10 best wireless speakers for your home that combine style and superior sound

Sonos is one of the most well-known brands making wireless speakers for the home. It’s been a master in multi-room audio for two decades, offering an easy-to-use app and excellent support across music streaming services. The Era 100 sits at the entry point to the Sonos range of wireless speakers and is an excellent option.

There's a lovely solid, sleek design with intuitive touch controls on the top, superb sound performance and a range of clever features. The “Trueplay” function allows you to easily tune the Era 100 to its surroundings in a matter of minutes for the best sound performance. Alexa and Sonos Voice Control offer simple hands-free control.

Dolby Atmos and spatial audio support are missing, both of which you'll find on the slightly larger Sonos Era 300 – also on this list – and you can't use the Sonos mobile app when you aren't on your wifi network, but otherwise, there's pretty much everything you could want here from a wireless speaker for the home.

Setup is simple through the Sonos app, requiring just a couple of taps, and control through the app is easy too, though as mentioned, you can also use your voice for hands-free playback.

Read our Sonos Era 100 speaker review

Amazon's Echo range of speakers is extensive, with varying sound performance across the models. The Echo Pop doesn't offer the best sound quality of the range – you want the Echo Studio, also on this list, for that – but it's compact and discreet, making it a perfect bedside table speaker.

What it lacks in precision and clarity on the sound front, it makes up for in features too. Controlled predominantly by voice like other Echo speakers, you can ask Alexa to play music, audiobooks and podcasts from any music services you have signed up for; you can also ask about the weather, control smart home devices, and set timers or reminders. You can adjust the volume on the Pop itself if you don't want to use your voice, and there's a microphone mute button if you want some privacy.

Setup is easy through the Alexa app (a couple of steps), as is grouping it with other Echo speakers for multi-room audio. One of the best extras is that the Echo Pop can also act as a wifi extender if you have an Amazon Eero mesh network, giving it multiple uses for its very reasonable price. The colour options are more exciting than other wireless speakers on this list: it comes in Lavender Bloom, Glacier White, Charcoal and Midnight Teal.

Read our Amazon Echo Pop speaker review

The Apple HomePod mini offers brilliant sound performance for its size, and it does so in a neat, compact package that will look excellent on a kitchen counter, bedside table, or indeed anywhere else you might want to place it in your home. It's more premium in looks than the similarly-sized Amazon Echo Pop and Google Nest Mini and it sounds much better too, deserving its place as our pick for the best mini wireless speaker.

Setup is nice and simple if you have an Apple iPhone or iPad, which instantly recognise the HomePod mini and there are only a couple of taps involved in setup from there. It doesn’t play nice with Android so if you don't have Apple devices, this isn't the wireless speaker for you.

However, if you're an Apple user, a glass control touch panel lights up in all kinds of wonderful colours when you activate Siri, while also offering easy control if you don't want to use your voice. There’s also a handy Intercom feature for sending announcements to the HomePod mini speaker from your phone, such as when you’re on your way home.

The HomePod mini would benefit from an accompanying app, but there's a lovely range of colours on offer and it can act as a smart home hub for Apple's HomeKit compatible devices giving it an extra use. It’s worth mentioning that we’re also fans of the brand’s larger HomePod (2nd generation), which is a powerful and expensive speaker option to use with other Apple devices. And, if you prefer Alexa, Amazon's Echo Dot is a great option at around the same size as the small HomePod.

Read our Apple HomePod mini speaker review

Want a ‘70s-inspired look complete with leather-like accents, a front grille, a robust handle and proper knobs and buttons for control? The JBL Authentics 300 is the option to pick for its blend of classic design and up-to-date features. It supports app control and sound customisation, Bluetooth, wifi, AirPlay 2, Chromecast and Spotify Connect.

Its smartest trick, though, is offering the simultaneous use of both Alexa and Google Assistant, whereas on other speakers you’d have to choose one or the other. We tested this out, and both work well from the speaker. There’s also a physical mute switch — ideal when you don’t want voice assistants listening in.

Another addition we like is the simple “favourite” button, which you can set to launch straight into a playlist of your choosing — it’s just a shame that Spotify isn’t supported directly within the app, though. Nevertheless, we found it simple to set up direct access to a “top hits” playlist on Qobuz or Amazon Music Unlimited.

While the Authentics 300 can run on battery power, its 4.9kg weight, lack of waterproofing and limited battery life make it more suitable for indoor use or short relocations rather than extended portability. Beyond these downsides and the high price, though, it’s hard to fault.

On test, we loved the rich, powerful sound quality with crisp vocals, deep bass and a balanced midrange. It sounds great whether used over wifi or Bluetooth, and we think the retro style and tactile button and dial controls make it particularly appealing.

There’s no getting around the fact that the Bose SoundLink Home is a bit expensive for what it offers. It’s a compact and simple portable Bluetooth speaker that doesn’t connect to the Bose app for extra features, isn’t protected from dust and water, and doesn’t have any sound customisation. For £220, that’s going to feel hard to justify for a lot of buyers.

But, for many of us, those drawbacks will be outweighed by its stunning design. This is a home speaker that really looks the part. It’s unlike so many Bluetooth models that have garish branding, unsightly materials and colours, or straps and carry handles that you don’t need around the home.

Bose has gone all in on design for this little speaker; it has a chic look with curved brushed aluminium all around and a fabric grille over the speaker unit itself, along with intuitive tactile buttons on top. It’s a little retro, a little minimalist, and definitely something that’s going to look the part in a home office or living room. It’s subtle enough to not hog attention, but sleek enough to catch the eye. And it’s available in three classic and understated colours.

