The best speakers for top tech and amazing audio

Who it's for:

Some people want a Bluetooth speaker that's first and foremost a way to listen to music, and some people want a better audio experience than other run-of-the-mill smart speakers might be able to manage. If you fall in the later group, we recommend the Sonos Move.

Why we picked this:

This durable, battery-powered speaker is a great Bluetooth speaker for your home, especially if you want one you can move around with you — say, from the pool area to your office to the dining room. It's also strong enough to take the occasional drop or bump.

While it is portable, this speaker might not be the easiest to travel with over long distances due to its weight and bulky size. The battery lasts up to 11 hours and comes with a charging base. You can also recharge it with a USB-C charger. 

This speaker is simple to set up, can be controlled through the Sonos app, and can switch from WiFi to Bluetooth streaming when needed. It’s also weather-resistant and able to stand up to humidity, rain, snow, dust, sun rays, and salt. 

The Sonos Arc is hailed by many reviewers as the soundbar to beat. And we can't deny that it's in the conversation for the best of the best. All that’s holding us back from saying you must absolutely buy the Sonos Arc is the price, which is among the more expensive options on the market. But there’s little doubt that the Sonos Arc lives up to the price tag.

The audio is absolutely stunning — bolstered by Dolby Atmos — with crisp dialogue, immersive layers, and plenty of thumping bass. The Sonos Arc is relatively discrete, though it's made to pair with big TVs and fill even bigger rooms with the best Dolby Atmos-powered surround sound available.

Indeed, if you’re part of the 50-inch TV gang, the Sonos Arc absolutely made for you. That means it’s ideal for big movies or series too — anything that demands a sound that's both immersive and detailed. Trueplay Tuning analyses the room and intelligently tweaks the sound.

Rather than a remote control, you can use the Sonos app. It sounds like smart home-friendly progress, though it’s a negative for a lot of users. Luckily, your regular TV remote will control the volume if you set up the soundbar via the HDMI ARC. There are voice control options too, thanks to Alexa.

If there's anything to niggle about, it's the lack of other input options. The Sonos Arc has just the one HDMI ARC input, meaning there's no HDMI passthrough option. You can connect via Bluetooth, however.

The Klipsch R-40M are among the best passive bookshelf speakers, and cost under £300 for a set of two. 

They can handle up to 200W of power, and sound fantastic (plus, they look really sleek). They can also be mounted on stands or set up out of the way, so you have a lot of options for placement around the home.  

As for the actual audio, they deliver a crisp and clear sound than can be comfortably described as crowd-pleasing — all-round performance that doesn't overdo things. There isn't quite as much oomph in the bass, though few listeners will expect bookshelf speakers to handle the lowestbassy tones.

Overall, these speakers offer maximum versatility without sacrificing the sound, which is why they make this list.

There are all sorts of active speakers out there, with brands such as Bowers & Wilkinson and KEF offering high ticket, hi-tech options. But active speakers don't need to cost you the kind of money that rattles your brain like deep bass. For affordable active speakers, the Q Acoustics M20 are hard to beat.

The design and size allows you to place them just about anywhere, with the connections to hook up a variety of systems, from laptops to stereos to TVs.

There's plenty of scope and energy in the sound. They easily out-play other speakers within this price range and match up to speakers that cost a lot more. This is down to an impressive amount of power in the master speaker, with the option to also connect an additional subwoofer.

Of course, we couldn't forget about those of you who are exclusively plugged in to your computers — as in, the increasing number of people who consume all media directly from their laptop or PC, whether it’s music, podcasts, movies, social media, or anything else. That also goes for those of you who are WFH.

This Logitech bundle comes with two speakers, as well as a subwoofer, to provide you with rich, dynamic sound — whether you’re gaming or going down yet another YouTube rabbit hole. Hey, we've all been there.

Another plus point is that this Logitech bundle is a budget-friendly option. That means the sound quality doesn’t match higher-priced speakers, but we know that saving is important when you're putting together your dream PC setup. Costs can spiral, so this affordable bundle is a great value option.

If you have the room and want something versatile for playing all types of media, floorstanding speakers are the way to go. 

This beast from Polk Audio will give you big sound — it's a big speaker, after all — and won't cost you all that much. In fact, Polk Audio are a great alternative to higher-end brands, and they won't skimp on performance. Though if you want a pair, you'll have to add two to your basket — that's twice the price.

They're built for any kind of media, but work especially well as part of a home cinema system. With sharp highs and deep lows, Polk Audio boasts that this speaker is compatible with all latest platforms and sound technology — the likes of Apple Music, Spotify, and Dolby Atmos will all sound sweet.

The KEF LS50 Meta look fantastic and they’ve got the sound to match. Their upgraded tech is based around a 12th generation Uni-Q driver array for precise, pure-sounding acoustic performance. Reviewers rate how brilliantly natural the sound is (though some reviewers have said they actually sound better off the bookshelf where they’ve got space to really show their stuff sound-wise — despite being bookshelf style speakers).

The speakers also use something called Metamaterial Absorption Technology (MAT), essentially a small disc at the rear of the speaker with a maze-like system of tubes. This absorbs any excess, distortion-causing soundwaves of various frequencies, which keeps the sound cleaner. And it really works.

The curved front of the speaker is also designed to help sound, using an injection-moulded Dough Moulding Compound (DMC) which stays rigid and radiates sound. Overall, the KEF LS50 Meta are a fantastic pick — speakers that will sound good to both audiophiles and more casual listeners alike.