The speakers built into smartphones, tablets and computers rarely deliver high-quality sound. That reduces enjoyment for people who use them to listen to music or watch videos. Remedy: Add an external speaker—or several—that can connect wirelessly to these portable digital devices via Bluetooth or AirPlay (Apple’s competing technology). Your music and videos will sound wonderful. Among the best now…
These speakers are compact, battery-powered and often quite affordable.
Best value: Cambridge SoundWorks OontZ XL offers the best sound quality in its price range. Bass output is excellent, and the device can achieve fairly high volume even outdoors. OontZ XL delivers around 10 hours of play time per charge and weighs less than two pounds. Price: $99.99.*Dimensions: 3.5″ x 10.2″ x 3.4″. TheOontz.com
Best portability: Definitive Technology Sound Cylinder can’t quite match OontZ’s volume or bass performance, but it offers very respectable sound with good clarity and sufficient bass from an extremely small, light package—it weighs just 12 ounces. The Sound Cylinder is solidly built to survive the inevitable bumps of being carted around. It provides around 10 hours of use per charge. $199. 1.9″ x 7.5″ x 1.9″. DefinitiveTech.com
Best sound quality for a not-astronomical price: Bose SoundLink III (pictured above) delivers a big, engaging sound with good bass, volume and clarity for a portable speaker. It is very solidly constructed and can provide 14 hours of use per charge. But at three pounds, it is heavier than many portable speakers. $300. 5.2″ x 10″ x 1.9″. Bose.com
These wireless speakers must be plugged into a wall, and they are too large to carry around comfortably. But they can fill a room with high-quality sound.
Best value: Bowers & Wilkins Z2 is the entry-level speaker from this respected audiophile brand. Its highly accurate sound pulls you into the music. It uses AirPlay technology to connect with Apple devices—but some smartphones and tablets do not support AirPlay and so won’t work wirelessly with the Z2. $400. 7.1″ x 12.6″ x 3.9″. Bowers-Wilkins.com
Bluetooth-compatible alternative: Cambridge Minx Air 200 delivers similarly robust sound as the Z2 and works with Bluetooth or AirPlay. But it’s pricier than the Z2. $499. 8.7″ x 17.7″ x 6.9″. CambridgeAudio.com
Best sound quality for a not-astronomical price: MartinLogan Crescendo offers stellar sound clarity, thanks in part to an innovative tweeter design. Its bass is excellent, and its elegant design looks more like art than electronics. The Crescendo can stream via either AirPlay or Bluetooth. It even has an optical digital input, so it can supplement a TV’s audio system. $900. 8.1″ x 25.7″ x 6.9″. MartinLogan.com/Crescendo
These expandable multispeaker systems let you listen to music seamlessly as you move from room to room.
Best value: Sonos, the original app-controlled multiroom wireless speaker system, still is the best option for most people. Sonos can play different songs in different rooms or the same song in several rooms so that you can walk from room to room without missing a note. The Sonos app is user friendly, and there is a wide range of Sonos speakers offered at different prices. The Play:5 provides excellent sound quality and is suitable for large rooms. The smaller Play:3 and Play:1 offer respectable sound quality but with less bass for lower prices. (Play:1 is a mono speaker that can be paired with another Play:1 speaker for stereo sound.) $399 for the Play:5, 8.5″ x 14.4″ x 4.8″. $299 for the Play:3, 5.2″ x 10.6″ x 6.3″. $199 apiece for the Play:1, 6.4″ x 4.7″ x 4.7″. Sonos.com
Best sound quality for a not-astronomical price: BlueSound is a lot like Sonos, but with truly elite, audiophile-level sound quality. It can even play high-resolution audio files—high-res audio includes more detail and nuance than other digital music files. $699 apiece for BlueSound Pulse speakers. 7.8″ x 16.5″ x 7.5″. Additional components are available as well. BlueSound.com
*All prices listed are best prices recently available from major retailers or direct from the maker.
