The best Prime Day speaker deals: Last chance to get up to 47 percent off on JBL, Bose, Sonos and others

Engadget

3 days ago

If you're ready to upgrade how you listen to music and experience TV, the July Amazon Prime Day sale is almost certain to be your best chance this year — but today's the final day. Amazon is knocking chunks off the prices of premium Sonos soundbars, bluetooth speakers from JBL and Soundcore, its own Echo smart speakers and more of the best audio hardware. The deals below are drawn from our curated lists of the best smart speakers, best soundbars and best portable bluetooth speakers. We recommend taking a look now, as it's not likely any of these products will be so cheap again until at least Ocrober.
Our portable bluetooth speaker picks are some of the best all-around mobile music devices to ever hit the shelves: smaller and lighter than a boombox, better audio than an iPod, and way easier in the long run than learning to play guitar. We've sifted through Prime Day offerings to find the best portable speakers in all shapes and sizes. Beats Pill for $99 (34 percent off): The Beats Pill is one of the few portable bluetooth speakers we liked enough to give it a full review. Those of you who love the classic Beats bluetooth speakers will be happy to know they're back in fine form. Nobody can beat the Pill for bass, and its sound is crisp and lossless at almost any frequency and volume. For some reason, only the Kim Kardashian branded version is on sale, but it's the exact same speaker.
Soundcore Motion 300 for $53 (34 percent off): The Motion 300 is that rare portable speaker that outperforms at both high and low frequencies. Its upper range goes into 40 kHz, while its bass can deliver bone-shaking thumps even outdoors. All that in 1.7 pounds with 13 hours of battery life — and it's even partially waterproof.
Anker Soundcore Motion+ for $75 (24 percent off): Tough, sturdy construction makes this speaker an excellent choice for home bluetooth. Its battery lasts for 12 hours in the wild, and it always sounds great, but it's a bit heavy for pedaling through the park. There's also an option for wired connections, and it even works as a backup soundbar.
Anker Soundcore 2 for $28 (38 percent off): The Soundcore 2 is an older bluetooth speaker, but it holds up — fully waterproof, with 24 hours of battery life and bass you can hear on the other side of a pool. It's on sale for less than $30.
Soundcore Select 4 for $19 (46 percent off): This 9.3-ounce speaker is a massive improvement over built-in smartphone audio. It can fill a room at a decent range of frequencies, and works well in room-sized outdoor spaces — plus, with IP67 waterproofing, it can survive a dip in the pool. It's currently almost half off.
UE Everboom for $190 (30 percent off): If you want something stronger than the Wonderboom but the Hyperboom isn't portable enough, the Everboom is a great middle ground. Its ideal range is a little narrow, but it makes up for that with 360-degree sound and extreme durability (i.e. so waterproof it literally floats).
JBL Pulse 5 for $197 (21 percent off): The Pulse 5 is JBL's latest and greatest party speaker, throwing out 360-degree light bursts that sync up to the music. There's substance behind the flash, too, with speakers designed around the bass frequencies and 12 hours of battery life.
Bose SoundLink Flex 2nd Gen for $99 (34 percent off): This mini speaker from Bose is one of our favorites on the list for hands-free phone calls. It supports both Google Assistant and Siri and runs up to 12 hours on one charge, all while being smaller than a clutch purse. It also kills as a portable music player, though the sound doesn't stretch far enough to fill a room.
Bose Soundlink Revolve+ Series II for $179 (40 percent off): The Revolve series was Bose's first line of 360-degree outdoor speakers, and they're still a strong choice today. The Revolve+ weighs about two pounds and can run for 17 hours without recharging.
Bose Soundlink Max for $299 (25 percent off): Bose's Soundlink Max marries a classic carrying-case design with audio that sounds like it's coming from a much bigger unit. It comes with a 20-hour battery and IP67-rated protection against the elements.
Marshall Emberton II for $95 (47 percent off): Marshall has been making audio equipment for more than 60 years, and still has a thing or two to teach the young'ns. The Emberton II looks like a classic amp, but weighs a quarter of a pound and provides balanced sound for more than 30 hours per charge.
Marshall Acton III for $200 (33 percent off): All right, so a six-pound speaker isn't exactly portable — but if you can stand lugging it around, the Acton III can be a highly versatile device. From music to outdoor parties to pulling double duty as a soundbar, this is a low-setup, low-overhead option for nearly all audio tasks.
Ortizan X10 for $30 (41 percent off): Ortizan is a newer brand from China, but we like what we've seen from them so far. The X10 is the size of the Beats Pill but comes at the price of a belt-clip speaker like the JBL Go 3. If you do have a problem, Ortizan's customer service is highly responsive.
