10 Best Portable Speakers 2014: Bluetooth Speakers to Buy


Looking for the best portable speaker to buy? Whether it’s for your iPhone, iPad, iPod, Android tablet or laptop, we've tested many of the big names to see which comes out top.


With head-to-head listening tests, we've had a look at how much you really need to spend to get a good wireless speaker, whether you're out for something to augment your phone's speaker or to power outdoors parties.


There's a vast array of choices out there too, from those of big brands like Sony and Bose to cheaper options from brands you may never have heard of. We've picked 10 of the top models you'll find online and in the high street today.


As well as listening to their audio chops and measuring how loud they can really go with a sound meter, we had a look at whether they can stream video without introducing significant audio delay. There's nothing more annoying than watching a movie where the soundtrack is just slightly out of sync. In the review pages, you'll see this under the Netflix test banner: it passes if we could stomach watching a movie with the delay.


We'll also cover these portable speakers' other features. Does it have NFC? How long does the battery last? Does it offer aptX? We'll cover the lot.


If you're not yet down with the jargon of the Bluetooth speaker world, NFC is used to pair up a speaker with your phone more easily — you just wave it over the NFC sensor in the speaker. AptX, meanwhile, is a higher-quality Bluetooth audio codec that improves sound quality with aptX-compatible phones and tablets.


Press the arrow above to get going to see our great big Bluetooth speaker test.