OpenTube

Portable Speaker Showdown: Which Should You Buy!? (2026)

Smart Home Sounds

61,564 views

Our 2026 Portable Speaker Comparison puts 8 of the best portable bluetooth speakers head-to-head to find out which speaker is the best. We put the Sonos Roam 2, Bose SoundLink Flex 2, UE Boom 4, JBL Flip 7, Marshall Emberton III, soundcore Boom 3i, Sony ULT Field 1 and Beats Pill through their paces to decide our winner! Which one would you go for? Let us know in the comments...

Shop Sonos Roam 2: https://cwrd.link/r/sonosroam
Shop JBL Flip 7: https://cwrd.link/r/sonosroam
Shop Sony ULT Field 1: https://cwrd.link/r/sonyfield1
Shop Marshall Emberton III: https://cwrd.link/r/embertonlll

Extra Sound Tests:
Sound Test 1: Best Bluetooth Portable Speaker Sound Test...
Sound Test 2: Best Bluetooth Portable Speaker Sound Test...

Shop Portable Speakers: https://smarthomesounds.link/m5lmlj
Visit us for all things audio visual: https://smarthomesounds.link/cfu4jd

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
01:26 Sound Test
03:13 Sound Performance
09:38 Design
16:16 Battery Life
17:40 Features
25:00 Final Scores

Visit us: https://www.smarthomesounds.co.uk/che...

GET IN TOUCH

Got any questions or looking for more personal advice? Get in touch - we’d love to help!

✉️ Email - info@smarthomesounds.co.uk

📞 Call - 01242 903655

💬 Live chat - https://smarthomesounds.link/8b4nrw

FOLLOW US:

📸 Instagram - https://smarthomesounds.link/tOqdNo

🐦 Twitter - https://smarthomesounds.link/HbK60Y

📕 Facebook - https://smarthomesounds.link/iRYsdP

VISIT OUR BLOG

📝 - https://smarthomesounds.link/xK3hNl

WHO ARE WE?

Smart Home Sounds is one of the leading UK online audio retailers. We sell a range of wireless speakers, turntables, headphones, HIFI equipment and much more.

✅ Free Next Day Delivery

✅ 6 Year Extended Sonos Warranty

✅ 30 Day Listen Better Promise

✅ VIP Loyalty Scheme

✅ Expert help & advice

20 Comments

@austinthebeast33 3 weeks ago

I got my mom a jbl flip 6 in December of 2021. She uses it every single day and it is still going strong in 2026

@linecalls 1 month ago

I think you might consider normalizing your scoring system to avoid differences in how each of you scores each category. For instance, you could rank each speaker from 1 to 8 in each category, divide the sound ranking in half, and total the numbers, with the lowest number being the best speaker.

Normalizing the scores would reduce the effect of one reviewer being generally more generous or critical than another. Ranking each speaker within a category puts everyone's evaluations on the same scale and focuses the results on how each speaker compares with the others.

@malvinarjuna5935 1 month ago

I have decided to take the JBL Flip 7, it is very good.

@SakibRahman-h7r 1 day ago

Just ordered the marshal after seeing your video!

@Nicholle-r9m 4 weeks ago

Top Video, weiter so! 🚀

@CalvinLimSH-ld5le 1 month ago (edited)

The small portable speaker in the market that I would consider buying depends on the sound quality, clarity and loudness (without distortion) it can project into the room itself. It all depends on the blue tooth speaker brand / design / version 5.4 (latest technology) / speakers configuration (bass / mid / treble) / (battery sizes (hrs playback) / output wattages (loudness) / s/n ratio (clarity) / latency test (playback response) / auxiliary port (wired connection to many devices) / Ipx rated (waterproof) /etc ... Lastly, price issues will be last deciding factor that I consider buying without spending too much what I can afford to pay for the best sounding speaker. Cheers !
Note :
I am a church musician who uses a lot of smartphone music apps like : Real Piano / guitar / drums / pads/ etc ... connected to one or more blue tooth speakers. The sound reproduction of the musical instruments (Piano / guitar / violin / drums / flute / trumpet / etc ... ) is what I look for in the speaker of my choice at the end of the day.

@oliverstemp9132 3 days ago

I have the Bose Soundlink Flex and the Beats Pill and they’re both very good.

@saiiiii8683 1 month ago

I don’t know about the other countries but here in India, the Sony’s often go on massive sales. The ult field 1 is often found selling around $80, i got the ult field 3 for around $120. Seen the bose come down to $140-150 too. Price comes into play when i’m buying them and the sony ones are sometimes half the price of speakers you guys listed. I think all of them are pretty close neck to neck and i’d pick the cheaper ones if i were given an option

@bobjordan1820 4 weeks ago

great review and thx guys.
The Bose gen 2 is brilliant!

@Tedptod28 2 weeks ago

Can u do a review for a larger speaker class including the charge 6 and megaboom 4

@malindurajapaksha1791 4 weeks ago

i just subbed to this channel and i want to see a comparison in jbl flip 7 and xiaomi sound party.
i have the jbl flip 6,xiaomi sound party and the jbl charge 6 .

@SUTH_33 5 days ago

do a review on new sony ult towers

@prash1246 3 weeks ago (edited)

You should also add hk luna 2,kef muo and edifier Es60

@hodasamadi7903 3 days ago (edited)

I think next time, you could have the name of each speaker pop up next to the test speakers. I think the Bose and Sonos tied for me. In 2nd, Marshall, Beats Pill, Soundcore, and JBL sounded the same to me.

@aw13 1 month ago

KEF Muo should be included

@kuba_fotograf 4 weeks ago

I was choosing between the Flip 7, Flex 2, and Emberton. In my opinion, Bose offers the best overall quality and full-range sound. The Marshall sounds interesting with guitar-heavy music, but even for rock, I prefer the Bose. I also find the Bose more portable than the Marshall, which lags behind both JBL and Bose in that regard. I don't understand the high ratings the Marshall gets for its build and portability.

@JayMeadowBrook-s9m 2 weeks ago

is the JBL tuner 3 suitable.

@ギラドーガ-j4s 3 weeks ago

B＆OのBEOSOUND EXPLOREを２つ購入しました。特に女性ボーカルの音が爽やかに聴こえます

@channelzerobyzad 1 month ago

I just bought the sony, on sail for about €50, deal breaker and good enough for me. Fine for travel and use in hotel room.

@ВладимирМаликов-ф3з 4 weeks ago (edited)

I have flip 7.
Did someone told you, that the shell of the cloth you can actually relatively easy dismount, clean, and put on again?
I've dropped it from two stories ob the rocks and it lives, I dropped it with myself from the bike and the twitter fails.
Now... I don't know no engendering, but twitter have it's thick legs that have been unattached.,. Anyway, I've fixed it with small patch of paper, to keep pressure on contacts.
And my lively speaker with me.
It's build like AK-47...
I don't know if any of those will be surviving

Also, it not supposed to survive salt water, but second summer it swims with me in the see