at a premium. If Vega manages to execute it successfully, Dali could be onto something, and we can’t wait to find out.

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It might seem a long way from the concert hall to lounge, but Yamaha has just shortened that journey significantly. Its new wireless stereo speaker system – its first for a decade – uses some of the same technologies as the brand’s high-end models, and even some of the same materials as in its renowned grand piano soundboards.

But the big question is: can it take on the Award-winning KEF LS50 Wireless II?

The Yamaha NX-70A aims to make high-quality sound more accessible, whether it’s playing back one of the best music streaming services or a movie soundtrack straight from your TV.

It uses Yamaha’s Harmonious Diaphragm, which comprises a blend of ZYLON (from its flagship speakers) and spruce wood (used in its grand piano soundboards). This promises “a consistent tone over the entire frequency spectrum”, so that instruments and vocals are reproduced “naturally and with remarkable musicality”.

As with all active speakers, it sees the amplifier and speaker unit working in tandem – Yamaha calls this Synergistic Drive, and it should mean lower distortion.

It can adjust its output to your room size and layout thanks to room optimisation software – Yamaha calls this YPAO (Yamaha Parametric room Acoustic Optimiser). It works much like Sonos Trueplay, but uses a bundled microphone instead of the one on your smartphone.

Streaming support is strong, with Tidal and Spotify (plus their Connect versions), alongside Google Cast and Apple AirPlay 2. It also works with Yamaha MusicCast for multi-room playback, and is Roon Ready for unifying your music library across sources.

Because it supports HDMI eARC/ARC and CEC, you can hook it up to your TV and control its volume with your TV remote. And it would look right at home in the concert hall, with its rounded edges and copper accents. This rounded cabinet also helps subdue internal standing waves.

The Yamaha NX-70A is out in July for £2587 (around $3500 / AU$4799).

So can it topple the KEF LS50 Wireless II? Stay tuned for a full review.

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See the best hi-fi systems around

All the news from High End Vienna 2026

Active vs passive speakers: what's the difference? And which is better?

We’ve always rather liked Tribit’s Stormbox Micro line of Bluetooth speakers. Tribit isn’t an established name in the same vein as Sony or JBL, yet it has produced a couple of charming, affordable portable speakers which, especially the Micro 2, exhibit real talent in the midrange frequencies. Plus, “Stormbox” sounds like it was named by Thor.

The problem with making a good budget Bluetooth speaker is that you’ve got to follow it up while meeting the challenge of newer, more capable rivals.

It’s no secret that JBL is the name ruling the Bluetooth speaker roost, and with the pocket-sized Go 5 recently earning a glowing five-star appraisal, the third-gen Stormbox Micro is going to have to work even harder than its predecessors if it doesn’t want to be out-muscled by the ever-advancing competition.

Price

You can get your hands on a Tribit Stormbox Micro 3 for around £63 / $65 / AU$130 approx, the same price at which the outgoing second-gen model started life.

At this more budget-friendly end of the cost ladder, the five-star JBL Go 5 clocks in at around £40 / $50 / AU$59 at the time of writing, and if you want to go even cheaper, you can get an older Go 4 for as low as £25 / $30 during sales events.

If you seek something a little more premium, the JBL Flip 7 tends to sit at roughly £110 / $150 / AU$170 at the time of writing, but again, it tends to enjoy decent discounts when the time is right.

Build

Build-wise, the Stormbox Micro 3 hasn’t deviated hugely from its five-star predecessor. Its flat, coaster-like design remains generally unchanged, with the top half of the speaker dominated by a woven textured grille and the bottom half clad in rubber to give you plenty of non-slip grip.

Large, bold volume buttons flank a circular play/pause toggle, which can also be used to summon Siri if held down for a few seconds. Those big, bold buttons do give the Tribit a clean and simple interface, but during our tests at least, we do find that they require quite a forceful press to elicit a response.

Backlit buttons for power, Bluetooth pairing, toggling XBoom and managing stereo mode/party mode are neatly housed on the speaker’s thin front-end, and thankfully, don’t require the same levels of brutish force for us to get them to cooperate.

View it from the top-down, and the new Stormbox is a bit chunkier than its outgoing ancestor, though the difference is slight – you’ll still manage to slide it into a backpack, perch it on the side of your bathtub (it’s waterproof, don’t worry!) or hold it in the palm of your hand without too much trouble. Thankfully, portability is still the name of the game here.

That said, we would’ve liked some kind of carry loop for taking the Tribit on your travels, such as you’d find adorning the side of the JBL Go 4 or larger Bose SoundLink Plus, although the Stormbox Micro 3 does have an elastic rubber strap at its base which Tribit bills as being attachable to bikes, bags and the like.

Forget the elastic strap, though, because what that base also has is magnetic powers. Yes, you can stick the Stormbox to pretty much any magnetic metallic surface you can find, and the novelty never wears off as we spend our time roving our office looking for places to stick our test sample. On the side of the fridge, attached to our boardroom whiteboard, stuck to a metal pillar outside… oh, the fun you can have.

Let’s return to the more technical side for a moment. Within, the Tribit boasts 13 watts of power driving a 48mm driver and dual coaxial passive radiators for producing what the brand describes as "crisp clarity and deep, punchy bass". More on that in a moment.

Features

Credit where it's due, Tribit has really bolstered the battery life for its third-gen Stormbox Micro. The Micro 2 gave you a very admirable 12 hours of playtime on a single charge, but that’s been doubled to a whopping 24 hours, a figure which trounces the roughly 10 hours of the JBL Go 5 and the 16 or so hours of the more expensive JBL Flip 7.

A big bonus for the Tribit and, we envisage, a major part of its potential appeal.

Speaking of battery, the Micro 3 also doubles as a powerbank, meaning you can juice up your smartphone on the go via USB-C – akin to the charging feature you’d find on the likes of the chunky JBL Charge 6. To have charging capabilities on a speaker this small is not something we’ve often seen, so kudos to Tribit for implementing it with the Micro 3.

Elsewhere, the third-gen speaker boasts an impressive IP68 water and dustproof rating, keeping it in line with the major class leaders at this price. Splash it with water or give it a quick soak in the sink, and that water-repellent body does a fine job of keeping those precious insides dry and working as they should.

Tribit has also granted support for True Wireless Stereo pairing with its latest Stormbox Micro, but note that this can only be done with two models of the same generation, so you won’t be able to dig out your old Stormbox Micro 2 and form a stereo pair with the new third-gen model.

Many of the above features can be managed and monitored by the Tribit app which, while not the most in-depth platform you’ll ever come across, is clearly laid out and easy to navigate thanks to its bold, uncluttered menus.

A nine-band customisable equaliser is nice to have as well, or you can select one of Tribit’s seven genre-led presets if you want the legwork done for you.

Sound

Judged on its own terms, the Stormbox Micro 3 is a reasonably capable performer. It’s quite a personable little speaker, and the sound that it produces does have some appeal, especially if you feed it tunes that play to its relative strengths.

The midrange where the outgoing Stormbox Micro 2 excelled, and as we listen to a slice of Nick Cave’s Into My Arms, we discern that those particular talents haven’t entirely skipped a generation. Cave’s voice is fairly rich and full, with the Tribit spotlighting the Aussie crooner nicely as his emotive sincerity shines through.

Tribit’s promise of a fulsome lower end also rings reasonably true, evidenced by the depth of the opening bass plucks on Noisettes’ Never Forget You. Depth and grip go hand in hand, giving adequate shape and texture to what can be, in the care of lesser speakers, amorphous rumbly tones.

At this price, the Stormbox Micro 3 has enough organisational ability to stop music falling over itself or feeling as jumbled as a load of socks flying around inside a tumble drier.

Detail levels across the frequency range – piercing highs, sweet mids and deep lows – are decent for a speaker of this size, even if we do notice some occasional hardness in the upper reaches, such as when we play Rosalía’s complex, operatic Berghain.

The Micro 3 is a decent Bluetooth speaker, then, but it’s simply not a class leading one, a fact that is spotlighted when put up against the JBL Go 5. Practically everything that the Stormbox Micro 3 can do, the JBL can do at least as well, and that’s a real issue when it comes to recommending the former.

After all, why would you buy a Tribit at around £63 / $65 / AU$130 when you could pick up an equally talented Go 5 for cheaper at £40 / $50 / AU$59?

The Go 5 may be smaller in size and price, but sonically, it matches the Micro 3, even when playing at the highest volumes or pushed to challenge tricky tunes such as Berghain or Tool’s Forty Six & 2.

In fact, the JBL often outshines the Tribit, with its more adept rhythmic and dynamic handling bringing out the underpinning beats of Muse’s Madness with more confidence and skill than the slightly sluggish Stormbox.

JBL’s diminutive class leader is just as clear and detailed, too, and that’s again a problem when you consider the price disparity between the two. Switching back and forth between both while playing Debussy’s Sarabande, we find that we prefer the more rounded, punchy sound of the outstanding JBL.

We do like the Stormbox, but if we’re being honest, we like the JBL Go 5 quite a lot more.

Verdict

We had high hopes for the Stormbox Micro 3, especially considering that the two speakers which preceded it both earned five-star ratings. This is by no means a bad effort, and still feels in some ways like an improvement over its predecessors thanks to its bolstered feature set and solid sound.

Sadly for Tribit, the world has moved on. The JBL Go 5 is currently our top pick if you’re after an ultra-portable, ultra-budget Bluetooth speaker, and when it costs a good deal less than the Stormbox Micro 3 but sounds noticeably better, it makes Tribit’s effort a much tougher sell.

Review published: 29th May 2026

SCORES

• Sound 3
• Build 4
• Features 4

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Read our review of the JBL Go 5

Also consider the JBL Flip 7

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Dali has announced its new all-in-one wireless system, the Vega.

Cut from a similar cloth as the likes of the Naim Mu-so 2, Ruark Audio R410 and Cambridge Audio Evo One, the Vega one houses amplification, drive units and music streaming in a single box, with Dali billing its latest model as an "audio system built for those who want the best possible sound without the complexity of a hi-fi setup".

The Vega boasts 400 watts of amplification delivered across eight channels, with drivers including an ultra-light 25mm soft dome tweeter alongside midrange and bass units arranged in a back-to-back configuration to reduce cabinet resonance and deliver "room-filling sound with clarity and detail".

Paper and wood fibre cones, alongside passive bass radiators and low loss surround drivers, also come together to create "a balanced sound with best in class low frequency performance".

To maximise its drivers' performance, the Vega uses 'Adaptive Stereo Enhancement' (ASE) technology, designed to create a wider, more expansive soundstage by automatically adapting to the incoming signal to deliver, says Dali, a panoramic effect that fills your listening space with ease.

Complementing ASE is 'Adaptive Orientation Adjustment' (AOA) tech, helping the speaker to adjust its output in real time for optimised stereo mapping and better spatial accuracy.

That tech should come in particularly handy with the Vega, which has been designed to be placed in a variety of locations in a range of different ways. Not only can you position your all-in-one system horizontally on a given surface, but you can also mount it – either vertically or horizontally – on walls or corners via a set of removable wall brackets.

The new Dali all-in-one system uses the BluOS streaming and multiroom audio system, the same platform used to power the likes of the Cyrus 40 ST music streamer and the NAD C 3050 and Roksan Attessa streaming amps.

The Vega offers HDMI ARC, RCA and optical inputs alongside a sub out, while Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect and Apple Airplay 2, not to mention standard Bluetooth, are also on the menu for your wireless streaming needs.

Externally, the Vega's body is constructed using a blend of wood, anodised aluminium and woven fabrics to create what Dali describes as a "refined, contemporary look", while a large volume wheel and an array of preset buttons are housed on the main unit.

The Dali Vega will be available this September in a Dark Oak or Natural Oak finish, priced at £2599 / $4500 / AU$4499 – a good deal more than the comparative Ruark Audio R410 (£1299 / $1699 / AU$2599) or Cambridge Audio Evo One (£1299 / $1499 / AU$2499).

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If you've landed here because you're on the lookout for one of the best wireless speakers, then the Sonos Era 300 is absolutely worth a look.

