46 BUY THE RIGHT SPEAKER
There’s one for everyone, but which is right for you?
Getting the best wireless speaker for you should be simple with our easy guide
Wireless speakers were once notorious for prioritising convenience over sound quality. But the tide has long since turned and the market has moved on.
Retaining the ease of use, simple connectivity and funky designs that make them so popular, wireless speakers have evolved to deliver excellent sound quality – and the best are good enough to be classed as hi-fi.
Today’s wireless speakers are clever products, sometimes with personal voice assistants and all of the latest streaming technologies inside. Taking note of new design trends and how people listen to music, they now incorporate features such as waterproofing, multi-room functionality, long battery lives, voice control, and the likes of Airplay 2 and Spotify Connect. All this, and they can sound great too.
But with such a huge variety of wireless speakers on the market and a sometimes-baffling array of technology, how do you pick the device that’s best for you? We’re here to help you narrow things down.
Choose the right shape and size
Before we even begin to get technical, the shape and size of your wireless speaker is something that will dictate how you use it.
Wireless speakers come in all shapes and sizes: they can be big, boxy units; they can be small and cylindrical. Some are built to be rugged and waterproof, others put style and design high on their list of priorities. They can even look like 1920’s airships. The question is, what will you use yours for?
For your bedroom, a sensibly sized speaker such as the Apple Homepod (pictured) , Sonos One, Sonos One SL, Amazon Echo Dot with Clock or Audio Pro Addon C3 is ideal.
If the speaker will take pride of place in your living room, however, larger, eye-catching units along the lines of the
B&W Formation Wedge (pictured), Triangle AIO 3, Dynaudio Music 5, Linn Series 3 or Naim Mu-so Qb 2nd generation (pictured) make quite the visual statement.
If you want everyone to enjoy an even spread of sound, have a look at omnidirectional speakers such as the Amazon Echo Studio or anything from Ultimate Ears’ range of wireless speakers. After something more portable? Try the Dali Katch, JBL Charge 4 or the Ultimate Ears Megaboom 3.
If you’re the adventurous type, the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2 or JBL Flip 5’s rugged, waterproof build will withstand all manner of knocks, bumps, rain and mud splashes. Each of them will fit into your rucksack, too.
Will it be your main system?
If you’re looking for a wireless speaker to be your main music system, be prepared to spend some cash. And potentially to make space in your room.
Speakers such as the Naim Mu-so Qb 2nd gen might cost a pretty penny (upwards of £700 in the case of the Naim), but their sound quality is worth it. They’re a viable alternative to a dedicated hi-fi system, coming packed with plenty of streaming and playback features, and they make a great style statement in your living room too.
You’ll want to temper your sonic expectations depending on size and price. Don’t expect huge, room-filling, dynamic and articulate sound from a small, portable speaker such as the Jam Heavy Metal. Do expect it from the likes of the more ambitious Naim Mu-so or Linn Series 3 though.
Portable or mains-powered?
Is portable better? Well, portable speakers have a rechargeable battery, so you’re not tied to a mains socket. You can simply pick up the speaker and take it with you. Depending on how big it is, that might mean to another part of the house, into the garden, or all the way to the beach or a summer festival.
Take note of the speaker’s battery life. Five hours (which is what you’ll get from the oh-so-pocketable little JBL Go 2 – pictured) is fine if you’ll be listening in your own garden, ie close to a power supply, but you’ll probably want eight hours or more if you’re taking it with you on holiday. If you have to keep plugging it into the mains every hour or two to charge it back up, it defeats the point of a portable speaker somewhat, no?
Thankfully, portable no longer means cheap in build quality or price. The ultra-portable and rugged Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2 lasts for 13 hours, while the sleek Dali Katch clocks in an impressive 24 hours on a full charge.
Mains-powered speakers, such as the Sonos range, inevitably tend to work best at home where they’re not required to move around too much.
They’re usually bigger and more expensive than portable options, too – the Devialet Gold Phantom and B&W Formation Wedge are cases in point – and are demanding enough to need a constant source of power to drive the speakers and reach their full performance potential.
How will you stream your music?
Once you’ve decided on what your wireless speaker will look like, where it will live and what it will mostly be used for, the next thing you need to think about is which streaming method is best for you and your circumstances.
How will you be sending music from your smartphone or laptop to the speaker? Will you be sticking with standard Bluetooth? Are you invested in Apple’s ecosystem and therefore only need Airplay 2? Are you a big fan of Spotify Connect or Tidal? Or are you thinking of a multi-room, Roon system (see our Roon feature on p36)? Here’s a rundown of the main streaming protocols to look out for.