Smart speakers aren't just about getting a disembodied voice to do your bidding (or at least as much of your bidding as Alexa can do without hands). On top of assistant support, the picks below serve up legitimately great audio quality alongside useful extra features. The only downside is that they're often overpriced, but that's what Prime Day is for. Amazon Echo Dot for $32 (36 percent off): Amazon may not have updated the Echo Dot since 2022, but that just goes to show how well this spherical smart speaker serves as the perfect host for Alexa. Both music and speech sound clear, and it's easy to integrate with other smart home devices. Right now, it's marked down more than a third.
Amazon Echo Pop for $22 (45 percent off): The latest Echo Pop release continues the trend of making Alexa's best features available on a mini-sized, reasonably priced device. Its half-spherical design fits on any desk or shelf, and its sound output is consistently clear — and gets louder than you might believe.
Sonos Era 100 for $179 (10 percent off): Smart speakers from the Amazon Echo line play perfectly good music, but true audiophiles in need of assistant support should look to Sonos. The Era 100 has tweeters and woofers precisely arranged for clear, full-room sound, and it's easy to hook up to your other audio gear. Just be warned it only supports Alexa, not Google Assistant.
JBL Authentics 200 for $200 (47 percent off): JBL's Authentics line is modeled after a product it sold in the 70s. Its old-school bookshelf-friendly design belies its advanced feat of running Google Assistant and Alexa simultaneously (as opposed to other smart speakers where you have to pick just one).
JBL Authentics 300 for $285 (37 percent off): The JBL Authentics 300 can host both Alexa and Google Assistant at the same time, which impressed us enough that we gave it a full review. While we had some issues — namely its tendency to over-emphasize vocals — we can't quibble with its high-range performance or retro design.
Flatter, lighter and larger TV screens are nice for visuals, but often sacrifice sound quality to lose weight. If you've found yourself turning on the subtitles for your shows more often lately, you might need a soundbar to augment your TV's built-in speakers. We found a few of the best on sale for Prime Day — Sonos leads this space, but it's not without competitors. Bose Smart for $400 (20 percent off): In our full review of the Bose Smart, we noted that two drivers in the center make its sound feel directional without any other speakers needed — simply cranking up those makes any audio more immersive. You can also link it to a pair of Ultra Open Earbuds (not included) for a private surround sound experience.
Bose Smart Ultra for $700 (22 percent off): The Smart Ultra upgrades the Bose Smart with a more sophisticated calibration system which adjusts sound settings to fill whatever room it's in. If you want the Smart's personal surround experience for more than one person, the Smart Ultra is for you.
Sonos Beam for $369 (26 percent off): The Sonos Beam is a fantastic choice for a mid-budget soundbar. It's one of the most accessible Dolby Atmos systems, and uses careful audio alterations to achieve a much more immersive sound than other bars of its size.
Sonos Ray for $169 (15 percent off): If you're looking to pay a bit less, go with the Sonos Ray to maximize sound quality on a budget. The audio won't wrap around your room like it might from a more premium model, but it's still a vast improvement on nearly all built-in TV speakers.
Amazon Fire TV Plus for $150 (40 percent off): Amazon's latest Fire TV soundbar is built for streaming TV and emphasizing dialogue. If you have any other Amazon TVs or streaming devices, you'll find it easy to integrate with your existing hardware — you can even use the same remote to control them all.
Sony HT-S400 for $178 (41 percent off): Sony built the HT-S400 for everyone who wants a soundbar but not an entire home theater. It's a 2.1-channel system that still manages immersive surround sound and is easy to integrate with Sony TVs. Right now, it's 40 percent off, one of the best prices we've seen on any soundbar.
Sony Bravia Theater Bar 6 for $448 (31 percent off): One of Sony's newest audio products, the Bravia Theater Bar 6 is a 3.1.2 soundbar that can bend audio in more directions to fill your theater space. It can handle Dolby Atmos, and has an integrated AI feature that recognizes and clarifies human voices.
VIZIO 2.0 for $78 (22 percent off): Vizio's budget soundbar makes a worthy alternative to the Sonos Ray. It punches above its weight and gets as close as possible to Dolby Atmos surround sound as a single unit can manage. For less than $100, you'll never mishear a line of dialogue again.
JBL Bar 9.1 for $760 (37 percent off): The 9.1 is JBL's first sound bar to be compatible with Dolby Atmos, and it doesn't disappoint. Each unit comes with two wireless speakers you can move around your viewing room, and there's even a 4K passthrough input to ensure your sound system doesn't mess with image quality.