If you love listening to audio at home, you'll want a speaker to fill your space with your favorite music or podcasts. Nowadays, many speakers offer a sleek, stylish design that can blend in easily with your existing home decor without taking up a lot of space or requiring a lot of unsightly wires and cords. Many speakers have built-in voice assistant capabilities that can help you with your day-to-day tasks, and some even support multi-room features that make it easy to bring your audio with you from one room to the next. If you plan on using your speaker around water, like in your kitchen or bathroom, some speakers also come with waterproof designs.
We've tested over 155 speakers, and below are our recommendations for the best Bluetooth speakers for your home. See our picks for the best smart speakers, the best budget and cheap Bluetooth speakers, and the best Bluetooth speakers.
The JBL Authentics 500 is the best home speaker we've tested. This premium device has a retro design inspired by some of the manufacturer's classic speakers, like the L100. Packed with plenty of modern-day features to make the most of your listening experience, it includes built-in Alexa and Google Assistant, as well as a room calibration tool that optimizes the speaker's sound for the unique acoustics in your space. Bass and treble knobs on the speaker itself make it easy to customize its sound, or you can use the graphic EQ available in the JBL One app.
This speaker is suitable for listening to lots of different audio content, making it a great Bluetooth speaker to have around the house. Voices and lead instruments are reproduced with great clarity and accuracy, and there's a little extra warmth in the bass to bring out the excitement in genres like EDM and hip-hop. It gets super loud, too, so you can easily fill larger spaces with sound. This speaker even supports Dolby Atmos Music through compatible streaming services like TIDAL, allowing you to enjoy a more immersive sound with your favorite tunes. It's a little much if you just want a simple speaker, but it's well worth a look if you want the best of the best.
Want to spend a little less on a home speaker with Bluetooth? The Sonos Era 300 is the best wireless speaker you can buy for home use in the upper mid-range. This premium device has a simple, streamlined design that makes it easy to integrate into your home decor, and it has great sound quality that's suitable for listening to many different types of audio content. You can use the speaker on its own or integrate it into your existing Sonos ecosystem to create a surround sound setup in your living room.
Like the JBL Authentics 500, it supports Dolby Atmos Music, which is great for an immersive sound with subscription platforms like Apple Music. You'll also find built-in voice assistant support for hands-free control and a room correction tool designed to optimize audio reproduction based on your room's unique acoustics. This feature is called Trueplay, and while the full feature is only available with iOS devices, Android users can access a simplified version. If you'd rather manually tweak the speaker's sound, there are bass and treble adjustments in the Sonos S2 app. However, you won't find a graphic EQ to customize across the range like with the JBL. This speaker also doesn't get as loud as the JBL. Still, given its impressive performance, you may find it offers better value, especially if you already have other Sonos products.
The Era 300 is not battery-powered, so if you're looking for a portable home speaker, the Harman/Kardon Go + Play 3, which has a similar sound profile to our top pick, is worth checking out. That said, the sound changes depending on your listening angle, unlike the 360-degree Sonos. The Harman/Kardon also doesn't support voice assistants or include a companion app.
If you're shopping in the mid-range, the Sonos Era 100 is the best speaker choice for home use. As its name suggests, this speaker is the smaller alternative to the Sonos Era 300, offering many of the same high-end features for less. It comes with built-in voice assistant support, and you can connect it with other Sonos devices to spread sound throughout your home or create a surround sound experience with a compatible soundbar. Plus, it has Trueplay room correction, though the full feature is only available to iOS users.
So, what's the difference between this speaker and the Era 300? Unfortunately, this model doesn't support Dolby Atmos Music, so you can't take advantage of a more immersive sound with certain subscription platforms like TIDAL and Apple Music. Since it's smaller, it also doesn't get as loud as the Era 300. Still, it's a great addition to any living room and boasts a standout sound quality for the price. Voices and lead instruments are clearly reproduced right out of the box, which is ideal for all sorts of different genres.
The Amazon Echo Studio is another great all-around smart home speaker that's more affordable than our top picks. Like all the best home Bluetooth speakers, it boasts a polished design that blends in easily with your home decor. Many smart features are on hand, including built-in Alexa and a Zigbee hub that gives you hands-free control over other compatible smart devices like light bulbs and thermostats. When you use the voice assistant, the light ring on top of the speaker comes to life, so you know it has registered your command. When you're done, you can easily mute the microphone using the button on top of the device.
