We tested mini travel speakers from JBL, Soundcore, Sony, Tribit and Ultimate Ears. Which one was the best? (Rick Broida/Yahoo)
You already know not to judge Yoda by his size; the Force is strong in that little guy. The same can be said for certain Bluetooth speakers: Size matters not! The best small speakers deliver big sound, great battery life, a waterproof design and more — often with budget price tags to boot. Those are some real Jedi powers right there.
And as someone who prefers to travel as light as possible, whether I'm getting on an airplane or headed to the neighborhood pickleball courts, I'm always on the lookout for something I can toss in my bag without adding much bulk or weight. Recently I tested mini speakers from JBL, Soundcore, Sony, Tribit and Ultimate Ears to see if there was a standout, a head-and-shoulders (ears-and-shoulders?) champion. Spoiler alert: They're all varying degrees of very good.
This is familiar territory for me; I've been reviewing tech products for over 30 years and have listened to a lot of speakers. So check out my top picks below, followed by sections on how I tested, what to look for when shopping for small speakers and more. And if you're looking for something bigger, see our story on the best outdoor speakers.
Weight: 0.4 pounds | Colors available: 9 | Power: 4.2 watts | Rated battery life: 7 hours | Bluetooth: 5.3 | Waterproof rating: IP67 | Supports multi-speaker pairing: Yes | Speakerphone: No
Don't let the JBL Go 4's size fool you. It may be the most compact speaker here, but this little guy is remarkably good, wringing big, pleasing sound from its diminutive, lightweight frame. And because it weighs less than half a pound, it's the easiest speaker to travel with; you could actually slip it into a pocket if needed.
JBL's quick-start guide is better than most, but still a bit light on actual instruction. Thankfully, there's not much needed once you've charged and paired the speaker; the physical controls are fairly straightforward, even if they're a bit hard to see (owing to their neutral coloring). The top buttons are a bit stiff, too.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover that music sounded clean and balanced, with a larger helping of bass than I expected (though not as much as you get from the Sony and Wonderboom speakers). And despite it packing only 4.2 watts behind its drivers, the Go 4 can get pretty loud.
The trade-off for a speaker this small is battery life: The Go 4 can last just seven hours, max, and that's if you fully disable the equalizer. (Otherwise you get about five hours.)
Still, it's a bargain at just $50, and therefore easy to recommend. To learn more about it, be sure to read my full JBL Go 4 review.
Weight: 0.6 pounds | Colors available: 6 | Power: 5 watts | Rated battery life: 20 hours | Bluetooth: 5.3 | Waterproof rating: IP67 | Supports multi-speaker pairing: Yes | Speakerphone: No
The most remarkable thing about the Soundcore Select 4 Go isn't its unrivaled 20-hour battery life or its six snazzy color options. It's the price: $35, frequently discounted to $25 or even $20.
That's just an insanely good deal for a speaker that's very solid overall. It looks and feels extremely sturdy, similar in design to the JBL Go 4 — but a bit larger and heavier as well. This would be a little tougher to slip into a pocket.
Soundcore's print instructions fail to cover basics like charging the speaker; an online version (which is also conveniently accessible within the app) offers a bit more detail.
In testing the Select 4 Go, I found it delivered mostly pleasing sound. Bass was on the light side, even with with "BassUp 2.0" option toggled on, and I noticed a shrillness in certain songs. Soundcore's companion app offers four equalizer pre-sets, none of which effectively combated this issue, but there's also a nine-band custom equalizer that can help — if you set it properly. Not sure how? There's an excellent built-in tutorial that explains which frequencies do what and offers recommendations for how to set them. You can store a whopping 15 custom EQs.
Do I wish the speaker sounded a little better right out of the box? Yes. Am I glad I can fine-tune the audio to my exact preferences? Also yes.
At $35, this is a great choice. At $25 or less, it's a steal.
Weight: 1.2 pounds | Colors available: 3 | Power: 12 watts | Rated battery life: 12 hours | Bluetooth: 5.4 | Waterproof rating: IPX7 | Supports multi-speaker pairing: Yes | Speakerphone: Yes
If you don't mind a little more weight and bulk than you get from JBL Go 4, the Tribit StormBox Mini+ should be your top pick. OK, a lot more weight and bulk: It's three times heavier and larger in every dimension. But in return you get more volume, twice the battery life and a bit of eye-candy.
