Parties and Bluetooth speakers seem made for each other!
The wireless convenience, the big, booming, dynamic sound, the toughness and coolness of the best Bluetooth speakers make them a perfect choice for all kinds of parties, and the fact that they can be quite affordable means you can spend even more money on beer and bean dip.
But how can you find the best Bluetooth speakers? How, for that matter, can you find the best bean dip? We’ll leave the second one to you, but we’re here to help you find and buy the perfect wireless speakers for you and your party, in this 2023 buyer’s guide to the best Bluetooth party speakers.
We’ll talk a little about what to look for in a great Bluetooth speaker system for parties – and not just for parties – and what companies make the best ones, and then we’ll offer our choices for the best of the best, from premium to super-affordable.
But if you still need to hang the streamers and blow up balloons before your guests arrive, and don’t have time for all of that, here are our top picks:
- Best Bluetooth Party Speaker Overall: Marshall Woburn II Wireless Bluetooth Speaker
- Our Favorite Bluetooth Party Speaker: JBL Xtreme 3 IP67 Waterproof Portable Bluetooth Speaker
- Best Affordable Bluetooth Speaker for Parties: Anker Soundcore Boost IPX7 Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker
What Should You Look For in the Best Bluetooth Speakers for Parties?
We here at Speakergy are all about the latest technology, the best and most intelligent product design, material quality, and long-term reliability, all of that…
But to be clear, in this particular case our number one priority is a big, bold, fun sound!
We want our Bluetooth party speakers to be loud, clear, and exciting to hear, with a sound quality that is fun and tons of dynamic energy to get people up and dancing. We want slamming deep bass, warm and engaging mids, and shimmering highs with plenty of detail and beauty and never even a hint of harshness.
Of course, we won’t disregard that other stuff, and in fact, will consider it as being not just nice to have in choosing a great wireless speaker for parties, but in fact indispensable. So let’s put together a little list of the most important factors in choosing the perfect party speaker.
Sound Quality – loud, dynamic, fun, and exciting, with clarity and musicality and tons of energy
Durability – best party speaker should probably be waterproof or at least splash and spill-proof, and be tough enough to take a little abuse and keep going
Bluetooth Connection and Overall Reliability – you definitely don’t want to have connection issues, or breaks in the music, when things are really going, and it would be nice if a speaker would last for not just many parties, but many years
Battery Life – ‘cause we’re just getting started, and dawn’s hours off yet!
Ease of Use – depending on how hard you party, a speaker’s controls may become more and more difficult to figure out as the night progresses, but even in the sober light of day an intelligent design and layout and an easy user interface are nice to have
Usability – here we mean, as differentiated from the ease of use, features like being able to access smart assistants, plug in other sources, easily and quickly recharge, and speakers that include things like, in one case, an FM radio and in another much more important case, a built-in bottle opener.
The best party speakers will not just sound big and bold, and get people dancing and having a great time, but will also make great speakers for general use, and may well become trusted companions that we love to use and love to listen to every day.
Who Makes the Best Bluetooth Speakers for Parties?
Here we may deviate from so many other buyer’s guides out there, in that we are not particularly wowed by flashy lights or bright colors, or for that matter big size or outlandish printed specifications about power output and frequency response.
In fact, again and again, we have realized that even smaller speakers that are well designed, and have high-quality amplifiers and speaker drivers, will not just sound better than bigger and more flashy products, but will have deeper and better bass and play louder and cleaner – even if their published specifications are a lot more modest and conservative.
So we are really happy to recommend speakers that do the most important things – blast tunes with power and intensity and get your guests laughing, listening, and moving to the beat – and ones that will sound as good after a few hours – or after a few years – as they do at the beginning of the party.
This means we tend to stay with brands and manufacturers we, as well as the industry and the majority of savvy customers, know and trust, like Ultimate Ears, Marshall, JBL, and Bose, as well as a couple of smaller brands that we know from personal experience make really special products.
