Ultimate sound, unbelievable value: the best JBL speakers of 2024

A favourite amongst both audiophiles and budget shoppers alike, the JBL Charge 5 impressively balances cost and performance, easily offering the most bang for your buck from most speakers on the market.

Under the hood, there's an incredibly impressive 40W audio output, alongside 20 hours of battery, waterproofing, and more. the JBL Charge 5 deep, rumbling bass is enough to impress, but then there's its surprising clarity and balance to its sound - vocals aren't muddied under waves of thumping bass, quite the opposite.

Not small, but not overly large - the JBL Charge 5 is perfect for taking to parties, bringing along for woodland adventures, and keeping your camp supplied with classic tunes all night long thanks to its 20-hour battery life.

Just make sure that before you head out onto the trail, you give the JBL Charge 5 plenty of time to charge, as it takes roughly four hours to reach full capacity. Besides its little longer-than-average charging times, the JBL Charge 5 is an incredibly impressive speaker and is likely a contender for one of the best Bluetooth speakers for bass of the year.

A phenomenal speakers at a competitive price, the JBL Go 3 is the ultimate pocket speaker, capable of lifting a room with powerful bass and impressive sound.

Out of the gate, the JBL GO 3's small size and brilliant design give it an absurdly sturdy feel in the hand, and when paired with its IP67 waterproof rating, you can rest assured it'll endure a quick splash of water or an unfortunate dusting of debris.

As for its sound, there's no denying that for the price, the JBL GO 3 is impressive, but it's certainly not party-ready. At 4.2W, there isn't a whole lot of kick from the JBL GO 3: bass is certainly fantastic for its size, but it isn't exceptional compared to pricier speakers on the market. Then, there's the charging time, which is half of the overall battery life - which is only five hours.

The JBL GO 3 exchanges power and performance for battery life, which we think is a reasonable trade-off. For the sheer value alone, the JBL GO 3 is easily one of the best Bluetooth speakers under £100 this year.

If power is your preference, there are few speakers on the market that can equal the bass of the JBL PartyBox 310, an all-in-one entertaining machine. With dynamic lighting, built-in karaoke, and enough audio power to tear the roof off, the JBL PartyBox 310 is a huge speaker with an even larger presence.

The JBL PartyBox has an almighty audio output of 240W, outperforming most speakers on the market almost 10 times over. Its sound is nothing if not huge, and its bass - is even mightier. But JBL's precise engineering and massive enclosure make for exceptional sound, and this speaker certainly has plenty of it.

What's even more impressive is the incredible 18-hour battery life, which for a speaker with such volume is often difficult to achieve. And with only 3.5 hours of charging time, your party will remain entertained until the early morning hours without worry.

If portability is your concern, however, we'd suggest you look for something on the lighter side - at a whopping 17.4kg, the JBL PartyBox 310 is certainly an arm workout, and it isn't going to fit snugly into any backpack. That being said, for the ultimate sound: you have to go big or go home - for one of the ultimate Bluetooth speakers for sound quality, you cannot do much better than the JBL PartyBox 310 at its price.

If you're looking to perfectly strike the balance between budget and performance, the JBL Flip 6 without question pulls it off. A versatile speaker with both horizontal and vertical functionality, take the JBL Flip 6 anywhere, play it on the go without losing that amazing quality and enjoy some seriously excellent sound.

With up to 12 hours of battery life and 30W of power, this punchy little speaker is perfect for rocking out to your favourite tunes at the press of a button, wherever you are. Using a racetrack driver, JBL's Flip 6 has an omnidirectional sound that effectively fills rooms, despite its low price.

Of course, there are inevitably some cutbacks with a speaker as affordable as it is: many users have reported issues with connecting to the JBL Flip 6 over long distances, with some distortion when moving too far from the speaker. This weaker distance when connecting to the JBL Flip 6 isn't ideal, but for the sheer power of the Flip 6, it's easy to overlook.

Reserved for those in search of earth-shattering sound, and with plenty of cash to get it, the JBL Boombox 3 Bluetooth speaker is easily one of the larger speakers on our list, with a striking design that's bound to catch the eyes, and ears of your guests.

Packed with 200W of pure audio power, the JBL Boombox 3 is designed for crisp vocals, gorgeous balance, and above all - ferocious bass. Keep the party going all day long with up to 24 hours of listening time, a phenomenal amount of time for a speaker as powerful as the Boombox 3.

