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The 6 Best Speakers For Parties - Spring 2023 Reviews

Updated
Best Speakers For Parties

If you're looking for a speaker to use at your next party, it's important to have a speaker that can get loud enough to fill large, crowded spaces. Speakers designed for parties are often large and heavy since they tend to reproduce deeper and thumpier low-basses than smaller speakers. They also often come with RGB lights and inputs to connect external microphones and instruments to them. If you're looking for the best Bluetooth speaker for outdoor parties, being battery-powered is a must, so you're not limited by power outlets when placing it. It's also good if it has an IP rating for water resistance to survive splashes and light rain.

We've tested over 110 speakers, and below are our recommendations for the best speakers we've tested to use at parties. See also our recommendations for the best Bluetooth speakers, the best Bluetooth speakers for bass, and the loudest Bluetooth speakers.


  1. Best Speaker For Parties

    The best speaker for parties we've tested is the JBL PartyBox 310. It's a great choice for your next big event, with many unique features designed to amp up the excitement as you rock out to your favorite tunes. Right out of the box, this speaker brings lots of thump and rumble in the bass, meaning you can rattle the dance floor with genres like EDM and hip-hop. Plus, it gets super loud, and its customizable RGB lights let you set the mood however you like. With a more than seventeen-hour battery life, you can keep dancing late into the night.

    Like many JBL party speakers, this device has some added tools to bring excitement to your next celebration. Karaoke lovers can plug their microphones and guitars right into the speaker to jam out with their favorite tunes, and the JBL PartyBox app brings some additional effects to adjust the microphone's performance for the best possible sound. You'll also find many sound customization tools in the app, so you can switch up the speaker's sound across the range using its graphic EQ or bump up the bass with the aptly-named Bass Boost tool. Overall, this is a really powerful speaker that's lots of fun.

    See our review

  2. Best Mid-Range Speaker For Parties

    If you're shopping for a party speaker on a tighter budget, the JBL PartyBox 110 might be for you. It's a smaller and more affordable cousin to the JBL PartyBox 310, with many of the same fun features and tools to amp up the energy at your next big event. Again, you get access to the JBL PartyBox app, where you'll find customization tools to switch up the colors and patterns for the RGB lights, as well as a graphic EQ and Bass Boost preset to change up its sound. Plus, the DJ and karaoke effects let you make the most of the included microphone and guitar inputs if you want to host a sing-a-long at your next party.

    Given its smaller size, this speaker doesn't get as loud as the PartyBox 310. It reproduces a little less low-bass, too, so you feel a touch less thump and rumble with bass-centric genres like EDM and hip-hop. That said, it's a small difference overall, and this party speaker can easily fill larger and more open spaces. Perhaps the biggest difference between the two devices comes down to their portability—while the 110 is smaller, it doesn't come with wheels or a telescopic handle for transport like the 310. Instead, you have to carry it with your hands. It's not ideal for everyone, but depending on your preferences, you may still find that this speaker is a better value overall.

    See our review

  3. Best Budget Speaker For Parties

    The ION Pathfinder 280 is worth a look if you're shopping for a party speaker on a budget. It does a really good job for the price, with many of the same cool party features as the more premium speakers on the list. For example, the speaker has RGB lights that you can customize in different colors to set the mood at your next event, as well as a graphic EQ and several presets to customize its sound. There's even a Boom preset designed to add lots of boom in the bass. And since it lasts over 68 hours off a single charge, you can host multiple events without worrying about a recharge.

    With a max volume of over 100 decibels, this speaker gets loud, too. It also has a great sound quality, with a clear and accurate reproduction of voices and lead instruments in your favorite tracks. However, it doesn't pack as much punch in the bass range as the JBL PartyBox 110 or the JBL PartyBox 310, which is especially noticeable with bass-heavy tracks like EDM and hip-hop. Still, this portable speaker performs well for its price, and if you can't spend much on a speaker, it's worth checking out.

    See our review

  4. Loudest Speaker For Parties

    The loudest speaker for parties that we've tested is the SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 3). With a max volume of 110 decibels, this powerful speaker packs a punch, making it a great choice for filling larger and more open spaces with your favorite tunes. It's available through the manufacturer's website now, and it comes with many cool features to make the most of your next event. For example, the two XLR ports let you connect an external microphone for your next karaoke session or a guitar to rock out with your friends. It's not quite as portable as picks like the JBL PartyBox 310, but it's not a big deal if you plan to stay in the same place.

