Wireless Speakers: Buying One?

Love it or hate it, there is no denying that wireless technology is becoming more and more popular. As a matter of fact, it has found its way into nearly every single component or accessory that you can think about it. There is nothing wrong with it though. After all, it is made to provide the maximum convenience to whoever is looking for it. Needless to say, wireless technology is only going to go further.

One such product that has been influenced a lot by this technology happens to be speakers. Wireless speakers have been around for some time but it is only now that their demand has started to increase. For good reasons, too. These speakers are extremely inconvenient and if you are someone who prefers bringing the party wherever they go, these speakers are a blessing.

With that said, if you are someone who is just looking for good wireless speakers, the plethora of available options might confuse as you as it has confused us multiple times. That is why we have created the perfect buying guide that will help you make the most of the situation, and buy the best possible option available in the market, within your budget.

Start By Finding the Budget

Considering how wireless speakers are no longer in the same price bracket, it happens to be extremely important to consider your budget beforehand. The reason why we are suggesting you to consider your budget is because we want to make sure that once you do start checking out the reviews, you only check the reviews for speakers that are relevant to your budget and do not exceed it.

This will save you some time, and you will not end up buying something that you cannot afford, or something that is actually not giving you any good value for money.

Understanding Different Wireless Technologies

The one thing that confuses so many people whenever they are buying wireless speakers is that there are just so many speakers available with different wireless technologies that can easily overwhelm the cleverest of people.

In order to make sure that you buy the right speaker with the right wireless technology, we are going to list down all the common ones that you will get to see in the speakers. Don’t worry, we are sure that you are already aware of most of these.

• Bluetooth: For the majority, the most ideal wireless connection would be Bluetooth. Sure, the technology is old but it only keeps getting better and better. So much so that it is actually difficult to find a device that does not have Bluetooth. We are talking about range going from 33 to 55 feet, and pretty good sound quality with minimal delay. Another great thing is that Bluetooth is easy to connect, and most of the modern Bluetooth powered devices do not consume a lot of battery, either.
• NFC: NFC could be more or less considered an extension of Bluetooth when it comes to wireless connectivity. Due to the fact that the NFC range is really low as you have to literally touch two devices together, the reason why it is used in wireless speakers and other wireless products is to simplify the Bluetooth pairing. Therefore, having or not having this feature is not really going to make a lot of difference.
• Wi-Fi: There is no denying that Bluetooth has become the common standard, but the one thing that people often tend to forget is that when you are talking about wireless technologies, Wi-Fi is a lot more superior than you might think. For instance, it allows for playing music through different devices, you can actually hook up the speakers to your Wi-Fi and stream music through your NAS. Thanks to faster transfer rates, playing higher bitrate or quality files is also better. However, Wi-Fi tends to be more expensive to implement, and most importantly, Wi-Fi speakers are not as portable, especially if they only come with Wi-Fi and not Bluetooth as well.
• Airplay: For those who do not know, Airplay is Apple’s way of allowing people to send files, music, as well as media using Wi-Fi most of the devices. There is a direct version of Airplay that is slowly hitting the mainstream. Many Wi-Fi speakers that you will find in the market will come with this feature so you really do not have to worry about not getting this. However, the important thing that you need to know is that this feature is better mostly for those who are using Apple devices.
• DLNA: This stands for Digital Living Network Alliance, it happens to be an organization as well as an open protocol that you can use for transmitting different media such as music, pictures, as well as video over Wi-Fi. For all Android users, this feature happens to be available on almost every single device available; in the market. While DLNA happens to be really far and wide as far as the support is concerned, it is marred by slow speed and occasional bugs.
• Multi-room: This is one of the technology is actually something that is becoming more and more popular. It uses Wi-Fi to work, and it is based on a very simple methodology. All the speakers placed in different rooms are connected through an app. You can actually use the mobile app to play music through different services such as Spotify, Pandora, and more. You can even use it to stream music in different ways like from NAS, or other features. Multi-room speakers are expensive, no doubt. But if you have the budget, and you know that you want to fill the place with music, this is the way to go.

Do Look for Portability

Perhaps the best feature of wireless speakers is the fact that they are extremely portable. However, this does not apply to all the speakers available in the market, and you cannot carry them without any hassle. If you are looking for a good wireless speaker, and you wish to carry it around as well, you need to look for something that is easy to carry and does not take a lot of space.

Playback Time

Since we are talking about the wireless speaker, battery life or playback time is something that happens to be extremely important, and something that you should never overlook. At the lowest, you should be looking at a wireless speaker that offers a 24-hour battery life.

That way, you will not have to worry about running out of battery when you least expect of. This is definitely an important factor that you should never overlook. Lastly, don’t forget to take a look at our Bose Home Speaker 500 Review while you’re at it!

Additional Features

There are some really good wireless speakers available in the market, which only makes it better for anyone to buy a good speaker. However, most of the times, there are some features that distinguish good speakers from those that average at best.

Since we are talking about the features, you might want to look for features such as:

• Ruggedness: Believe it or not, some wireless speakers are actually available in the market that is pretty rugged. This is mainly for people who want to carry their speakers around and properly use them without any fear of them breaking or causing other issues.
• Water Proofing: Another feature that has become a lot more common is waterproofing. There are so many companies that are making speakers that are waterproof. While it may sound like an unnecessary feature, if you do want to attend pool parties, and something similar, then you are going to need speakers that can withstand water spills or even full-on submersion.

Conclusion

All in all, whenever you are in the market looking for a wireless speaker, the good news is that the process can be a lot easier if you are just careful enough. There is not a lot of struggle involved once you are informed. As a matter of fact, if you are properly informed, you just have to go into the market and buy whatever speaker fits your needs.

With this buying guide, you will be able to buy pretty much any option without running into any issues whatsoever.