With its solid sound quality, this speaker is a suitable choice for listening to many different types of audio content. You can easily follow along with the conversation in dialogue-heavy podcasts and audiobooks, and instruments in music are detailed and lively. Unlike the Sonos Era 100, it doesn't have a room correction feature, so it sounds slightly different depending on the space you're listening in. However, you can use the bass and treble adjustments in the Amazon Alexa app to compensate for this. You'll also find multi-room and stereo pairing support in the app to connect it with other compatible speakers, which is a nice touch, especially at this price point.
The best budget home speaker we've tested is the Amazon Echo Gen 4. This smart device has a unique spherical design that makes for a stylish addition to your living room, and you can find it in several colors to match your personal aesthetic. Thanks to built-in Alexa support, you can control the device hands-free with only your voice, making it easy to add ingredients to your shopping list, check the weather, and more. The built-in Zigbee hub controls other smart home devices, like lightbulbs and thermostats. For more private moments, you can mute Alexa's microphone as well.
This speaker's sound quality is solid, making it a great choice for listening to music, podcasts, and more in the comfort of your home. Dialogue is easy to follow, and the clear reproduction of voices and other instruments brings a pleasant and accurate sound to the mix. You can adjust its bass and treble levels in the Amazon Alexa app if you want a different sound. While this smaller device doesn't get quite as loud as the larger Amazon Echo Studio, as long as you're listening in an average-sized room, it won't be much of an issue. Its budget-friendly price is ideal for those who want to try out a home speaker without breaking the bank.
The Amazon Echo Pop is the best cheap home speaker we've tested. Despite its wallet-friendly price, this tiny speaker packs a punch. Its performance with built-in Alexa rivals that of more premium speakers from this manufacturer, as it easily understands your commands from far away or amidst a noisy setting like a party. With such a compact design, it's a great choice for small spaces. It also comes in several colors to meet your style needs.
There are some trade-offs for its price and size, of course. Notably, this speaker doesn't reproduce as much low bass as the best Bluetooth speakers for home use at higher price points, like the Amazon Echo Gen 4, and it doesn't get as loud. It can't play stereo content without downmixing it into mono, either. That said, if you don't plan to use it for music very often, this won't matter much to you. For more dialogue-focused content like podcasts or the news, it's still a fair choice, and it's a great wallet-friendly entry point into the smart speaker space.
The Sonos Move 2 is a unique Bluetooth speaker designed for use both in and out of the home. Much like the top picks on our list, it boasts an attractive design that's meant to fit right in with the rest of your home decor, and its built-in voice assistant capabilities make it a useful tool to have around the house. Unlike most home speakers, though, it's battery-powered, meaning you don't have to keep it plugged into a power outlet to listen to your music. As a result, it's much easier to carry with you from room to room. It's even rated IP56 for dust and water resistance, so you can bring it to the backyard without worrying about how it will hold up to the elements.
This speaker is the next generation of the original Sonos Move and offers an overall improved sound. Compared to its predecessor, it can play back stereo content without downmixing it to mono, which is handy since most music is mixed in stereo. As with other premium picks on our list, it has a room calibration feature to adjust its sound based on your room's unique acoustics. You can also link it to other Sonos products to spread sound throughout your home. However, it doesn't support Dolby Atmos Music, like the similarly priced Sonos Era 300, and doesn't bring quite as much bass. Still, it's worth a look if you're shopping with portability in mind.
If style is your top priority, you'll be happy to know that more and more home speakers on the market are adapting innovative designs to blend in with your existing decor. The IKEA SYMFONISK Bookshelf is the best speaker we've tested for style-conscious shoppers, and as its name suggests, it's designed for use as a bookshelf. Available in black and white, it's easy to mount to your wall using the compatible brackets that the manufacturer sells separately. Since you can control its features through the Sonos S2 app, you don't have to worry about handling the speaker once it's in place. That's right—this speaker is a collaboration between IKEA and Sonos, so it has many of the same features available on Sonos' more premium models. With Trueplay room correction, you can optimize the speaker's output based on your room's unique acoustics. If you prefer manual calibration, you'll find bass and treble adjustments as well.
