You can find a full breakdown of what each IP rating means here. If you’re after something extremely resilient, you’ll want to look out for speakers with an IP67 rating. Good overall quality for wireless speakers. Since true wireless speakers were invented, we have lamented at poor sound quality, weak bass reproduction, and tinny high note fiascos. JBL have included top quality audio components, and we were pleased with the overall experience. In terms of features the JBL Charge 5 is relatively basic compared to something like theJBL Pulse 4– which provides a customizable lightshow for users – but for this fifth generation JBL has incrementally improved sound quality and volume while still offering all-day battery life.

You need to play extremely loudly: It's loud, but if you’re looking for max volume, you’ll need to look at even bigger speakers, like the Tribit Stormbox Blast.JBL is well known for making some of the best waterproof speakers affordable prices, and it’s line of party speakers even come with built-in light shows.

Every Bluetooth speaker is judged on a performance-per-pound basis, and we make sure to compare speakers with similarly-priced class leaders to help ensure we get a good sense of a speaker's performance as well as help us to settle on a score. We've tested and thoroughly reviewed all of the Bluetooth speakers in this guide ourselves by listening to them on their own and by comparing them to the current class-leaders. Basically, if it's listed here, you know we think it's worth it over the myriad rival models we've reviewed (because plenty do not make it here, believe us). We test each Bluetooth speaker in a range of environments and against its chief competitors too, so you know that the product will work just as well in the great outdoors as it does in your home. We live with these speakers in our homes to make sure that their performances are consistent, and we don't finalize our testing until we are certain of the sound quality. The Tribit Stormbox Blast is an unusual speaker and there are a few things you need to know before you consider it: it's quite heavy and you can't turn those lights off completely –although you can make it so they only pop up when you're switching the volume levels. The battery life is consistent with other Bluetooth speakers of similar size and shape from brands like JBL and Ultimate Ears. In our testing we got about 8 hours of use at a low to mid volume range. Cranking it up to the max reduced battery life to 6 hours, which is somewhat disappointing, if not expected given the volume level.

READ NEXT: The best outdoor speakers on the market Can I take calls and use my voice assistant with a Bluetooth speaker? If you're looking for a speaker to toss in a bag or clip to a bike, you'll find it hard to get a better speaker for such a low price. It's superb, and its flaws are very minor – only that there's no wired connection, really. Speakerphone: A speaker with a speakerphone lets you receive calls. Some speakerphones have a noise and echo-cancelling feature for better sound clarity. This compact speaker from Sonos is a portable Bluetooth speaker with an ace up its sleeve: Wi-Fi connectivity. When out and about you’ll be making use of Bluetooth and the Roam’s 10-hour battery life but at home, you can hook it up to your wireless network and integrate it into an existing Sonos multiroom speaker system.

Happily, the Beosound A1 is tougher than its delicate looks would suggest. The A1 is now water and dust-proof to the high IP67 rating, meaning it should be happy being subjected to a 30-minute swim up to a metre deep. Quoted battery life is also a solid 18 hours at normal listening volume, or up to 48 hours at a more conservative level, so running out of juice halfway through your camping trip shouldn't be too much of a concern. You need Wi-Fi connectivity: You only get Bluetooth support with the Hyperboom, so look elsewhere for a wireless speaker that hooks up to your home network. For the best sound quality, we recommend keeping the speaker around 50-60% volume based on our experience – when you have to push beyond this volume, there’s likely so much ambient noise that sound quality isn’t the first priority.

We put the Sonos Move through its paces with a range of songs, musical styles, and in a variety of different locations. What's always clear is that the Sonos Move manages what few other Bluetooth speakers can –tight and punchy bass, shimmering highs and a vocals that cut through it all with direct clarity. If you need a speaker you can take everywhere, make sure you look at the best waterproof speakersor if you're looking for multi room audio smarts, read our guide to the best wireless speakers.