Best Portable Bluetooth Speakers for Every Budget - 2025

Summary

In this video, Jasper from Jasper Tech delves into an extensive review of some of the most popular portable Bluetooth speakers available in 2025. He personally purchased and tested each speaker, emphasizing that personal preferences play a significant role in choosing the right one. The video is categorized into ultra-portable, mid-range, and boombox speakers, detailing their features, pros and cons, and sound quality. Jasper offers honest and unsponsored opinions alongside affiliate links and stresses the importance of buying from reputable brands to ensure quality and support.

Highlights

• Jasper provides honest, unsponsored reviews with affiliate links noted for transparency. 🎥
• He stresses personal preference in choosing speakers, considering aspects like sound quality, portability, and price. 🎧
• The video avoids sound tests due to potential distortion via recording mediums, giving subjective impressions instead. 🎙️
• Ultra-portable JBL Clip 4 and 5 offer waterproof features and compatibility with the JBL app for sound customization. 🌊
• Soundcore Select 4 is highlighted for its impressive value, small size, and stereo pairing capability. 💡
• Anchor's Soundcore Select 2s is lauded for performance and affordability, using the Soundcore app for enhanced features. 📱
• Marshall Emberton 2 delivers exceptional aesthetic and build, though its app lacks a detailed EQ, it's still a top choice. 🏆
• Bose SoundLink Flex combines aesthetic appeal with versatile functionality, including voice call capabilities. 📞
• The Beats Pill 2024 satisfies bass lovers but lacks app support for customizing EQ settings. 🔊
• JBL Boombox 3 is the powerhouse of the collection, perfect for outdoor gatherings with its phenomenal sound. 🚀

Key Takeaways

• Ultra-portable speakers like the JBL Clip series are great for hikes and days out, with varying features among models. 🔊
• The Soundcore Select 4 is a steal at $25, offering good sound and features for a low price. 💰
• Anchors Soundcore Select 2s provides solid performance with app support at a budget-friendly price. 📈
• In the premium category, the JBL Flip 6 and Bose SoundLink Flex are standout options for quality sound and features. 🎶
• The JBL Charge 5 offers robust performance with added portability, perfect for beach outings. 🏖️
• For extra power, the Soundcore Boom 2 and JBL Boombox 3 are hefty options for outdoor parties. 🎉
• Avoid unknown brands; stick with reputable ones for assurance in quality and support. ✔️

Overview

Jasper Tech's review of 2025's best portable Bluetooth speakers is an in-depth exploration of various models suited for different needs and budgets. He tests speakers from trusted brands, providing insights into what makes each unique. Viewers get a comprehensive look at the features, benefits, and drawbacks of ultra-portable to boombox-style speakers, tailored with no sponsorship bias.

The video is well-categorized into sections dealing with ultra-portable models like the JBL Clip 4/5 and budget-friendly options such as the Soundcore Select 4. Jasper discusses premium models, featuring the JBL Flip 6, Bose SoundLink Flex, and premium boomboxes like the JBL Boombox 3 with their hi-fi experiences. His insights reveal not just performance but also the subjective nature of what might be the 'best' speaker for different listeners.

