It’s very likely that one of your first purchases on the journey towards creating a modern Smart home will be a smart speaker. The feeling of being able to control the ambiance of a room from an app on your phone, or simply by telling your speaker what you want is incredible! It’s feels like you really are living in the future, and some of these smart speakers are truly futuristic. You can even order pizza using some of them! Now that’s a useful speaker!
But for the new-to-the-game, the sheer number of smart speakers along with all the different options can seem overwhelming. Never fear! We are here to help. We’ve reviewed our Best 7 Smart Speakers For The Home to help you navigate the hundreds of choices to find the very best fit for you and your home. The future is now. The future starts with a smart speaker.
#7.) Sonos Play:1 Compact Wireless Speaker
Sonos Play:1 is an amazing compact wireless speaker. One of the more expensive compact speakers on the market, but it does have a wealth of amazing features, and you won’t be disappointed by its performance. It is compact enough to fit on bookshelves, counters – anywhere small, really, so wherever you are, you can enjoy your music played through great speakers. Another super feature of this speaker is that is is connectable to Amazon Alexa , so if you are an Alexa home, you can hook up these speakers and enjoy the ease of being able to tell the speakers exactly what music you want.
You will be able to play different songs in different rooms at the same, or play one song in sync throughout the whole house. Imagine the parties with this speaker, the same music echoing through every room! Amazing! The wireless connectivity means you can stream all your favorite music services quickly and easily. These would be a great stereo pair of speakers, or as the rear speakers in a home cinema system. Technical wise, Sonos Play:1 has 2 Class D amplifiers and custom-built drivers , which are all attuned to the distinct acoustics of the speaker. Truespeaker Fine Tuning intelligently adjusts the sound of the music for the room that it is being played in. You can even enjoy your tunes in the shower, as this speaker is humidity resistan t! There is a free app that goes with the speakers to help you fully control your music experience. Importantly, these connect via Wi-Fi, not Bluetooth, so you are less likely to experience music drops or delays.
- Pros: amazing features, easy set up
- Cons: could be expensive to kit out a whole house, app can be buggy
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6.) ELEGIANT Super Bass Outdoor Portable Speaker
This compact Bluetooth speaker is a great personal speaker . You can use it anywhere: around the house, at the beach, camping, hiking or having fun poolside, as well as being able to easily put it in a backpack and enjoy great sounding music on the go. Imagine your pool party or BBQ with this speaker – it just looks right, doesn’t it? High-definition sound through high performance drivers and a passive subwoofer ensure crystal clear sound quality and strong bass. It has IPX4 water resistance rating, which makes it splash proof, giving you the confidence to use it around the pool or in the bathroom.
You can use the Bluetooth speakers as a speakerphone to free up your hands and it even has a built in microphone, and the rechargeable battery gives up to 8 hours of play time. Connect it to non-Bluetooth devices through the AUX port and included 3.5m aux cable, so your older devices don’t have to miss out!
- Pros: great sound quality, good construction
- Cons: water resistant doesn’t mean you can take it to the pool
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#5.) Amazon Echo
The quintessential smart speaker – Amazon have really cornered part of the market with this range of speakers. You can play all of your music, from all of your apps, just using your voice . What’s more, Echo also functions as a handsfree device, again, just using your voice, and you can also connect it to any other Echo devices in the house. With Echo, your room will be filled with 360° omni-directional music – and of course, you can play music simultaneously across all your Echo devices in distinct rooms. It also, unsurprisingly, connects to Amazon Alexa , so it can answer questions, read the news, control Amazon Fire TV – anything Alexa can do! AND it will control many of your other smart home devices, from your NEST thermostat to lights, fans and garage doors. It’s like having a Star Trek computer in your home, and we want one.
7 microphones ensure Echo can always pick up your voice, and the more you use it, the more it adapts to your voice and recognises your speech patterns . Additionally, you have the app to help you connect everything you need. If you get Echo, you’ll never want to go back!
- Pros: excellent connectivity, great for people with disabilities, amusing Easter eggs
- Cons: not portable: has to remain plugged in, could use an equalizer for improved sound.
