If you have a big collection of CDs, or even a select few, and you need a way to play them, a CD player with built-in speakers may be a great solution.
They have everything you need in a single unit and sound quality that can be surprisingly good and satisfying – even with the least expensive of them.
So let’s spend some time looking at the best CD players with speakers on the market today, with a quick discussion of what they are and why they can be such a great thing to have, and then I’ll share my picks for the 10 best models on the market today, with descriptions and reviews of each one.
But if you’re in a hurry, and want to cut right to the chase, here is my top choice:
Why Buy a CD Player with Speakers?
First of all, let’s define what we’re talking about – a CD player with stereo speakers that are either built right into the unit or come with and sit beside it.
These can be portable or meant for a bookshelf or tabletop, quite small or fairly sizey, and either quite inexpensive or, well, still pretty inexpensive – even the very best and most expensive units, with superb sound and premium overall quality, are surprisingly affordable, especially considering what you get.
Probably the main reason people want to get a nice, complete CD playback system with speakers is that they have a collection of CDs on hand, or even a few really special discs, and have no way to play them.
Maybe your beloved twenty-year-old CD player has finally given up the ghost, or your new laptop doesn’t have a CD drive, or maybe you simply want a second, all-in-one system for your office, your bedside, kitchen, studio, or garage.
Or maybe you’ve recently discovered that there are a ton of really cheap used CDs available in thrift stores or other shops, or even free ones still available from your library, and sometimes with music and performances that just aren’t available anywhere else – online or otherwise.
Whatever your reason, the latest generation of cd players with built-in speakers, or with speakers included, can offer amazing sound and great overall quality and reliability, and again, even the most expensive of them are still surprisingly affordable.
What Should You Look for in the Best CD Player with Included Speakers?
It can probably go without saying, but the first and most important factor for so many people is sound quality.
But that’s not the only thing – great sound is nice, of course, but only if the machine is usable and built to last. And so my very basic list of the most important features and qualities of a good CD player with included speakers would include:
Sound Quality
Clear, dynamic, and musical sound, with good bass, detailed highs, and realistic mids and without a trace of harshness or distortion.
The smallest and cheapest of our picks may not be stellar in all of these regards, of course, but you will be blown away by how great even they can sound.
Usability
Big, readable displays and clearly labeled, highly usable controls are an important part of an intelligent product design and can make using your new CD player so much easier and more enjoyable.
The same goes for remote controls, and any advanced features like programming and timer functions, all of which should be simple and intuitive.
Material and Build Quality
It doesn’t matter how much you can or want to spend. The best CD players with speakers should be, at all price levels, substantially built, durable and reliable – both day to day and over the long haul – and have a good warranty and a good company backing them up.
Other than those ultra-important considerations, you may want either a portable CD player, a tabletop model, or a nicer bookshelf mini-system, and may also want specific features, like the ability to plug in a USB stick or memory card for other digital music files, Bluetooth, a remote control, a radio, a turntable or other things.
And so you will find each and every one of these things in one or more of the below choices, listed from least to most expensive, and the features and capabilities of all ten of our choices for best CD players with speakers will be clearly listed and described.
So all you need to do is have an idea of what you want and how much you want to spend, and simply read on – any of the players below will be a great choice and a great buy, and you’ll be happily listening to your little silver discs in no time!
The Best CD Players with Speakers in 2024
Best Budget CD Player with Speakers
I’ve got to say that this little CD player sounds much, much better than I might have expected, given its small size and low price!
The TrophyRak CD player is a full-function unit, with not just normal CD and CD-R playback but the ability to stream music from your phone or PC using Bluetooth as well.
You can also play from other sources, with the included USB and analog audio inputs, or insert a memory card, and there is an output plug for headphones. It’s even got a built-in FM radio!
The TrophyRak player comes with a nice remote control that allows you to do everything, from basic playback to timer and programming functions, and is simple and easy to use. There is also a wall-mount bracket with all the hardware, a desktop stand, a power cord, and an aux audio cord – absolutely everything you need.
But with all that functionality, it is really the sound that impresses – really clear, dynamic, and rich, with none of the distortion or harshness you so often get with inexpensive audio gear. With any kind of music, the TrophyRak sounds amazing.
It’s also a well-made and reliable player, with an attractive and intelligent design – all in all, pretty amazing for the price, and a brilliant value! Truly deserves to be on the list as one of the best CD players with speakers.
Best Portable CD Player with Speakers
Reminiscent of old-school Walkman/Discman type portable players, the Monodeal portable CD player focuses on the most important things – anti-shock and anti-skip technologies and long-term durability, which make it a really usable and reliable portable CD player with speakers.
