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Speaker Reviews

We can all do with more music and, thankfully, tech manufacturers couldn’t be more eager to sell you a speaker, whether it’s a multi-room setup from Sonos, a wireless Bluetooth option from Bose or JBL, or a smart speaker, like the HomePod, Google Home, or Alexa-powered Amazon Echo. Not all of them are good or reasonably priced, but we’ve cut through the overcrowded speaker market and offered a critique to the most popular speakers.

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7

Verge Score

JBL Authentics 300 smart speaker review: two assistants at once

JBL is the first to make Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant coexist on the same speaker, and it works quite well. But the price you pay for that convenience feels a little uneven.

6

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UE Epicboom review: an epic price for an ordinary speaker

It’s 2023. If Ultimate Ears is going to charge this much, there needs to be more to its speaker than just Bluetooth.

9

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Sonos Move 2 review: a slam-dunk sequel

With stereo sound, twice the battery life, and line-in playback, the Move 2 improves upon the original at every turn — unless you need Google Assistant.

7

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Sonos Era 300 review: too ahead of its time

When you find a good spatial audio song, Sonos’ new speaker can blow your mind and sounds like nothing else. But it trails the Sonos Five at stereo playback and suffers from the wildly inconsistent state of Atmos mixes.

8

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Sonos Era 100 review: the new default smart speaker

The more affordable Era speaker improves upon the Sonos One by nearly every measure and will likely find the same success and popularity among Sonos customers.

7

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Devialet Dione soundbar review: brilliant bass for an exorbitant price

The $2,400 Dione is a luxury buy for people who don’t want to deal with surrounds or a subwoofer

7

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Sonos Ray review: a starter soundbar sort of stuck in the past

The Ray offers fantastic voice clarity and crisp sound, but this optical-only soundbar isn’t without frustrations

7.5

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8

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Ikea and Sonos picture frame speaker review: wall of sound

The latest Symfonisk collaboration is another attempt to camouflage tech in the home

8

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Sonos Roam review: portable potential

The tiny, lightweight speaker has a ton of functionality, but don’t expect sound quality miracles

7.5

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Sony RA5000 speaker review: extravagant sound at an unreasonable price

It’s a very Sony product, in ways both good and bad

7.5

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Apple HomePod mini review: playing small ball

Apple’s newest smart speaker is way more affordable but still chasing Amazon and Google

7.5

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Google Nest Audio review: the sweet spot

Google’s latest smart speaker has good sound and an attractive price

8

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Amazon Echo (2019) review: middle child syndrome

Amazon’s latest Echo speaker splits the difference between a high-end smart speaker and an entry-level model

8.5

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Amazon Echo Dot with clock review: time is on its side

A $59 clock that also comes with a pretty good speaker

8

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Sonos Move review: house shaker, not road warrior

Sonos’ first portable speaker is more comfortable at home than on the go

8

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Ikea’s new speakers are the most affordable way to get Sonos in your home

The Symfonisk lamp and bookshelf speakers actually sound good, too

7.5

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Apple HomePod review: locked in

It sounds amazing. Is that enough?