It's a five-star, Award-winner with a list of positives that is longer than your arm. Most notable is its sound performance, which we described as "immense, detailed, spacious, dynamic and cohesive."

Better still, you don't have to pay anywhere near full price for it, thanks to an Amazon deal which brings it down to just £359. Only while stocks last, though.

The talented Sonos Era 300 launched a new "Era" for Sonos, leading the brand into an exciting world of spatial audio. And we awarded it a top spot in our best wireless speakers for doing so.

This speaker is also packed with all the goodness and seamlessness you expect from the Sonos system.

It has a fairly unusual shape with a "cinched hourglass" look that certainly stands out and attracts attention. Inside are six drivers – four tweeters and two woofers – complemented by custom waveguides to help direct sound.

Of course, the headline feature is spatial audio, with Dolby Atmos tracks playing across both Amazon Music Unlimited and Apple Music.

And that's not all when it comes to the feature list. AirPlay 2, wi-fi streaming and Bluetooth are all listening options, plus there's the inclusion of Sonos and Alexa voice control with a USB-C input to tie it up nicely.

There is also big news for AV fans: a pair of Sonos Era 300 can be used as Dolby Atmos surround speakers, delivering multi-channel rears for the first time.

In our full review, we say: "Sonos’s mission to deliver a great spatial audio experience from a single wireless speaker is a success, but that metric alone isn’t what makes the Sonos Era 300 an all-round enjoyable speaker. It performs admirably with any format of music you throw at it, no matter what source or genre."

And right now, you can pick it up for the best price this year for just £359 at Amazon, in both black and white.

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With World Cup kick-off times starting at *checks watch* 9pm(!), it's quite likely that several viewing parties will be taking place inside.

In that case, you'll want a good, affordable, feature-laden wireless speaker to get the party started – and that's where the Sonos Era 100 SL comes in.

The Sonos Era SL lacks a microphone and, therefore, voice control, but otherwise should be identical to the five-star Sonos Era 100 that currently sits at the top of our best wireless speakers guide.

That missing feature does result in a discount; however, the Sonos Era 100 SL is currently £149 at Amazon. That's the cheapest we've seen any model of the Era 100 drop to!

The Sonos Era 100 was launched as part of a new range along with the larger, costlier Sonos Era 300. The Era 300 may be more room-filling, but this Era 100 model is nearly £200 cheaper and packs a host of streaming playback features and excellent sound in a neat, easy-to-use outfit.

We haven't tested the SL model, but the majority of our Sonos Era 100 review should still apply, including our conclusions on the winning sound.

"The spread of sound you get from what is still a fairly compact speaker is really impressive," our Sonos Era 100 review reads. "The delivery is powerful, with voices projected out into our listening room with confidence. The Era 100 sweeps you up into the groove of a song from the get-go."

The Sonos app is simple to use, and the number of streaming options is vast. You can stream wirelessly to the Era 100 via the Sonos S2 app, Apple AirPlay 2, or Spotify Connect, with Bluetooth 5.0 also available. We found pairing with our smartphones to be particularly fuss-free, and we've used and reviewed plenty of Bluetooth speakers over the years.

If you're already in the Sonos ecosystem, you'll benefit from the Era 100 SL immensely. Two Era 100s can be used as a stereo pair, or they can be used as rear speakers if you have the Sonos Beam (Gen 2), Arc, or Ray soundbar – perfect for watching the World Cup in surround sound.

Even without a microphone, the Sonos Era 100 SL offers versatility and an array of features that few rivals can match. For a capable and charming speaker experience with plenty of ways to play, check out the Era 100 SL for £149 at Amazon.

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Jamo is wasting no time establishing itself in varies speaker categories following its return under new ownership.

The Danish brand recently announced two premium ranges of Concert passive speakers, and has now launched a trio of lifestyle-friendly Bluetooth speakers.

The Jamo HYG range is inspired by the Danish concept of "hygge", which is all about creating warmth and comfort in the home. The range consists of three products – Flex, Flow and Reflect, with each "developed for the home, garden or your next adventure".

Starting with the top of the range, the HYG Flex is a wireless speaker with a cylindrical silhouette, and promises "powerful, room-filling sound". It features dual angled 25mm tweeters and a 12.7cm woofer, while Auracast connectivity means you can connect compatible Jamo speakers for a stereo pair, or for a multi-room system around the house.

It features Bluetooth streaming and a 3.5mm auxiliary input, and boasts 15 hours if going battery-powered. The Flex also features a built-in ambient light base with adjustable brightness.

Next is the portable HYG Flow, which is designed more for outdoor listening. The compact unit boasts 27 hours of playback, is made with durable materials including a "nano-coated water resistant fabric" and has an IPX7 waterproof rating.

It features Bluetooth 6.0 connectivity with Auracast support, and has a carry handle too. Internally, it has dual full-range 38mm drivers and twin passive radiators that aim to deliver "balanced stereo sound tuned specifically for vocal clarity and long listening sessions", especially for audiobooks and radio stations.

And finally, the HYG Reflect is a bedside clock radio with Bluetooth streaming (but not Auracast) and has ambient lighting, a wireless charging pad, USB-C charging port, and alarm clock features.

All three Jamo HYG products will be available from July, with the Flex costing £239 / $279, the Flow is set to cost £109 / $129, and the Reflect is priced at £129 / $149.

The Flex and Reflect speakers are available in dark grey and light grey finishes, while the portable Flow speaker will be available in additional colours of ​Summer Bloom, Sand Dune, Red Oxide and Sage Green.

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Fyne Audio is branching into new territory with its first active speakers, the Cubitt 5, which aims to connect "a whole new generation of music lovers through audiophile sound."

The Glasgow-based hi-fi brand has been on an admirable run with its ample stable of passive loudspeakers, including Award-winning F501E floorstanders, but now it is turning its attention to a younger, more convenience-hungry audience with the Cubitt 5.

Similar to the KEF Coda W active speakers, the Cubitt 5 features amplification, power and connections housed in bookshelf speakers, with Bluetooth on the menu for easy streaming from your smartphone.

At the heart of the new speakers is Fyne's latest 12.5cm IsoFlare point-source driver, designed to produce "precise stereo imaging and natural, room-filling sound". That IsoFlare unit is complemented by 'FyneFlute' surround technology, which aims to reduce unwanted colouration and improve overall clarity by reducing the extent to which energy is reflected back down the driver cone.

Alongside Bluetooth, the Cubitt 5 boasts a built-in phono stage for connecting turntables, as well as analogue RCA and optical connections. HDMI eARC is on board for plugging in a TV, while a subwoofer out means you can add some extra bass to your setup.

High-resolution files up to 24-bit/96kHz are supported over optical, while the Bluetooth aptX HD codec is supported.

According to Fyne, the Cubitt 5 has been designed to integrate seamlessly into modern living spaces. Each speaker cabinet features Fyne's high-density construction with internal bracing for reduced vibration, alongside a front-firing bass port which allows the speakers to be placed close to a back wall.

According to Fyne Audio's MD Anji Sosna: "The Cubitt 5 is the culmination of two years research and development into how we can best bring a whole new generation of music lovers into enjoying high fidelity music reproduction at home. Most of all, it had to distil Fyne’s extensive audio engineering pedigree and sound quality into truly class-leading performance".

Available in five finishes – Midnight Black, Pearl Titanium, Olive Green, Pebble Grey or Arctic White – the Fyne Audio Cubitt 5 will be on sale from June 2026, priced at £549 / €649 / $749. That makes them a more competitive option than the five-star KEF Coda W (£799 / $1000 / AU$1450) – stay tuned for our full review in the coming weeks.

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If you were browsing the best Bluetooth speakers, you’d be forgiven for thinking that all the speaker brands got together and decided that the only two shape options were either a pill or a disc. Come on, JBL and Sonos, let’s mix it up a bit.

One speaker, at least, to buck the trend is the four-star Pure Classic Aura, which is shaped more like a traditional radio. It features an elegant wood look which adds warmth and character to any living space, and it even includes ambient strip lighting – because why not?

If you’re already dreaming of having one in your kitchen or living room, you’ll be glad to hear that its price has been slashed from £119 to just £82 at Amazon.

Best Pure Bluetooth speaker deal

Most Bluetooth speakers are designed to be chucked in a bag or on a back seat to accompany you on your travels; take, for example, the Award-winning JBL Flip 7 or the eminently likeable Bose SoundLink Flex.

The Pure Classic Aura, however, is designed to be plonked onto your desk or kitchen worktop, even if its lightweight build and removable rubber carry strap mean you can move it easily between rooms and/or residences. An IPX2 rating, meanwhile, means it should survive being briefly sprayed with water if you’re a touch careless with your kitchen tap.

Its party piece is the collection of small circular LEDs on the rear panel that shine a variety of colours (both static and dynamic), creating an attractive halo of coloured light behind the speaker that work best when it's placed near a rear wall.

Bluetooth 5.3 support offers the only means of connection besides a 3.5mm auxiliary input, while the built-in battery pack offers 30 hours of playback on a single charge.

Pure didn’t forget to make a speaker that sounds the part. Thanks to its 40-watt output, the Classic Aura is happy to go loud when you push the volume dial, serving up an impressively wide, open soundstage with pleasing detailed and nuance, particularly through. Dynamics are nicely handled, too, with the classy speaker conveying shifts in intensity and volume when required.

All in all, the Classic Aura has serious substance to go with all of that style. Check it out and its new deal price at Amazon.

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Just when you thought JBL couldn’t make its Xtreme portable Bluetooth speaker any more, er, extreme, it goes and blesses us with a fifth-generation model. And this one is not only waterproof and dust-proof – it is now drop-proof too.

The JBL Xtreme 5 can also put on a bit of a show thanks to new colourful, customisable edge lighting, which emits from two strips placed on the front of the speaker.

Dig a little deeper, though, and you’ll discover there’s a lot more going on here than just a light show and a newfound sense of invincibility.

Price

The good news for prospective buyers is that the price of the JBL Xtreme 5 hasn’t really changed massively compared with its predecessor. It costs £330 / €350 / $400, while the Award-winning Xtreme 4 started life at £330 / €330 / $380 although it can be found significantly cheaper now, given it launched back in 2024.

It has a close rival in the shape of the five-star Bose SoundLink Max. This, too, originally launched in 2024 for £399 / €400 / $399, but at the time of writing, it can also regularly be found for less than its JBL counterpart.

Design and build

Like a bodybuilder who has bulked up for their first show of the season, the Xtreme has been beefed up by JBL for this latest incarnation.

Placed next to the previous version, the Xtreme 5 comes across as much more of a unit. The changes in proportions are immediately noticeable, and you could almost be forgiven for thinking this was actually a new step-up model.

Compared with the Xtreme 4, the Xtreme 5 is more than 1.5cm taller, just over one centimetre deeper, and nearly five centimetres wider. These figures don’t look like a lot on paper, but see the two together in reality and the difference in stature is obvious.

The 5 is also nearly one kilogram heavier, which you can feel as soon as you pick it up by the carry strap (which you’ll be pleased to know still includes a bottle opener as part of its design).

Speaking of the strap, the floating loops on top of the speaker have more clearance on the new model, making it slightly easier to attach than on its predecessor.

A couple of other design tweaks also enhance the Xtreme 5's broad chest. The built-in stand, which uses rubber bumpers along the front and back edges for stability, has increased in size, while the rubberised ‘fins’, which are dotted around the edges of each end of the speaker, are more robust to offer greater protection should it roll off your picnic bench.

The passive bass radiators at either end of the speaker are also bigger, which means the sense of theatre they offer as they pulse in time with your favourite tunes has a bit more visual impact.

And that’s before your eyes are attracted to those light strips on the front of the Bluetooth speaker. You can change their colour, the pattern they display, or you can turn them off completely.

The control buttons, which used to simply to sit directly on top of the speaker’s ruggedised fabric, have changed position slightly. They are now mounted on a large matte-finished panel on the top of the speaker (together with power, Bluetooth pairing, and Auracast buttons), which we think also adds to its perceived bulk.