Jasper emphasizes buying from reputable brands to ensure longevity and support while discussing lesser-known brands' potential pitfalls. His reviews strike a balance between technical specs and personal impressions, making it accessible for diverse audiences. For anyone in the market for a new Bluetooth speaker, this serves as a solid guide to navigating the myriad of available options in 2025.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 01:30: Introduction to Bluetooth Speakers In the introductory chapter titled 'Introduction to Bluetooth Speakers,' Jasper discusses his experience with a variety of popular Bluetooth speakers. After several weeks of testing, he has evaluated them to determine his personal preferences, acknowledging the subjective nature of such evaluations. Jasper emphasizes that while some speakers may appeal to him more than others, they all possess qualities that make them desirable, thereby underscoring the idea that the choice of a Bluetooth speaker ultimately depends on individual values and preferences.
• 01:30 - 04:30: Ultra Portable Category The chapter titled 'Ultra Portable Category' focuses on evaluating portable speakers based on various factors like sound quality, portability, and waterproof features. The speaker clarifies that the review is unbiased because they have purchased all the speakers themselves, with no sponsorship involved. Though there are affiliate links provided, the opinions expressed are personal and honest.
• 04:30 - 14:00: Premium Compact Category The chapter discusses the transparency of the content creator in monetizing their channel through affiliate links. They openly disclose earning a small commission at no cost to the viewer when purchases are made through provided links. The creator describes their channel as an ongoing experiment and acknowledges the uncertainty of its outcome. Additionally, the chapter explains the absence of listening tests in the video, as such tests often lead to confusion rather than clarity. This is due to the sound quality being altered by the microphone, YouTube compression, and playback, which do not accurately represent the speaker's sound. Therefore, the creator chooses to omit these tests and instead provide their own assessments.
• 14:00 - 18:00: Boom Boxes The "Boom Boxes" chapter discusses impressions and evaluations of ultra-portable speakers, specifically the JBL clip series. The speaker critiques the JBL Clip 3, noting its lack of USB-C, outdated Bluetooth version, and lower wattage at only three watts, despite its affordability, and ultimately advises against its purchase.
• 18:00 - 20:00: Indoor Oriented Speakers This chapter discusses the features of two models of JBL speakers, the Clip 4 and Clip 5. The Clip 5 speaker is highlighted for having a slightly higher power output of seven Watts compared to the Clip 4's five Watts. It also offers a longer projected battery life of 12 hours, whereas the Clip 4 provides 10 hours, both based on moderate volume usage. However, actual battery life can decrease with higher volumes. Both models are equipped with USB-C ports and are waterproof, with the added feature of being able to float. The Clip 5 is compatible with the JBL portable app, a distinction from the Clip 4. The speakers are pitched as capable for outdoor activities such as hiking, with Clip 5 lasting all day with moderate use.
• 20:00 - 21:30: Conclusion and Feedback Request In the conclusion and feedback request section, the speaker discusses the features of a particular JBL app, which includes EQ functionality for personalized sound tuning. The speaker also mentions the ability to pair the device with another JBL Clip 5 to create a stereo pair or to use Orac Cast for connecting it to other compatible JBL speakers for synchronized playback. The speaker advises that if these features are not necessary for the user, the Clip 4 is also a great option with good sound quality. However, the speaker does not recommend the two models discussed, citing a lack of value for performance.

