The 10 Best Smart Speakers For Listening To Spotify
In honor of our collection of curated Spotify playlists, we thought we’d offer up some of the best smart speakers you can use to listen to Spotify. Until the music streaming giant follows up their Car Thing device with a Home Thing smart speaker, we’ll rely on other manufacturers to deliver the noise. All of these smart speakers connect to wifi, some support bluetooth as well, and multiples of the same speaker can be paired up for surround sound.
They all offer voice control (Alexa, Google Assistant, or both) or you can use their dedicated apps. Some even have real live buttons on the unit for those who like a tactile experience. But what each of these speakers does best is deliver deep, clear, loud sound so Spotify sounds exactly as good as it should.
Sonos One
Sonos One is a compact, stationary speaker with built-in voice control. Standing just over six inches tall, it delivers room-filling sound wherever you put it. Because it runs on wifi, and not bluetooth, you’ll control your Spotify playlist via the Sonos App, Apple AirPlay, or just by asking Google Assistant or Alexa, both of which come built-in.
Price: $249
Bang & Olufsen Beosound A5
Bigger, better, and higher quality sound: that’s what Bang & Olufsen promises with all its speakers, and the Beosound A5 is proof they can live up to that promise. The speaker features four drivers to produce crystal-clear highs and mids and a built-in industry leading subwoofer that will pack a bass-heavy punch you can feel as you listen to your music.
The acoustic engineering of this speaker ensures that no matter the size of the room or space, you get a well-balanced, rich sound. Pair that with a gorgeously modern-looking exterior and double-anodized grille cover that delivers both elegant texture and enhanced sound performance, and you’ve got a true winner on your hands.
Price: $1,499
Denon Home 150 Smart Speaker
Looking for a more budget-friendly option for your home sound system? Give the Denon Home 150 Smart Speaker a try! The dynamic sound will fill your living and dining room despite the speaker’s small size, and it’s built to play any song or soundtrack with top-in-class audio performance. It’s also a streamer’s best friend, with easy connection to both Bluetooth and WiFi so you can rock your Spotify or iTunes playlist in seconds.
The integrated Alexa and Siri compatibility make it easy to use with voice commands and the easy pairing with other smart devices—including sound bars and AV receivers—will help you keep your sound system as “smart” as it gets.
Price: $249
Sonos Era 300
Don’t bother running cables and wires to set up surround sound; with the Sonos Era 300, a single speaker will deliver that fully immersive surround sound experience. The Dolby Atmos Music support combines with the six integrated drivers and a cutting edge acoustic design that projects sound into every corner of your room, creating the surround experience just with a single speaker.
The custom waveguides ensure that your listening experience is the same no matter what part of the room you’re in, giving you a spacious soundstage perfect for everything from video games to movies to dance mixes. Not only is it easily paired with Bluetooth and WiFi, but it’s even got a 3.5mm jack so you can plug any device in directly.
Price: $449
JBL Authentics 500 Speaker
Can’t attend that live concert? Don’t sweat it: the JBL Authentics 500 Speaker will make it feel like you’re sitting in the front row. The combination of three 2.75-inch midrange woofers and three 1-inch tweeters deliver a rich, expansive, powerful sound that maximizes both clarity and quality for a next-level listening experience.
The addition of a downward-firing 6.5-inch subwoofer and a deep bass port ensures that every drum and bass beat is felt, not just heard. Best of all, the retro-looking design will be right at home in any studio apartment, New York City loft, or modern home.
Price: $600+
Marshall Stanmore III Speaker
Marshall is renowned in the music world for its peerless quality and expert-level performance, so it should come as no surprise that the Stanmore III Speaker is one of our top picks. Though it’s small enough to sit on a living room shelf or cabinet, it’s got impressive power and volume that will blow you away. The heavy Marshall signature sound delivers full immersion into whatever you’re listening to, and sound that will remain consistent and solid no matter where in your room you are, or what size room you’re in.
You can also take full control of your sound directly using the bass and treble controls. Balance everything and tweak your sound output using the integrated control knobs to deliver the perfect sound quality for any time of music, movie, TV show, or game.
Price: $380
Amazon Echo Studio
In the Amazon Echo lineup, Studio is focused on sound quality. It performs all Alexa functions — smart home control, joke telling, Amazon shopping — but it also has three mid-range speakers, a tweeter, and a downward-facing, five-inch woofer to blast out your Spotify music. Connecting via bluetooth or wifi, you control it through Alexa, either via her app or your mouth.
Price: $200
Amazon Echo
Coming in a hundred bucks cheaper than Echo Studio, Amazon’s fourth generation of the standard Echo comes with all of Alexa’s tricks of the trade, the ability to stream as much Spotify as you want, and whole-house control. Because the Echos play so nice together, you can grab a few of these and set them up in ancillary rooms, for music, music, music, everywhere.
Price: $65+
Bose Smart Speaker 500
If there’s a best speaker party, Bose is always invited. Their Smart Speaker 500 cranks out stereo sound from a single unit, a feat they perfected before streaming was even born. Control comes from wifi, bluetooth, or Apple AirPlay 2 and Alexa and Google Assistant are both built-in. Of course, if you’re a guy who still likes to touch stuff, simple button controls are up top.
Price: $379
Bang & Olufsen Beosound 2
Is it a communication device left behind by the Ring Builders on Ilus IV? Nope, just another impressive sculptural speaker by Bang & Olufsen. The Beosound 2 stands about 17 inches tall and comes in brass-, bronze-, gold-, or silver-toned solid aluminum. Wifi- and bluetooth-enabled, you can get it with or without Google Assistant and the top is an elegant touchscreen control panel.
Price: $3,199
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