And we will even recommend one Bluetooth party speaker that, despite my earlier protestations, did in fact wow us with its flashy lights and colors!
But again, we don’t just want the ultimate party speaker. Well, we do, of course, and that’s why we’re here, but we also want one that will last and last and that we will use and love to listen to all of the rest of the time (ok, maybe not the next morning…).
So yeah, we could have simply called this article The Best Bluetooth Speakers, and left it at that, but every single recommendation we will make here is at its heart a true party animal, happy to answer your phone, play your Mozart or sing you to sleep, but really just waiting for the next big blowout.
The Best Bluetooth Speakers for Parties in 2024
Best Bluetooth Party Speaker Overall
It is kind of fun to see people’s reactions to the Ultimate Ears Hyperboom – it is not an especially large speaker, at just over a foot tall, but puts out such an amazingly big sound, with deep, powerful bass, tons of power and room-filling projection, that people are always looking for the subwoofers and the rest of the speakers.
But no, it’s all the Hyperboom. Ultimate Ears talks about how you can chain two, three, or four Hyperbooms together for even bigger sound – I’ve heard two together, and it is definitely just awesome! – but really just a single Hyperboom will blow you, and your party, away.
But it’s not just about power and bass. Well, it can be, because they are pretty overwhelming, but this is actually quite an accurate and musical speaker for all its brute strength.
We’ve all been to parties where the speakers are not just loud, but so harsh and bright that listening is instantly unpleasant, and almost unbearable over time. But the rich, warm, low distortion sound the Hyperboom delivers, from the deepest bass to the highest highs, makes them sound beautiful even at the highest volumes.
All the tech is in place as well – Bluetooth 5.0, great battery life, a smart and functional one-touch music control, an intelligent active adjustment that tailors the sound based on the room’s acoustics, IXP4 splash-proof rating, a great app and equalizer, and wired analog inputs in addition to wireless.
A heavy, over-built speaker that is loud, clear and so much fun to listen to, brilliantly designed and technologically talented, durable, and nicely party-proofed, the Ultimate Ears Hyperboom is part premium audiophile home speaker and part brute party beast. It’s not the cheapest Bluetooth speaker out there, but there’s no doubt in our minds that it is one of the best values on the market today and the ultimate Bluetooth party speaker.
Best Bluetooth Party Speaker – Premium
Many people think of the Marshall Woburn II Bluetooth speaker as one of the finest – if not the finest – wireless speakers for the home, with plenty of power for even bigger spaces and an amazingly realistic, warm, and rich sound quality that can only come from Marshall.
But what really comes from Marshall, and always has, is rock and roll. And if you understand this, you can really appreciate just how amazing the Woburn II is as a party speaker.
The two woofers and two tweeters are all individually powered, with 110 watts of true, high current class D power total, and the sound is amazingly dynamic, loud, and clear, with presence and energy that has to be experienced to be believed.
Listen to the Woburn II with Bach or Mozart and you can understand just how accurate and refined this audiophile-grade wireless speaker system is, but listen to some rock, some electronica, or some hip hop really loud and you will know where the speaker’s heart truly lies.
Deep, powerful bass with an absolute slam, clean and clear highs that are nicely extended, sweet and detailed but never harsh or distorted, and mids and vocal reproduction so present and palpable, so accurate and realistic, that you can vividly and thrillingly hear Marshall’s 60 years of experience with live sound systems and guitar amps.
If there is any caveat here, it’s that the Marshall Woburn II doesn’t offer the last word in water resistance (or, by extension, beer resistance). This is, to be sure, a heavy-duty, overbuilt speaker system that might actually offer a lifetime of use, but not if too many drinks get spilled on it – and with sound this exciting and energetic, people will get going!
That said, for volume, clarity, dynamic and compelling musical energy, rich and beautiful analog sound, and sheer quality in every regard, this is an amazing speaker system for any and all uses, any and all kinds of music, and an easy choice for the best premium level Bluetooth speaker for parties.
