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With the advent of music streaming services, portable speakers, and wireless connectivity, it's easier than ever to play your tunes anywhere you go. If you have that person in your life who loves having music playing at all times, a great speaker would make for a fantastic gift. We scoured our recent hands-on reviews and consumer buyers' guides for some of our favorite speakers to present to you a shortlist of impressive sounds coming from many different builds.

Sonos Five
1. Best overall speaker

$439 at Sonos
JBL Boombox 3
2. Best speaker for portability

$399 at Amazon
Ultimate Ears/ Pocket-lint

Ultimate Ears Megaboom 3
3. Best budget speaker pick

$146 at Amazon
Sonos Era 100
4. Best compact home speaker

$199 at Amazon
KEF/ Pocket-lint

KEF LSX II Wireless HiFi Speaker
5. Best premium speakers

$999 at KEF

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We lean towards the Sonos Five as our top overall pick, due to its excellent sound quality for your home. But you may be looking for an alternate set-up, from smaller, more portable speakers to larger home and bookshelf speakers for blasting music while you cook or entertain. We round-up the best speakers you can buy, as a gift for yourself or a loved one.

Sonos Five

1. Best overall speaker

An incredibly well-rounded home speaker

$439 $549 Save $110

This is a top-of-the-line offering from one of the leaders in wireless speakers. The Sonos Five is a powerful portable speaker perfect for the home.

Pros

Excellent sound quality
Supports full home multi-speaker setup

Cons

No native support for virtual assistants
A bit expensive at full price

$439 at Sonos

Sonos has long been a leader in the home audio space. The Sonos Five is a great example of their capacity to fill your home with rich, warm sound while offering connectivity and features that are both incredibly useful and approachable, all in a sleek and well-built package.

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Pocket-Lint got the chance to go hands-on with the Sonos Five, and we found it to be "one seriously impressive speaker — both in terms of design and sound quality." Packing three tweeters and three mid-woofers, the Sonos Five offers plenty of sound for a large space and offers impressive audio quality for a single speaker.

The Sonos app is intuitive and easy to use, allowing easy control of either your single Sonos speaker or a multi-speaker whole-home setup. The Sonos Five can be set up as a stereo system using two speakers or as part of a surround sound system using other Sonos products. Airplay and Ethernet are both supported for further connectivity options in your home.

JBL Boombox 3

2. Best speaker for portability

Powerful sound in a portable package

$399 $499 Save $100

The JBL Boombox 3 is a tried and true Bluetooth speaker that packs enough sound for a crowd.

Pros

Plenty of volume for larger gatherings
IP67 water and dust resistant

Cons

Narrow soundstage

$399 at Amazon

The JBL Boombox 3 sets out to be your go-to speaker for any occasion. It's loud enough for outdoor spaces and portable enough to take just about anywhere. The JBL Portable app allows you to fine-tune the Boombox 3 with an in-app EQ so that you can adjust your sound depending on what you're listening to.

JBL Boombox 3 Wi-Fi review: Party hard

JBL's biggest speaker is back, and now it has Wi-Fi on board to upgrade it to full multi-room audio potential.

The Boombox 3 is in the running for the most outdoor-friendly speaker out there, as not only is it IP67 rated for water and dust resistance, but the speaker literally floats in the water. This makes it incredibly friendly for a day by the pool or out on the water for a boating day with family or friends. Pocket-Lint has gone hands-on with this speaker's Wi-Fi-enabled version, which we found to be a great representation of what the JBL Boombox 3 line has to offer.

Offering huge sound while remaining portable, the JBL Boombox 3 is an excellent choice for any party, outdoor activity, or larger gathering. We think it's a great mix of size, power, and price.

A black and grey wireless speaker with a plus and a minus button on the side for controlling the volume.

Ultimate Ears Megaboom 3

3. Best budget speaker pick

$146 $200 Save $54

The Ultimate Ears Megaboom 3 stands out as a high performer for its compact size and portability. This speaker is a winner; it is simple to use and has great sound quality.

