Our Favorite Waterproof Speaker
JBL Xtreme 3
Our Favorite Waterproof Speaker
JBL Xtreme 3
Now 26% Off
Pros
- Great sound
- Reasonably portable, thanks to the carry strap
For a party’s worth of sound in a portable package, JBL has got to be our pick. As with any JBL speaker, it gets loud, a lot louder than its size would have you believe. And even though JBL speakers tend to be a bit bass-heavy, that was never an issue with the Xtreme 3. It can get rocking without the lows drowning out the highs. With an IP67 rating, this is the perfect speaker for a beach, barbecue, or apartment party.
IP rating IP67Battery lifeUp to 15 hoursBest Looking Waterproof Speaker
Marshall Middleton
Best Looking Waterproof Speaker
Marshall Middleton
Pros
- Looks so cool, rare for a waterproof speaker
- Sounds great
Cons
- Faux leather trim requires a little care, especially after a beach trip
But we’ll never be able to deny the looks of Marshall’s bluetooth speakers. We love the Emberton, and the Middleton is it’s slightly larger sibling.
The sound is great, it’s IP67 rated, and it looks infinitely better than anything else on the market. When it’s not outside by the pool, we love to set it on display, like a real piece of decor.
IP ratingIP67Battery lifeUp to 20 hoursBest Speaker for the Shower
JBL JBL Go 3
Best Speaker for the Shower
JBL JBL Go 3
Now 20% Off
Pros
- Perfect size and volume for the shower
- Comes in a variety of colors
Cons
- Too small for most other spaces
You don’t need a $300 sound system with a subwoofer for your morning shower. Or, if you do, you’re showering differently than the rest of us. But this little three-inch speaker from JBL will fill your bathroom with sound without hogging counter or shelf space. It shows up a smartphone because you can change songs without drenching your more expensive tech. And it’s safe to completely submerge, should it fall into the bath.
IP ratingIP67Battery lifeUp to 5 hoursAdvertisement – Continue Reading Below
Most Impressive Battery Life
Anker Soundcore 2
Most Impressive Battery Life
Anker Soundcore 2
Pros
- Full day’s worth of battery life
- Decent sound for its size and price
Cons
- Not rated for dust protection
Anker gives you a lot for not a lot of money. The speaker itself is waterproof, so you can cart it anywhere messy. It has an outstanding battery life of up to 24 hours, which makes sense, considering Anker is best known for its charging devices. But what really makes it stand out is its BassUp technology. Unlike a lot of budget Bluetooth speakers, Anker doesn’t cheap out on the low end, producing rich, thumping bass.
IP ratingIPX7Battery lifeUp to 24 hoursBest Party Speaker Under $100
AOMAIS Portable Waterproof Speaker
Best Party Speaker Under $100
AOMAIS Portable Waterproof Speaker
Pros
- Big, clear sound
- Physically really tough, can take some knocks
Cons
- Not rated for dust protection
The AOMAIS speaker is loud. Like, really loud. It can easily fill a riotous party with decent quality sound, whether you’re inside or out. And while it’s perhaps not the most stylish option on this list, that protective rubber shell and tough-looking design make it virtually indestructible—an important quality when drunk people are congregating. It allows for full water submersion, too. You won’t go broke buying it, and you’ll have it for a long, long time.
IP ratingIPX7Battery lifeUp to 30 hoursBest Speaker With Internal Storage
Speaqua The Barnacle Pro
Best Speaker With Internal Storage
Speaqua The Barnacle Pro
Pros
- IP68 rating is as good as it gets
- Decent sound, size considered
Cons
- It’s just really small
This tiny speaker was built to be waterborne, whether via yacht or surfboard or dinky rowboat. It’s able to float on the surface, but should it go overboard, an IP68 rating means it can stay submerged for a good length of time. On board, a suction cup grip will firmly anchor it, and if Bluetooth is acting funky or you don’t want to risk bringing your smartphone out into the waves, it stores two thousand songs internally that it’ll shuffle through, no wireless connection required. (Yeah, you can skip the duds.)
IP ratingIP68Battery lifeUp to 8 hoursAdvertisement – Continue Reading Below
Best Sound Quality Under $100
Bose SoundLink Micro
Best Sound Quality Under $100
Bose SoundLink Micro
Now 17% Off
Pros
- Incredible sound in a small package
- Price is high, but justified
Cons
- Battery life isn’t great
Bose is one of the best consumer-level speaker brands in terms of sound quality. Unfortunately, you have to pay for that audio expertise. Case in point: the SoundLike Micro, which is built to be carted around but at a price point that’ll make you consider taking out insurance on it. The audio it produces is phenomenal, considering the diminutive size of the thing. The trade-off is its pitiful battery life and, we’ll say it again, the cost.
IP ratingIPX7Battery lifeUp to 6 hoursAll-Around Great Waterproof Speaker
Ultimate Ears Boom 3
All-Around Great Waterproof Speaker
Ultimate Ears Boom 3
Now 33% Off
Pros
- Deep bass, but highs still come through
- Looks nicer than a lot of waterproof speakers
- Portable size
Cons
- JBL Xtreme 3 just had more party-sized appeal
When in doubt, go with Ultimate Ears. UE makes an excellent waterproof Bluetooth speaker, the Boom 3. With 360-degree sound built on a deep bass foundation, it will impress anyone with a keen ear for audio. It is rated IP67 for dust and water protection, but you’d hardly know it from its nice-looking fabric cover. Though the one-touch button makes selecting music simple, it comes with an app, too. The Boom 3 is an indisputable winner, hitting the sweet spot of really good design and fair pricing.
