Buying a portable speaker and buying a party speaker are two completely different tasks.
In a speaker dedicated to mobile use you should prioritize size and battery life as much as sound quality. You don’t want to bring two or three speakers with you on your hike to a mountaintop picnic, and you really don’t want to lug a massive brick around either. Portable and wireless speakers for the home afford different kinds of flexibility.
For a speaker that lives in the house, feel free to get a monster that’s always plugged into power, or a five-pound Bluetooth speaker meant to hop between countertops. These are the speakers you want to look at when planning a holiday party. You want a speaker that can fill the room with pleasing ambient music to liven up the space between conversations, or be cranked up to full blast if sing-alongs are your jam.
We’ve rounded up several options to consider. All of them will be loud enough to fill a medium to large room without needing to crank the volume all the way up. From premium standalone models to portable Bluetooth speakers that can pair with other speakers, we have several options to fit any budget.
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