How We Ranked the 6 Best Bluetooth Speakers

The low-end roll-off is key in determining how deep the bass on your Bluetooth speaker will sound. A Bluetooth speaker with a roll-off that doesn’t start at a sufficiently low frequency leads to bass that sounds weak or is missing entirely, which makes music sound weak. Essentially, the deeper the bass can extend before rolling off, the more robust the sound.

For the majority of Bluetooth speakers and typical usage scenarios, aiming for a roll-off that begins no higher than 60 Hz is advisable. However, the lower the frequency where roll-off begins, the better the bass experience. It’s important to understand that there’s a limit to how low the roll-off can go, so expecting Bluetooth speakers to achieve roll-off points in the teens might be unrealistic. It’s also important to remember that Bluetooth speakers don’t have subwoofers and are also generally small, which limits how deep their bass can get.

On the opposite end of the audio spectrum from bass lies treble, which is essential for lending music a characteristic often called “airiness” or “sparkle.” Understanding the high-end roll-off is crucial for discerning at what point treble begins to diminish and eventually becomes imperceptible, leading to the loss of this “sparkle” in your audio. Treble encompasses sounds such as the shimmering of heavy cymbal work and the strings of violins. If the roll-off in these higher frequencies starts too early, these detailed sounds can become difficult to discern, either getting lost in the mix or fading into obscurity.

To ensure your Bluetooth speaker retains this critical aspect of sound, it’s advisable to select a model where the roll-off doesn’t start until after 10,000 Hz. Beyond this frequency, it becomes increasingly difficult for the human ear to detect sounds. While the very top of the audio spectrum contributes to the sense of “airiness,” they eventually reach a threshold where they’re nearly indistinguishable. By choosing a Bluetooth speaker whose treble roll-off starts around 10 kHz, you significantly improve your chances of preserving the most impactful parts of the treble spectrum. This approach ensures your music maintains the clarity and presence that elevates it from good to exceptional.

Maximum volume is the most straightforward test to grasp when it comes to Bluetooth speakers: it simply refers to the loudest level at which the speaker can play. However, the importance of having a high maximum volume might not be immediately obvious. Beyond the ability to fill rooms with sound or serve as party speakers, higher maximum volumes play a crucial role in ensuring audio clarity at typical listening volumes.

This concept is known as “headroom.” Adequate headroom in a Bluetooth speaker means it can reproduce sounds at a level that is both loud enough and clear enough, ensuring that your usual listening levels for music or podcasts are crisp and free from distortion. Your Bluetooth speaker should have a minimum of 85 dB of maximum volume, but 91 dB or even higher is ideal. The higher the maximum volume, the better the speaker is at delivering sound that can fill increasingly large spaces without sacrificing sound quality.

Your Bluetooth speakers are more than likely going to be battery-powered. They might not run solely on battery power, but it is more common than not for Bluetooth speakers to be able to play without being plugged into a wall. That means, you’ll want your speaker to be able to play for as long as possible without having to be plugged in to charge, so even if you forget your charging cable, you’re not shackled to 4 hours of playtime.

It’s for this reason that we recommend that Bluetooth speakers have at least 9 hours of playtime – enough to get you through a full day of playing your speakers. That said, there’s no upper limit to battery life – the more you can get “under your belt”, the better. If your speaker can deliver more than 17 hours of battery life on a single charge, you’ve got more than enough for two days and change, which is plenty of time to remember you need to plug the speaker in.