Best Portable Bluetooth Speakers for Every Budget - 2025 Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 hey it's Jasper and today we're talking about Bluetooth speakers you can see I have quite the impressive selection of speakers here and I've been using these over the last few weeks to decide which ones I'd keep and which ones I'd pass on and ultimately I've made this really hard to myself because these are all some of the most popular speakers available today and there's really not a bad speaker on this table there just are some that I happen to like more than others so we're going to be getting into that and it's obvious but I figured it has to be stated uh there's no one right answer here some people are going to Value different things than others some
• 00:30 - 01:00 are going to really care about sound quality others going to care about portability waterproof does it float does it weigh a ton there's a bunch of different factors to consider so I'm going to be talking about that in the video as well um before we get into this a few quick things first I paid for all these speakers with my own money yes I'm a little crazy uh but that also means that I don't have a horse Lim this race there's no sponsorship so basically whatever I think sounds the best or makes the most sense is what I'm going to say obviously it's just my opinion so do with that what you will uh but on that note yes there are affiliate links in the description below so if you use
• 01:00 - 01:30 those links to make a purchase I get a small commission at no cost to you just want to be super transparent about that um and ultimately that's how I'm hoping to make this channel work we'll see how it all pans out it's just a big experiment uh and then finally there's no listening test in this video my personal experience is listening tests often lead to more confusion than Clarity Because by the time a microphone's picked up the sound piped it to YouTube it's gotten compressed it gets played back it usually isn't an accurate representation of how the speakers actually vary so I'm skipping all that I'm just going to give you my
• 01:30 - 02:00 overall Impressions and kind of talk about what I like and what I don't like all right enough of all that let's get into it the first category I want to talk about is this Ultra portable category that you can see here uh and the first one let's talk about is the JBL clip speaker so I have the clip five the clip four and the clip three first the clip 3 is out doesn't have USBC it's got an old version of Bluetooth it's only three Watts yes it gets Prett quite cheap but I just can't really recommend it at this
• 02:00 - 02:30 time uh but the four and the five are both very compelling uh the five has seven Watts the four has five Watts the five has 12 hours of battery life the four has 10 hours of battery life and that's like projected battery life based on moderate speaker volume if you turn the volume up more you're going to get a lot worse battery life than that and that applies to basically all these speakers but I can say from personal experience you want to take this thing on a hike or something like that it'll last all day and you'll be good they both have USBC they're both waterproof they both float the other difference is the clip 5 connects to the JBL portable
• 02:30 - 03:00 app which allows you to then use the EQ functionality so you can tune its sound to your preferences as well as then you can pair it to another JPL clip 5 and then you get a stereo pair or you can use orac cast and connect it to other compatible JBL speakers and then they all play uh synchronized which is a pretty cool feature if you don't need all that just get the clip 4 it's a great speaker as well and it sounds quite good uh I can't recommend these two just because I don't think they have the value to Performance that I think
• 03:00 - 03:30 makes sense the one that I can recommend though is this one so this is the sound core select 4 go it's a very new speaker and the most impressive thing about it is its price it cost $25 and it sometimes goes on sale and it works with the sound core app which means you get a full EQ you can make a stereo pair and it's just a pretty like solid all-around speaker it sounds good for what it is it's a very small speaker so you can't like expect too much out of it but I definitely think it holds its own versus you know some of these speakers and for for 50 bucks you get a stereo pair
• 03:30 - 04:00 that's going to be hard to beat uh what else can I say about it it does feel pretty durable it's waterproof it floats it has this handy little dongle here and charges via USBC um I think this will be a very popular speaker and ultimately I'm a pretty big fan of sound core because I think they've got good support so um yeah I'm optimistic about this one my experience I'm quite impressed with it there are two other speakers that I want to quickly touch on that I know are quite popular so this is the anchor sound core select 2s as well as the
• 04:00 - 04:30 original sound Core 2 uh these speakers are quite cheap I think this is around 40 to 30 bucks and this one's similar price this one's much newer it just came out uh and I can't recommend the two it does have USBC and it's 12 Watts but it just doesn't sound particularly good it's a little tiny and yeah I'm just not an overall fan especially relative to the select 2s uh this one it's waterproof charges USBC it uses the anchor sound core app so then you can have a full EQ you can make a stereo pair
• 04:30 - 05:00 and this is 20 watts it sounds pretty good especially considering its price it can't hold a candle to like any of these speakers like the flip 6 or the Beats pill but at its price I'm pretty impressed and yeah it's sound core so you're going to have some decent product support if you need it uh the other thing I'll say and you probably noticed this I really don't recommend buying from unknown or like Chapo Depo brand if you will uh those just I worry that they're not going to have product support or be around for you if you have any problems so you might see some really kind of compelling speakers out there that look great on paper I just