Our Favorite Bluetooth Party Speaker
If you’re throwing a pool party, if you live in Seattle, or if you simply don’t want to nervously follow your guests around with a bar towel, a waterproof speaker is a great idea.
And the best, most powerful, and exciting sounding waterproof Bluetooth speaker we’ve ever heard is the JBL Xtreme.
Maybe even more than with their wonderful headphones, or their often quite superb standard stereo and home theater loudspeakers, JBL has in recent years built a reputation for making the toughest and best sounding Bluetooth speakers on the market, with a punchy and dynamic quality that just screams JBL, but also with accuracy and refinement, and a sweet, low distortion sound that allows for hours of listening to even very high volumes.
And this has never been more true than with the brilliant Xtreme 3, which has incredibly deep and powerful bass for its size – well, really for any size – and dynamic energy and excitement that are sure to get people up and dancing.
The four active speaker drivers and two deep bass radiators not only deliver solid low end, but a smooth and natural sound, with plenty of detail and dynamic life, up to the highest frequencies, and a project that sounds into any space with real effectiveness and ease.
JBL has always been great at keeping their products updated, with new technology and with improved sound, and this third-generation Xtreme is markedly better than the already highly successful first and second iterations – more volume and dynamic energy, sweeter overall sound, and less distortion, Bluetooth 5.1, great battery life and, most important of all, a built-in bottle opener.
Just kidding – the most important thing is the sound, which in its clear, detailed projection, deep bass, and intense energy is perfect for a party. Not even the top of the JBL line, this waterproof, rugged, well-designed Xtreme 3 is our favorite, and one of the most fun and powerful speakers we’ve ever heard.
Best Bluetooth Speaker for Parties – Mid-Priced
Is the Ultimate Ears Hyperboom a tad bit too powerful for you? It’s ok, you can admit it – we’re all friends here.
Or, more likely, is it a tad bit too pricey? Yeah, sure, even at almost five bills the Hyperboom is a great value, but the value is in the wallet of the beholder, and the Ultimate Ears Megaboom 3 is just a little more than a third price and is nearly as powerful and exciting to listen to.
The more affordable Megaboom is actually a bit tougher than its posh line-mate, with a full IP67 waterproof rating – you can not only have a pool party but an underwater party! – and shock-proof, drop-proof construction as well.
And despite its fairly small size, and fairly low price, the Megaboom has awesome bass – again, not as apocalyptic, perhaps, as the Hyper, but far deeper and more solid than anything else we’ve heard in this range – and fast, detailed and accurate to boot.
The mids and highs are also detailed and especially with low distortion, and even at high volumes sound sweet and musical. Most importantly to the party crowd, the upper frequencies share that same musical energy and excitement that makes the Megaboom’s bass so special.
With great Bluetooth range, long battery life, a smart and easy to use design, extreme toughness, and waterproofing, and that loud, dynamic, clear, and clean sound, the Ultimate Ears Megaboom 3 is an amazing Bluetooth speaker for parties, and one you will probably end up using all the time – party or no – and for many years to come.
Best Mid-Priced Bluetooth Party Speaker
With the JBL Flip 6, we are getting into a much lower price level – well under 150 dollars – and yet we still find an incredibly tough, fully waterproof speaker with intensely fun, dynamic sound and deep, powerful bass.
It’s hard to imagine that a speaker so compact, and so affordable, can move so much air, but the Flip 6 definitely does, with bass that’s intense and extended, and is an especially great performer with electronica, hip hop, rock, metal and all kinds of dance music – it will really get people moving, and keep the energy of any party high!
The Flip 6’s smart design projects sound into any space very nice and are great for even larger parties and open spaces, but you can always pair two or more of them together for an even bigger, louder sound and larger spaces. But really, even one is loud and proud, with tremendous energy and detail, and a nice clear and unstrained sound even at high volumes.