Features

But it’s not just at the surface level where changes have been made – there has been a significant overhaul to the driver configuration of the Xtreme 5. Where previous generations used twin tweeters and twin woofers, the new speaker keeps the tweeters but ditches the woofers in favour of a single ‘racetrack’ driver positioned behind the JBL logo.

JBL claims the new driver can better handle the increased power of the new model, a by-product of which is that it can deliver more mid/bass than its predecessor.

The total power output of the Xtreme 5 is a claimed 130W when mains powered, 90W when running off the built-in battery. This compares with figures of 100W and 70W for the Xtreme 4.

The speaker supports Bluetooth 6 and Auracast – the latter allows you to pair two Xtreme 5s together to use in stereo, or to connect multiple compatible JBL speakers together, should you want music blasting throughout your house.

Charging the JBL Xtreme 5 is done through the USB-C connection on the back, and the speaker can power your smartphone or tablet through the same socket. It also supports lossless audio up to 24-bit/48kHz through a wired connection – although for most people that’s a nice to have feature, rather than an essential.

JBL has included a couple of technologies designed to aid sound quality. AI Sound Boost is always on and uses an algorithm to clean up low frequencies and reduce distortion; while Smart EQ analyses what you’re listening to in real time and can adjust the speaker’s delivery to suit, say, if you’re listening to music or a podcast.

In addition to helping you access the six different edge-lighting themes and alter the colours you see displayed, the JBL Portable app also allows you to access a new seven-band equaliser, should you want to tweak the out-of-the-box sound.

You can also form a stereo pair through the app and turn on Playtime Boost, which tweaks the sound so you can extend the battery life by four hours (as standard, you should be good for 24 hours of uninterrupted playtime).

We would steer clear of this particular feature unless you’re really desperate. It dramatically reduces the bass output of the speaker and makes the overall sound leaner and more compressed.

Sound

Avoid that setting, though, and the JBL Xtreme 5 does not disappoint.

Play Ed Sheeran’s Shivers and you can immediately hear that increase in power. As the track bursts into life during those first few seconds, you get a much greater sense of scale and size compared with the Xtreme 4.

You’re not buying a Bluetooth speaker for its stereo imaging, more for its spread of sound, and the JBL takes filling our modestly sized test room in its stride. Take the speaker outdoors and crank it up, though, and things get even more impressive.

The speaker laps up high volume levels and can easily go loud enough to power a summer party or annoy the neighbours, depending on your mood.

There’s plenty of bass weight – even with the Xtreme 5 firing out into the great wilderness, the track’s deep, probing bassline makes its presence felt. Impressively, though, it doesn’t overpower the rest of the track – Sheeran’s expressive vocals still take centre stage.

The other thing that strikes us about the JBL is how much clearer it sounds than its predecessor. It makes the Xtreme 4 sound hazy and cluttered in comparison.

Play Run by Stephen Fretwell, and there’s more separation around the individual elements, so you can hear what each one brings to the music.

You can inspect around the edges of that crisply defined percussion and piano, but the whole presentation remains cohesive, and the track remains confidently knitted together with the lead vocal at the centre. It’s still a hugely musical listen and captures the slow, gentle rhythmic flow and rise and fall of the track.

We switch between battery and mains power, and can hear a small injection of punch and solidity when we tap into that bigger power figure. It’s not a huge jump, though, and we think you’ll be satisfied whichever way you decide to use the speaker.

Verdict

Just when we were starting to wonder how JBL could improve things with yet another generation of Xtreme, it goes and beats what came before.

The Xtreme 5 is a beefier design than previous versions. Not only does it have greater sonic presence, but it also has a newfound sense of clarity, which elevates sound quality to a new level. And that’s bad news for its closest rivals. Bravo, JBL.

Review published: 13th May 2026

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Features 4
• Build 5

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With JBL stealing almost all the headlines in our best Bluetooth speakers guide, you'd be forgiven for thinking there's little point in looking at other brands.

But when a 42 per cent discount appears on the four-star Sony ULT Field 1, we think everyone should take notice. The price drop at EE brings it down to an incredibly tempting £69.

So, why should you give it a go? In short: "There's plenty to like about what the Sony speaker offers in terms of detail, propulsion and, if you so choose, its ample helpings of muscular bass." That's what we said in our review.

At this price, it's well worth a look, especially considering the best-in-class, the JBL Charge 6, costs £170.

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The Sony ULT Field 1 is actually a really interesting beast. It often gets forgotten amidst a wave of five-star JBLs, such as the Flip 6 and the Award-winning Flip 7, but the Field 1 is something of a wildcard that, if it's up your street, can actually represent a very attractive proposition on paper.

There are two ways of listening to Sony's slimline speaker: with the bass-boosting 'Power Sound' profile switched on or off. If you switch it on, you'll get a punchy, powerful sound anchored by a considerably weighty lower-end reproduction which goes beyond what you might expect from a unit of this size.

Switch it off and the ULT Field 1 becomes leaner, tauter and nimbler, making tracks feel sharper, freer and capable of clipping along with a sprightly sense of propulsion and rhythmic drive. Neither profile is perfect, but the Sony is notable for teasing out more detail than its JBL Flip 6 rival, and that's not something to be sniffed out.

The Field 1 scores highly in other areas, too. Battery life is a respectable 12 hours if you're reasonable with your listening volume, while an IP67 rating is more than enough to keep the Sony speaker protected from the sand and the sea. Hands-free calling is also available, while stereo pairing is on hand for getting twin Field 1s firing together.

As an intriguing, super-discounted alternative to the class leaders, the Sony ULT Field 1 is worth an audition. Get it for £69 at EE.

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It can be hard to know which Sonos speaker to buy. There’s a healthy number currently on the market, all furnished with varying levels of baked-in Sonos features at a range of prices and sizes.

Many would-be buyers seek a Sonos speaker because they are keen on the US brand’s particular ecosystem. Once they have jumped that particular hurdle, though, it can be hard to know where to go next.

What we have here are two candidates with somewhat different purposes in mind. The Sonos Era 100 is designed as a stationary, home-bound wireless speaker, whereas the Sonos Play bridges the gap between portability and domestic use thanks to its combination of a built-in battery alongside the usual wi-fi and smart-assistant powers.

Quite a lot of overlap, then, but don’t be fooled into thinking that the Play is just a Sonos Era 100 with the stabilisers taken off. Both have their place within the Sonos family – and we’re here to help you figure out what those places are and, more importantly, which one is right for you.

Sonos Era 100 vs Sonos Play: price

The Sonos Era 100 started its life at around £249 / $249 / AU$399, but that was back in 2023.

Around three years later, prices have dropped somewhat, meaning the Era 100 tends to sit at roughly the £199 / $219 / AU$319 mark, and can drop even lower when Sonos is feeling generous and there’s a lovely big sales event going on.

The Sonos Play, meanwhile, is a far newer model, having made its debut only in 2026, for a rather considerable £299 / $299 / AU$499. Prices haven’t dipped much since then, though we would speculate that, as with the Era 100, big sales events could see the Play drop in price by a decent margin. Time will tell.

For now, however, the Era 100 is the cheaper speaker of the two, so takes the win here.

**Winner: Sonos Era 100**

Sonos Era 100 vs Sonos Play: design

What we have here are two quintessentially ‘Sonos’ speakers. In terms of their design and functionality, you wouldn’t need many guesses to figure out that both the Play and the Era 100 are Sonos-made products thanks to their clean, simple aesthetic and somewhat similar designs.

They are not, of course, identical; indeed, there are quite a few major differences to distinguish one from the other.

The main difference comes from the fact that the Sonos Play is conceived, at least in part, as a portable speaker, while the Era 100 is designed purely for indoor, mains-powered use. That means that the Play is a fair bit slimmer than its Era counterpart, is easier to wrap your hand around its frame, and comes with a carry strap at the back.

The Era 100 is similarly clean and minimalist in its layout, although it’s slightly shorter and a lot wider than its portable stablemate. This not being a portable speaker, however, there is no carry handle to be found.

In terms of on-unit controls, both offer plenty. The Era 100 offers top-mounted touch-capacitive buttons for accessing music playback and voice control, with a clever volume slider in the form of a ‘trough’ also mounted on the top panel. A switch to turn the microphone on/off is situated at the rear.

The Play doesn’t have that distinctive trough slider, but its rubber top hosts four physical buttons – two for volume, one for muting/unmuting your voice assistant and a play/pause toggle – while the spine houses a Bluetooth pairing button, a microphone on/off toggle and a large power button.

Both offer USB-C connections at their respective rears, either for charging or for a wired connection for sources such as a turntable or music player. Note, however, that you will need a USB-C to 3.5mm aux adapter if you did want to hard-wire a source; this currently costs £19 / $19 via the Sonos website, so it’s not exactly cheap.

The mains-powered Sonos Era 100 is designed to stay put within your home, so it isn’t furnished with an IP rating and we wouldn’t suggest having an open can of Diet Coke put anywhere near it. The Play, conversely, is designed to be rugged and portable, and sports an IP67 rating to keep it protected from dust ingress and submersion in water.

Two similar-looking speakers built for somewhat different tasks, then; but, for its greater versatility and portability, we’re handing the win to the Sonos Play.

**Winner: Sonos Play**

Sonos Era 100 vs Sonos Play: features

These speakers are absolutely feature-packed, so deep breath: here we go.

The Sonos Era 100 is getting a little long in the tooth, but it still has plenty of mod cons to keep in step with the newer Play. Both speakers offer standard Bluetooth streaming or can connect to your home network for a host of wi-fi-enabled playback options, with support for most mainstream streaming services such as Apple Music, Spotify Connect, Amazon Music and Tidal.

Both support hi-res files up to 24-bit/48kHz from Qobuz and Amazon Music and can be controlled by your voice or via the Sonos app, courtesy either of Amazon Alexa or the built-in Sonos Voice Control assistant. Just be aware that some of the major streaming services can't be integrated with your chosen voice assistant, so asking your speaker to "play something from Tidal", for example, can't be done in either case.

Both offer AirPlay 2 and a USB-C line-in options, although we reiterate that you will need a specific adapter and cable for wired connections.

Both are capable of forming a stereo pair, and both can be included as part of a wider Sonos multi-room system. For home cinema fans, you can use your Era 100 as rear surround speakers with the likes of the Sonos Arc, Beam and Ray soundbars.

With the Era 100 and the Play, you can calibrate your speaker's output for the room it is placed in using the Trueplay tuning feature, either by using an iPhone device’s integrated microphones (for iOS users), or else use the speakers own mics to ‘Quick Tune’ if you use an Android device.

Being a slimmer, portable unit, the Play is capable of taking things a step further, quite literally, thanks to its 24-hour battery life and IP67 waterproof rating.

As we wrote in our review, it's “best to think of the Sonos Play in the same way you might regard the established Move 2: a portable speaker that can also plug into the mains and slot into your home wi-fi network and, if you wish, integrate within your Sonos multi-room system.”

The Play's Bluetooth powers are handy for when you’re roaming about and need a quick and easy wireless connection to your device, and you can use Bluetooth to connect twin Plays together either via the app or pressing the play/pause button on your desired device for around two seconds.

By contrast, you can't use Bluetooth to connect two Era 100s together into a stereo pair – that has to be done via wi-fi.

Both are pretty much identical in terms of their streaming features, with the Play and Era 100 boasting versatility to spare. The Play does have the added benefit of a built-in battery making it suitable for outdoor as well as indoor use, though, meaning it just steals a win here.

**Winner: Sonos Play**

Sonos Era 100 vs Sonos Play: sound

The Sonos Play houses a trio of Class H amplifiers powering two angled tweeters and a mid driver, as well as dual force-cancelling passive radiators which aim for deep bass and reduced internal vibrations. Its Era 100 counterpart, meanwhile, boasts twin angled tweeters with custom waveguides and an enlarged woofer, all powered by their own dedicated Class D amplifier.

The results are impressive in both cases, and we’d be surprised if either of these speakers left you feeling let down in the audio department. The smaller Play is capable in many aspects, giving music a feeling of poise and control as it blends ample clarity with plenty of muscle and power.