• 05:00 - 05:30 worry so uh they don't get my stamp of approval if you want to give them a try and leave them a comment let me know if how they go but I recommend buying from reputable Brands all right enough of this let's go on the next one the next category of speakers I want to talk about is probably the most popular category and that's this like premium good sounding still compact category so we have the Beats Pill we have the Marshall emberton 2 we have the JBL Flip 6 we have the Wonder boom 4 as well as the Bose sound link flag
• 05:30 - 06:00 these are all excellent speakers and I'm not going to be able to say like definitely don't get one or the other they just kind of all have their own pros and cons and trade-offs uh so yeah let's get into it let's talk about the Marshall emberton 2 uh this speaker is widely popular and I can see why uh first it's Aesthetics right it looks like an old school amplifier and it's built really well uh I think it's a very handsome speaker in general this is real metal Grill and it's wrapped in this kind of false leather silicon like wrap that also just feels really durable and
• 06:00 - 06:30 it has a really nice intuitive control mechanism where it's this little toggle where you up and down is for volume up and down and then left and right is for forward and backward on a song and you push it in to play pause uh plus it has an actual battery meter over here which again is very appreciated and actually none of these other speakers have that so I'm a fan of that and then the thing that matters most for many of these speakers is the sound quality and I'm happy to report the speaker does sound excellent it has two drivers one on the front one on the back they're both 10
• 06:30 - 07:00 watts and it sounds really really good really really clear it doesn't have like thumping bass unlike some of the other ones hello there beats uh but it is quite neutral and quite accurate at least for a Bluetooth speaker so I've got respect for it there one of the drawbacks though of the speaker is also one of the pros which is the layout of its speakers because it has a speaker on the front and a speaker on the back it means if you put it up against a wall you're going to have one side of it just shooting into the wall and causing all sorts of weird Reflections and it's going to sound kind of funky
• 07:00 - 07:30 so you got to ask yourself where are you going to use this thing if you're going to put it in the middle of a room heck yeah it's going to sound great if you're going to put it up against a wall I might have some reservations uh another kind of drawback on the speaker is the mobile app unfortunately the app is just not super fully featured it does two things one it allows you to create a stereo pair so if you have another one you can do that and then two it allows you to toggle between three different like EQ modes which I'm frustrated by because I really wish there was like a full band EQ in there you could manually
• 07:30 - 08:00 address adjust the different frequencies no such thing and for a speaker that costs around $140 or so it does sometimes go on sale but that's still just a lot of money and I'm frustrated that it doesn't have all the functionality You' expect all things considered I really like the speaker uh the last note I have on it is about battery life they claim 30 hours and from my experience I think you be lucky to get half that uh I've seen other people report similar things too 15 hours is still great uh but just it's
• 08:00 - 08:30 not 30 and I'm a little bit frustrated that they're so kind of uh inaccurate about that but say lovey it's a great speaker and I can understand why people get it that being said uh there's a few other options that I think I might like more so let's talk about those one of the speakers that surprise me by how much I like it is the Bose sound link Flex the Gen 2 specifically uh the Gen 2 has an updated control panel on the top uh as well as an updated version of Bluetooth which I think should allow it to be have a little bit better connectivity but apart from that I think they're very similar uh and what I like
• 08:30 - 09:00 about it is a it's aesthetic it's just super minimalist it comes in a few different colors and it would look at home on a bookshelf in your house rather than some of these other speakers that look like they definitely belong out on the beach or volleyball court so i' like it for that then it also like it for its sound profile it's quite neutral out of the box but in the Bose app it has a very basic Three band EQ that allows you to like up the base and make it kind of have a little bit more power and after you do that I think it sounds phenomenal uh especially for it size and weight and
• 09:00 - 09:30 the other thing I like about it is it's quite versatile you can set it down on its little feet on the bottom or you can put it on its back and it has this thing called position IQ which basically means when it detects on its back it UPS the treble a little bit to make it kind of fill the room better it's a bit of a gimmick But ultimately I think it just sounds really really good uh it also has a microphone which makes it a bit unique uh so you can use it for like voice calls or whatnot um it also floats it's waterproof has USBC uh and overall it's just a really kind of compelling option
• 09:30 - 10:00 the only downside here is for something that you think you might use around your house you might like to see an oxen doesn't have that it really only has Bluetooth but uh I'm a big fan of the speaker and I think from a sound perspective I prefer it over the Marshall just because it's more tunable in the EQ and I think it sounds pretty darn excellent so Props to boats for this one back in 2012 beats released their very first pill and now many years later they've come up with the latest 2024 pill and I was so excited to test it