The latest generation of one of the most successful, popular, and highly rated Bluetooth speaker lines ever, the 6 is all up to date, with an impressive 12 hours battery life, Bluetooth 5.1, a nicer look, and better sound than earlier models – and it is now not only waterproof but dustproof as well, and overall an even tougher and more durable product.
JBL is probably the most popular and most loved manufacturer of Bluetooth speakers in the world, and the Flip 6 is quite possibly their best value. It is clearly the best party speaker in this price range and very highly recommended.
Best Tiny Bluetooth Speaker for Parties Big and Small
We’re sorry we haven’t checked in with Bose yet – I mean, you can’t really have a list of the best Bluetooth speakers without at least one Bose product, can you?
The thing is, I feel a little skittish about recommending Bose for the party scene – yeah, sure, they are great sounding and technologically advanced, and they are probably tough enough, but they seem a little, well, posh, and I’m not sure I could ever fully relax as people swirled around my living room swinging drinks above my Bose.
But I think this is a much smaller concern with the Bose SoundLink Micro, which is for one thing a lot less expensive than so many premium Bose speakers, and for another is tough, strong, waterproof, and with a finish designed to take a little abuse in stride. Besides, it’s tiny, and thus harder to spill on.
At only about 4 inches square, this is a very small speaker, but it has a real punch – way out of proportion to its size in terms of bass, dynamic power, and loudness – and the ability to fill even larger space with full, rich sound. A big JBL, like the wonderful Flip 6 just above, may be better suited for hard-core electronic dance music, but the Bose Color II is surprisingly powerful, and can really get a party moving, especially if you’re on the move.
The Bose Micro is also just a great all-around speaker, delivering that pure, high fidelity Bose sound, with its unique blend of open and honest fidelity and smooth and musical warmth – perfect for all kinds of music, and as great a great choice for cocktail parties with all of your sophisticated friends as for your next kegger with, you know, all your other friends.
But while this wee Bose Micro is absolutely up to the task for any kind of party at home, and surprisingly powerful and engaging even in larger spaces, it really shines as a portable Bluetooth party speaker, and is perfect for the park, camping, the lake or the mountains – anywhere your party takes you.
It is also pretty tech-savvy, with multi-speaker connections available through the Bose Connect app, IXP7 waterproof rating, six hours of battery life with Bluetooth connected, a built-in mic and voice prompting for Siri and Google Assistant, multi-speaker pairing, a tough, soft finished exterior, and a smart overall design and layout.
You may still wonder if this is just too small a unit to recommend as one of the best Bluetooth speakers for parties, but we can at least think of it as the ideal portable Bluetooth speaker for a party on the go, anywhere, and anytime. Still, with this much power and such dynamic, clear, and beautiful sound, the Bose Micro might be more versatile than you suspect and is a great speaker for lots of different uses and lots of different scenes.
Big Sound, Bold Looks, Small Price!
I only got to spend a short amount of time listening to the Supniu A21 Bluetooth speaker, which is a powerful, colorful, fairly compact speaker system with tons of power and musical energy and tons and tons of bass, but in that time I have to say I was pretty darned impressed.
The Supniu is apparently branded and sold under several other names, and none of them are, to say the least, well-known companies – I keep up with these things, and before encountering this affordable beauty I hadn’t heard of any of the various brands. And while normally this might make me a bit shy to recommend a product, the extraordinarily high level of praise this party speaker gets from verified customers gives me real confidence.
The sound and the tech are both absolutely first-rate, with big dual woofers, dual active tweeters, and a well-designed rear-firing bass reflex tube for deep, powerful bass response and plenty of musical drive. With 60 watts of power, the A21 can play really loud, but unlike so many other budget speakers in this range, it has a remarkable lack of glare or distortion even when you push it hard.
Bluetooth 5.0 provides a reliable wireless connection and great range, and four separate rechargeable batteries inside the unit let you go hours and hours on a charge. Also included are MP3 playback with both USB and SD compatibility, an FM radio, an analog auxiliary input, a nice full-function remote control, and even a karaoke microphone!
