As technology changes, so do wireless audio options. Here are the best wireless audio products on the market right now.  

Wireless audio has come a long way in just the past decade. The wireless revolution for speakers and headphones means advanced wi-fi and Bluetooth connections, longer-lasting batteries, and better sounding performance. These upgrades have been fantastic news for those who want quality sound with no attachment to wires.

With wireless technologies and audio-enhancing hardware and software only continuing upward, consumers see many brands starting to compete in being technologically advanced. From top-of-the-line noise-canceling headphones from Sony to Sonos’ speakers having AL technology with voice assistants like Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant, the sky’s the limit with where wireless audio is going.

The bad news? All of the options can make it feel overwhelming to know what to buy. Whatever your style and/or budget might be, we’ve rounded up the best wireless audio in 2021, so you can feel confident that all of the suggestions below are of excellent value and quality.  

The Best Wireless Speakers You Can Buy 

Whether you are in the market for a high-quality portable speaker to take to the firepit this Fall or looking for excellent sounding speakers for your TV room, we have all the best options right here.

Anker Soundcore 2

The Best Budget-Friendly Bluetooth Speaker: Anker Soundcore 2

Price: $34

• Battery Life: 24 hours
• Waterproof/Water-resistant: IPX7 Waterproof
• Type: Portable Bluetooth
• Weight: 12.6 ounces

For the price, the Anker Soundcore 2 offers a ton of features, making it a great budget-friendly, entry-level Bluetooth speaker. It delivers better than average sound, is water-resistant, and has a built-in microphone for speakerphone calls. Sure, there are speakers at similar price points, but none offer the 24-hour battery life this speaker provides. 

Build quality is excellent, and its sturdy, water-resistant body design can withstand the abuse of being outdoors. The Anker SoundCore 2 is a bar shape measuring 165mm x 54mm x 45mm, making it highly portable to throw into a bag without taking up a lot of space or breaking.

JBL Go 3

The Best Portable Lightweight Speaker: JBL Go 3

Price: $59.95

• Battery Life: 5 hours
• Waterproof/Water-resistant: IP67 waterproof and dustproof
• Weight: less than half a pound (.46)

The small but mighty JBL Go 3 got a makeover in 2021 and is now covered with a durable fabric rather than a naked plastic design. This new rugged look paired with its size and decent sound makes it a no-brainer for our list. It’s tiny enough to fit in most bags and backpacks, as well as some pockets. 

One of Go 3’s best features, in our opinion, is its IP67 rating. This rating means it is fully dust-tight and can be submerged in up to a meter of water for up to 30 minutes. While the Bluetooth signal won’t be strong underwater, you can rinse this speaker off or get it soaked without worry. 

 

Bang & Olufsen 

The Best High-End Bluetooth Speaker: Bang & Olufsen Beolit 20

Price: $405

• Battery Life: 8 hours
• Waterproof/Water-resistant: No
• Type: Portable Bluetooth Speaker
• Weight: 6 lbs

The Bang & Olufsen Beolit 20 is an exceedingly chic portable speaker that produces rich, crisp audio at high volume levels. Its modern and minimalistic design comes equipped with a leather strap on top, allowing easy and stylish transport. 

The price tag might send you into sticker shock; however, this one is top-notch as far as high-end speakers go. You’re paying for the top-of-the-line visual design and luxurious materials in addition to powerful, proficient drivers. The most significant thing is audio performance, and the Beolit 20 proves to have superb sound quality. It’s also easy to operate and has a Qi-charging panel up top to charge your phone.

Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2 

The Best Waterproof Outdoor Speaker: Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2

Price: $99

• Battery Life: 13 hours
• Waterproof/Water-resistant: IP67
• Weight: 0.94 lbs

Want to be the life of the party? This is the speaker for you. Looks-wise, Wonderboom 2 looks practically identical to the original. However, the Wonderboom 2 got a ton of upgrades that make it even better than its predecessor. With increased battery life, more solid bass response, and a new Outdoor Boost feature that helps the speaker get even louder than before, this speaker checks many boxes. 

The Wonderboom 2 design offers a wraparound grille to allow 360 degrees of sound. What does that mean for you? No matter where you are in relation to the speaker, you get the same audio quality. Perhaps one of the best features is the IP67 dustproof and waterproof rating, making the Wonderboom 2 durable for lounging by the pool or a day on the beach. 