Its sound quality isn't as impressive as the higher-end models on our list, but with such a unique design, style-conscious listeners will want to check this speaker out. If you're looking for a speaker that doubles as a living room centerpiece but doesn't skimp on sound, it's worth checking out the Harman/Kardon Onyx Studio 8. Unlike the IKEA, this speaker can operate wirelessly, with almost seven hours of battery life. Plus, it has a more balanced sound profile and can play back stereo content without downmixing to mono. Sadly, these features come with a heftier price tag, and this speaker lacks a companion app where you can adjust the sound profile to your liking.
The Apple HomePod (2nd generation) is worth a look if you prefer a home speaker with Siri support. It brings a bit more low bass than the Sonos Era 100, but it's not as customizable and only supports Wi-Fi connectivity.
See our reviewWe've checked to make sure all our picks are still in stock and made minor text changes for clarity.
We added the Harman/Kardon Go + Play 3 as an alternative in the upper mid-range category for anyone looking for a more portable home speaker.
Sep 10, 2024 : We've made minor changes to the text of this article to ensure accuracy and clarity.
Jun 13, 2024 : We've checked all our picks for accuracy and to monitor any price fluctuations but have made no changes. We've made some minor improvements to the text to improve clarity.
May 16, 2024 : We've added the Brane X as a Notable Mention due to its useful smart features and powerful sound. Otherwise, we've checked our picks for accuracy and stock levels and have made no changes.
Our recommendations above are what we think are currently the best Bluetooth home speakers for most people to buy, according to their needs. We factor in the price (cheaper speakers win over pricier ones if the difference isn't worth it), feedback from our visitors, and availability (no speakers that are difficult to find or almost out of stock everywhere).
If you would like to choose for yourself, here's the list of all our reviews for speakers, including the best Bluetooth speakers to use at home. Be careful not to get caught up in the details. There are no perfect speakers. Personal taste, preference, and listening habits will matter more in your selection.
What do you think of our picks? Let us know below.
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Update: Added link to the Roborock S8+/S8 in the ‘Physical Automation’ test section to provide an alternative with a LIDAR mapping sensor.
I had j7 with mop feature. It did not work after 1 month, kept returning error “bin is not clean”. I followed all YouTube videos but nothing fixed. Called Supports, and they said software issue that cannot be fixed. Finally I returned it to Costco.
There are somethings not reviewed here, like: durability, how many issues within 1 or 3 months of use, MTBF, etc. Allowing End user review or feedback may help in those buying decision. It also gets user interaction. E.g. Metacritic also covers professional reviews and user reviews.
Hi LeoT,
Sorry to hear about this. You’re right, at this time we do not cover the durability of products passed the regular maintenance required on the vacuum. I’ve taken note of your suggestion to allow end user review about those topics, but in the meantime, using our forums like you just did is the best way to make us and other aware of those durability issues. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience with this product with us.
Update: We’ve corrected an error in our review by changing the result of the ‘Anti-Allergy Filter (HEPA)’ field in the ‘Air Quality’ to 'No’ to reflect that this vacuum doesn’t have an actual HEPA-rated filter, but rather a high-efficiency filter. We’ve also lowered the score for the ‘Companion App Automation’ section to more accurately reflect our current experience with the iRobot Home app and to better align with other iRobot models we’ve tested.
The iRobot Roomba j7 Plus is infuriating.
We’ve had a Xiaomi for many years; rarely did we have to replace something, it just worked day after day; just cleaning the hair out of the brush was a nuisance.
Then we bought what we thought was the Rolls Royce of robot vacuums, the iRobot Roomba j7 Plus. It’s awful.
It takes the entire day to clean our 300 sqm / 3229 sqft home, because it keeps doing the most random cleaning journeys, cleaning some areas multiple times, while not cleaning other areas at all, particularly along the walls and corners.
It is extremely noisy, so we have that noise all day long.
It only works in bright light, as it doesn’t have laser.
The app takes half a minute to open, then is really basic in its functionality and incredibly slow. It provides no information about the ongoing job, nor shows you the route it took. Occasionally it comes back with cryptic error messages (in this day and age…). But the app is really good at constantly reminding you to replace various spare parts, a few weeks after unboxing.
The robot keeps going into no-go zones marked on the awful map (no laser…) and then gets stuck there. You tell it go to to one room, and at some point, it takes a tour (?) of another room.
Sometimes the robot goes into a spasm, where it tries to go into a wall for several minutes, or it keeps rebooting itself endlessly.
I took it to the iRobot dealer after a few weeks of buying it; they were kind and understanding but refused to take this thing back. I’m at my wit’s end - it’s just annoying. Any suggestions?