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#4.) DOSS SoundBox Bluetooth Speaker
Back to portable speakers now, with this DOSS SoundBox Bluetooth speaker. This high-definition stereo speaker gives you impressive volume wherever you are, using 12W full stereo sound through dual high-performance drivers and a specially enhanced bass. Bluetooth 4.0 technology provides a great connection, and it automatically connects to the last device that used it. There is an impressive playback time with this device: up to 12 hours (at 75% volume) using the rechargeable Li-Ion 2200 mAh battery – and a super quick charge via micro USB of 3-4 hours. Consequently, this speaker is great for traveling or for day trips, and it even comes with its own drawstring travel bag! Additionally, this speaker uses capacitive touch control : you have fingertip control of the tracks, the volume and more. The attractive design of this speaker, plus all the mentioned features, make it a brilliant portable option.
- Pros: excellent touch controls, great price, balanced sound quality
- Cons: can get confused when paired with multiple devices, some distortion at the highest volume.
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#3.) COWIN DiDa with Amazon Alexa Bluetooth Speakers
If you’re looking for a speaker to pair with Amazon Alexa, but don’t have the budget for Echo or similar systems, then the COWIN DiDa be the speaker for you! These speakers are Amazon certified as compatible with Alexa , so you’re getting all those great features of being able to communicate via Alexa. Unlike speakers like Echo, you will have to press the microphone to communicate with her, not activate her by saying her name, but for the price reduction, this be an acceptable compromise! Sound wise, there are dual 7.5W acoustic drivers, and frequency response of 50Hz -.20 Hz , so you’ll experience loud, crystal clear audio, that fills the room with streaming music services, or music from your Bluetooth paired device. As these speakers are portable, they have a rechargeable battery with up to 9 hours of continuous playback , making it perfect for travel or parties. It has a connected COWIN app, so you can take control: connect it to your Wi-Fi and enjoy music throughout the home.
- Pros: impressive sound quality, Alexa connectivity at a more budget price,
- Cons: cannot run Bluetooth and Wi-Fi simultaneously, potential Wi-Fi security risk
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#2.) Archeer Bluetooth Speakers
These fabric covered speakers will look great in your home or office environment! The fabric design is scratch and damage resistant and is a personalized modern look. With dual 5W high performance drivers, and passive bass, you get 360° surround sound in great quality, with less than 1% harmonic distortion. The touch sensor panel uses capacitive touch technology for easy control of your tunes with a gentle touch of your finger, although this mode is only supported in Bluetooth mode, not when using the AUX mode. Speaking of Bluetooth, this connects via 4.1 Bluetooth technology , allowing you a wireless connection of up to 10m indoors, and as mentioned, it has a 3.5mm AUX jack for non-Bluetooth devices. The rechargeable battery allows up to 7 hours of playback from a single charge, so you can enjoy the high-quality sound anywhere. These are good speakers at a budget price!
- Pros: great volume for a small speaker, aesthetically pleasing
- Cons: bass is rather poor, touch controls can be unresponsive
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#1.) SAMSUNG LEVEL Box Mini Portable Bluetooth Speaker (EO-SG900)
The Samsung LEVEL Box mini is perfectly optimized for smart devices, giving you CD-like high quality stereo sound as well as strong bass : perfect for music and movies. This speaker has an attractive metallic design and you can even choose from a range of colors. A 3 colored LED button on the top of the speaker controls the power and also lets you know the state of the battery charge. Compact and slim , this speaker gives you the freedom and flexibility to enjoy music anywhere, at any time. The rechargeable battery gives up to 25 hours of nonstop playback or 1000 hours on standby , which is an amazing battery life – making this speaker worth it for that alone, especially if you want to use it out of the home, or whilst traveling. It connects easily through NFC Tag, or Bluetooth . The S-Voice function lets you know about your timetable, messages and alarms and there is a built in speaker phone function. The control buttons are easy and intuitive . This is an attractive and modern speaker, and we definitely want one for our outdoor summer parties next year!
- Pros: stylish, great charge
- Cons: not very loud
Buy on Amazon