There is certainly decent clout at the bottom end, and as we say in our review, the speaker’s bass response “sounds taut and punchy, evidenced by the Play firmly handling those opening drum thumps on Michael Jackson’s iconic Billie Jean.”

Yes, it can be a little route-one in how it presents your tunes, but in general, Sonos’s do-it-all candidate has a lot going for it. As our review concludes: “Whether pumping out some Gorillaz in the garden or streaming a slice of Stevie Wonder in the sitting room, its clear, confident and controlled sound is rarely a chore to listen to. We’d like it to flex to accommodate different musical styles, but sonically, this [is] an admirable effort.”

The Era 100, conversely, is the smart choice if sound is your number one priority. The Era’s dedication to performance first continues to shine through, even as its slightly more advanced age.

It’s a wider speaker with more drive units and more power, and the resultant sound is more spacious, more detailed and with greater stretch in the bass than its portable counterpart can muster. Dynamics are more confidently revealed, too, with the Era 100’s stellar blend of openness and dynamism making for a remarkably confident, cinematic experience.

The chunkier speaker’s balance is, in fact, pretty much spot on. As we wrote at the time: “There’s an ease with which Sonos delivers every track we play through it. It never feels dull or distant, nor does it try to attract your attention unduly; this is an overall pleasing sound that is comfortable to listen to for hours.”

The Era 100 plumbs greater sonic depths than the slightly leaner Play, and while that lower-end delivery could easily become overbearing, the Era 100 is adept at giving challenging basslines genuine shape and texture thanks to its dextrous, agile nature.

It may be a little older, but it's certainly no less bold. The Era 100 remains a five-star performer on the audio front, and while the Play makes a decent account of itself, its established stablemate is the one to pick if sound is what matters most.

A clear and deserved win for the fantastic Era 100.

**Winner: Sonos Era 100**

Sonos Era 100 vs Sonos Play: verdict

What we have here are two speakers built with two distinct purposes in mind, although a degree of overlap does muddy the waters somewhat. Allow us, then, to make things simple for you.

If you want a Sonos speaker that straddles the outdoor and the indoor world, the Play is the one to pick. It isn’t quite on the Era 100’s level in terms of sound, but its bulging feature set, portable design and still-decent performance make it a solid pick for anyone who seeks solid sound across a range of different use cases.

If you just want an excellent-sounding wireless smart speaker that is baked into the Sonos ecosystem and prioritises sound above all else, go for the Sonos Era 100. It’s built nicely, still has enough neat tricks to keep even the most feature-hungry consumer happy, and its sound really is excellent.

**Overall winner: Sonos Era 100**

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It’s spring, the sun is (sometimes) shining and you’re looking for a grab-and-go Bluetooth speaker for those picnics in the park. If that sounds about right, you should stick around for this excellent deal.

Right now, the Bose SoundLink Max is down to just £299 at Amazon. That’s a cool £100 saving on this five-star pick that not only serves up powerful, musical sound, but also looks pretty stylish doing so.

At this price, you can grab it in Black or two suitably springy colours, Citrus Yellow and Blue Dusk. But you’ll have to be quick: the offer is hanging around for only a limited time!

The five-star Bose SoundLink Max is our top pick among the best outdoor speakers on the market right now, especially if you’re looking for a premium offering.

If you can’t quite stretch your budget that far, there’s always its smaller sibling, the Bose SoundLink Plus, down to just £199 at Amazon. It’s important to point out, though, that that speaker didn’t receive the coveted five-star rating of its larger sibling.

There are plenty of reasons that the Max comes out on top though. It’s pleasingly tactile and rugged, with its silicone casing and carry-handle designed for frequent movement and use. And it has a water and dust-proof IP67 rating, which means it should be able to withstand whatever the weather can throw at it (and we know spring can be unpredictable).

When it comes to sonic performance, it’s got buckets of likeable sound. In fact, our expert testers said in their full review: “The Soundlink Max shouldn’t have any issues getting the party started – thanks, in the main, to its lively, punchy delivery. It’s in its element rocking along to Guns N’ Roses Welcome To The Jungle.

“The wireless speaker’s expressive midrange enthusiastically sprays out Axl Rose’s wailing lead vocal, while every thwack of the band’s drum kit is dispatched with force and vigour. There’s an energy to the band’s performance that is easy to tap into and makes for a hugely enjoyable listen.”

They did also note, however, that, straight out of the box, the Bose is very bassy. But, with some quick tweaks turning the bass setting down to around minus five or six, the quality of sound is improved, to make it better balanced and less overpowering.

The speaker is packed out with features, including Bluetooth 5.3 with a claimed range of 30ft and an outstanding 20 hours of battery life.

There’s also aptX Adaptive Bluetooth codec support, Google Fast Pair for Android users and Bluetooth multipoint for connecting two devices at once for easy switching. You can also use the SoundLink Max as a rather handy power bank, as well as use the 3.5mm auxiliary socket for connecting a more traditional device.

We’re also keen to recommend the JBL Xtreme 4 which we recently saw was down to just £179 at Amazon. But if you're looking for a smart-looking speaker that’s a nice alternative if you don't like the look and bulk of the Xtreme 4, this is a great option.

With this drop to just £299 at Amazon, it may still be a pricey premium pick, but the Bose SoundLink Max is an extremely attractive package that will most certainly keep you entertained for hours.

MORE:

Read our full Bose SoundLink Max review

Check out the best Bluetooth speakers: tried and tested for every budget

And the best speakers: budget to premium models tested by our expert reviewers

For What Hi-Fi? readers at least, playing music directly from your smartphone may be the most cardinal of all cardinal sins. To take your music and subject it to being squeezed through your iPhone’s tinny little speakers is, to some at least, the equivalent of cooking a dry-aged steak in a microwave and then slathering it in a small mountain of ketchup.

This, in part, is why the JBL Go 5 exists. The fifth generation of JBL’s very affordable Bluetooth speaker is built to be almost as portable as your smartphone itself, but with boosted sonic capabilities that won’t leave your music sounding as though it’s been put through the metaphorical microwave.

The first JBL Go came out back in 2018, and since then, JBL has been steadily refining the line by adding more features, tweaking the dinky design and refining that all-important sonic output. The Go 4 was the former high water mark, but 2026’s new model is now on the scene – and, from what we’ve heard, this fifth-generation model might be the best Go yet.

Price

You can all breathe a sigh of relief because, while the world’s financial markets may be in turmoil, some things are blessedly immune from inflation. The JBL Go 5 clocks in at the same price as its predecessor, once again costing a wallet-friendly £40 / $50 / AU$59 at the time of writing.

If you want something cheaper, your best bet is probably to plump for a now-discounted JBL Go 4, which can sink as low as £28 / $30.

There are a few comparable speakers knocking around at this near-entry-level price point. The five-star Tribit Stormbox Micro 2 tends to hover around the £45 / $46 mark; and you can now grab its less successful successor, the Stormbox Micro 3 for around £63 / $65.

Build & design

Unlike a former child star losing their chocolate box looks once they hit their troubled adolescence, the Go is just as cute as it has ever been. It’s a tiny bit larger than the fourth-gen Go, but the slight increase in size is perceptible only if you place the two generations next to each other.

Once again, we’re dealing with a very small, square(ish) speaker that is only slightly bigger than a pack of cards or a bar of soap.

Times have changed, however, so there are a few extra aesthetic developments beyond mere size. The Go 5’s front-mounted ‘JBL’ lettering logo has been rather cleverly hollowed out, so there should be less impediment to the sound from the driver reaching your ears.

Plus, JBL has added lighting to the party, which you can customise and switch on/off via the JBL Portable app. Twin strips of white lights run parallel across the top and bottom of the main speaker face, with four stock light themes – ‘Bounce’, ‘Loop’, ‘Switch’ and ‘Freeze’ – from which to choose.

Is it strictly necessary? No, of course not. Is it a fun touch for an ultra-portable speaker aimed at people who don’t want their portable audio taking things too seriously? Yeah, we’d say so.

Elsewhere, it’s much the same as before, and that doesn’t raise many complaints from us. Rubberised edging surrounds practically the entire unit, with large play/pause and volume controls housed at the top of the speaker and the power, Bluetooth pairing and Auracast icons spread vertically down the left hand side, all of which are easy to use and responsive to the touch.

At the bottom, JBL’s signature diagonally slanted ridges have been replaced by a rubberised bulge, but we don’t find that has much of a negative effect on how much the speaker grips to horizontal surfaces.

At the top right of the unit is a handy, non-adjustable carry loop, one that we find remains durable and robust no matter how many times we spin it around on an outstretched finger.

In fact, the entirety of the Go 5 just feels so well made that we’d bet a small chunk of cash that, barring a nuclear apocalypse or the battery running dry, it will last for many years to come. That IP68 rating means that an aggressive outdoor hosing leaves no lasting impression, and as our test sample(s) accompany us from the bottom of a backpack to the end of the garden, they take everything cheerily in their stride.

Features

Considering how small and cheap the Go 5 is, you’re not exactly starved of features. If you have the latest Flip 7 or Charge 6 speakers, many of the same features have been carried over to the fifth-gen Go, and there are even a few new tricks that are exclusive to the smallest member of the portable JBL family.

Check this out for a party piece: the Go 5 is capable of ‘AirTouch’ stereo pairing, and it really is exactly as described. Get two Go speakers together, tap them together end to end and, almost unfailingly, they’ll emit a chime of approval and form a stereo pair. You can also do this in the provided app, but what sort of fun is that?

Stereo pairing is easier than ever to set up and use, and the technology seems to have been improved since we tried it last. Our JBL Go 4 review griped that we would have liked slightly better sound synchronisation between our two speakers when playing in stereo, but we don’t now detect a noticeable delay from one speaker to the other when music is being shared by two speakers.

There’s a lot more packed into the teeny tiny Go 5. Auracast Bluetooth compatibility is back, bringing the Go 5 in line with the current JBL Flip 7, Charge 6 and new Xtreme 5 models and letting you connect multiple compatible JBL speakers together either via the on-unit button or via the JBL Portable app.

Battery life has been bolstered just a little, with the Go 5 squeezing out roughly eight hours of standard playtime, with an additional two hours via Playtime Boost. This is an increase over its predecessor’s seven hours of standard time and maximum of nine with Playtime Boost.

Do be aware that Playtime Boost should be seen as a ‘last resort’ option, as this feature will suck out most of the bass from your speaker’s output and make things sound unbalanced and rather thin. More of a ‘break glass in case of emergency’ kind of a thing if you desperately need to extend your power use.

Sound

JBL’s palm-sized Go 5 promises improved audio with a fuller, deeper bass than its antecedent, thanks in part to its 45mm driver and that hollow-contour logo working in tandem to “level up sound output and performance”.

“Level up” is a rather nice way to put it, and as we flit between the older-generation model and 2026’s fresh-from-the-oven fifth-gen iteration, it’s clear that this is the most sonically capable Go yet.

The Go 4 was a wonderful sonic surprise, but its successor does enough to trump it, treating us to a fuller, meatier reproduction that simply sounds more rich and engaging than its predecessor. There’s unquestionably more depth in the bass, too, though not to the extent that the lower end unnaturally dwarfs the rest of the frequencies and threatens to throw the entire reproduction off balance.

The Go 5 doesn’t try to do too much – instead, it gives us a hearty and surprisingly musical upgrade on anything that our tinny smartphone speakers could hope to muster. Relatively simple tunes, such Muse’s Madness, sound clean, composed and impressively clear through the midrange, while Turnstile’s crunchy rock anthem SLOWDIVE is dispatched with confidence and muscle as we shift things up a gear.

This is a speaker that can fit in the palm of your hand, yet it’s genuinely remarkable just how punchy and effusive the Go 5 is capable of sounding. Ludwig Goransson’s POSTERITY brims with energy when played via the JBL, and while this isn’t a speaker that will grant such a layered composition a huge amount of space, the feeling of rhythmic intent and cinematic drama comes through with real gusto.