It is a very easy player to use, with a highly readable oversized display and an intelligent layout, and its rechargeable battery can play up to 15 hours between charges. You can connect this Monodeal player to a larger stereo system as well, and it also has a slot for a memory card.
The sound from the tiny built-in speakers is much better than you might expect. No, they don’t have the deep bass, intense dynamic energy, or huge stereo separation you would expect from expensive separate speakers, but they are surprisingly rich and full and sound great with lots of different music.
The included in-ear headphones also sound great and have an even more dynamic and full-range sound.
A wonderfully simple and reliable portable CD player with stereo speakers for a low price, the Monodeal is a great way to play all of your discs, and a great deal for the money – the best small CD player with speakers on the list.
Best Value Boombox
It’s really no surprise that Sony would make a fantastic CD player – they are, after all, the original developers of the format (in conjunction with Philips), and ever since then, the Sony name has been directly associated with the best CD players, as well as superb sounding music CDs.
What is a huge surprise, though, is that such a premium brand as Sony would sell such an incredibly solid, high-fidelity CD player for such a low price!
But the Sony CD/Cassette Boombox is all of that and more, with not just CD playback, but a built-in cassette deck for playing and recording, and an AM/FM stereo radio. It has a headphone jack and even an auxiliary input for attaching other sources.
You can plug this boombox into the wall, with the supplied cable, and it is also optimized for long battery life and can play up to 19 hours on a set of batteries.
And, for all of its functions and features, this is really easy-to-use stereo, with a big, clear display and a very nice and logical user interface.
And the sound is amazing! Really rich and clear, with no strain or distortion at higher volumes, and a rich, full presence even when playing softly. The mega-bass function boosts bass in a pleasing way, that’s not at all overwhelming, but the bass reflex speakers sound incredible even without the boost.
Sony quality all the way through, from the sound to the build quality and the intelligent design and layout, and at a low price – very highly recommended!
Best Value Digital Music System
As great as the Sony CD/Cassette Boombox (just above) is, this slightly more expensive Sony CD player with speakers offers a couple of distinct advantages.
For one thing, it is engineered to be more of a complete digital music playback system, with not just CD playback but also the ability to play music streamed via Bluetooth from your phone or computer. And it has a USB port, so you can play digital music files from a flash drive, or even record your CDs onto the flash drive for playback on a computer.
The other advantage of this wonderful CD player is the sound – as good as the less expensive Sony unit sounds, this one is even better, with deeper bass, tons of power, more dynamic and engaging sound overall, and a kind of rich, sweet musicality you would normally associate with much more expensive systems.
This Sony portable CD player with speakers also has an AM/FM radio with 30 presets, a big, easy to read LCD display, and very long battery life (also includes an AC power cord), and has the solidity, reliability, and premium look and feel you would expect from a Sony.
I’ve listened to a lot of stereo systems at this price point, with or without CD players, and nothing comes close – a great unit on every level!
Beautiful Retro CD Player and More!
As retro as it gets, this tabletop multi-function stereo system not only has a CD player, but a record player, cassette deck, and AM/FM radio, all in a really beautiful real wood cabinet. Heck, even the brand name is retro!
At the same time, this Victrola all-in-one music system also has Bluetooth streaming and a USB port, offering nice options for modern digital playback. You can even record your records, tapes, and CDs onto a USB flash drive for playback on your computer or phone.
Considering that this Victrola is just a tad over a hundred dollars, you might not expect the sound to be that great, but in fact, it is rich, energetic, and really engaging, with a warm, accurate tone and real clarity, and with surprisingly wide and distinct stereo imaging.
And it is really simple to use, and quite well built and reliable – both in day-to-day use and over the long haul.
It’s no wonder this Victrola CD multimedia stereo system enjoys such incredibly high customer ratings, and people love it so much.
Victrola is a very well-established and respected manufacturer of retro stereo systems, and actually offers a wide range of CD players with speakers, usually also with phonographs and tape players. For even better sound (at, of course, slightly higher prices) I also strongly recommend these:
Best Mid-Priced CD Player with Speakers
Philips, along with Sony, developed and patented the CD over 40 years ago, so you can expect Philips CD players to be first-rate. Indeed, if you’ve had experience with any Philips audio gear, you might even be more optimistic, since pretty much everything they make is beautifully built and sounds great.
And the absolutely beautiful Philips micro stereo system is no exception, and definitely won’t dash even the highest expectations!
A marvel of minimalist modern design and an incredibly well designed and usable stereo, this Philips CD player with stereo speakers looks like it could cost ten times what it actually does, and it sounds amazing – really, with every type of music I tried, I was consistently blown away by beauty, accuracy, and musicality of the sound!