Again, with a speaker of this magnitude, size is always a concern, and with the JBL Boombox 3: it's certainly huge. Lugging this speaker in the outdoors, despite there being a solid IP67, is not an easy challenge.

Be that as it may, the JBL Boombox 3 is a worthy contender for one of the best speakers for music in 2024.

Portable, powerful and perfect for music on the road, the JBL Clip 4 is a reliable speaker that offers a little more power than your typical portable speaker, and at a competitive price too.

We love the overall padlock shape of the JBL Clip 4, and its built-in carabiner that's perfect for hanging off of a backpack for day-long, weightless music at your side. Whilst the size and overall power of the speaker are small, the impressive sound engineering makes the most out of the JBL Clip 4's components, delivering what is a triumphant sound.

An improvement on cheaper models, JBL's Clip 4 speaker has roughly 10 hours of playtime on three hours of charge - which isn't exceptional, but is ahead of the curve in the portable speaker market.

This perfectly portable speaker is cheap, delivers some impressive power for its price, and has enough power to keep you bobbing your head to some groovy tunes throughout your day.

If picking your songs isn't your style, try discovering something new with the JBL Tuner 2 portable radio, a fantastic DAB radio that's perfect for sitting deskside, and if need be, a potential dedicated shower speaker.

Crisp sound, sharp and well-balanced, the JBL Tuner 2 is a brilliant DAB radio speaker that offers plenty of versatility, portability and with its rugged design: plenty of playtime.

With 12 hours of battery in a slim enclosure, the JBL Tuner 2 radio can be taken anywhere and offers five presets, so you can find and save your niche radio station and never lose it.

Of course, this speaker's small size and low wattage results in lower overall volume and less bass, but for a DAB radio with Bluetooth speaker functionality, you can hardly fault it - it's a brilliant deal, and gives even the best portable DAB radios on the market a run for their money.

JBL speakers aren't just for music, in fact - their range of JBL soundbars are excellent, and offer plenty of value for budding home cinema builders after a refreshing, high-quality sound. The JBL SoundBar combines our favourite aspects of great speakers all into one affordable package: great sound, a compact design and powerful volume.

At 80W, this is no small speaker: the sounds of cinema are bombastic, piercing and reverberating, filling the room with heart-racing volume. The compact size of the speaker is ideal for smaller setups, or for those who may struggle to hide a massive speaker setup. Its appealingly compact size conveniently sits beneath a speaker, or upon a shelf without any concerns of overcrowding or cable overload - simply use a HDMI cable, plug in and play.

For many, a setback of the JBL SoundBar 2.0 is its lower bass, despite its high audio output, its sound isn't as booming as you'd expect, and for some, this is a dealbreaker. If you're looking for true sound balance, JBL's SoundBar 2.0 is excellent, and its bass, while not excessive, is enough to give you goosebumps, it's a truly brilliant TV speaker.

The power of a mega speaker meets portability: JBL's Xtreme 3 is a great-value speaker with huge bass, making it perfect for large gatherings and on-the-go sound.

At 2kg, this isn't the heaviest speaker on the market, but its size necessitates a convenient arm-strap for some added comfort. This rugged speaker has an IP67 resistance rating, so it'll endure a tough outdoor excursion, if you have the space, or the chaos of a house party.

A whopping 100W of power isn't small: this huge sound is well-balanced, with plenty of bass to punch through sharp treble and impressive vocals, making this speaker ideal for a range of music listeners, not just club music.

Despite its significantly more portable design than other larger speakers on the market, the JBL Xtreme 3 isn't the best for lugging around. It's heavy, and its arm strap while in use looks somewhat awkward, despite the speaker's gorgeous design.

For less than £200, however, there isn't a doubt in our minds that this is a great speaker, an investment in the JBL Xtreme 3 is an investment in excellent sound for the foreseeable future.

If portability isn't a concern, and maximum power is what you need: gather your friends for the party of a life-time with the JBL IRX108BT speaker, a professional-grade PA speaker that's bound to shake the room, and then some.

The sound on this JBL speaker is undoubtedly impressive: there's a monumental 200W of audio output power, delivering enormous volume and stunning sound accuracy across the board. There is no shortage of bass here, in fact - for some quieter neighbourhoods, you might want to buy carefully, this is no ordinary speaker.

At 7.9kg, the JBL IRX108BT is hefty, and lacking any kind of wheels, you'll need a strong arm to lug it to your next housewarming. That being said: a heavier speaker generally means solid sound, and for the sheer quality, it's a speaker worth lugging.