Like almost all of the more recent JBL portables we’ve tested, the Go 5 is tuned to have an innate understanding of how your music should sound. Again, nothing here is overdone or overly coloured, but it shares its bigger siblings’ ability to go with the flow as we bounce around tracks and genres.

Is Nick Cave’s Avalanche the most well-organised and cinematic rendition you’ll ever hear? Of course not. Does the Go 5 capture the essential character of what Cave is trying to convey? Absolutely it does. Will bigger speakers offer more textural detail when playing Hans Zimmer’s The Battle? Undoubtedly. Do we ever feel as though the Go 5 is failing to communicate the inherent drama of the piece? No. In all honesty, we don’t.

The good news keeps coming, as the Go 5 steps in line with its latest-gen JBL counterparts by supporting 24-bit/48kHz lossless playback via USB-C. Hold down the speaker’s ‘play’ button as you plug in a USB-C cable and a happy sound will inform you that you’re now in wired playback mode.

We test lossless playback with Tidal playing on a connected iPhone 15, and find that our music sounds a touch clearer, crisper and more detailed when going wired compared with Bluetooth.

Just be aware that JBL doesn't tend to supply an in-box USB-C charging cable any more (as is increasingly standard for most brands, in a bid to minimise electronic waste), but we imagine most users will have a spare one knocking around these days, so that shouldn’t be too much of an issue.

Verdict

Laurel resting doesn’t seem to be JBL’s thing at the moment, especially when it comes to its strong line of portable Bluetooth speakers.

The Go 5 is the best Go yet, thanks to its handsome feature-set, stylish portable design and, for a speaker of its size and price, excellent audio quality. If you’re still playing your music through your phone’s speakers, it may be time to consider upgrading to one of JBL’s pocket-sized dynamos, because the Go 5 really is the real deal.

Review published: 8th May 2026

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Build 5
• Features 5

MORE:

Read the JBL Go 4 review

Also consider the Tribit Micro Stormbox 2

Check out the best Bluetooth speakers we've tested

The Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 (2nd Gen) is one of the best smart speakers we've tested. And as an added perk, it also looks fairly swish, so much so that we think it's worth paying a little extra for the privilege of owning such a refined little smart speaker for people who value aesthetics as well as sound quality.

Only right now, you don't have to. The Beosound A1 has dropped to just £179 at Peter Tyson. While that's not quite the lowest we've ever seen it, dropping to £169 in December, it's still an excellent saving.

And while the Beosound A1 (3rd Gen) is now on the market, it'll cost you a fair chunk more and it doesn't have Alexa integration. Yes, it's currently sporting its own deal, down to just £219 at Peter Tyson, but we'd still recommend the five-star 2nd Gen, especially at this price.

The five-star Beosound A1 (2nd Gen) is the kind of speaker you'd be happy to show off to your friends. And it's not just effortlessly stylish, it's also got a lot more to offer.

With tough competition on the market for small portable speakers, from JBL to Tribit, B&O offers something a little different, prioritising luxury, style and a bit of personality from its electronics.

Sure, it's not the newest model with the 3rd Gen now available, but we also gave it five-stars over the 3rd Gen's four.

In fact, the Beosound A1 (2nd Gen) is something of a Jack-of-all-trades, master of many. Sonically, the well-made, hugely attractive unit offers a pleasingly comfortable yet authoritative performance you could easily listen to all day.

This led our expert testers to say in their full review: “Bang & Olufsen has succeeded in maintaining its trademark sound profile in this diminutive and affordable proposition – no small feat considering Bluetooth speakers of this size and price can easily come off heavy through the mids and harsh in the treble in an effort to offer volume and clout.”

And not only is the Beosound A1 one of the weightiest and most refined little speakers we have heard, it also has some decent specifications.

As well as Bluetooth 5.1 with AAC, there is support for Qualcomm's aptX Adaptive codec, giving high-quality streaming along with a three-microphone array for clear voice-assistant operation and hands-free calls.

Throw in an impressive 18-hour battery life, stretching to 48 hours when listened to at more conservative volumes, and finish it off with a convenient strap for ease of transport and you've got yourself a rather lovely primarily portable unit.

So, if you're after a Bluetooth speaker that's easy to use, has the bonus of Alexa, sounds great, and has a classy, well made design, the Beosound A1 is a great pick, especially at just £179 at Peter Tyson.

MORE:

Read our full B&O Beosound A1 (2nd Gen) review

Take a look at the best Bluetooth speakers you can buy

Check out our best B&O speakers: portable, hi-fi and wireless

Right around this time last year, I was packing for a rare holiday abroad, and I thought it would be a great idea to pack a little Bluetooth speaker.

With my Sonos Roam having failed a few months earlier, I had to buy something with my own money.

On a near-zero budget, I of course headed over to our list of best budget Bluetooth speakers and ordered the cheapest option – the JBL Go 4.

My, what a brilliant little speaker it is! Despite the super-low cost of just £30ish and the pocketable dimensions, the Go 4 sounds clean, controlled and surprisingly weighty. It goes much louder than I expected, too.

Needless to say, the Go 4 was a hit on our holiday, and it’s had plenty of use since, particularly in the garden, where it hangs handily off one of the utensil pegs of my barbecue.

I’ve recommended it to lots of people, too, including my dad, who also bought one and thinks it's brilliant.

Quite incredibly, though, I recently found a Bluetooth speaker that makes the JBL look expensive. That speaker is the smallest model in Ikea’s (yes, that Ikea) Vappeby range, and it costs just £10.

A tenner for a Bluetooth speaker from a reputable brand? That’s nuts. So nuts, I just had to buy one.

Unboxing

The Vappeby doesn’t hide its cheapness particularly well.

Thicker and more cube-like than the JBL, it has a hard plastic finish and no branding. A bit “My First Speaker”, but not without charm – the perforated front is neat, and the striped strap is really rather fetching.

And it looks cheap because it is cheap, which is perfectly fair enough.

The little Vappeby is waterproof, too, which is pretty generous for a speaker costing only a tenner, and it charges via USB-C – although it’s worth noting that you don’t get a cable with it, let alone a full charger.

Charging isn’t something you’ll need to do often, at least, because Ikea claims a fully charged Vappeby will play music at 50 per cent volume for 80 hours. Impressive stuff.

Sound quality

The problem, though, is that even just 20 minutes of listening to the Vappeby is too long.

Even the sound effects that play when you power the speaker on or put it into pairing mode are shrill and tinny.

Play some actual music and the rendition is small, thin and congested. Voices are reedy and sibilant, while instruments blur together into a bright, indistinct mix.

I kid you not, listening to music via my iPhone’s built-in speakers is actually preferable overall to listening via the Vappeby.

The little Ikea isn’t a complete bust: it goes fairly loud for a dinky speaker, and even at full volume it still has some headroom left to deliver some dynamic range.

A £30 benchmark

But it’s completely demolished by the Go 4 in every way. JBL’s even smaller speaker is coherent, smooth, relatively bassy, detailed and natural-sounding. It’s actually a joy to listen to, which the Vappeby decidedly is not.

And that’s the problem for the Ikea speaker: it’s a really unpleasant listen.

It might seem that I’m being harsh on a little speaker that costs just £10, but why would you want to spend £10 to make your music sound even worse than it does coming out of your phone?

You wouldn’t, is my guess. So don’t buy the Ikea Vappeby, is my advice. Save a little more and buy the JBL Go 4 instead – you won’t regret it.

MORE:

Check out our full JBL Go 4 review

Here are all of the best budget Bluetooth speakers you can buy right now

Looking for a big speaker to use on the go? There’s one in particular that we love to recommend with a dazzling five-star review and a What Hi-Fi? Award to really seal the deal.

And right now, it has dropped in price to just £179 at Richer Sounds – the cheapest we’ve ever seen it!

At first glance, it will look like this brilliant speaker will set you back £329; but there’s a simple trick that will secure you £150 off. All you have to do is sign up to Richer Sounds’ VIP Club, which is totally free and very quick to do.

The only minor caveat is that this deal is exclusive to the Black Camo model. You can pick up the Black model for just £219 at Amazon, but that’s a chunky £40 more.

The JBL Xtreme 4 is has won not one, but two What Hi-Fi? Awards with its impressive sonic clarity and precision, and tight, weighty bass. If you’re looking for an entertaining Bluetooth speaker that delivers a big dose of refinement, you won’t go far wrong with this option.

And, as you can probably tell from the pictures, this is also an outdoor speaker that is built to withstand the elements with the credentials to match, including an IP67-rated water- and dust-proof build.

That beefy build is not just for protection; it also houses two 70mm woofers and two 20mm tweeters. Yes, the JBL Xtreme 4 may look beefy and rugged, but the sound quality on offer is anything but.

In fact, our expert testers say: “For such a chunky speaker it produces a fantastically refined sound. It produces a wonderfully clear and consistent sound across tracks: low frequencies are poised and punchy but don’t lack weight, (whereas) highs are crisp enough so they don’t feel rolled off.”

New features for this model include AI Sound Boost, an always-on technology that aims to maintain sound quality at loud volumes and prevent distortion. Auracast is another headline feature, letting users pair two Xtreme 4 speakers together in stereo or connect multiple compatible JBLs in a chain.

Battery life stands at a solid 24 hours and can even stretch to 30 hours with the Playtime Boost feature, though at the cost of some weight and solidity from the bass.

While the JBL Xtreme 5 launched in April, we have yet to give it a full review. And the newer version will also cost you £300 at Amazon. But we are more than happy to recommend the Xtreme 4, an outstanding speaker from JBL at an outstanding price right now, just £179 at Richer Sounds.

MORE:

Read our full JBL Xtreme 4 review

Check out the best Bluetooth speakers tried and tested for every budget

And the best outdoor speakers: portable, wireless, waterproof models tried and tested

With multiple What-Hi? Awards under its belt, there's one wireless speaker we are more than happy to recommend, especially if you’re looking in the mid-price range.

And it’s a recommendation made even easier as the Audio Pro C10 MKII drops to just £259 at Amazon, a whopping £100 off its testing price and back down to its lowest ever price.

It's worth mentioning that while their names are very similar, this isn't the newest model, the Audio Pro C20 W, which was released last year and is our current Award winner. However, at the time of writing, the C20 W will set you back a little more, £289 at Amazon.

The Audio Pro Addon C10 MKII may have been around since 2021, but this winning recipe doesn’t get old.

A yummy concoction of great features, there are three options for multi-room streaming: AirPlay 2 via Apple devices, Google Cast-compatible speakers via built-in Chromecast, and other Audio Pro wireless speakers via Audio Pro’s own dedicated app.

Plus, with comprehensive file support, the C10 MKII supports Apple Lossless, MP3, WMA, AAC and FLAC files.

With grippy bass and improved hi-fidelity performance compared with its even older sibling, our expert testers had this to say in their full review: “Throughout our listening session, we notice sonic gains through the low end afforded by the updated bass-port design, especially during grime tracks such as Stormzy’s Vossy Bop.

“Bass is marginally cleaner and tighter on the new model and the performance is a touch more expansive too, particularly through the lower registers. We hear layered bass notes, such as the bluesy keys in Stormzy’s Lesson, in isolation and with an extra ounce of precision.”

And it’s that updated bass port, among other changes, that results in improvements over the original Addon C10, even if it loses, slightly, a sense of fun.

Sure, it might be getting on a bit now, but you can also enjoy some hefty discounts. And we haven’t found a lower price than just £259 at Amazon. You'll have to be quick though, there are only ‘five left in stock’.

MORE:

Read our full Audio Pro Addon C10 MKII review

Best wireless speakers: tried and tested by our expert team

Or, check out our best Bluetooth speakers: tried and tested for every budget

Phone speakers have improved over the years, moving from completely terrible to tolerable to, in some cases, even enjoyable.

However, they still sound tinny and distorted compared with a dedicated Bluetooth speaker, which is why I have been looking for a quick, low-cost replacement for my phone speakers. The JBL Go 4 for £28 at Amazon caught my eye.

