It's not the best-sounding device on this list—take a look at the Bose Smart Speaker 500 for top audio quality—but the Denon Home 150 offers more bass than you'd expect for its size. This means it’ll delight those who don’t have room in their home for a subwoofer—if you’re all about that bass, but you live in a small place. For a tech fan, slightly weaker sound quality in exchange for so much tweaking and app potential means the Denon Home 150 is a great alternative. Both JBL and Bose produce a range of speakers, some are small and compact whereas others are big enough to fill a room with sound at a party. Bose tends to make products that are at the premium end of the spectrum in terms of both excellent audio performance, design and price. JBL is more affordable and its products tend to fall in the mid-range when it comes to quality. Most mini hi-fi systems have a built-in FM/AM radio tuner or a DAB tuner. More than 70% of mini hi-fis we’ve tested have access to both, but only 18% can access internet radio. In general, hi-fi systems that are wi-fi-enabled and have internet radio are more expensive than their offline counterparts. Headphones The Tribit Stormbox Micro 2 is the best-sounding and most fully-featured mini Bluetooth speaker we've had the pleasure of testing. It's not the most powerful or the loudest Bluetooth speaker out there, but at this size and price you can't currently buy better. Separate speakers: A big selling point for separate speakers is that you can replace them if they're damaged or old, without the need to buy a whole new system. If you’re willing to splash out, you can often vastly improve the sound quality by swapping the speakers for a better set. Also, if you have a tight space for your mini hi-fi, a three-part system is a bit more flexible when it comes to positioning, although it may not be quite as convenient to set up as an all-in-one.

Having said all that, the Cleer Audio Scene does a great job at differentiating itself in a competitive space. It has a lower price than most rivals, there's a microphone onboard for calling, useful extra ports for aux-in and top-notch audio clarity. This device might be cheap and compact, but it's got strong specs. Bigger speakers tend to sound better, delivering bigger sound with more bass. But going bigger means they weigh more, which can make them a little harder to carry around. So you have to balance size with performance if you're looking for something that's easily portable. If you're interested in a larger portable speaker, one feature worth looking out for is a built-in handle. DurabilityUpdated 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.

It's a crowded market, with plenty of micro and mini hi-fi systems to choose from, all promising to be the best you've ever heard. Mini hi-fi systems are traditionally associated with playing music, but our tests have revealed they can be a worthy alternative to a TV sound bar. You want audiophile sound: The Roam's audio performance isn't bad by any means, but the bass frequencies can be overwhelming.Overall, the JBL Charge 5 sounds like a bigger portable speaker than it is. It dishes out an impressive amount of bass for its size without sacrificing on the mids or highs. Neat touches come from the ability to set up playlists across all sources, as well as to use Google Assistant or Alexa to control things using your voice. The app is a little simplistic looks-wise, but it has all the essentials and its aesthetic makes its features more easily accessible –including EQ settings and other customization tools. You need to play extremely loudly: It's loud, but if you’re looking for max volume, you’ll need to look at even bigger speakers, like the Tribit Stormbox Blast. You want an aux-in for wired listening: The only port you'll get here is a USB-C two-way charger –although it does charge your phone.The Cleer Audio Scene has this, though. The Cleer Audio Scene is a mid-range Bluetooth speaker and it is going to upset some premium rivals. In our review we noted that this speaker seems designed specifically to compete with the JBL Flip 6, which enters our list just a few spots further up. However, although the Audio Scene looks similar, it's also newer, has a slightly lower price tag, and a few extra features that might tempt you away from JBL.

Start by working out which voice assistant you want your smart speaker to offer access to. If you already use a voice assistant on your smartphone or tablet, or have existing smart speakers or smart displays in your home, it makes sense to plump for a smart speaker that has the same assistant baked in. However, if you’ve yet to settle on the voice assistant for you, Alexa vs Google Assistant can help you decide. But Tribit has made no secret of wanting to bring the party to both your ears and your body, and it has emphatically delivered. This thing can go loud and still sound good when it does. If you're worried whether one speaker will be enough for the garden party, it will here – and for this money, it represents unbeatable sound-per-pound value. You won't find extra features such as voice assistants or Wi-Fi connectivity (or even a 3.5mm aux-in), but the Flip 6 sounds so good that you won't miss them. During our testing, we found that its warm, well-balanced audio performance is far more powerful than you might expect from a speaker of this size, and while the treble can sound a little harsh at higher volumes, you're getting plenty of clarity and detail. For the best sound quality, we recommend keeping the speaker around 50-60% volume based on our experience – when you have to push beyond this volume, there’s likely so much ambient noise that sound quality isn’t the first priority.

On the whole that's subjective. Some people have always liked Apple products the best and stay loyal to Siri. Others really like Alexa after snapping up an Echo as soon as the smart speaker was first launched. 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.

Each product was rated for sound quality on a ten-point scale by our panel of music industry professionals. If you're looking for a smart speaker with Google Assistant built-in, the Google Nest Audio is currently the best Google-manufactured smart speaker you can buy; we liked the Google Home Max speaker, but Google has stopped making it. The Move 2 also delivers premium sound to match its premium price tag. It has a three-driver speaker system, made up of two angled tweeters and one central midwoofer. Although we found the audio quality to be excellently balanced with great detail, the stereo sound wasn't very convincing, but that's okay. Both Bose and Sonos create excellent-sounding audio tech that tends to be at the premium end of the spectrum. We love Bose products and often recommend them, but in terms of the best Bluetooth speakers and portable speakers, we think Sonos is the better option. It can also provide a weather report, offer an audible summary of the day's headlines, and answer your burning questions; whether that’s ‘what is the tallest mountain in the world’ or simply ‘who is the Queen of England’.If that wasn’t enough, a smart speaker can also control compatible smart home devices; for example it can dim or brighten any smart lights you have in your home, turn the temperature up or down if you have a smart thermostat and let you converse with anyone at your doorstep by connecting to your video doorbell. Which voice assistant is best?