Beyond looks, it offers great sound and little else. It’s punchy and more capable of filling a room than we’d expected for its small size. It’s nuanced, crisp, and doesn’t get distorted at a high volume, too. If you don’t mind the price and some missing features, it's one for those who only care about good sound and good looks.

The Sonos Era 300 isn't the largest wireless speaker in the Sonos portfolio, but it is the most impressive. It's also our top-rated wireless speaker for sound quality. There's deep and impactful bass, coupled with detailed and precise sound overall, making everything sound excellent, whether you're listening to classical, pop or the radio.

The standout feature of this wireless speaker compared to many others is that it supports Dolby Atmos and spatial audio, delivering a more immersive sound experience. Despite it being a single box solution, it can make compatible tracks feel like they’re coming from multiple speakers around you. The design is modern and striking too, making for a perfect living room statement speaker. Setup and use are both very simple, just like on the smaller Era 100.

There's great support for a huge variety of streaming services, plus Apple AirPay 2, Bluetooth and line-in technologies, so there are plenty of options to get your favourite music playing. Alexa is also an option, meaning you can control smart home devices, set reminders or find out about the weather, while Sonos Voice Control allows you to control volume, play tracks and group the Era 300 with another Sonos speaker for multi-room audio using just your voice, should you want to.

Read our Sonos Era 300 speaker review

If you're looking for a bookshelf speaker, Bang & Olufsen's Beosound Emerge takes that to a whole new level. It's our top pick for the best-designed wireless speaker because it's gorgeous, discreet, made from premium materials, and will blend seamlessly into your home.

Control is nice and simple too with the option of voice, app or touch control, and the setup is also quick and easy. Our preferred option for control was the app, which is not only nicely designed but offers several useful features, like the ability to adjust the sound to the room – similar to Trueplay from Sonos – adapt the equaliser and choose from various sound modes.

The sound performance is great too with a detailed and balanced delivery that offers a good level of punch without being too much. It doesn't offer quite as big a sound as some others on this list but you'll find many of the same features, from Google Assistant support to Apple AirPlay, Spotify Connect and Chromecast.

The Sonos Move 2 sits between the Era 100 and the Era 300 in terms of its sound performance, offering a little extra on top of the Era 100 but sacrificing spatial audio support compared to the Era 300. It's more versatile than both of those Sonos speakers, however, as well as all the others we’ve recommended thanks to its built-in battery.

What's brilliant about the Move 2 is that you get all the features and benefits of a Sonos system when you're connected to your home network, such as support for various streaming services, and the ability to adjust EQ preferences. You can group the Move 2 with any other Sonos speakers you have to use in a seamless multi-room setup. It also has Sonos Voice Control and Alexa built-in, should you wish to use them when on wifi.

The Move 2 has an integrated handle too, along with that integrated battery we mentioned, which allows for up to 24 hours of playback before it needs to be plugged in. It's perfect for taking into the garden for a BBQ, acting as a traditional Bluetooth speaker when not on your wifi network.

Like all Sonos speakers, it's also easy to set up, very simple to use through the Sonos app or the various alternative options like Apple AirPlay. We like that it comes in a lovely olive green colour, or black and white if you prefer.

The Brane X is an impressive speaker that delivers deep, powerful bass and a surprisingly spacious sound for its size. The way it handles instrumental separation is fantastic, and it makes music feel rich and layered.

A word of warning, though. The bass can be a bit too much. We’ve found it’s so strong that it’s best to keep the volume low to avoid shaking the walls. This may or may not be an issue, depending on whether you’re concerned about annoying the neighbours! While the app has controls to customise the sound, tweaking the bass to make it less boomy isn’t truly possible – you can turn it down, but it’s still a lot of bass.

Design-wise, this has a simple and understated look, and it’s made to be durable, with solid weatherproofing. The range of connectivity options is also great, as it has built-in Apple AirPlay, Spotify Connect and Alexa support. It’s technically portable, with a 12-hour battery life, but it’s also on the heavier side, so we’d expect it to stay plugged in at home – it’s probably not something you’ll casually toss in a bag.

If you love big, bold bass and want a speaker with smart features and great connectivity, the Brane X is a great choice. You may need to do some fine-tuning in the app and work around a few quirks, but it is the most powerful all-in-one speaker we’ve heard for room-filling sound and well-rounded bass with detail and texture.

Read our Brane X speaker review

The Ruark R410 is by far the largest wireless speaker on this list but it's also one of the most beautiful, arguably bettered only by the Bang & Olufsen Beosound Emerge. It's a statement speaker with a retro aesthetic, and one you'll want to put on display. You will need to make some room, but it's worth it, not just in terms of design, but sound quality too.

It has a slightly more fiddly setup than all the others on this list, requiring you to screw in an aerial if you want to take advantage of the DAB/FM radio feature, as well as connect to your wifi network using the screen on the front and the controls on top (or an Ethernet cable) as there's no accompanying app. The instructions are very easy to understand though and the additional remote is really rather lovely, and simple to use once it’s set up.

For playing music, there are plenty of options, from Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect built-in, to multi-room capabilities through Google Chromecast and Apple AirPlay. There's even an optional USB CD drive so all bases and devices are covered. The sound performance is excellent from all sources. The screen could be bigger, but it shows album art among other settings – it’s a nice touch and helps this wireless speaker stand out.