It packs more wallop and musicality than my measly built-in phone speakers could hope to achieve, and, thanks to its small size, it’s just as portable as any mobile.

The JBL Go 4 was clearly designed with portability in mind. Our test team described the speaker as similar in size to a bar of soap, making it the perfect compact companion to take to the park, a BBQ or whatever holiday destination you travel to this summer.

It's just as durable as it is portable, too – the IP67 rating means it is waterproof enough to use in the shower and rugged enough to handle the strains of the outdoors. Our review sample was certainly put through its paces and showed no signs of wear and tear despite being sprayed with a hose and dropped on various surfaces.

And the all-important sound? When compared with phone audio, there’s simply no contest.

“In a straight sonic competition with the best that your phone can handle, and quite a few larger Bluetooth competitors, the Go 4 is supreme,” our JBL Go 4 review reads.

“We’re still so impressed by how the JBL's taut bass, restrained trebles and smooth mids combine to craft a marvellously coherent sonic picture.”

To top it all off, battery life is a solid seven hours – rising to nine if you use the Playtime Boost feature – while Auracast compatibility lets you pair two Go 4s together in stereo or hook up multiple compatible JBL speakers.

Bluetooth Multipoint lets you connect the Go 4 to two sources simultaneously, and there is also app support with a five-band customisable equaliser.

For a pocket-sized upgrade to your phone speakers, it won't get much better than this – especially for only £28 at Amazon.

If you are willing to shell out a tad extra for more openness and refinement, we also recommend these tried and tested alternatives below:

MORE:

See our best budget Bluetooth speakers list

Check out 28 of the best tracks for testing bass

IP ratings explained: how waterproof are your headphones?

The sun is shining and it's time to take our tunes outdoors, so what could be better than investing in one of the best Bluetooth speakers on the market? Especially, one that's dropped in price.

Right now, the five-star JBL Charge 6 can be yours for just £104 at Amazon. One caveat, though, the discount only applies to the White model.

It's not quite the lowest price we've ever seen, dropping to £100 during Black Friday. But at only £4 away, it's impressively close. Unsurprisingly, this discount is a popular one and Amazon states there's only '8 left in stock' at the time of writing, though there's reportedly 'more on the way'.

The JBL Charge 6 is one of the best Bluetooth speakers we've ever tested, taking the top spot only from its longstanding predecessor, the Charge 5.

An excellent all-round performer that covers all the bases, it took what the Charge 5 started and ran with it. And it did so with such grace that we gave it a What Hi-Fi? Product of the Year Award in 2025.

With credentials like these and a five-star review to boot, it should come as no surprise that we're happy to recommend this impressive speakers, especially when it's at a discounted price.

With the Charge 6, you get an even more waterproof, dustproof and drop-proof model than its predecessor, boasting an IP68 rating, beefier bumper guards and a handy carry-handle for portability.

But, what really impressed us was the upgrade in sonic ability. To quote from our expert testers' review: "The Charge 6 certainly sounds more powerful, but that muscle and authority are heard throughout the frequency range, not just in the lower end. The sound is clearer and more detailed than before, with vocals given extra solidity and textural depth; the highs soar with punch but clarity."

Internally, the Charge 6 features a 20m tweeter and newly developed woofer that strives for deeper more powerful bass than the old model. Throw in the 'AI Sound Boost' to analyse the speaker's sound in real time and you've got yourself an impressive offering.

And that's before we've even gotten to the features. Onboard, there's Auracast audio sharing, 24-bit/96kHz lossless audio via USB-C, and a hefty 24 hours of juice, plus four extra with Playtime Boost, as well as doubling up as a power bank for your smartphone or portable device.

Ultimately, we reached this verdict: "With a more powerful and clearer sound, the infectiously energetic Charge 6 is a terrific evolution of JBL’s superb portable speaker."

If you're happy with swooping up the White model, then you can grab it for just £104 at Amazon. There's only '8 left in stock' though, so you'll have to be quick. If your heart is set on another colour, they're still on a discount but will cost you £18-£25 more, depending on what you're after.

MORE:

Read our full JBL Charge 6 review

Best Bluetooth speakers: tried and tested for every budget

Best outdoor speakers: portable, wireless, waterproof models tried and tested

The sun is officially shining and it's the perfect time to get out and about. And, it turns out, it's also the perfect time to invest in one of the best outdoor speakers to bring the tunes.

Right now, our favorite premium pick, the five-star and hugely likeable Bose SoundLink Max, has dropped to just $349 at Amazon.

It's worth noting that while the discount doesn't apply to the Black model, it does apply to two colors that are perfect for spring and summer – Blue Dusk and Citrus Yellow. So, grab it while you can.

The five-star Bose SoundLink Max serves up a powerful, musical sound that really mixes it with the best of them. And we're happy to recommend it as one of the best Bluetooth speakers on the market right now.

The Max is built to go pretty much anywhere, which is great news for the hotter months of the year. It's water and dust-proof thanks to an IP67 rating and is pleasingly tactile and rugged to boot.

It's not the most lightweight option, weighing in at 21.3kg, but it's easy to hold and packed with premium features. One of which is the impressive battery life, giving users a claimed 20 hours, depending on how you use it.

The Bose SoundLink Max supports Bluetooth 5.3 and has a claimed range of 30ft (9m) for when you're out and about. Plus, aptX Adaptive Bluetooth codec support and Google Fast Pair (for Android users) are both on board, as well as Bluetooth multipoint for connecting two devices simultaneously and switching between them whenever you fancy.

And when it comes to sound, the Max impresses. Our expert testers said: "The Soudlink Max shouldn’t have any issues getting the party started – thanks, in the main, to its lively, punchy delivery. The speaker’s expressive midrange enthusiastically sprays out lead vocals, while every thwack of (a) drum kit is dispatched with force and vigour. There's an energy to the performance that is easy to tap into and makes for a hugely enjoyable listen".

Though they did also note that it is very bassy out of the box. All you need to fix that is a bit of tweaking, turning the bass setting down to around minus five or six for a better-balanced and less overpowering sound.

So, it sounds great and it looks great. You can't argue with that. And you certainly can't argue with the price tag either, just $349 at Amazon before it's too late.

MORE:

Read our full Bose SoundLink Max review

Check out the best Bluetooth speakers: tried and tested for every budget

And the best speakers: budget to premium models tested by our expert reviewers

Tribit has announced the sequel to one of our favourite budget Bluetooth speakers of the last few years.

Acting as the successor to the rugged, compact and sonically talented Stormbox Micro 2, the new Stormbox Micro 3 teases improved sound, a tougher build and a host of upgraded features from a speaker built for "outdoor enthusiasts and everyday listeners alike".

The new model boasts 13 watts of power driving a 48mm driver and dual coaxial passive radiators, delivering what Tribit describes as "crisp clarity and deep, punchy bass". The speaker's 'XBass' feature, meanwhile, aims to enhance low-frequency reproduction for "a fuller, more immersive listening experience".

The StormBox Micro 3 offers up to 24 hours of playtime on a single charge, while a quick 15-minute charge will offer up to three hours of playback in a pinch. Charging goes the other way, too: you can use the Micro 3 to juice up your portable device, such as your smartphone, via USB-C.

A two-in-one mounting system lets users strap the speaker securely to backpacks or bike handlebars for when you're out and about, or snap it magnetically onto cars, lockers or other metallic surfaces.

A built-in microphone is available for hands-free calling and voice assistant control, while 'True Wireless Stereo (TWS)' lets you connect two Stormbox Micro 3 speakers together for a more immersive stereo experience.

Tribit's latest offering boasts an IP68 water and dustproof certification, seeing it keep up with the similarly high-end certifications of JBL's latest raft of Bluetooth speakers, such as the five-star Flip 7. That should mean it's capable of being immersed in water for around 30 minutes without feeling the effects.

To manage your compact Bluetooth companion, you'll want access to the Tribit app, wherein, among other things, you'll find a nine-band EQ for tinkering with your sound to your preferences.

The Tribit Stormbox Micro 2 is available now, priced at £63 / $65 /€65. At that price, it's a bit more expensive than the five-star JBL Go 4 (currently £25 / $40) and a little less than the Award-winning JBL Flip 7 (currently £100 / $110 / AU$170).

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Read our recent Sonos Play review

Best outdoor speakers: portable, wireless, waterproof models tried and tested

With better weather on the horizon, maybe you're turning your attention to investing in one of the best outdoor speakers. I'm certainly ready to enjoy some outdoor parties and BBQs.

If that's you, we would highly recommend the JBL Xtreme 4, which is not only our 'best large' pick but can now be snapped up for just $299.95 at Amazon.

The popular Bluetooth speaker is likely to return to full price once the summer is in full swing, which is why taking advantage of the current $80 saving right now makes so much sense.

The JBL Xtreme 4 is the winner of back-to-back What Hi-Fi? Awards, which should be a clear sign that we're quite the fan of this robust Bluetooth speaker.

The all-around credentials of JBL's Xtreme 4 makes it almost impossible not to recommend. And at this discounted price, it's hard to find better.

The Xtreme 4 is the Xtreme 3, but (how to put this?) more extreme… It's roughly the same design we have come to know and love from JBL, robust and rugged, but with some tweaks that are worth talking about.

Take the 24 hours of battery life (compared with the Xtreme 3's 15 hours) or the option to stretch that even further to 30 hours, thanks to the new Playtime Boost feature. Plus, the AI Sound Boost is another new feature of the Xtreme 4. This always-on technology is there to help the speaker maintain sound quality at loud volumes and prevent distortion.

As far as new features go, though, Auracast is the big one. It allows users to pair two Xtreme 4s together in stereo or to connect multiple compatible JBL speakers in a chain.

And it sounds great. In our review, our expert testers say: “For such a chunky speaker, it produces a fantastically refined sound. It produces a wonderfully clear and consistent sound across tracks: low frequencies are poised and punchy but don’t lack weight, [whereas] highs are crisp enough so they don’t feel rolled off.”

If you're looking to secure yourself an outstanding Bluetooth speaker from JBL, the Xtreme 4 is a great option – especially now its price has dropped to just $299.95 at Amazon.

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Read our full JBL Xtreme 4 review

Best Bluetooth speakers tried and tested for every budget

Best outdoor speakers: portable, wireless, waterproof models tried and tested

Amongst the best Bluetooth speakers we've ever tested is the five-star JBL Flip 7. And while you might see the odd drop in price now and again, we haven't seen a deal as good as this since Black Friday.

Right now, you can grab it for just £80 at Amazon, a whopping £50 discount on a speaker that offers clear, precise and enjoyable sound. But, you'll have to be quick!

It may look like £90 at first glance, but be sure to tick the box that says 'apply £10 voucher' before you add it to your basket and you can secure this unbeatable price.

The JBL Flip 7 is a five-star speaker, a What Hi-Fi? Award winner, and our top pick amongst the best Bluetooth speakers in terms of portability.

If you find the size or price of the JBL Charge 6 a little too much, this is a mighty alternative that's smaller, slimmer and less expensive. But, like the Charge 6, the Flip 7 also goes big on features.

There's a meaty 14 hours of battery life available on a single charge, ramped up with an extra two with Playtime Boost. Plus, Auracast functionality, the new sharing technology which lets you pair two Flip 7s together in stereo or hook up multiple units via the JBL Portable app.

The brilliant burrito-shaped speaker also has an IP68 rating, which means it's dust-proof and waterproof against prolonged submersion in fresh water, improving upon the Flip 6's IP67 certification. There's also wired listening for the first time, supporting up to 24-bit/96kHz lossless audio playback via a USB-C cable.

Sonically, this is the best Flip we've ever heard. It's bassier than before, with a smoother, more refined profile than the more hard-edged Flip 6 can manage.

This led our expert testers to say: "We know this is still a fairly compact portable Bluetooth speaker, but judged on such terms, the Flip 7 evidences what you might call genuine musicality. The subtleties of Jeff Buckley’s guitar playing on So Real are communicated with a deadly combination of accuracy and flair, complemented by bringing authenticity and clarity to dear old Jeff’s vocal stylings as he flits and flows from sultry whispers to his enthralling angelic wail."

