Portable Speakers Review

Whether you're on a road trip, in a hotel or in the middle of a park, using portable speakers is a great way to allow a large group of people to listen to your music. These speakers don't require a USB port or a power outlet. They only require a 3.5mm audio jack to fill the room with your favorite tunes from a computer or MP3 player. The compact design makes them perfect for travel and, since most of them run on batteries, the speakers don't have to be tethered to a plug in the wall.

In this review site, we compare a range of travel speakers side-by-side so you can see which ones are best for you. We also reviewed each speaker individually to enable you to get further details. At TopTenREVIEWS We Do the Research So You Don’t Have To.™

Portable Speakers: What to Look For

There is a large variety of small speakers available for purchase. Almost all of them claim amazing sound quality, which can be hard for a customer to determine without actually purchasing the hardware. In order to clearly rate and rank the speakers on our site, we used the following criteria:

Features
You can tell a lot about a pair of speakers from their specifications. Items such as the Frequency Response, Sensitivity and Output Power include numbers that you can directly compare with other products. It is also important to take into account the power required to run the speakers and how long that power source lasts.

Portability
Travel speakers need to be easy to carry and simple to store. If a speaker is big and bulky, it can hardly be considered "portable." They need to have a compact design so they can fit in your carry-on bag, your backpack or even your laptop case. However, just because these speakers are light, that doesn't mean they should give a lightweight performance.

Ease of Use
What good are MP3 speakers if they're not easy to use? A simple design is essential for speakers that you're using on-the-go. Elaborate wiring set-ups or complicated controls can make an audio accessory not worth the hassle. When looking for mini speakers, there should be little more to do aside from plugging them in and letting them play.

Help/Support
Don't let the simplicity of the speaker design fool you. Even the easiest products to use may still have some issues. This section explores what kind of resources each product has to help the user with any problems they may have. A wide variety of help and support options will help give peace of mind to any consumer.

Being small, lightweight and simple to use is the reason that portable speakers like the X-mini MAX II, the Altec Lansing Orbit MP3 IM237 and the iHome iHM79 are good choices to take along in your travels. These types of speakers are perfect when a large group wants to listen to music from your iPod or laptop. Be sure to check out our articles related to portable speakers and audio accessories in general.