The best Bose headphones of 2025

Tript XSound Joe: Despite being on the market for several years, the Tribit XSound Go remains one of the best Bluetooth speakers for the money. Besides adequate sound for streaming your favorite music and more, this affordable Bluetooth speaker is completely waterproof. It’s gotten some small upgrades over the years.

JBL Pulse 5: JBL’s Pulse speaker is now in its fifth generation, and the sound quality and 360-degree light show have been improved. JBL has “enlarged the transparent outer body” so that the customizable light show looks even more impressive. (There’s a companion app for iOS and Android that allows you to change the colored lighting effects.) The speaker is also IP67 dustproof and waterproof, and offers up to 12 hours of battery at moderate volume levels.

Anker Motion Boom: Anker’s more expensive Soundcore Motion Boom Plus (see above) is a significant audio upgrade over the original Motion Boom but this model is still a good little box for the money. The speaker, which has a handle and weighs just over 4 pounds, reminds me of one of those giant light bulbs or “floating lanterns” that were popular about 30 years ago. For the record, the Motion Boom actually floats: it’s completely waterproof with an IPX7 rating.

UE Hyperboom: Ultimate Ears’ Boom Bluetooth speakers come in different sizes, but none of them are very large. Hyperboom. A large wireless speaker weighing in at 13 lbs, the Hyperboom UE Megaboom 3 It certainly looks sick. It’s not cheap, but its sound quality is better than a lot of the bulky portable speakers on the market today. Read our review.

Marshall Wellin: Marshall’s Willen Mini Mono Speaker is similar to Bose’s SoundLink Micro and other small speakers like the Tribit StormBox Micro 2. Also like those speakers, it has a strap built into its base so you can clip it to your backpack or even your bike’s handlebars. The 2-inch full-range driver and two passive radiators emit more sound than you’d think it would given its small size, and it delivers decent clarity as well as enough bass to avoid tinny sound (you can choose from three preset sound modes).

Tript Storm Box (Out of stock): The StormBox looks like a cross between a UE speaker and a JBL speaker. We suspect this is not an accident. This fully waterproof speaker costs significantly less than the JBL Flip 5 and Flip 6 and produces more sound. Its rechargeable battery provides up to 20 hours of battery life for music playback and more. Tribit’s XSound speakers are probably better value, but the StormBox is sleeker.

Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 (2nd generation): Two years ago, Bang & Olufsen upgraded the A1’s aluminum dome speaker with improved battery life, better speakerphone performance (it now has a three-microphone array) and slightly improved sound. Not only are they the smallest wireless speakers from the Danish company, but they’re also the least technically expensive.

Sonos Room: Available in five colors for $179, the Roam is currently the smallest and most affordable Sonos speaker (if you don’t count the $99 Sonos-compatible Symfonisk Ikea Wi-Fi bookshelf speakers), though it’s pricey Fairly pricey for a small wireless speaker. This Sonos Roam model, like the larger Sonos Move 2 portable speaker, is equipped with both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi and can take advantage of your existing Sonos multi-room audio system and link with other Sonos speakers compatible with the Series 2.

Anker Soundcore Motion Plus: Anker’s Soundcore Motion Plus was released in 2019, but it remains one of the best speakers for around $100. It’s larger than many small Bluetooth speakers, but it’s still compact. It manages to sound fuller than most competitors in its price range, with more bass, more volume, and better clarity. It’s also fully waterproof (IPX7 rating) and supports the aptX streaming codec for devices like Samsung’s Galaxy phones that support it.

Explore Bang & Olufsen Beosound: It’s a bit overpriced for the sound quality it offers, but the Beosound Explore is a good little speaker with a sleek, eye-catching design. It’s fully water and dust resistant (IP67 rating), and offers excellent battery life, with up to 27 hours of music listening at moderate volume levels.

Monoprice Soundstage 3Monoprice tends to make generic-looking electronic products, and the Soundstage 3 Bluetooth speakers, which have a minimalist design despite their simple aesthetic appeal, probably won’t impress you. I wouldn’t buy this speaker at its list price of $245, but often discounted to around $150, it’s a good value thanks to its ability to play big sound with strong bass and decent clarity, with 50 watts of power driving a concave cone tweeter 5.25-inch aluminum surround surrounded by 1-inch silk-dome tweeters. It also has good connectivity options, including 3.5mm digital analog wired inputs and RCA analog wired inputs that allow you to connect your TV or other stereo component. There is also a sub-outlet.

Trybit XSound Mega (Out of Stock): Over the past few years, Tribit has made several Bluetooth speakers that offer a lot of boom for the money. Add the new XSound Mega to the list. Tribit bills the It has an LED display that you can turn on or off, and there are three equalizer settings: XBass, Music, and Audiobook. In addition, it can be used as a power bank to charge your mobile devices.

Other Bose products we’ve tested

Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphonesBose’s new flagship QuietComfort Ultra headphones may not be a huge upgrade over the company’s Noise Canceling 700 headphones, but they do feature a more premium design along with Bose’s new Immersive Audio feature, which offers some improvements in sound quality. Along with excellent sound and great noise cancellation, the QC Ultra headphones are also great for taking calls, with top-notch background noise reduction.

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earphones: The QC Ultra Earbuds aren’t a huge upgrade over the excellent Bose QC Earbuds 2 released in 2022, but they’re certainly a little better. It should fit most ears very well, has great noise cancellation, and is arguably the best out there. The natural-sounding Transparency Mode with the new ActiveSense feature kicks in some ANC if it’s too loud around you (it’s a bit like the Adaptive Audio feature in the AirPods Pro). They also sound a little better overall, with a touch more clarity, and their new Immersive Audio feature opens up the sound a bit.

Bose QuietComfort headphones: When Bose released its new flagship QuietComfort Ultra headphones, it also replaced the QuietComfort 45s with a new, slightly updated model simply called the QuietComfort headphones. Like the QC 45s, this model carries over the old, tried-and-true QuietComfort design that has been around for a few generations and that many people still love.

Bose Ultra Open Headphones: The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds have one of the most unusual designs of any earbuds I’ve tested over the past several years. They literally clip onto the side of your ears, like earrings, and their open design contains tiny speakers that blast sound into your ears while you’re still able to hear what’s happening around you.

Bose Sports Open Headphones (Out of stock): Geared toward runners and bikers who want their ears open to the world for safety reasons — or for people who don’t like having any kind of buds in their ears — they sound surprisingly good. I ended up liking it, but its design isn’t for everyone, and how comfortable you find it will determine how much you like it. It’s currently available in the US for $200. (There are no official international prices yet, but they are around £150 or AU$260.)

Bose QuietComfort 45: The QuietComfort 45 features almost the same design as its predecessor Quiet Comfort QC35 Version 2 (henceforth known as QC35 II). It has the same drivers, according to Bose, and the buttons are in the same place. There are small but noticeable changes. First, and thankfully, these devices have USB-C instead of micro-USB. Since USB-C has become the de facto charging standard — with the exception of some Apple devices — most new devices offer USB-C charging, which simplifies our cable situation.