I consider the smaller Boom 2 the best value among current Soundcore by Anker Bluetooth speakers because it delivers very strong sound for a speaker that costs a little more than $100. But the larger and more expensive Boom 2 Plus is a better-sounding speaker that plays louder and produces bigger sound with more bass. While it typically is on sale for less than $200, the key thing about it is that it competes well with boom box speakers from JBL and Sony that cost upward of $400.

This speaker has dual 50-watt woofers and dual 20-watt tweeters, Anker says, and charges via USB-C, which is nice. There is also a charge-out option to charge your devices, and the Boom 2 Plus is rated for up to 20 hours of playback time at moderate volume levels. The speaker has both a handle and a removable strap to make it easy to carry around and is IPX7 waterproof. It also floats, should you drop it in a body of water, and has a customizable light show option.

I liked the original Soundcore Motion Boom, which made our best Bluetooth speakers list and was one of the better mini boom box Bluetooth speaker values in the past few years, selling for about $80. The 3.75-pound Boom 2 costs more but sounds substantially better, with more than double the power rating of the original, so it not only plays louder but kicks out more bass and offers better clarity at higher volumes (it's equipped with two tweeters and one subwoofer). It also has a couple of built-in LED lights to help create that party vibe. It's an impressive-sounding speaker for its size and a good value.

Waterproof (IPX7-rated) with a floatable design, the speaker's battery life is rated at up to 24 hours at moderate volume levels (it charges via USB-C), and you can tweak the sound and customize the lighting with the Soundcore app for iOS and Android. There's also a USB-out port to charge your devices.

The Sony ULT Field 7 is the successor to Sony's SRS-SG500 Bluetooth boom box, which I liked but thought lacked clarity compared with some of its competitors, including boom box speakers from JBL. This new model not only sounds better but also offers an improved design with integrated handles on each side of the speaker, LED lighting and a new karaoke function (microphone not included). You can stand the speaker up vertically or lay it down horizontally. The sound does change a bit with the speaker's orientation, but the overall clarity and treble performance have improved, and I thought the bass had better definition.

Weighing in at a hefty 13.9 pounds (6.3 kilograms), the speaker does pack a punch, especially when you engage the ULT button, which has two low-frequency settings (there's also a seven-band EQ) that both amp up the sound -- and the bass in particular -- making the speaker sound fuller (I always had the ULT button engaged). Battery life is rated at up to 30 hours at moderate volume levels, and the speaker is IP67 waterproof, dust-proof and rust-proof. A charge-out port on the back allows you to charge external devices like your smartphone.

In 2024, Tribit released a second-gen version of its popular Stormbox Blast Bluetooth boom box speaker. The Stormbox Blast 2 features an upgraded design — it's less boxy and generic-looking than the original — along with upgraded speaker drivers and two inputs for wired microphones, ideal for karaoke (microphones are sold separately). The speaker is quite beefy, weighing in at 15.8 pounds, and it's rated for 200 watts of power, with an 80-watt subwoofer, dual 45-watt midrange drivers and two 15-watt tweeters.

This thing plays loud, has powerful bass (I mainly kept the bass boost mode engaged) and measures up well against more premium Bluetooth boom box speakers from JBL and Sony that cost about twice as much. Like the original, this also has a light show component — it's customizable or can be turned off — and the speaker is fully waterproof with an IP67 rating. While the Stormbox Bast 2 is rated for an impressive 30 hours of battery at moderate volume levels and the light show off, battery life does drop significantly when you really crank the volume. Also worth noting: there's a charge-out port, and interestingly, the speaker can be charged with a USB-C cable or the included two-prong power cord.

JBL made its fourth-generation Boombox 4 more powerful than the Boombox 3, but the speaker is actually lighter than its predecessor (13 pounds versus 14.7 pounds), offers better battery life (up to 28 hours at moderate volume levels instead of 24 hours), charges significantly faster and has a higher waterproof rating (IP68 vs. IP67). It also has support for Auracast (Bluetooth 5.4), so you can link the Boombox 4 up with any of JBL's new Auracast-enabled speakers.

JBL has redesigned the internal driver system, as the Boombox 4 has a three-way system with two 5-inch woofers, two 0.75-inch tweeters, plus three passive radiators, one of which faces the rear of the speaker. As far as the sound goes, the Boombox 4 plays louder than the Boombox 3 and features bigger, punchier bass, especially when you engage one of the two bass boost modes -- Punchy or Deep. I'm not sure the speaker sounds better overall, especially indoors (the Boombox 3 seems a little more balanced and I prefer its treble performance). But the more aggressive-sounding Boombox 4 is better suited to powering an outdoor party, whether that's by the pool, patio or in the parking lot of a stadium for tailgating.

Note that you get a little more power (up 210W) and volume when the speaker is plugged in, but the drop off isn't all that much when you just go with battery power (200 watts). That's a key difference between the Boombox 4 and Boombox 3, as the Boombox 3 plays at about 50% power compared with the Boombox 4 when not plugged in (the difference isn't so great when they're both plugged in, as the Boombox 3 has a peak power rating of 180 watts).

Like its predecessor, the Boombox 4 has a USB-out port that allows you to charge external devices -- like your phone. While there's no analog audio input if you want to go wired, you can plug in a USB-C cable for wired listening as the speaker supports USB-C audio.

Pros

• New three-way driver system that delivers richer sound
• New, swankier handle
• Fully waterproof and dust-proof
• USB out port

While JBL has released the new-for-2025 Boombox 4, its third-generation Boombox 3 is still an excellent boom box and can cost around $200 less, making it arguably the better value.