While the unit and speakers may be small, they have a substantial amount of power, from a clean and dynamic bi-amplified stereo amplifier. And special Philips audio optimization circuitry ensures that you will get balanced full-range sound, with presence, detail, and dynamic energy, at any volume level
In addition to CDs, the Philips micro stereo system will also play MP3s from a USB stick, and stream music from your phone or computer via Bluetooth, and it has an equally high-quality FM stereo tuner.
With such a clean and punchy amplifier, high-quality 2-way stereo speakers, and really brilliant audio and electronic engineering throughout, the Philips micro stereo system offers true high fidelity sound for a very low price.
Best Next Level CD Player with Speakers
With the Sharp XL-BH250 micro stereo system we’re moving into a different level of audio engineering and sound quality.
You can see it in the physical design of the speakers, which allow sound to come out directly without even the tiniest distorting reflections, and provide detailed and smooth sound with remarkably coherent and realistic stereo imaging.
The XL-BH250 has a big amplifier, especially given its small size, with 50 total watts of clean and dynamic power and an audio profile specifically tailored for the excellent included speakers. In any sized room, and at any volume, the sound is very warm and musical, with tons of detail and dynamic energy and no harshness or distortion.
This is not just a CD player but in fact, a 5 CD changer, which lets you play music randomly as a continuous playlist, or just play one whole CD after another, among other options. Whichever playback mode you choose, the setup is really easy and intuitive, and you can enjoy hours and hours of uninterrupted playback.
You can also stream using Bluetooth, to play music from your phone, laptop, or other devices, or plugin a USB stick or any analog audio source – even a turntable. And there’s a great-sounding AM/FM stereo radio tuner included.
With five easy-load trays, a big and bright display screen, and large, clearly labeled buttons, the Sharp BH250 is really easy to use, and even the extended functions and programmability are a snap.
A beautiful looking and beautiful sounding stereo, with 5 CD changers, radio, and a lot more, the Sharp XL-BH250 has the premium appearance and hi-fi sound of a much more expensive stereo and represents a major value in personal audio.
Best Sounding Mid-Priced CD Player
As great as the XL-BH250 (just above) sounds, Sharp has really upped the game with their CD-BH90, which is a big, powerful bookshelf stereo system for a still surprisingly affordable price.
In addition to brilliant two-way speakers, with high quality and low distortion tweeters and punch long-throw woofers, there is also a separate subwoofer, which extends the low-frequency response dramatically, and provides delicious rumble and foundation for music and movies.
Like the 250, this BH90 also has a dependable and really handy five-disc CD changer, which can be programmed in various ways or just used to play all of your CDs straight through, for hours of continuous music.
There’s a great sounding and highly sensitive AM/FM stereo radio, a USB port for more digital playback options, an analog audio input for other devices like tape decks and turntables, and a nice full-function remote control, which is as easy to understand and use as the control panel on the front of the unit.
But despite the beautiful design and advanced technology, or even the extremely high levels of material quality and reliability – which are, of course, all very important and really welcome – for me the Sharp XL-BH250 is all about the sound, which, no matter what kind of music I played on it, was always just incredible.
Most Affordable Premium CD Player with Speakers
Ever since Bose first introduced the legendary 901 stereo loudspeakers, more than half a century ago, the company has been known for its products’ almost freakishly realistic sound, which, for all its clarity and accuracy, still manages to be warm, smooth, and wonderful to listen to.
More recently Bose has become even more well known, and a lot of this has to do with their amazing ability to produce that same signature Bose sound, with its realism, holographic portrayal of space and imaging, incredible detail, and low, low distortion, and especially its sweet and engaging musicality, from small portable and bookshelf systems.
To be sure, Bose is a premium brand, and people are clearly willing to pay good money for such high levels of fidelity and musicality, not to mention the superb build quality and reliability and the award-winning designs.
Yet somehow this Bose Wave Music System is quite affordable – under 500 dollars, in fact – and still brings to the table (or the desktop, the kitchen counter, the bookshelf…) all that Bose is famous for.
I’ve been lucky enough to spend a lot of time with a Bose Wave, and everything I heard was deeply impressive – rock and pop, acoustic singer/songwriter, jazz, classical, electronica and dance music, R&B and hip hop all sound just fantastic, and I kept thinking not of how the Wave compares with other compact stereos, but how much it reminded me of my big audiophile stereo system.
In many ways a simple unit, with a CD player, radio, one analog audio input, and a great wireless remote control, the Bose Wave does not have Bluetooth or NFC, USB or digital streaming – just pure, dynamic Bose sound, big enough to fill even big rooms yet intimate enough to work perfectly on a bedside table – and all in an affordable unit built to last for many years.
And, if you just gotta connect, you can get the optional Bose Wave Bluetooth Music Adapter.