Pros

Great sound quality
IP67 water and dust resistant
Long battery life

Cons

Better for small spaces as sound quality suffers at extreme volumes

$146 at Amazon $150 at Best Buy $150 at Walmart

The Ultimate Ears Megaboom 3 is an exceptionally portable speaker in a slim form factor with plenty of sound. Pocket-Lint was able to go hands-on with this one as well. Our reviewers concluded that while "there might be a significant number of Bluetooth devices on the market these days, but the Ultimate Ears Megaboom 3 continues to hold its ground as one of the best."

Ultimate Ears UE Megaboom 3 review image 1

Ultimate Ears UE Megaboom 3 review: Booming excellence

The biggest Ultimate Ears portable Bluetooth is back with a bang... and a smaller price tag. Here's why the Megaboom 3 is among the best money can buy

The Ultimate Ears Megaboom 3 is IP67 rated and, like some other speakers on the market, shares a unique ability to float in water. This makes it a friendly choice for use around bodies of water or next to the pool, where, ideally, the speaker will survive taking an accidental swim.

The Ultimate Ears Megaboom 3 is a great choice for a portable Bluetooth speaker, offering great sound quality, a long battery life, and an excellent price point.

Sonos Era 100

4. Best compact home speaker

$199 $250 Save $51

The Sonos Era 100 takes everything it learned from the Sonos One that it replaces and has given it an internal and external make-over for one seriously impressive little speaker.

Pros

Huge improvement over predecessor
Wide sound stage

Cons

Price increase over previous generation
No support for spatial audio

$199 at Amazon $199 at Sonos

The Sonos Era 100 speaker is the direct follow-up to the much-lauded Sonos One, and it does not disappoint. Pocket-Lint spent some time testing this newest generation of Sonos speakers, and we found that it "sounds fantastic and builds considerably on the performance of the speaker it replaces."

Sonos Era 100 review: Move over Sonos One

We've been spending some time with the Sonos Era 100 and if you love the Sonos One, you're about to embark on a fabulous affair. Here is our review.

This latest model brings all of Sonos's best in a small package. The Sonos Era 100 is compatible with over 100 music streaming services, has a customizable EQ, and integrates Amazon Alexa and Sonos voice control support. This speaker also supports stereo sound by pairing two of a kind.

The sound quality on the Sonos Era 100 impresses in both the highs and lows. Since the Sonora Era 100 features a 25% larger woofer cone than its predecessor, the bass performance is quite an improvement. Users of this speaker can take advantage of the Sonos Wi-Fi mesh system if they want to take a whole-home approach to audio using Sonos speakers.

KEF LSX II Wireless HiFi Speaker

5. Best premium speakers

Big sound in a small package

$999 $1399 Save $400

The LSX II Wireless speakers from KEF combine impressive features and sound in a compact package, well suited for any smaller space or office setup.

Pros

Easy to use mobile app
Connectivity options and streaming integration second to none

Cons

Bass leaves something to be desired at this price point

$999 at KEF

The KEF LSX II Wireless speakers are certainly a premium product, but they are an absolute joy to use. Pocket-Lint was able to spend some time with these speakers for a recent piece and found them to be an "impressive combination of features and sound in a compact package." The LSX II speakers take connected speakers to a new level with support for just about any streaming service you can think of, Bluetooth connectivity, Wi-FI support, CAT cable input, and support for high-bitrate streaming via Wi-Fi.

KEF features an intuitive mobile app from which to control your speakers, including fine-tuning their sound for whatever position or location they may be in your home. These speakers would be fantastic for a PC setup or home office. They'd also shine in a kitchen or dining room. These speakers can get loud, really loud, and still sound absolutely wonderful. They would make a welcome gift for any aspiring Hi-Fi enthusiast or music lover.

The bottom line: What's the best speaker to gift during the holiday season?

When considering which speaker would make the best holiday gift, you'll want to think about the person you're gifting the speaker to. We feel that the Sonos Five is the most well-rounded speaker among already strong options. This is because the Sonos Five has great sound quality, doesn't cost a fortune, is powerful enough to fill a large room with sound, and has one of the best apps and streaming integrations on the market. If you are getting a gift for someone's home, apartment, or office, then the Sonos Five is a no-brainer.

If portability is the focus, then the JBL Boombox 3 might be a stronger choice. We loved the Ultimate Ears Megaboom 3 for a budget pick that still packs a great sound.