This last comes in the form of an LED halo on top of the speaker. It's an attractive accent, with two modes for cycling through colors while you listen to music, but because it's slightly recessed, you won't see it if the speaker is at eye level or higher. Ideally, Tribit would have wrapped it around the outside instead. (I also wish it had doubled as a volume-level indicator; missed opportunity, there.)
I like that the three control buttons along the rear spine — power, Bluetooth and LED light — are illuminated, but don't understand why the volume and play/pause buttons in front are not.
But these are all nitpicks; the StormBox Mini+ produces robust 360-degree sound that you can tweak to your liking via a nine-band equalizer — a feature rivaled only by the Soundcore Select 4 Go. I found it less necessary to use here; right out of the box, music sounded nicely balanced with some decent bass. There's also a microphone for speakerphone calls and quick access to Google Assistant or Siri.
Curiously, audio and video were noticeably out of sync in TikTok videos, but just fine in Netflix, YouTube and elsewhere. The other speakers exhibited only a trace of lag in TikTok; here it was much more noticeable.
With a price tag of just $40, the StormBox Mini+ is a superb value and definitely one of my favorite speakers in the group.
Weight: 0.9 pounds | Colors available: 4 | Power: 10 watts | Rated battery life: 14 hours | Bluetooth: 5.2 | Waterproof rating: IP67 | Supports multi-speaker pairing: Yes | Speakerphone: No
At $100, the UE Wonderboom 4 is by far the most expensive speaker in the group — anywhere from $40 to $65 more than the competition. But do you get what you pay for?
That depends on your priorities. The Wonderboom 4 sounds very good, no question, with its dual drivers pumping out tunes in all directions (instead of just up or forward). Plop it in the middle of the group and everyone gets the same listening experience.
It's also the loudest speaker here, able to out-volume the similarly designed Tribit StormBox Mini+. And because it manages more bass than the StormBox, it's the better-sounding of the two — though by a relatively modest margin.
Another perk to paying extra: a two-year warranty. Every other speaker here: one year.
However, this is a confusing speaker to use, with little help offered by its tiny, dual-language quick-start guide. I don't like the three unlabeled control buttons (two of which don't even look like buttons) nor the extremely stiff volume buttons. There's also a sound-mode button inexplicably embedded in the underside of the speaker; pressing it toggles between Standard, Outdoor and Podcast modes.
While I appreciate having these options, it's unfortunate there's no companion app to offer a proper equalizer and access to settings and the like. (The three modes are essentially EQ presets.)
This seems like a fairly glaring omission for a modern speaker, especially one with this high a price tag. Add to that some real usability quirks and the Wonderboom 4 isn't the first small speaker I'd choose.
Weight: 0.6 pounds | Colors available: 4 | Power: 2.5 watts | Rated battery life: 16 hours | Bluetooth: 4.2 | Waterproof rating: IP67 | Supports multi-speaker pairing: Yes | Speakerphone: Yes
Sony's SRS-XB100 may be the runt of the litter, at least in terms of size and power, but it pulls off a pretty amazing trick: It's the best-sounding speaker in the group. Only by a small margin, but I repeatedly found myself drawn to its warm, balanced, bass-forward sound.
This despite a mere 2.5 watts behind its up-facing driver. The XB100 can get plenty loud, and even at maximum volume there's no distortion. Plus, there's an added benefit to that lower-than-average wattage: lower power consumption. Sony promises up to 16 hours on a charge, second only to the Select 4 Go's 20 hours. Color me impressed.
Less impressive: There's a companion app — Sony Music Center — that recognizes the XB100, but it lacks polish and offers few benefits beyond play/pause and a battery gauge. There's no equalizer here, no way to fine-tune the sound. (The app isn't even mentioned in Sony's otherwise reasonably detailed quick-start guide.)
I need to note that two of Sony's four color options are a bit odd: The "black" SKU is decidedly gray, while the "blue" is clearly teal. Only orange and light gray seem to match their labels.
