A speaker will usually have an IP rating that refers to its level of dust and water resistance. The higher the number, the more resistant it is. While the first ‘x’ refers to its dust resistance, the second ‘x’ refers to its water resistance. That means that an IPX5 rating means that a product hasn’t been rated for dust resistance, while an IP66 rating means that a product is completely protected against dust and is extremely water-resistant.

The best waterproof Bluetooth speaker, made for the road. The Sonictrek Go XL goes wherever your trek takes you. Fully waterproof with an ultra-durable sealed design in a powerful omnidirectional tower format. You’re a frequent beachgoer: The Scene’s IPX7 rating means it’s at risk to fine particles, like sand, so it's not great for the beach. LED lights: LED lights let you easily locate your speaker in the dark, as well as create ambiance when you’re throwing a party or trying to set a mood.

Almost identical to the original A1, the Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 (2nd Gen) is an attractive and highly portable Bluetooth speaker that comes with (admittedly flawed) Alexa support without the need for Wi-Fi. USB-C charging would have been nice, considering we are in 2023, but a 14 hours battery life at least means you won't need to be reaching for the charging cable too often.

There’s sadly no in-built microphone, which means you can’t use the XO3 for calls or voice assistant activation, and we’d have liked the option to use the X03 as a power bank, but those minor issues don’t prevent this attractive speaker from looking and sounding the part in just about any modern living space. We put the Sonos Move through its paces with a range of songs, musical styles, and in a variety of different locations. What's always clear is that the Sonos Move manages what few other Bluetooth speakers can –tight and punchy bass, shimmering highs and a vocals that cut through it all with direct clarity. Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test. Feature-rich, but does not excel in any one are. Of note are the options to use voice commands, and pair two SoundLink speakers together for double the output. That said, controls are difficult to operate, and voice commands fail to register more often than not. Should you have a home with Bose technology, the SoundLink is compatible with the Bose Smart Home family.

Customer Testimonials

You want Wi-Fi connectivity: Unlike the Sonos Roam, there’s no option to hook the Flip 6 up to your home network for higher quality music streaming. We test countless portable speakers every year at TechRadar, and that means we know exactly which features and specs to look out for.It's important for us to compare the performance of these speakers against the specs claimed by their manufacturers, which is why we take the time to make sure the battery life and connectivity is as good as the brands say they are. If you're looking for a speaker to toss in a bag or clip to a bike, you'll find it hard to get a better speaker for such a low price. It's superb, and its flaws are very minor – only that there's no wired connection, really.

You need Wi-Fi connectivity: You only get Bluetooth support with the Hyperboom, so look elsewhere for a wireless speaker that hooks up to your home network. Were you seriously expecting to read a list of the best waterproof speakers and not find at least one JBL product along the way? The American brand's love of rugged, dependable hardware is reflected in its great portable speakers range, making it practically synonymous with the entire concept of hardwearing outdoorsy audio. Updated lead image, added 'buy it if' boxouts to product write-ups and swapped out the Sonos Move for the Move 2 as the best premium Bluetooth speaker. You want to charge your phone: Unlike the JBL Charge 5, the Flip 6 won’t be able to top up your phone’s battery. The Sonos Roam comes with both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, which means it can work as aportable speakeras well as part of your wider multi-room Sonos system – and with Google Assistantand Alexa onboard (when you're on Wi-Fi), it doubles up asmart speakertoo.Outside of evaluating the audio performance of every waterproof speaker, we also test features like battery life, water resistance, Bluetooth connection strength, ease of use and set-up, among other things – including whether it's as rugged as it is claimed to be. It's important we get a full sense of both a product's practicality as well as its performance to gauge its overall value. The Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 is undoubtedly the best cheap Bluetooth speaker on this list, combining good sound with an ultraportable design and effective 360-degree audio. It's just a straight-up Bluetooth speaker but you can pair two of them together either in stereo or dual mono.Clearly meant to be taken to wherever the party is, it's also fully waterproof – in fact, it even floats. Being IP57 rated, it's also well protected against grit, saltwater, dust and beach-side sand, so long as you keep the USB charger cover in place. You want huge sound quality: It's a small speaker for a low price, don't expect big volume and class-leading detail. On the audio front, the Emberton II is well-equipped. It has full-range drivers and passive radiators, which should result in well-balanced sound, and since it’s multi-directional, it will give you that 360-degree surround sound effect.

The Tribit Stormbox Blast is an unusual speaker and there are a few things you need to know before you consider it: it's quite heavy and you can't turn those lights off completely –although you can make it so they only pop up when you're switching the volume levels. The Ultimate Ears Hyperboom is a powerful speaker that will deliver a party atmosphere, both indoors and outdoors. Its Ultimate Ears' largest Bluetooth speaker to date, but stays in keeping with the company's stylish designs, and adds two Bluetooth radios so you can switch seamlessly between two phones. First and foremost is the sheer scale of sound that emanates from such a small body. Sound is also spacious and served up with generous levels of bass. It's a remarkable performance and one that will keep everyone entertained when out and about.Durability is improved, too, with an IP67 water and dust proofing over the waterproof-only IPX7-rated Flip 5. Not only can you get the Flip 6 wet at the beach, but you can also afford to allow quite a bit of sand to get near it as well. Wireless speakers use Wi-Fi as their primary form of connection, with Bluetooth connectivity often a welcome extra. We’ve included a couple of these on the list below, but you’ll want to head over to our roundup of the best wireless speakers for a more extensive list of options. What are Bluetooth codecs and which should you look out for? Like its predecessor, the Flip 6 supports Bluetooth 5.1, the cutting-edge version of the wireless standard. JBL says it gets 12 hours of battery life per charge. The Flip 6 is tube-shaped and measures seven inches long, and roughly 2.7 wide and deep. This speaker has earned an IPX7 durability rating, which means it’s totally dust-proof and can be totally submerged under up to one meter of water for up to 30 minutes.