It doesn't play as loud or produce as much bass as the Boombox 4, and it has a lower power rating, especially when working off battery power (it does play louder when you plug it in). But it produces a more balanced sound that isn't quite as aggressive as the Boombox 4's sound, which some people may prefer. Featuring some design changes from its predecessor, including a new swankier handle and a new three-way driver system that delivers clearer, more detailed sound and similar impressive bass performance, creating bigger, richer sound overall. I could easily hear the difference when comparing this model to the Boombox 2. 

While the Boombox 4's battery life rating is a bit higher (up to 28 hours at moderate volume levels), this Gen 3 model has good battery life (up to 24 hours at moderate volume levels). Despite being slightly smaller than Boombox 4, it does weigh more (14.7 pounds compared with 13 pounds for the Boombox 3) and feels pretty hefty. 

The speaker has a USB-out port that allows you to charge external devices like your phone, and there's also an analog audio input if you want to go wired and connect a device without using Bluetooth connectivity (the Boombox 4 leaves off the analog input but supports USB-C audio).

With the JBL Boombox 2, I felt that the speaker, although well-designed, didn't quite live up to its expensive price tag in terms of sound quality. The Boombox 3 is still pricey, but its sound has a more premium quality to it -- for portable boomboxes anyway. And if you have really deep pockets, you can link two together to create a stereo pair (or link several together to cover a wider area with sound).   

When I first heard about the SoundLink Max, I was a little surprised that Bose would put out a $399 Bluetooth speaker after the $149 SoundLink Flex speaker did so well. The Flex was so successful because it not only sounds good for its compact size, but it doesn't cost that much -- at least not for a Bose product. Not surprisingly, the 4.89-pound Max also sounds impressive -- it may just be the best-sounding for its size -- and has a premium design with a built-in rope handle that's replaceable (the Max is fully waterproof and dust-proof). It's a great Bluetooth speaker, but its high price tag may turn some folks off.

The JBL Partybox Encore Essential is the company's smallest PartyBox speaker to date, but it still has some heft to it, weighing in at 13 pounds (5.9 kg). It's an 11.54 by 10.87 by 12.87-inch cube that has a ring of light over the driver that pulsates and syncs to the beat of your music as it changes colors. The Essential is IPX4 splash-proof and has an integrated handle for easy toting. 

Rated for 100 watts of power (we always take power ratings with a grain of salt), the speaker doesn't have quite the volume or sound quality of the step-up PartyBox 110 (see below). It has a 5.25-inch woofer and two 1.75-inch tweeters and has plenty of kick to it, and it's easier to carry around. In that sense, it offers a nice balance between size and power. 

Battery life is rated at 6 hours at moderate volume levels, and this speaker charges with an included AC adapter. It also has a charge-out port on the back, along with a microphone port if you want to talk or sing to a crowd (microphone not included). 

To be clear, this is a mono speaker that's designed to put out a lot of sound (there's a bass boost mode) from a reasonably sized design. You can wirelessly pair two of these speakers and get significantly better sound (in stereo). That would get a little pricey.

Anker's Soundcore Motion X600 mini boom box not only has a premium look and feel with a metal grille and carrying handle, but includes some interesting features like spatial audio and support for Sony's LDAC audio codec. It sounds impressive for its relatively compact size and represents good value.

Weighing 4.2 pounds (1.9 kg), it has some heft to it, but it's light enough to carry around without feeling like you're getting a workout. The speaker is available in gray, green and blue color options and is equipped with five drivers, including two woofers, two tweeters and one full-range, upward-firing driver "in a unique speaker array that combined with Soundcore's audio algorithm and DSP helps create a wide (and tall) soundstage for listening to any type of music," according to Anker. It's rated for 50 watts of total power, with two 20-watt amps devoted to the woofers and tweeters and a third 10-watt amp powering the upward-firing driver.

At the default sound setting without bass boost or spatial audio engaged, I wasn't exactly wowed with sound quality (the bass is a bit underwhelming, the mids are recessed, and there's a bit too much treble push). As soon as you engage the bass boost and spatial audio, everything sounds more balanced and full. You can also tweak the sound profile further in the Soundcore companion app for iOS and Android. 

Pros

• Big sound that packs some serious punch
• Guitar and mic inputs
• Built-in light show
• IPX4 splash-proof
• Replaceable battery
• Link multiple JBL Auracast-enabled speakers

The successor to JBL's popular PartyBox 110, the Club 120 packs some serious punch and delivers a bigger sound than many portable boombox speakers, including JBL's own Boombox 3. The speaker has been slightly redesigned from its predecessor and now features a replaceable battery (you can swap in a second battery to extend battery life, but only one battery is included) and Bluetooth 5.4 with Auracast.

There's an integrated foldable handle for toting the speaker, but the Club 120 is pretty hefty, weighing in at 24.4 pounds (1 pound more than the PartyBox 110) and measuring slightly more than 22 inches tall. You can stand this Bluetooth boom box up vertically, as shown in the picture above, or place it horizontally, as it has rubber feet on both sides of the speaker.

It's rated for up to 12 hours of playback time at moderate volume levels and has a light show that syncs to the beat of your music (you can customize the light show from the speaker itself or use the JBL PartyBox companion app). The speaker has Bluetooth or a wired USB connection, and there are guitar and mic inputs. It's also worth noting that the speaker is IPX4 splash-proof, and you can wirelessly link multiple JBL Auracast-enabled speakers for even bigger sound.