Adding: "Hearty improvements to build quality, features and usability make the Flip 7 a more rounded performer than ever before, while sonic advances see it stride well clear of the competition."

And while we haven't seen a price this low since the mega Black Friday sales, somehow it's back. So, if you fancy grabbing JBL's mighty burrito, the Black model can be yours for just £80 at Amazon. Just don't forget to click that coupon!

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Read our full JBL Flip 7 review

Check out the best Bluetooth speakers: tried and tested for every budget

And the best outdoor speakers: portable, wireless, waterproof models tried and tested

Two of JBL’s stalwart Bluetooth speakers are getting a major refresh.

The new JBL Xtreme 5 follows on from the Award-winning Xtreme 4 we tested back in the summer of 2024. The other end of the size (and price) spectrum is covered by the JBL Go 5, the box-fresh successor to the dinky five-star Go 4.

Both Bluetooth speakers tease upgraded sound and a refreshed look as part of their next-generation revamp, as well as new features and improved usability.

The far larger of the two, the boombox-esque JBL Xtreme 5, teases 10 per cent deeper bass and louder sound than the previous generation model, with a revamped acoustic design consisting of dual tweeters and a subwoofer in pursuit of “powerful sound” and minimised distortion.

The palm-sized Go 5, meanwhile, also teases improved audio with deeper bass than its antecedent, in part thanks to a new hollow contour logo which is designed to “level up sound output and performance”.

New features are on the horizon for 2026, too. Both speakers make use of AI-powered ‘SmartEQ Mode’ which automatically optimises your sound settings for music or speech if, say, you’re listening to music and then switch over to a podcast.

The titchy JBL Go 5, meanwhile, makes use of new ‘AirTouch’ tech, which allows for stereo pairing simply by touching two Go 5 speakers together. Now that does sound clever.

As we have seen with the Award-winning Flip 7, the two new additions to JBL's line-up grant USB-C audio for lossless playback up to 24-bit/96kHz.

The JBL Xtreme 5 teases around 24 hours of playtime on a single charge, with an additional four hours courtesy of ‘Playtime Boost’, which is roughly the same as the numbers boasted by the fourth-gen model. The Go 5, conversely, promises around eight hours of playtime with an additional two hours via Playtime Boost, a small increase over its predecessor.

As is the case with pretty much all newer JBL Bluetooth speakers, the fifth-gen arrivals support Auracast Bluetooth tech, essentially allowing you to pair multiple speakers together in stereo or hook up multiple compatible JBL units, either via an on-unit button or through the provided JBL app.

On the outside, the new speakers have enjoyed something of a design refresh, with both now sporting ambient edge lighting which can be customised across multiple modes. In terms of durability, the Xtreme 5 boasts an IP68 water and dustproof rating, as does the Go 5.

According to Carsten Olesen, President of Consumer Audio at Harman: “JBL is known for its portable speakers, and we are always looking for ways to improve and evolve them. First we brought in AI Sound Boost for clearer, louder sound for less distortion in your playback, and now with the introduction of Smart EQ Mode on Xtreme 5, we continue to develop innovative ways to deliver the best possible listening experience.”

The JBL Xtreme 5 will be available in black, blue and camo finishes from April 2026, priced at £330 / €350. The JBL Go 5 will be available in seven colours from April 2026, priced at £40 / €50.

Those are the same sorts of figures for the Xtreme 5 and Go 5 as their outgoing predecessors – nice!

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Read our recent Sonos Play review

I've heard Denon's new range of multi-room wireless speakers – and Sonos should be worried

Best Bluetooth speakers tried and tested for every budget

Sonos is in need of a win at the moment. The US giant isn’t in quite the same desperate need as poor old Tottenham Hotspur are at the time of writing, but it’s hard to escape the fact that the past couple of years have been a little rough for one of audio’s most recognisable names.

The company’s much-covered app update was infamously poorly received, while patchy form on the audio front – from the middling debut of the Ace over-ear headphones to the disappointing Roam 2 Bluetooth speaker – struggled to win us back around.

Now entering this tricky landscape is the Sonos Play. The brand describes the Play as a “compact portable smart speaker”, with the new model blending streaming smarts with voice control, Bluetooth powers and a built-in battery to cover as many bases as possible in a bid to give Sonos that much-needed win.

There’s a lot on the Play’s shoulders, then: the ‘Play’ name is a throwback to Sonos’ older line of superb speakers, so is this the speaker that puts Sonos back on the right track?

Price

The Sonos Play comes with a premium price tag. Still, at £299 / $299 / AU$499, it’s a good chunk cheaper than its larger Move 2 counterpart was at launch (£449 / $449 / AU$799), hovering around the same sort of territory as the Apple HomePod 2 smart speaker (£299 / $299 / AU$479) and its WiiM Sound rival (£299 / $299 / approx AU$499).

If you’re after something that’s focused purely on portability, the Award-winning, Bluetooth-only JBL Charge 6 can be yours for at most £170 / $199 / AU$200, although it doesn’t have the same extensive arsenal of features as the Sonos or its smart speaker counterparts.

Closer to the Play’s price, you can also get the much larger JBL Xtreme 4 Bluetooth portable for around £230 / $299 / AU$329.

Build & design

The Play is something of a middle child for Sonos’ established range of portable and semi-portable wireless speakers.

It’s larger than the Toblerone-esque tubes of the slimline Sonos Roam and Roam 2, and puts us in mind of a scaled-down version of the rather bulky, wide-fronted Sonos Move 2. If you’re not so familiar with the established Sonos range, imagine a decent-sized hardcover book or a scaled-down bathroom bin and you’re most of the way there.

Either way, this is a Sonos product through and through, and in general, that’s a good thing. Sonos is not known for its slipshod approach to product design, and while you might find that it tends to err on the side of rather understated, utilitarian aesthetics when designing its speakers, this is unquestionably a well made product

The speaker is weighty in-hand (1.3kg is hardly feather-light for a portable unit), with the main body comprising a wrap-around grille topped by a rubberised top section, which feeds into another rubber strip running along the backside.

That rubber top hosts four physical buttons – two for volume, one for muting/unmuting your voice assistant and a play/pause toggle – while the spine houses a Bluetooth pairing control, a microphone toggle and a large power button. You’re also furnished with a removable, but sadly not adjustable, “utility loop", which you can hook around your finger for easier carrying.

A small LED display at the front gives you various status indicators, though we’d echo our sentiments from previous Sonos models that having a larger light would make this easier to see from afar.

The Play is designed to be portable, so there’s mettle and grit hiding beneath that rather unassuming facade. The speaker boasts a very solid IP67 rating to keep it protected from dust ingress and submersion in water, with garden hose splashes and a quick dunk in our office sink seeing the Play prove its all-terrain credentials with relative ease.

Two finishes are available – black or white – though we’d mention that, while our black sample shows little signs of the rigours to which we subject it during our tests, we wonder if its pristine all-white counterpart might be more susceptible to showing stains and scuffs after a time. If you plan on taking your speaker on outdoor adventures rather than keeping it cooped up inside or going as far as the back garden, the black option might be the one to pick.

Features

It’s best to think of the Sonos Play in the same way you might regard the established Move 2: a portable speaker that can also plug into the mains and slot into your home wi-fi network and, if you wish, integrate within your Sonos multi-room system.

As such, the Play offers Bluetooth 5.3 for when you’re roaming about and just need a quick and simple wireless connection from your smartphone, with pairing swift and stable during our tests.

It also has a very healthy 24 hours of battery life from a single charge. That’s a decent number, matching the standard lifespan of the JBL Charge 6 and the Sonos Move 2, and easily outstripping the 10 or so hours you’ll get from the smaller Roam 2.

Wi-fi compatibility offers you a more comprehensive streaming suite than most standard Bluetooth speaker rivals, with the Play granting support for the likes of Spotify Connect, Apple Music, Tidal via the Sonos app, as well as AirPlay 2. There’s no playing ball with higher quality Bluetooth codecs such as aptX HD or LDAC here, but the Sonos Play is capable of streaming files up to 24-bit/48kHz from most mainstream streaming services over wi-fi.

This being a Sonos speaker, multi-room capabilities act as a major feather in the Play’s proverbial cap. Grouping the speaker together with compatible Sonos devices, such as other Plays, the larger Move 2 or the slimline Sonos Roam 2, is a simple process – you can use the app to drag devices into your preferred group, a process which we find simple, intuitive and easy to navigate.

That simple process is done via the Sonos app, which, when it works well, is in-depth, easy to use and impressively comprehensive. Our problem is that too many times during our testing, the app suffers from usability glitches, often refusing to perform basic functions without explanation. We attempt to link Absolute Radio to our Sonos account, for instance, and only on the third attempt do we achieve a successful pairing – our first two tries are thwarted by an unhelpful error message. We hope these kinks are smoothed out with a firmware update.

Charging is performed using a supplied charging dock with USB-C cable, but there’s no power adapter in the box, so you’ll need to buy one separately (£19 / $19) from Sonos if you don’t already have one. There’s a USB-C port at the back of the speaker, either for charging or to connect an external audio source like a music player or turntable via a line-in adapter.

On the subject of charging, you can use the Play like a portable power bank by simply plugging a USB-C cable and keeping your smartphone juiced up on the go.

There are further tricks to be found to make usability easier, too. You can connect twin Sonos Plays via the app or simply by using Bluetooth – pressing the play/pause button for around two seconds on your Sonos Play will group it together with the speaker that’s currently playing Bluetooth audio. That’s a handy bonus if you’ve taken a few Plays out on your adventures and need a quick and effective way of getting stereo sound without wi-fi or app access.

Speaking of twins, you even get dual voice assistant support for your Sonos speaker, with Sonos’ own voice assistant sitting alongside Amazon’s ever-clever Alexa AI. You’ll need to set up and confirm permission to use Alexa via the separate Amazon app, but once that’s done, she’s easy to summon with a quick call of “Hello Alexa”.

Sound

Sonos never divulges the power rating of its speakers, but we know that the Play sports three Class H amplifiers powering two angled tweeters and a mid-woofer driver, as well as dual force-cancelling passive radiators which aim for deep bass and minimised vibrations.

The resultant sound is impressive in many respects. The Play covers the sonic basics admirably, and while that might sound like damning with faint praise, it’s no guarantee that a speaker of this size and type can put music together as convincingly and cohesively as our test sample manages.

As we pump out a recording of Ramin Djawadi’s The King’s Arrival from the soundtrack to Game Of Thrones, the Play gives the composition an appropriately regal feel – poised, clear, controlled, and with ample muscle to spare, it’s a powerful and convincing opening salvo.

Unlike Game Of Thrones, which really went downhill as its run came to a close, the Sonos Play doesn’t suffer a disastrous drop off when we switch to something completely different. Massive Attack’s Atlas Air gives the Play a new challenge, with the speaker striking a fine balance between weighty punch and composed control as it tackles the track with a professional, capable precision.

There’s ample bass muscle, but the Play’s clear, controlled character and disciplined signature stops that lower end from spilling out all over the place – instead, it sounds taut and punchy, evidenced by the Play firmly handles those opening drum thumps on Michael Jackson’s iconic Billie Jean.

How does the Play stack up against its key rivals? When placed side by side with Apple’s five-star HomePod 2 and with both speakers playing via AirPlay, it’s clear that the Sonos Play’s clear, punchy yet precise sound contrasts with the airier and more free-flowing temperament of the HomePod 2.

The mains-powered HomePod 2 is also a little more nuanced in how it handles instrumental timbres, granting more subtlety and texture to instruments – rich violin strokes, tumbling drum fills, tinkling pianos – making for a more natural listen than the ever-so-slightly mechanical Play.

We also find that the Sonos can tend to paint music with the same brush. Capable and controlled as it sounds, we do sometimes feel as though the speaker isn’t that flexible in its delivery – whether it’s The King’s Arrival or Elvis Costello’s Veronica, everything tends to sound a little uniform no matter the genre.

Veronica is a thin, zippy recording with a character all of its own, but some of that inherent leanness is lost as the Sonos just slightly imposes its own style on Costello’s bittersweet ditty when we listen over Bluetooth.