• 10:00 - 10:30 and I'm relatively disappointed and it's not because it's a bad sounding speaker when I first listened to it under like normal circumstances at like 30 40% volume I was overall pretty impressed the base on it is really amazing given its size and I was excited so I turned it up a little bit more and as I turned it up the highs just got a little bit shrill for me the Basse kind of felt unbalanced so I was like okay I should make some adjustments in the EQ and we'll sort that all out so what did I do I went in the App Store I downloaded the beach pill app by Apple I tried to to connect no good didn't connect so I was
• 10:30 - 11:00 confused I did some research and I realized that okay this one isn't compatible with that app that app was last updated 5 years ago fine uh in order to do uh any adjustments you've got to go into bluetooth settings find the device tap the eye and Away you go so I go in there and guess what there's still no EQ this just doesn't have an EQ and for $150 speaker that blows my mind especially one that's made by beats which is owned by Apple one of the world's most valuable companies you would expect them to just be crushing it and and sadly they're not so I'm
• 11:00 - 11:30 disappointed there um and then the other part of the speaker that I don't know I'm impressed by on someand and frustrated by others uh it has a USBC input which is normal but that does support reverse charging which is cool and then it also weirdly supports USB audio input so you can actually use this as like a desktop computer speaker and I actually think for that use case it's kind of compelling it's like a little Soundbar that sits below your monitor that has surprisingly good base uh and it's got USB input so digital input so that's cool I like that uh it also does
• 11:30 - 12:00 have a microphone so you can use it to trigger your voice assistant uh so overall I want to like it uh you can also do a stereo pair with it which is cool and then it like definitely outshines like homepod minis it's like overall a good sound if you like its sound profile and you can kind of put up with its shrill highs and its kind of unbalanced base if you don't like it sound profile you're just out of luck and with that I can't really recommend it but go listen to when for your yourself see if you like it if you do
• 12:00 - 12:30 it's a decently compelling option a speaker that's kind of in a category of its own here is the Ultimate Ears Wonder boom 4 uh I say it's in its own category because it's pretty Compact and it's almost in like the clip five category but it also is like a 100 bucks or maybe sometimes it goes on sale for a bit less uh so it's in a bit of this no man's land but honestly I really like it it's really pable really compact I kind of want that toss it and it sounds just really good uh it has multiple speakers in here so it has kind of this 360 sound which makes it really smart for like the
• 12:30 - 13:00 beach setting uh it doesn't have an app or an EQ but it does have some different modes you can adjust on the bottom of it so it has like a podcast mode for focusing on vocals as well as another mode for outdoor use that I think cuts the base and then UPS the treble it has a stated 14-hour battery life which again you're not going to get that but you should get a full day out of it at like reasonable volumes uh it charges with USBC it's 8 and 1 12 Watts it gets pretty loud and yes you can do a stereo pair with it as well so ultimately I really like the speaker it's a little
• 13:00 - 13:30 pricey but if you're looking for something that's kind of compact but sounds good this is definitely a solid option if I had to recommend one speaker on this table that I think would make the most sense for the most people it would probably be the JBL Flip 6 this speaker is just a great package it sounds great it gets loud it has pretty solid base it has solid battery life and the price is right I think it starts around $100 but then it often goes on sale it comes in a few different colors uh and yeah I'm a really really really big fan its base is there and quite
• 13:30 - 14:00 prominent but it's not overwhelming it does connect to the JBL portable app so it means you have a full EQ you can also pair it to another one to get stereo sound it's got 12 hours battery life you're probably going to get around nine out of it or something but still definitely good enough for a day at the beach and it is just a really solid all-around package JBL mix quality products they're known kind of in the space to be one of the best and the flip 6 I think is one of the best speakers that they make uh if you do want more there's another option so let's talk
• 14:00 - 14:30 about that the bigger brother to the flip 6 is the JBL Charge 5 this has a 30 wat driver and a 10 watt Tweeter it definitely just gets way louder and it has more pronounced Bas I think the flip 6 has better like mids and it's just a little bit better for clarity and overall kind of sound quality but this doesn't mean this is a bad speaker I still think it sounds great uh and it can make a lot of sense if you want to have something that's just like more casual you bring to the beach you turn it up it has a longer battery life as well it stated at 20 hours and it can reverse charge other devices so another
• 14:30 - 15:00 nice handy feature again it's waterproof it connects to the JBL app it has an equalizer you can make a stereo pair all those good things um so between the flip six and the charge 5 I don't think you can go wrong either way it just depends do you want slightly higher sound quality and more portability or do you want something that's a little bit bigger and heavier that has better Bas either way great options now we're going to talk about boom boxes and the first one we're going to touch on is the sound core boom 2 this cost about 130 bucks
