At Engadget, we’ve tested scads of audio equipment. In our guide to the best Bluetooth speakers and smart speakers, we break down which, out of the thousands out there, are worth your money. Not surprisingly, many of those picks come from stalwart brands like Bose, JBL, Ultimate Ears and Marshall — but few of the picks are cheap. Now that Amazon’s October Prime Day has arrived, many of those speakers are currently discounted and some are cheaper than ever. Here are the best Prime Day speaker deals we could find on the models we recommend.
Best October Prime Day Bluetooth speaker deals
There’s a portable speaker for just about every situation in our guide to Bluetooth speakers. Whether you just want some tunes as you horbgorble around at home or need to entertain some coworkers at a music dance experience, there’s something for you here — and best of all, these are on sale.
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Beats Pill Bluetooth speaker for $100 ($50 off): The new Beats portable speaker just came out a few months ago, and we called it a worthy revival of a classic Beats product in our review. It has improved sound, a longer battery life and a rugged build.
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Soundcore Motion 300 for $60 ($20 off): This sub-two-pound sound-maker delivers a bright, punchy output from 30-watt speakers. We found it to have a crisp high end and fairly thumpy bass when it has walls to bounce the sound off of. Plus it’s waterproof and goes for 13 hours on a charge. This Prime-members-only price matches its all-time low.
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Anker Soundcore Motion+ for $69 ($31 off): This little guy comes in at just over two pounds and has a bright and bassy output. It can play songs for around 12 hours on a charge and we particularly appreciate the solid build with its metal grille. This Prime-exclusive deal matches the lowest price yet.
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Tribit StormBox Micro 2 for $48 ($32 off): This is the smallest music box on our list, and we like it because it packs serious sound for its size. The audio isn’t the highest fidelity, but the rubbery strap is perfect for strapping onto a pack, bike handlebar or elsewhere.
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JBL Flip 6 for $80 ($50 off): After reading our guide, this is the speaker I bought, and I can confirm this crowler-sized device has great sound quality, is durable as heck and I love that it sounds great on its side or stood on end.
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Marshall Emberton II for $100 ($70 off): This clutchable model has two 10-watt drivers and passive radiators for 360-degree sound. While it’s not super loud, we found the output to be nicely balanced. You’ll get up to 30 hours of play on a charge and it has a IP67 water- and dust-resistance rating.
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Marshall Middleton for $250 ($50 off): This is the flagship in Marshall’s waterproof/portable line. We like the top-notch sound quality and impressive output from the dual woofers, tweeters for the front and back, and passive radiators along each side.
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Ultimate Ears Hyperboom for $320 ($130 off): At 13 pounds, this UE speaker pushes the boundaries of portable, verging into shelf speaker territory. It made the cut in our guide thanks to its good looks, loud output and ample port options. It’ll play for 24 hours on a charge, too.
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JBL Go 3 for $28 ($12 off): The smallest JBL speaker isn’t on our list of the best speakers, but many other models from the speaker company have earned high praise from our reviewers. This deal is the lowest price we’ve seen on this pocket sized music machine, just note that only Prime members get the full discount.
Best October Prime Day smart speaker deals
I never thought I’d own a smart speaker, but now I ask Alexa for everything — turn on the smart lights, set a noodle timer, remind me about Saturday’s group FaceTime and, most importantly, tell me the weather today. It’s always a good idea to get these devices on sale, so take advantage of these Prime Day prices while you can.
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Sonos Era 100 for $199 ($50 off): The Sonos Era 100 is our pick for the best midrange smart speaker. The sound quality is excellent, it pairs well with other Sonos devices and there are plenty of useful features — which should only improve once Sonos resolves all of its app issues.
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Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen) for $23 ($27 off): The Dot is the most popular model in Amazon’s smart speaker family. Though it’s small, it puts out decent volume and music sounds pretty good from its speakers. But where it really shines is acting as your daily smart home assistant.
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Amazon Echo (4th Gen) for $50 ($50 off):The full-sized model is probably a better option if you plan to use your Echo as a music source regularly — not surprisingly, its bigger size makes for bigger sound, plus you can pair two together. It’s our recommendation for a smart speaker under $100.
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Amazon Echo Spot (2nd gen) for $45 ($35 off): The half-a-softball Spot with its tiny display went away for a time, but came back with a new look and a half-moon screen that can display the time, weather and the song that’s playing.
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Amazon Echo Pop for $18 ($22 off): The tiniest Echo device is best suited to a small space where it would be helpful to have Alexa’s assistance. It’s not built for high fidelity music playing, but will bop out a song as you get ready or make some dinner.
Best October Prime Day soundbar deals
It’s not just you. The dialogue in TV shows is getting tougher to suss out. In my house, a soundbar has made a world of difference. Of course, these long speakers and sets also make movies more immersive. Engadget’s Billy Steele tested out a bunch, putting his favorites in our soundbar guide and, in good news for anyone ready to turn off the subtitles, Prime Day deals extend to a few winning models.
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Sonos Beam for $399 ($100 off): The Sonos Beam is our favorite midrange soundbar. It has solid sound quality, support for Dolby Atmos and is easy to set up. Just note that it only has one HDMI port, so you can’t hook up a console directly to the speaker.
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Sonos Ray for $169 ($110 off): This is the lowest price we’ve seen yet for this recommended soundbar, at over $100 off. We like the Sonos Ray because it’s an affordable option that puts out excellent sound in a compact bar with easy setup.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice, and stay tuned to Engadget.com for all of the best tech deals coming out of October Prime Day 2024.
Source: www.engadget.com