The five-star, cheaper JBL Charge 6 may sound harder and less forgiving when also playing via Bluetooth, but it brings out the essence of various musical styles – be it Costello, Chappell Roan or Chris Cornell – with greater expressiveness and insight.

Still, our overall impressions of the Play remain positive. Whether pumping out some Gorillaz in the garden or streaming a slice of Stevie Wonder in the sitting room, its clear, confident and controlled sound is rarely a chore to listen to. We’d like it to bend and flex to accommodate different musical styles and genres more readily, but sonically, this remains an admirable effort.

Verdict

The Sonos Play has a lot going for it. It’s hugely versatile and undeniably talented, while its ability to bridge the gap between home and outdoor use potentially saves the need for buying two separate speakers. In that regard, the Play is more than capable of justifying its reasonably lofty price tag.

If you simply need a dedicated specialist – be it a purely portable pal or a static wireless smart speaker – more sonically talented rivals are available. That said, if you’re seeking a do-it-all speaker that’s as happy slotting into your multi-room set-up as it is being taken down to the seaside, the Play makes a good deal of sense.

Review published: 26th March 2026

SCORES

• Sound 4
• Build 5
• Features 5

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Best Bluetooth speakers 2026: tried and tested for every budget

The new Sonos Play can do a lot. Sonos' latest is so much more than just a pure wireless speaker with Bluetooth – it's made 'smart' courtesy of its twin voice assistants, it can accompany you on your outdoor adventures thanks to its portable design and on-the-go-features, and can slot into your home's multi-room set-up thanks to its network compatibility with the wider Sonos ecosystem.

That bag of tricks is positively bulging, and while that grants the Play admirable versatility, it can make it somewhat overwhelming for new users who want to make the most of their swanky new speaker.

To help you navigate this potentially challenging road, we've listed a few handy tricks and tips so that you can be confident you're getting the most out of your shiny new Sonos Play.

Make your Play a multi-room marvel

Forgive us if we're telling you what you already know, but Sonos is still somewhat synonymous with multi-room functionality. The Play may be as portable (or almost as portable) as the best Bluetooth speakers JBL has to offer, but it's very happy sitting on your desktop, your kitchen or sitting room as it slots happily into a wider Sonos system.

What perhaps need clarifying is just how to create such a set-up and which speakers will play ball with your Play. Thankfully, most newer generation wireless models can be paired up with your speaker, including the Sonos Roam 2 and the Sonos Move 2, so you can scatter a variety of models around your house depending on your needs.

Just go to the app, go to 'Settings', then and then drag speakers on the same network into your chosen grouping by clicking on 'Groups' and then 'Create Group'. Available products should then appear if they're on the same network.

That means you can use the Sonos Play as part of a more established home system. The Play will 'play' ball with the Sonos Era 100 and Era 300 wireless models, or you could use a pair of Plays as surrounds with a Sonos Beam (Gen 2) or Sonos Arc soundbar for an impromptu cinema set-up.

Get to grips with Bluetooth stereo pairing

Even among a pretty extensive catalogue of impressive features, Sonos has made a big deal of the Play's ability to stereo pair quickly via Bluetooth.

You might normally associate stereo pairing with wi-fi-only connections, and you can go down the more traditional route of simply using the app to group two speakers together, but Sonos has a handy trick for when you're out on the go and/or don't have app access.

To pair two Plays together, make sure you have one speaker already paired to your source device, i.e. your smartphone. Once that's done, press the play/pause button for a few seconds on your Sonos Play (you can also use a Sonos Move 2) to group it together with the speaker that’s currently playing via Bluetooth.

You can actually group up to four supported Sonos speakers together to play the same content in sync, but we imagine most users will use the feature for forming a simple stereo set-up. Pressing the play/pause button on the Sonos product that originally formed the group will dissolve the group.

Do note that, while the Sonos Play can be grouped with the smaller Roam or Roam 2 speakers when connected to the same Sonos system over wi-fi at home, off-LAN Bluetooth grouping when away from home is only supported between Sonos Play and Move 2 models, and is not available with the Roam or Roam 2.

Ensure you're familiar with the Sonos app

The Sonos app is the beating heart of any Sonos product, and that's very much the case when it comes to the Play. When a speaker can do so many things, some of which can be rather technical, you're going to struggle to get the most out of it unless you're using the official accompanying platform.

Sonos' app is reasonably self explanatory, although there are some functionalities we'd point you to in order for you to get the most out of your experience.

For a start, make sure you've got all of the requisite streaming services linked to your Sonos account. The Play offers support on its platform for the likes of Spotify Connect, Apple Music, Amazon Music Unlimited and Tidal, and linking them to your Sonos account grants easy access if, say, you want to ask your Play to "start my favourite running playlist on Spotify".

Note, however, that some services can't be linked with Sonos Voice Assistant – sadly, that currently includes Tidal. Speaking of voice assistants, we'd advise disabling the microphone entirely via the switch on the back of your speaker when you're not using voice controls, for the sake of your privacy if nothing else.

We're also aware that there are occasionally teething problems with linking your Play to the app. If that's the case for you, be aware that products relying on a wi-fi connection don't like being moved from network to network, so if your product isn't connecting or being discovered, it may already be tethered to a different provider. That's certainly something we experienced when moving our Play from the office to a domestic setting.

If that's the case, you can try resetting your device by disconnecting your speaker, turning it off, placing it back on its charging base while keeping the play/pause button pressed, then waiting for the LED to start blinking green. Once it goes green, your product should appear and you can add your Sonos to a new network.

Make sure you've got TruePlay switched on

The Sonos Play makes use of 'TruePlay' technology, which, to quote its manufacturer, "measures how sound reflects off walls, furnishings and other surfaces in a room, then fine tunes your Sonos speaker to make sure it sounds great no matter where you've placed it".

In our experience, it's best to have TruePlay turned on, as our test speakers tended to sound better and, as Sonos suggests, more attuned to their surroundings, when making use of the handy tech. To do so, go to the 'Settings' menu in the app, then to 'System', then to 'Sound', and make sure TruePlay is toggled on.

It's also worth playing around with the app's custom equaliser if you want the best sound possible. That's not always the case, but sometimes it's worth tweaking those sliders depending on your environment, especially if you frequently take your Play from place to place or keep switching from indoor to outdoor use.

Make the most of your physical connections

While the Sonos Play does a lot of its work wirelessly, physical connections are also important.

The main unit houses a USB-C charging port, from which you can juice up your speaker directly, or you can use the supplied USB-C-ended charging base upon which the whole speaker cheerfully and securely sits.

Note that while the charging dock with its USB-C cable is supplied, there’s no power adapter in the box (most brands don't include these anymore), so you’ll need to buy one separately for around £19 / $19 from Sonos if you don’t already have one.

If you're after further extras, Sonos also sells a separate adapter that adds an Ethernet port for a more solid wired internet connection, but that itself will set you back an extra £40 / $40. Or, if you want to connect a music source directly (Sonos envisions connecting a turntable on its website), you can purchase a Sonos line-in adapter (USB-C to 3.5mm) for £19 / $19.

Oh, and it's easy to miss the fact that, buried under an avalanche of tricks, functions and skills, the Play offers wired charging for your portable device, again via USB-C.

Similar to the functionalities you'll find on the JBL Charge 6 or Xtreme 4, all you need to do is plug your device in directly via a USB-C to USB-C or USB-C to Lightning cable to connect it directly to your speaker.

A very handy feature, and one of which not all Play owners seem to be aware.

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Read our full Sonos Play review

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These are the best smart speakers you can buy

Amazon's Big Spring Sale is here, offering savings on several springtime categories, whether you're a Prime member or not.

One of the more exciting spring-themed deals, especially for us at What Hi-Fi?, is the humble Bluetooth speaker, which is perfect as the weather warms up for cook-outs, outdoor gatherings and trips to the park.

And we have the ideal speaker on offer for you. The JBL Charge 6, our wireless speaker Product of the year, is currently going for $150 at Amazon.

That's a solid $49 off the price we tested at and a 25 per cent discount. However, Amazon is only listing 11 in stock at the time of writing – we'd get in quick to get the Charge 6 at this price.

In case you hadn't realized, we're big fans of the JBL Charge 6. Not only did it nab our Product of Year gong at our latest Awards ceremony, but it's also our overall pick of the best Bluetooth speakers and best outdoor speakers.

It succeeds the JBL Charge 5, which was itself one of the most enduringly impressive Bluetooth speakers we've ever tested. The Charge 6 adds several meaningful improvements, including a jump from an IP67 rating to IP68 to ensure it's even more waterproof, dustproof and drop-proof than before.

Not that the all-important sound quality has been left out – internally, the Charge 6 features a 20m tweeter and a newly developed woofer that aims for deeper, more powerful bass than the Charge 5.

An innovative algorithm-driven ‘AI Sound Boost’ also processes audio in real time, optimizing speaker output for consistently powerful and exciting sound with reduced distortion.

Our expert testing team found that this all came together to produce Award-winning sound.

"The Charge 6 certainly sounds more powerful, but that muscle and authority is heard throughout the frequency range, not just in the lower end," our JBL Charge 6 review reads. "The sound is clearer and more detailed than before, with vocals given extra solidity and textural depth; the highs soar with punch but clarity."

The perks don't end there, however. JBL has packed in several cutting-edge features, including Auracast audio sharing and 24-bit/96kHz lossless audio via USB-C.

There's also 24 hours of battery life on board, with the Playtime Boost mode stretching this to 28 hours at the cost of some sound quality. The Charge 6 can even double as a power bank for your smartphone or other device.

Despite a somewhat rugged exterior, the JBL Charge 6 sounds balanced, subtle and controlled, and also boasts useful design tweaks and stacks of features. It's hugely fun to listen to, and highly recommended with $49 off at Amazon.

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JBL Charge 6 vs Charge 5: which Bluetooth speaker is better?

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Also consider the JBL Flip 7

Denon has refreshed its Home multi-room system with three new wireless speakers.

The Denon Home 200, 400 and 600 are firmly gunning for the Sonos Era 100, Era 300 and Sonos Five, respectively, and all run on the same HEOS system as the previous Denon Home speakers (as reviewed by our Australian offshoot).

This means you can connect them with other HEOS compatible speakers to create a multi-room setup, should you so choose. All three speakers also support hi-res audio and Dolby Atmos for more immersive sound.

Denon is making a song and dance about the new Home speakers feeling like part of the home. Their designs were chosen with this in mind: each uses seamless woven fabrics, precision anodised aluminium, smooth touch finishes, soft silicon and "simple geometric forms" to help them look like part of the furniture. They're meant to look more like a piece of soft furnishing than a cold, metallic tech product.

The Denon Home 200 is the baby of the bunch. It has three drivers and amps to deliver "natural, room‑filling sound with a spaciousness that feels larger than its size."

It's joined by the Home 400, which doubles the number of drivers and amps to six apiece. It also adds upfiring drivers for a greater sense of dimensionality for more immersive listening (especially when using Dolby Atmos).

The biggest of the three is the Denon Home 600, which has dual opposing 6.5-inch woofers, plus an array of tweeters, midrange and upfiring drivers. It promises "deep, authoritative bass".

All three models have touch controls, wi-fi and Bluetooth connectivity, as well as USB-C and aux inputs.

The HEOS platform is supported by certain Marantz products too, and it means you can connect this new system with the original Denon Home 150, 250 and 350 speakers. In all, you can connect up to 64 HEOS devices across 32 zones.

HEOS supports hi-res music streaming services too, like Tidal, Amazon Music Unlimited and Qobuz.

All three speakers are available now in both Stone and Charcoal colourways. The Denon Home 200 is £299 / $399 / AU$699, the Home 400 is £449 / $599 / AU$999 and the Home 600 is £599 / $799 / AU$1,499.

It's a welcome return for Denon Home, but it will have its work cut out to dethrone Sonos. We'll be putting the Denon Home speakers through their paces as soon as we can – in the meantime, read our hands-on below.

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