Bluetooth speakers
Bluetooth is the most common tech in wireless speakers. It’s the quickest and easiest way to let your devices talk to each other wirelessly, taking only a couple of seconds to pair your smart device to your wireless speaker.
You’ll find Bluetooth in nearly all wireless speakers (it’s usually the sole method of streaming in portable and affordable models), as well as on most smartphones, tablets and laptops.
Bluetooth also doesn’t care if you’re an Apple or Android user; everyone with a smart device can use it to stream songs.
Standard Bluetooth has a range of about 100 metres, but use a speaker in the house (with all the walls and other obstructions) and this range drops noticeably. Indoors, you can rely on a range of around 12 metres or so.
Bluetooth also comes in a variety of flavours – aptx and aptx HD are capable of playing Cd-like and better-than-cd audio quality (you’ll need compatible sources, though). And Bluetooth 5 claims to be more powerful, offering faster transfer rates and greater range.
Airplay 2 speakers
Airplay 2 is Apple’s own way of streaming files wirelessly and, as is Apple’s way, it works only with IOS products. Still, that’s useful if you live in an Apple-only household.
In terms of set up, Airplay 2 piggybacks your home’s wi-fi network, so just make sure your iphone, ipod or ipad and your wireless speaker are on the same network, and you’ll be streaming in no time.
While Airplay-only speakers have long gone out of fashion (2011’s B&W Zeppelin Air, for example) you’ll find Airplay is often added to a wireless speaker’s long list of features.
Airplay 2 now allows for multi-room audio across multiple speakers, too, and you’ll find it in Libratone, Devialet, B&W, Naim and Sonos speakers, among others.
Wi-fi
If your wireless speaker has an ethernet port and/or built-in wi-fi, you can plug it straight into your home network. The advantages? You can stream higher-thanmp3 quality tracks from any source that’s also connected to the same network, such as your smartphone, laptop or your Network Attached Storage (NAS) device.
So if you’ve got a digital library full of Cd-ripped and hi-res files in FLAC, ALAC or WAV formats, you might want to look into wireless speakers that support the higher resolution. The Naim Mu-so, for instance, supports hi-res music streams of up to 24-bit/192khz audio.
These kinds of speakers will be pricey (and occasionally require a third-party subscription, too), but they’re worth seeking out if you want a convenient but top-notch wireless music system.
Spotify Connect speakers
If you’re an avid user of Spotify, it’s worth looking for a wireless speaker that lists Spotify Connect as one of its features – an increasing number of speakers do. These speakers have Spotify embedded in them, meaning songs won’t be streaming from your smartphone app but straight from Spotify’s own servers in the cloud. This frees-up your smartphone for all other uses (you can make calls without interrupting the music, for instance) and doesn’t drain your phone battery either.
Another useful feature is the ability to switch between connected sources, and send songs from one speaker to another with a quick button tap in the app. It’s a nice feature that makes a big difference once you start using it.
You’ll need a Spotify Premium subscription (£9.99/month, but look for offers) and to be connected to a wireless network to use Spotify Connect.
Multi-room speakers
Most wireless speakers these days have some form of multi-room ability, or at least have the ability to pair two speakers together to double up the sound or use in stereo. Sonos and Audio Pro are the gold standards for proper multi-room streaming across your home, but plenty of speakers offer similar abilities, so why not turn your home into one seamless music hub?
The more speakers you buy, the more you can dot around the house. Link them all up and you need never miss a second of sound. You can also arrange it so each room is playing a different song – perfect for a music-loving family.
The app’s where it’s at
The success of a multi-room speaker rests in no small part on its app, from how easy it is to connect to your network to how it organises your music. A seamless app experience has kept Sonos ahead of the pack, although Bluesound is a decent alternative if you’re after hi-res.
Smart speakers
And let’s not forget the latest trend on the technology block: smart speakers. Wireless speakers with voice control built in, using one of the many personal assistants currently available (Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant), smart speakers are becoming increasingly popular.
If you want a smart speaker solely for the ‘smart’ aspect – controlling your music and elements of your home using voice commands – then speakers such as the Amazon Echo Dot with Clock and Google Home Mini are ideal for adding a touch of sci-fi to your home. You can link them up for multi-room audio, too. The Sonos One and Ultimate Ears Megablast offer a fantastic sonic performance while also having Alexa voice control built in – it’s the best of both worlds.
There’s a lot of choice out there. A lot. But now that you’re armed with the knowledge you need, picking a wireless speaker should be plain sailing. There’s a wireless speaker out there for you – we know there is.