• 15:00 - 15:30 and sometimes it goes on sale for less and for that money you get a lot of speaker it's 80 Watts it has one big woofer in the middle and then two little tweeters on either side uh it can charge other devices it floats it's waterproof uh you can make it a stereo pair if you buy another one and then it does have the full equalizer in the sound core app and from a sound quality perspective it's pretty good it's like respectable um you know it's not the most high-fi s system ever it's not going to knock the this Bose off its throne but for a casual speaker that you bring to the
• 15:30 - 16:00 beach and you just kind of enjoy I think this is a really solid option uh it also has a mic so for whatever reason you want to take some calls from the beach you can um all things considered I think this is a great option if you're looking for something that's cheap loud and can last all day uh can't really go wrong with this if you're like Jasper that thing sounds great but you know what I want more I want to be an absolute Menace when I'm outside then you have a few options sound core also makes a boom to plus that I think's 100 40 watts and
• 16:00 - 16:30 I think it costs around $250 or so but definitely goes on sale sometimes and that thing I've also heard sounds great people seem to absolutely love it I haven't personally tried it but uh I'm pretty sure based on my experience with other soundcore products it's going to be a pretty solid value for money option uh so that's one thing to consider and then if you want to go even more extreme you have the JBL boom box 3 this thing costs $500 and is an absolute Beast it has 180 Watts it's got one full subwoofer two
• 16:30 - 17:00 drivers and two tweeters uh and it weighs 16 lbs so you definitely have to pay to play here because you're going to be lugging this thing out to the beach and it's not that fun to carry but you do get rewarded for that weight it does sound pretty darn phenomenal like I'm genuinely impressed at how good this thing sounds like it's not just really loud it's just have really impressive bass which yes both those things are true but it actually just like sounds genuinely good and of of course it does connect to the JBL app so then you can
• 17:00 - 17:30 use the equalizer to tune it to your preferences as well and if you want to buy another one for another 500 to be $1,000 in then you can get a stereo pair and that will work as well so ultimately I'm just glad that JBL made this thing it is uh an impressive feat of engineering and if nothing else it's like a really amusing speaker uh and yeah if you really want a loud system to go for like outside parties or something like that this is definitely the speaker for you oh yeah and it's water proof and it can charge other devices like it's
• 17:30 - 18:00 basically one of these mini JBL speakers just like turned up to 11 so um definitely a solid option so we've covered some boom boxes that are clearly outdoor oriented and there's two speakers that I want to touch on before we close this out that I think are really solid options for like inside oriented that are versatile enough to be taken outside occasionally the first one is the Bose sound link Max this is a very simple speaker it doesn't have any Wi-Fi or AirPlay or anything fancy like that it is literally a Bluetooth speaker that also happens to have a 3.5mm oxen
• 18:00 - 18:30 and then you can connect to it via the Bose app and it has a three band equalizer there's not much to it but the good news is at what it does do it does really well I think it sounds great out of the box and is tunable and it is just a very simple very elegant speaker that I think would look at home on any sort of shelf in your bedroom as well as in the backyard with a barbecue and yeah if it gets rained on or gets dropped it will survive it's definitely not cheap you know retail for 400 it does go on
• 18:30 - 19:00 tail sometimes to around 300 but it's probably going to last a long time it's made by a refill company and yeah I've got a decent amount of respect for this one so good work Bose last but not least is the Sonos move to we talked about how kind of elegant and simple the bow sound links Max wise well the Sonos move 2 is kind of complex and sophisticated and I say that because first it has Wi-Fi uh so that means it has AirPlay 2 it has Spotify connect it has title connect you can use it with the Sonos app uh so that
• 19:00 - 19:30 in one area is quite impressive and very sophisticated and then it also has microphones built into it and it has this true play Connect or true play technology where it will listen to itself and make sure that it's actually uh sounding as expected and will adjust itself according to the environment that it's in that's another pretty cool feature and if you're in the Sonos ecosystem I think this can make perfect sense for you you can move it around your house yes it's got basic waterproof as well uh and ultimately it's just a good sounding speaker it's stereo not mono like the earlier Sonos is and it's
• 19:30 - 20:00 kind of similar to the euro one Euro 100 Sonos speaker in terms of like sound quality uh it's not cheap at around $450 or so so like it's a lot of money for a wireless speaker but uh I think it makes sense for those sonus users that are looking for something that's a little bit more flexible than their traditional speakers okay that was a lot of speakers potentially too many speakers I just couldn't help myself and I was picking speakers for this video I just kept on adding one more one more and then
• 20:00 - 20:30 eventually I landed here but hopefully you found this helpful uh if you have any constructive feedback uh please leave it in the comments below I'm always open ears to hearing how I can do things better or if you have any questions about any of these feel free leave a question I'll do my best to respond when I can um and yeah like I said any support if you think I did a good job a like a comment a subscription all of that goes a really long way all right I'll see you on the next one