We won’t be enjoying live music or trips to the cinema for a while longer, so now is the perfect time to invest in that sound system you’ve always wanted. Here are our top picks for any budget, with a focus on good value speakers for home:
6 Good Value Speakers
Best Portable:
JBL Clip 3 Portable Bluetooth Speaker
This little speaker punches above its weight with a surprisingly full sound that will comfortably fill a decent sized room. Clip it on to your bike, rucksack or belt-loop and take it anywhere you go. It’s waterproof, so you can take it into the shower with you, and the battery will last up to 10 hours. Available in a range of colours, this is the speaker for you if want to take your tunes with you everywhere. At €49.99, you can’t get much better value at this price.
BOSE SoundLink Revolve Portable Bluetooth Wireless Speaker
The Bose Soundlink Revolve has been around for a few years now but it still sounds as good as ever. Up to 12 hours of listening on a single charge and water resistant, it comes with all the standard bells and whistles you’d expect for a Bluetooth speaker of this quality, but the Soundlink’s real party piece is the round design, which emits sound in every direction. This makes it great for placing in the centre of the room for a party or outdoors at a barbeque.
You know what your getting with a Bose product, and this is a quality speaker that hits all the right notes with a full, rounded sound featuring punchy highs and balanced bass.
The Soundlink Revolve is available from €199.
Best Bookshelf Speaker:
Edifier R1700BT Bookshelf Active Speakers
This stylish pair of bookshelf speakers are active, meaning you don’t need a separate amplifier to hook them up. That means you can simply plug-in and go, ideal if you need to save space while significantly improving your home audio set-up. They can be wired up to augment your TV or PC sound while a separate Bluetooth channel gives you flexibility if you need to connect your phone or tablet. Edifier have a great range of active speakers with fantastic features, and we reckon these 42w units are some of the best value speakers for home.
Best Turntable:
Audio-Technica AT-LP60XUSB Fully Automatic Belt-Drive USB Turntable
More and more people are enjoying the world of vinyl these days, and it’s remarkably easy to get involved yourself. Audio Technica are a premium brand in the turntable world, and this model, which can also digitise your LP audio and save it via USB, is available right now for less than €135.
There’s nothing quite like the ceremony and occasion involved in putting on a classic record, and afficionados will swear blind that it sounds better than CD. If you fancy a step up from MP3 sound quality and doing something different with your home sound system, couple this player with a decent pair of active speakers you’ll be in vinyl heaven.
Best Soundbar:
If you’re serious about improving your home sound with a great value speaker then augmenting or replacing the equipment on your TV is a no-brainer. Even some high-end 4K sets are shipped with built-in speakers that leave a lot to be desired, so installing a soundbar can make a world of difference. They sit unobtrusively below your set, so you don’t have to worry about large speakers distracting from the décor in the living room, while pumping out serious sound.
If you’re desperate to replace the stock set-up on your TV you can pick up a the LOGIK L32SBT17 2.0 Sound Bar for as little as €29, while more serious audiophiles will look towards the 300w LG SL4Y 2.1 Wireless Soundbar for €199 (currently on sale, this is great value).
Meanwhile, if you really want to hear the special effects in the movies as intended, you might fancy the SONOS Beam Compact Sound Bar with Amazon Alexa & Google Assistant, which can connect to other SONOS speakers in the home to create a true stereo experience.
