Portable Bluetooth speakers

Supersized sounds you can take anywhere

- NICK ODANTZIS

Group test 

ON TEST…

• B&O Beosound Explore
• Bose SoundLink Flex
• JBL Charge 5
• Marshall Middleton
• Sonos Roam
• Sony SRS-XS200

Though we could wax lyrical all day long about the benefits of AirPlay speakers for the best music listening, there are occasions where you just can't beat a Bluetooth speaker. The case for streaming over the short-range radio frequency over the longer-range Wi-Fi option enables you to stream wherever you are, there are no power cables involved, and the streaming compression has improved to the point you'd be hard pressed to notice a difference in sound quality when listening to your favourite tracks.

All this makes Bluetooth the ideal choice for the six best portable speakers on test here (the Sonos Roam also has Wi-Fi built in, so the option to stream at home is there). Additionally, all the speakers can be paired with other units, for an even greater sound. As well as being the best-sounding speakers we've come across, they're also very rugged, making them perfect for any outdoor scenario. All of the speakers here are rated to IP67, meaning they are both waterproof (they can be immersed to a depth of one metre) and dustproof. Being so portable, one of the key elements in this test is battery life - more listening time equals more good times.

How we tested