In addition, the XB100 relies on Bluetooth 4.2, a fairly outdated version of that wireless spec. (Every other speaker here incorporates 5.3 or later.) That's hardly a dealbreaker, but it could cause connectivity issues when you're outdoors. (Bluetooth 4.2 has a shorter range.)
If the XB100 has a special feature at all, it's the large buckle-style strap. Unlike the closed-loop finger straps on the other speakers, this one could fit around your wrist or hook onto something like a tree branch.
My only struggle with the SRS-XB100 is its price: $60, though you can often find it discounted to $48. If you prize sound quality above all else, it's probably worth the extra cash.
Battery life: The last thing you want is a dead speaker in the middle of your party, picnic or whatever. While not every model here can last a full day, all of them are good for at least five hours — some double or triple that. Keep in mind that battery life can vary significantly depending on things like volume level, equalizer settings and any extras you might use (like LED accent lighting).
Floats in water: A few of these speakers are not only waterproof, they can actually float. That doesn't mean you'd want to bring them into the pool with you — most of the actual speaker would be submerged — but if you're out boating or something and it accidentally gets knocked into the water, it wouldn't end up at the bottom of the lake.
Microphone: A speaker that also has a microphone can double as a speakerphone. Yes, your phone can do that already, but this gives you the option of louder, clearer sound. The flipside is that the microphone might not be quite as good as the one in your phone, but overall it's a still a nice feature to have.
Multi-speaker: A single speaker can't produce true stereo separation. If that's something you want, or you're looking to "spread out the sound" across a larger area, look for a speaker that can be paired with at least one twin.
Waterproof rating: All five speakers here are full waterproof, meaning they can survive a full-on dunk in a pool, lake, etc. That's indicated by the "7" in the "IPX7" rating. Some are also dustproof (the "6" in an "IP67" rating), meaning sand and other particles shouldn't interfere with their operation.
My evaluation of these speakers started with opening the box: Did I find useful, novice-friendly instructions inside? Granted, it's neither time-consuming nor difficult to pair a Bluetooth speaker with a phone or tablet, but if you've never done it before, you need that bit of guidance. Unfortunately, in most cases you get only a small, incomplete quick-start guide — one that usually directs you to scan a QR code for a more detailed manual.
Then I moved onto the controls: Were they clearly labeled, easy to see and/or obvious in their functions? I don't want to have to consult said manual just to remember which button is for power and which is to play/pause music. (Looking at you, Wonderboom 4.)
Finally: sound quality. That's always a subjective subject, and I wasn't expecting miracles from speakers small enough to fit in my palm. Similarly, I didn't expect much bass — but I was certainly on the lookout (listen-out?) for it.
For testing purposes, I paired each model to my iPhone 16e (no issues on that front), then set the volume level to 50% and, where possible, the equalizer to its default setting. (The Sony and Ultimate Ears speakers don't offer EQs.) I listened to my favorite playlists, both in my house and outdoors, to get a sense for power, clarity and overall audio quality. Meanwhile, did voices sound clear in podcasts? And when I cranked the volume to 100%, was there any distortion?
I also watched some TikTok videos to make sure the audio was in proper synchronization — which it occasionally wasn't. (See the FAQ section, below.)
We didn't test battery life because it's not only extremely time-consuming, but also inconsistent: Runtime is affected by things like volume level, equalizer settings and so on. What's more, we don't consider it a make-or-break feature: Are you going to avoid buying a particular speaker if a battery test shows that it lasts, say, 9 hours instead of the rated 10 hours?
Yes, and in fact these can be great when you want bigger, better sound than what you can get from your phone's speaker. Just note that synchronization can be an issue: The Tribit StormBox Mini+ was noticeably out of sync with TikTok videos, and the others exhibited a hint of lag (though not so much as to ruin the viewing experience). A lot of Bluetooth headphones have special modes to compensate for this kind of thing; not so any of these speakers.
In this group, that honor goes to the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4. Although it doesn't have the highest wattage, it's definitely the loudest speaker.
I'd say they can have decent bass. They're limited by their physical size; there just isn't room enough for the hardware necessary to produce that deep, boisterous boom. If that's important to you, consider stepping up to something larger.