Techradar is ranked #22 of 48 in the speaker-review source reliability ranking. The ranking weighs measurement quality, repeatability, useful comparisons, disclosure, and editorial independence; it is an assessment of the work used for speaker decisions, not a claim about personal character.
Reliability assessment: Some good picks and some mediocre ones. This seem to be the best of the big publications, but still some not great speakers chosen like the Stormbox Flow and Epicboom. The author says they’ve reviewed over 150 products of all types, so likely only a handful of Bluetooth speakers which is not enough to rank the best.
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Every speaker on this site Techradar has reviewed, highest-rated first, with a direct link to each review below its card.
Medium Size Powered Desktop Speakers
Ranked #12 of 19 in Medium Size Powered Desktop Speakers - Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker: $299.00 each Amazon eBay
Pros: Three drivers (a 3in woofer and 1in tweeter facing forward, plus a 1.5in driver firing upward) give it a noticeably taller sound than most compact home speakers. Stuff gave it the edge over the Sonos Era 100, and TechRadar called its tonal balance fairly neutral, with tight bass control and high detail. Alexa, including Alexa+, is built in, and RTINGS found its microphones picked up commands easily from across a noisy room. It streams over AirPlay 2, Google Cast, Spotify Connect and Bluetooth 5.3, keeps a 3.5mm aux input that the Era 100 lacks, and two units can be stereo paired or used as rear surrounds with the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar.
Cons: RTINGS lists sub-par directivity as its main weakness, and reviewers agree a single unit sounds narrow from side to side, so it works best as a stereo pair. Deep bass is limited: Engadget found the low end restrained and preferred the Denon Home 200’s sound, Stuff noted it can’t separate sub-bass from the bassline and that DSP pulls bass back at maximum volume, and TechRadar heard a slight toothiness in the treble that needed EQ to calm. The EQ is only bass, mid and treble with no automatic room calibration. Bose warns the aux and Bluetooth inputs add lip sync delay for TV use, it has no battery or IP rating, and both SoundGuys and Engadget needed several restarts to get stereo pairing working.
Full Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker review and specifications →
| AES Input | No |
|---|---|
| App | Yes (Bose) |
| Aux Input | Yes |
| Battery Life | No Battery |
| Bluetooth | Yes, 5.3 |
| Built-in Microphone | Yes (far-field, mic mute button) |
| Coaxial Input | No |
| Dimensions | 7.2” x 4.8” x 6.6” (184 x 121 x 167 mm) (H x W x D) |
| Drivers | 3in woofer, 1in tweeter, 1.5in up-firing mid/high driver |
| EQ | Yes (Bass/Mid/Treble + up-firing driver level) |
| HDMI Input | No |
| IP Rating | None |
| Inputs | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3.5mm aux |
| Optical Input | No |
| Party Mode | Yes (Bose app multi-room, AirPlay 2, Google Cast) |
| Power Bank | No |
| Power Input | AC power cord |
| RCA Input | No |
| Stereo | No |
| Streaming Services | AirPlay 2, Google Cast, Spotify Connect |
| TRS Input | Yes (3.5mm) |
| TWS | Yes (stereo pairing via Bose app) |
| USB Input | No |
| Voice Assistants | Amazon Alexa / Alexa+ |
| Weight | 3.7 lbs (1.68 kg) |
| Wi-Fi | Yes |
| XLR Input | No |
- Links
- Reviews, Comparisons and Sound Samples
- Head-to-Head Comparisons
- Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker vs Denon Home 250
- Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker vs Sonos Era 100
- Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker vs Marshall Acton III
- Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker vs JBL Authentics 200
- Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker vs Edifier D12
- Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker vs Marshall Stanmore III
- Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker vs Apple HomePod 2nd Gen
- Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker vs Klipsch The One II
- See all 34 comparisons
Ranked #18 of 19 in Medium Size Powered Desktop Speakers - Klipsch The Three Plus: $269.99 each Amazon eBay
Older model: the Klipsch The Three II (ranked higher, rated 3.4/5).
Pros: Two 2.25in full-range drivers and a 5.25in woofer with two opposing passive radiators, biamplified with 120W, play far louder than the small tabletop cabinet suggests: TechRadar and Trusted Reviews both found it stayed composed and unstressed at very high volume, with controlled, textured bass and a fairly detailed, communicative midrange. Inputs cover Bluetooth 5.3, a switchable phono/line RCA input for a turntable, 24-bit/96kHz optical and USB-C playback, and the Klipsch Connect app adds a three-band EQ with presets and a night mode.
Cons: The tuning leans heavily on bass: TechRadar called it on the warm side of neutral with the treble only just holding its own, and HomeTheaterHifi found the treble turned sharp and piercing at higher volumes. Both TechRadar and Trusted Reviews found the built-in phono stage flat and less dynamic than the other inputs, so vinyl sounds its weakest here. Stereo separation is limited by the single cabinet, there is no 3.5mm aux or subwoofer output, and HomeTheaterHifi found the app and volume wheel laggy. ASR’s measurements of the original Klipsch The Three, which used the same driver layout, showed an uneven response, so treat its tonal balance with some caution.
Full Klipsch The Three Plus review and specifications →
| AES Input | No |
|---|---|
| Amplifier Power | 120W total |
| App | Yes (Klipsch Connect) |
| Aux Input | No (RCA line input) |
| Battery Life | No Battery |
| Bluetooth | Yes, 5.3 |
| Bluetooth Version | 5.3 |
| Built-in Microphone | No |
| Coaxial Input | No |
| Dimensions | 7”H x 14”W x 8.4”D (178 x 356 x 213 mm) |
| Drivers | 2x 2.25” full-range drivers, 5.25” long-throw woofer, 2x 5.25” passive radiators |
| EQ | Yes |
| Frequency Response | 45Hz - 20kHz (Manufacturer specified) |
| HDMI Input | No |
| Inputs | Bluetooth, Optical, Phono/RCA, USB-C |
| Maximum SPL | 106dB |
| Optical Input | Yes (24-bit/96kHz) |
| RCA Input | Yes |
| Stereo | Partially (1 woofer) |
| TRS Input | No |
| USB Input | Yes |
| Voice Assistants | None |
| Weight | 10.6 lbs (4.8 kg) |
| Wi-Fi | No |
| XLR Input | No |
- Links
- Reviews, Comparisons and Sound Samples
- Head-to-Head Comparisons