When you need an AirPlay speaker, it’s essential to ensure it supports AirPlay alongside typical Bluetooth functionalities. Look for robust bass, clear highs, and balanced mids to enjoy music thoroughly. Features like voice assistant integration and custom sound settings can enhance your listening experience, making these speakers versatile for both home and outdoor use.
Unfortunately, a staggering 92% of expert reviews aren’t trustworthy. Our unique approach combines True Score with our proprietary Trust Rating to filter out fake reviews, ensuring only the best speakers make it to our guide. Our buying guide highlights four top-performing speakers from over 100 analyzed and certified-as-tested reviews drawn from 1,150,612 reviews.
Tribit Stormbox Blast – Best for Bass
The Tribit Stormbox Blast offers great value with best-in-class 32-hour battery life and IP67 water resistance, making it ideal for outdoor enthusiasts and party hosts. It provides a powerful volume output of 96.7 dB and a wide wireless range of 100m, perfect for beach outings and backyard parties. While it lacks deep bass and the clearest high-frequency sounds, its durability, and portability make it a strong option for music lovers on the go.
Apple Homepod 2nd Generation – Best for AirPlay
The Apple Homepod 2nd Generation integrates seamlessly with the Apple ecosystem, making it a superb choice for Apple users. With an extensive wireless range of 300 ft and great low-end and high-end roll-offs, it delivers crisp, detailed sound, perfect for various music genres and home audio experiences. While it lacks portability and water resistance, its deep integration with Apple devices and smart home features make it an attractive option for tech-savvy users.
Bose S1 Pro+ – Best for Loudest
The Bose S1 Pro+ stands out for its exceptional audio performance, particularly with its best-in-class volume output of 105.3 dB and high-frequency clarity, making it ideal for large gatherings and vocal-centric content. Although it has a shorter battery life and lacks water resistance, it’s perfect for indoor use where high-quality audio is essential. Its high price is justified by the quality of sound it delivers, especially for audiophiles and party hosts.
JBL Boombox 3 – Best for Shower
The JBL Boombox 3 is a robust option for bass enthusiasts, offering a powerful low-end roll-off and respectable high-frequency clarity. It boasts a 30-hour battery life and IP67 water resistance, making it durable and suitable for outdoor activities and medium-sized gatherings. While it’s not the loudest speaker and has some compromises in size and weight, its deep bass and durability make it a great speaker for outdoor parties and beach trips.
How We Rank Speakers and What is the Gadget Review True Score
Gadget Review is known for its True Score, the web’s most accurate product quality rating. The True Score blends expert reviews and human assessed Trust Ratings with customer feedback, underpinned by a sophisticated AI tool. This tool utilizes advanced machine learning algorithms and Bayesian models to analyze and synthesize data, ensuring accurate, unbiased, and comprehensive scoring. You can read more about it here.