IP ratingIP67Battery lifeUp to 15 hoursBest Camping Speaker
ECOXGEAR EcoTrek GDI-EXTRK210
Best Camping Speaker
ECOXGEAR EcoTrek GDI-EXTRK210
Pros
- Incredible battery life, great for a weekend away
- AM/FM for when you’ve got no cell-service
Cons
- Bit aggressive for intimate use—meant for parties and campsites
Don’t you just want to push every single one of those buttons? In a world of minimalist Bluetooth speakers, this one’s got that ’80s boombox complexity. So, what do the buttons do? Save AM/FM stations. Skip lame songs. Accept phone calls. Adjust levels. Connect to Siri or Google Assistant. Connect to a mic (regular or karaoke). And beyond. This aggressively armored speaker also has two cup holders and a USB charger for other devices. It is the home entertainment system of the campsite.
IP ratingIP67Battery lifeUp to 50 hoursAdvertisement – Continue Reading Below
Most Stylish Speaker
Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1
Most Stylish Speaker
Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1
Now 17% Off
Pros
- Luxury look
- Incredible sound
Gorgeous, isn’t it? Bang & Olufsen’s products just scream good taste. It’s not all vanity, though. This waterproof speaker offers big, 360-degree sound for a perfectly portable size, along with superior mics for making calls, Alexa (or other smart assistant) support, and 18 hours of battery life when music is played at normal levels (that extends to 43 hours at lower volumes). Each colorway it comes in is a stunner.
IP ratingIP67Battery lifeUp to 43 hoursBest Speaker for Outdoorspeople
DemerBox DB2
Best Speaker for Outdoorspeople
DemerBox DB2
Pros
- Insanely rugged—shock, dust, and waterproof
Cons
- No official IP rating, but trust us it’s waterproof
The DemerBox DB2 is rugged. Drop the thing off a cliff, and it’ll probably still work. The Bluetooth range is great (up to 100 feet) and the battery life is superb. It isn’t rated, but the company says it is “100-percent waterproof,” and it even opens up like a toolbox to give you internal storage space that stays bone dry. There’s also an internal USB charger to keep your phone juiced. This is a Bluetooth speaker built for outdoor adventure. It wears its bangs and brush-ups well.
IP ratingN/ABattery life40+ hoursMost Versatile Speaker
Sonos Move
Most Versatile Speaker
Sonos Move
Pros
- Looks beautiful
- Smart home enabled
Cons
- Really high price tag
Sonos’ Move speaker is big and beautifully designed. Everything about it is done correctly: the smart assistant integration, the audio depth, the controls. And though you can’t see it here, it has a handle carved into the back so you can grab and, see what they did here, move. Use it inside, in every room. Use it outside, wherever you wander. It’s sturdily built and has a dust-and-waterproof rating of IP56, so splashes of water and clods of dirt won’t do harm. Just don’t threaten it with a bath.
IP ratingIP56Battery lifeUp to 10 hoursAdvertisement – Continue Reading Below
What to Know Before Buying a Waterproof Speaker? /
How Waterproof Speakers Are Tested
Most Bluetooth speakers come with a rating system formatted like “IPXX” to indicate just how strong that speaker is against the elements. It’s simple enough to translate. The first X will be a number between zero and six that rates the speaker’s ability to protect against solids, like dust and dirt. The closer to six, the better. The second X will be a number between zero and eight that rates the speaker’s ability to protect against liquids, like, you guessed it, water. The closer to eight, the better.
Understanding IP Ratings
Take the rating IP67: To you, that means the speaker has the best protection against dust (six) and the near-best protection against water (seven). If you come across a rating that held onto one of its X’s, it means its manufacturer didn’t have it tested and rated in that category; you’ll just have to trust what the manufacturer says. For instance, the rating IPX4 means the speaker is water-resistant—a.k.a. you can’t drop it in the pool, but a few splashes won’t kill it—but has not been tested and rated for dust protection.
All but two of the speakers on this list have a waterproof rating of seven (or higher), which means you can submerge them in up to one meter of water for 30 minutes. Since a lot of waterproof speakers are built to float, it likely won’t come to a half-hour dunking, but you can’t beat the peace of mind.
Other Speaker Features to Consider
In terms of audio quality, Bluetooth speakers will give you more decibels than the speaker on your smartphone, and most will sound significantly better. But it’s safe to say that the more you’re willing to pay for a speaker, the more impressive the audio. You know how it goes. Then there are additional features to keep in mind, like smart assistant integration, charging ports, portability accessories, durability, and, on a fun note, looks. You’ll want to take note of size as well, since the speaker you bring to the campsite or set up on the back patio will assuredly be a different size than the one you keep in the shower or haul to the tailgate.
Luke Guillory
Associate Commerce Editor
Luke Guillory is the Associate Commerce Editor at Esquire.