    This portable Bluetooth speaker boasts a battery life of over 43 hours, so you can rock out late into the night without interruption. The sound quality is impressive, too, so it's suitable for listening to many different music genres. It offers a v-shaped sound, meaning that you get some extra rumble in the bass and a touch of brightness in the treble to make higher-pitched sounds sparkle. As a result, it's especially suited to genres with lots of highs and lows, like EDM, hip-hop, modern rock, and pop. If you want a different sound, though, you're in luck—there's a graphic EQ available in the SOUNDBOKS app and some handy preset modes like BASS+.

    See our review

  5. Best Portable Loud Party Speaker

    The Ultimate Ears HYPERBOOM is another great option if you're looking for a loud speaker at your next party, and thanks to its smaller size, it's much more portable than the SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 3). It's more lightweight, and there's even a built-in carrying strap to help you take it from room-to-room, or to your friend's house for their next event. Overall, the HYPERBOOM is a pretty sleek and stylish speaker that's versatile enough to be used at home when the party's over, and with a max volume of 98 decibels, it's more than loud enough to fill your room with a deep and booming sound.

    This speaker's sound quality is also great, making it suitable for listening to many different types of audio content. Voices and lead instruments are clearly and accurately reproduced right out of the box, and there's a touch of extra rumble in the bass for genres like EDM and hip-hop. Thanks to its graphic EQ, it's also customizable, and some presets are even available in its companion app. You won't find any inputs for guitars or microphones, and its 23-hour battery life is a little less than the SOUNDBOKS, but overall, the best portable party speaker is still a great choice for rocking out at your next event.

    See our review

  6. Best Bluetooth Party Speaker For Bass

    Love a deep and rumbling bass? Listen to lots of bass-heavy genres like EDM and hip-hop? In general, party speakers offer a solid bass reproduction, but the best Bluetooth party speaker for bass we've tested is the JBL PartyBox 710. This big and booming speaker has no trouble bringing the thump in the bass range, and with a low-frequency extension of 26.7Hz, you'll feel the floor shake along with bass-heavy tunes. Its Bass Boost feature lets you control the rumble in the mix, too, so you can set it to Deep or Punchy, depending on your mood.

    Like the JBL PartyBox 310, this speaker have plenty of built-in party features, like microphone and guitar inputs, customizable RGB lights, and other DJ effects. The graphic EQ in the app lets you customize its sound to your liking, too. And, like any good party speaker, it gets loud, so you can blast all your favorite tunes as loud as you want. This speaker is big, so it's not the most portable option on the list. There's a built-in handle, but compared to the PartyBox 310, you can't adjust its height. However, if you just want to crank up the bass in one place, it's a solid pick.

    See our review

Notable Mentions

  • Sony SRS-XP700: The Sony XP700 is a large party speaker with customizable RGB lights. It's compatible with the Sony Music Center and the Fiestable apps, which lets you access extra party features and effects. That said, it doesn't produce an as extended low-bass as the JBL PartyBox 310 and doesn't get quite as loud. See our review
  • JBL PartyBox On-The-Go: The JBL PartyBox On-The-Go is a portable party speaker from JBL's PartyBox lineup. It's much smaller and more portable than the other speakers in the lineup, like the JBL PartyBox 110. It can get loud and is rated IPX4 for dust and water resistance. However, it lacks some low-bass, and there isn't a graphic EQ or presets you can use to tweak its sound like you can with the PartyBox 110. See our review
  • JBL Boombox 2: The JBL Boombox 2 is a portable Bluetooth speaker that can get loud with a pretty balanced sound profile suitable for audio content. Unfortunately, while it gets about as loud as the Ultimate Ears HYPERBOOM, it has a lot more compression present at max volume that affects your audio quality when you max out the speaker's volume. See our review

Recent Updates

  1. May 19, 2023: Product picks remain the same. Some text updates for clarity.

  2. Mar 24, 2023: Confirmed availability of product picks; minor updates to the text.

  3. Jan 24, 2023: While the product picks are the same, we've made some updates to the text for clarity.

  4. Nov 25, 2022: No changes in product picks after verifying their accuracy and availability.

  5. Sep 27, 2022: Minor updates to text for consistency. No changes made in product picks.

All Reviews

Our recommendations above are what we think are currently the best speakers to use at parties and the best tailgate speakers for most people to buy, according to their needs. We factor in the price (cheaper speakers win over pricier ones if the difference isn't worth it), feedback from our visitors, and availability (no speakers that are difficult to find or almost out of stock everywhere).

If you would like to see more products, here's the list of all our speaker reviews, filtered by maximum volume. Be careful not to get caught up in the details. There are no perfect speakers. Personal taste, preference, and listening habits will matter more in your selection.