THE BEST PORTABLE BLUETOOTH SPEAKER IS

BOSE SOUNDLINK III

The Bose Soundlink III makes use of its size more effectively than the Nyne TT, and is a better proposition than its smaller cousin, the Soundlink Mini while still being portable. Performance-wise, it has the best sound projection among our tested speakers, though the Roar came very close. On all the genres of music we tested, the Soundlink III consistently produced rich, full sound with minimal distortion even at highest volumes. Blues tracks, rock, pop, and anything that goes well with a slight rumble of bass will play excellently on the Soundlink III. What its $499 premium buys you is room-filling audio and an incredibly long battery life.

CREATIVE SOUNDBLASTER ROAR

The Roar certainly ticks a lot of boxes, and when we reviewed it standalone in April, we were very much impressed by how much Creative has managed to pack into such a small speaker just shy of $200. If you’re looking for value, the Roar beats just about everything out there regardless of size or class. It has more features built-in than most and manages to product huge, solid sound. We would’ve actually preferred it to be a tad larger however, if it meant better audio separation from all those drivers packed into its body. Also, while the Roar is able to match the Soundlink III in output, you’ll have to turn on its “Roar” function, which impacts battery life. But then again, who can argue with its $199 price tag.