Polk Audio RC80i

The Best Wireless Ceiling Speakers: Polk Audio RC80i

Price: $249

• Waterproof/Water-resistant: Moisture resistant materials & rust-resistant hardware

• Type: In-Ceiling Speakers

• Weight: 4.3 lbs

These speakers provide superb, high-quality sound with plenty of bass and volume. With an easy, stress-free installation, you will be relaxing or dancing to your favorite tunes in no time.

The RC80i’s are made with moisture-resistant materials and rust-resistant hardware, so you can use them in bathrooms, saunas, or outdoors (under some protection). They are solid and can handle some abuse. If you are in the market for in-wall or in-ceiling speakers (yes, they can be used for either!) with overwhelmingly positive reviews and at a reasonable price point, RC80i is precisely what you need. 

Sonos Roam

The Best Wireless Speaker Overall: Sonos Roam

Price: $169

• Battery Life: 10 hours
• Waterproof/Water-resistant: IP67 waterproof
• Type: Portable Waterproof Smart Speaker
• Weight: 0.95 lbs

Our pick for the best wireless speaker overall is the Sonos Roam. Its powerful sound, rugged design, excellent connectivity features, and ability to connect with Google Assistant and Alexa put it above the rest in its class. The bass-heavy audio performance and waterproof design make it ideal for use outdoors, while a quick Automatic Switching feature and sleek look mean it’s just as great for indoors. 

Many speakers can’t compete between dogs barking, fire trucks zooming by, and other outdoor sounds. But the Sonos Roam does an outstanding job at adapting to background noise. So if you’re looking for a portable speaker that can easily fit into your existing home audio system while also being able to provide tunes around a campfire, all at a great price point, this is it!

 

The Best Wireless Headphones You Can Buy 

Wireless headphones come with so many options these days. And we are talking about more than in-ear vs. over-ear. We’ve put together our list of favorites, ranging from top-of-the-line to cheap alternatives.

Anker Soundcore Life p2

The Best Budget-Friendly Earbuds Headphones: Anker Soundcore Life P2

Price: $44.99

• Noise Cancellation: CVC 8.0 Noise Reduction
• Battery Life: 7 hours/ 40 hours with charging case
• Waterproof/Water-resistant: IPX5 – water-resistant

From gaming to business calls, Anker Soundcore Life P2 wireless earbuds are an excellent value option. They were built to do a little bit of everything, making them an excellent alternative to those brands with higher price tags. 

Instead of touch controls, these feature physical buttons, which is a personal preference. The Life P2 has four microphones, two of which are supposed to help with noise reduction when making calls in noisy environments.

 

See other budget-friendly earbuds here!

Plantronics BackBeat Go 600

The Best Budget-Friendly Over The Ears Headphones: Plantronics BackBeat Go 600

Price: $29.95

• Noise Cancellation: noise-limiting
• Battery Life: 18 hour
• Type: Wireless over the ears headphone
• Weight: 6.40 ounces 

The BackBeat Go 600 delivers solid audio performance with a robust bass response and crisp highs that are great for listening to music, watching a movie, or taking a call. With easy-to-operate on-ear controls, it’s simple to switch from balanced mode to bass boost mode. 

You get around 18 hours of playtime on a single charge, but the headphones also have an aux cable, so you continue listening in passive mode when the battery dies. The light plastic frame with memory foam ear cups that lie flat makes these comfortable and easy to travel with. 

We have another budget-free wireless headphone option that made our top 10 cool Amazon products list!

Apple AirPods Pro

The Best Noise-Canceling Earbuds: Apple AirPods Pro

Price: $197.00

• Noise Cancellation: Active Noise Cancellation
• Battery Life: 4.5 hours/over 24 hours with charging case
• Waterproof/Water-resistant: Sweat and water-resistant
• Type: In-ear wireless 

The AirPods Pro is Apple’s first model to offer active noise cancellation with a noise-isolating design. This noise cancellation electronically counteracts exterior noise while the silicone ear tips push into your ear canal. That means Apple lovers can take calls, listen to music, or watch a movie, virtually anywhere, no matter how loud surrounding sounds are. 

Another feature we love about the AirPods Pro is the Transparency Mode. This mode allows outside sound in with a touch of a button so that you can interact with those around you.  

Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700

The Best Noise-Canceling Over-Ear Headphones: Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700

Price: $379

• Noise Cancellation: 11 levels of active noise canceling
• Battery Life: 20 hours
• Waterproof/Water-resistant: Water-resistant
• Weight: 0.55 lbs

Bose redesigned the microphone inside these to compete with similar noise-canceling headphones, and they knock it out of the park! The unique digital signal processing (DSP) allows them to restrict background noise and focus on your voice alone, making them the best headphones you can buy for call quality.

All of that, plus great comfort, light-weight, long battery life, and superior sound quality, mean the Bose 700 is a top pick if you spend a lot of time on Zoom meetings or phone calls. 

Apple AirPods Max

The Best Sound Quality Headphones- Apple AirPods Max

Price: $499

• Noise Cancellation: Active Noise Cancellation
• Battery Life: 20 hours
• Waterproof/Water-resistant: No
• Weight: 13.6 ounces

Yes, the Apple AirPods Max are some of the most expensive wireless headphones on the market. Still, their top-of-the-line noise-canceling technology, transparency mode, and excellent sound blow away the competition. Volume and playback controls that look like an Apple Watch-like knob are located at the top of the right ear cup, making it insanely easy to adjust.

The stainless steel headband and aluminum ear cups make them durable and easy to throw in your bag and go. But don’t let their sturdy design fool you; they are still very comfortable. If you are an Apple user, you will love how well they integrate with iOS devices, especially how they handle video. When watching videos on specific apps, they can track your head to simulate full object-based surround sound. 

Beats Powerbeats

The Best Earbuds for Working Out: Beats Powerbeats

Price: $79.97

• Battery Life: 15 hours
• Waterproof/Water-resistant: Sweat & water-resistance
• Weight: 0.01 ounces

When finding earbuds that work for your workout, remember they are not all created the same. The Beats Powerbeats are earclip-style buds that stay attached during exercising. The wire behind the head keeps you from losing one and lets you hang them around your neck when you’re not using them. 

Many Apple users prefer them over the AirPods because of their battery life; Powerbeats lasts around 15 hours! We love these for their design and lastability and because they work for both iPhone and Android users.  

Sony WF-1000XM4

The Best Wireless Earbuds Overall: Sony WF-1000XM4

Price: $278

• Noise Cancellation: Yes
• Battery Life: 8 hours
• Waterproof/Water-resistant: IPX4 Water resistance
• Weight: 4.6 ounces

Compared to its predecessor, the new WF-1000XM4 earbuds offer enough upgraded features to make them worth purchasing, even if they are more expensive. And while the competition may surpass them in particular areas, no other model comes close to offering such excellent quality across the board.

A more compact design means they are more convenient to carry around and more comfortable. The accompanying app makes it easier to adjust the controls and EQ settings. In addition, Sony has taken influence from their over-ear headphones, WH-1000XM4, to improve these earbuds. These features include Speak-To-Chat, Digital Sound Enhancement Engine (DSEE) audio upscaling, and adaptive noise cancellation. For these reasons, we deem them the best overall wireless earbuds. 

Sony WH-1000XM4

The Best Wireless Over-Ear Headphones Overall: Sony WH-1000XM4

Price: $348

• Noise Cancellation: Yes
• Battery Life: 30 hours
• Waterproof/Water-resistant: IPX4 Water resistance
• Weight: 9 ounces

The Sony WH-1000XM4 was the inspiration for many of the upgrades to the WF-1000XM4 earbuds. So is it any surprise that they are our pick for best over-ear headphones overall? 

These headphones are worth their moderately higher price tag with excellent sound and top-notch noise-canceling, improved voice calling, and a new speak-to-chat mode. You can pair two devices simultaneously with ease, and the incredible battery life will outlast many competitors. All of these features make the WF-10000XM4 the best on the market for overall quality. 

 

Our Hot Take

As you can see, there are wireless speakers and headphones for just about anyone. Whether you need headphones to improve your zoom calls or want a speaker that will keep the party going, the options are endless. 

Since everyone’s wireless audio needs are so diverse, we recommend you use this guide to help you narrow down the important factors. Both speakers and headphones should have good sound quality and you shouldn’t feel the need to go into debt over either. And with the world constantly on the go, strong noise-canceling abilities only make sense. 

While Sony and Sonos are our top favorites for the best wireless audio, we will consistently test out the latest and greatest. However, you need to decide how you want to go wireless.