If ever a speaker were made for partying, this is the one. The Supniu A21 may not have the most well known or trustable brand name, and may in fact not offer the years and years of reliable service you might expect from JBL, Bose, or Marshall, but it seems very well built, is definitely well designed and has an enormously entertaining, big and bold sound that will push any party to the next level!
Best Affordable Bluetooth Speaker for Parties
There are tons of great inexpensive Bluetooth speakers available, and lots of them would make good choices for a smallish party at home or on the go, as well as for a great all-around Bluetooth speaker for any other use.
In fact, we have tried a lot of them, and can recommend them with real enthusiasm, especially the following:
- OontZ Angle 3 Ultra Waterproof 5.0 Bluetooth Speaker
- JBL Clip 3 Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker
- Sony SRS-XB13 Extra BASS Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker
Any one of these would make a great little speaker for entertaining small groups at home, a great portable party speaker, and a great all-around personal companion.
But the one that really stands out in this popular and competitive sub 100 dollars price range is the simple, sturdy, waterproof Anker Soundcore Boost.
This speaker has really amazing, solid, and substantial bass – especially considering the whole package is only about 9 inches wide! – and a fantastic full-range sound, with warm and clear mids, realistic and palpable vocals, and detailed, shimmering highs with no harshness or distortion whatsoever, even at high volumes.
And the volume this little guy is capable of is as surprising as the bass, and with 20 watts (!) of clean power can easily fill a fairly large room and keep a fairly large crowd moving. In fact, while it is not perhaps as portable as some of the other choices I’ve just listed, it is still small enough to take anywhere, is fully waterproofed, and is a better choice for larger parties at home.
The Anker Boost is also a very well-made, tough, and durable product, with an intelligent design and a simple, highly usable user interface. It has Bluetooth 5.0, a great 12-hour battery life (it can even charge your phone), a microphone and compatibility with various assistant services like Siri and Google, and a nice downloadable app.
Much louder and more musically engaging than even the best Bluetooth speakers at this level from other manufacturers, with a sound that is fuller and more fun and all the features you could need, the Anker Soundcore Boost is a really great choice, and the perfect compact and affordable Bluetooth speaker for parties.
Best Super-Cheap Bluetooth Party Speaker
Just like in the affordable, sub-100 dollar range we just covered, this budget or “super-cheap” price level is also littered with countless products and possible recommendations, and some of them are pretty good – some, not so much…
But in this case, one really stands out, in looks, design, functionality, material, and build quality, and especially in its huge, dynamic, and super fun sound – the OontZ Angle 3.
OontZ is a brand under the Cambridge Soundworks umbrella, and since Cambridge has been known for decades now for bringing delightfully affordable and beautiful sounding audiophile gear to budget-conscious consumers, we definitely could expect their OontZ products to be something special.
And the Angle 3 certainly is, with a rich, warm, and almost alarmingly loud sound that is punchy and dynamic, and 10 real watts of clean and pure power that makes this unit sound much bigger than it is – it is, in fact, only slightly over 5 inches wide!
The remarkably efficient bass radiator helps the 3 pump out incredible bass, with real body and weight, that is also all out of proportion to the speaker system’s size, and the whole range, up to the highest highs, is clean, clear, and low distortion, and has fantastic musical energy.
You may notice that we here at Speakergy tend to shy away from some of the big, flashy, ultra-cheap no-brand Bluetooth speakers, of which there are seemingly millions to choose from. And in fact this small, and still uber-cheap, OontZ 3 actually has better bass, more volume, and a cleaner and more exciting sound overall than any of them, and from a company we know, love and trust.
A great choice, then, for a ridiculously inexpensive speaker for indoor and outdoor parties, with the latest generation Bluetooth, compatibility with Siri and Google Assistant, really long battery life, a unique and effective physical design, and big, loud, and dynamic sound that will get people moving every time.