Best Wireless Speakers Under $300

In these final days of the holiday shopping season, you may be scrambling to buy gifts for family and friends. Or maybe you just want to reward yourself for working hard all year. Either way, you should take a look at this list featuring some of the best wireless speakers in our Ratings.

Feel free to ignore all those pointless gimmicks—speakers that levitate, light up, or float on water. What you really want is good sound, and according to our testers, these models have it.

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Fluance Fi50

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The faux-wood finish and retro design may remind you of a station wagon from the 1970s. But this $250 speaker is very much a creature of the 21st century. It delivers very good sound quality, it's very easy to use, and it features analog audio inputs, an LCD, and a remote, which is a nice extra.

And according to Fluance, if you give the unit a little time to break in, the speaker's performance gets even better.

Sonos Play:1

This stylish, solidly constructed $200 speaker delivers very good sound quality all on its own; but if you pair it with another Play:1 in a stereo configuration, you get even better sound.

And if you'd like, you can easily add more Sonos wireless speakers via WiFi to create a multiroom sound system capable of playing different selections in different rooms of your home. How about a little easy listening in the dining room and rock 'n' roll in the family room? Nice.

Edifier R2000DB

They’re not retro-looking or brightly colored, but these elegantly-designed Bluetooth speakers sell in a pair for $250. And together, they deliver very good sound quality, which makes them a solid choice for the discerning listener, the sort of person who truly knows the difference between a violin and a cello.

And the included remote control comes in handy when you don't feel like crossing the room to adjust the speaker's volume, bass, or treble.

Sony SRS-X55

This basic black box may lack some pizzazz. But the Bluetooth-compatible speaker inside it produces good sound quality, and the minimalist design makes the unit easy to use.

We like the large touch controls, the convenient location of the source selector (on top of the unit), and the analog audio inputs (like a 3.5mm line-in to play non-Bluetooth devices). The whole portable package generally sells for $180.

Marshall Stockwell

Even if you’re not a die-hard fan of the movie “Spinal Tap” or 1980s heavy metal, you’re sure to love the design of this $215 speaker. Yes, it looks like a guitar amp, but the simple, intuitive interface helps make it one of the few wireless speakers in our Ratings to earn an excellent score for ease of use.

The controls are clearly labeled and the bold black text on the brushed-brass finish is easy on the eyes. The sound quality? That's good, too. And the speaker has one analog audio input. So you can also use it with non-Bluetooth devices.

Libratone Zipp Mini

This $200 speaker delivers good sound in a great many ways. Unlike most other portable models that connect only to a music source via Bluetooth, the Zipp Mini lets you use WiFi for a stronger signal. This means—much like with the Sonos Play:1—you can build a wireless multiroom sound system, linking this speaker to other Zipp Minis (up to six).

The model also lets you play Spotify music without using the app on your phone. It offers analog audio inputs for connecting nonwireless devices. And if you tire of the cover, more options are available. They come in green, red, gray, or black.