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The best Bluetooth party speakers for 2024 turn up the volume and bring the bass
Amazon/JBL
Who’s ready to party? We’re putting you in charge of bringing the tunes for all your hottest outdoor parties this season, so you’ll want the best Bluetooth party speakers for 2024.
Whether you like to blast top 40 music and play video games with friends during your barbecues, or you like to spin retro music at family gatherings, the best party speakers can enhance any experience.
But it’s not just any speaker you want. The right speaker (and even the right outdoor lighting) can make all the difference. You want crisp, clear music and powerful bass to bring the fun and keep the mood high. Some party speakers can even give you more, with fun extras like RGB lighting and karaoke features. They can also wirelessly connect to your smartphone (or other device) via Bluetooth, so anyone can play DJ.
We’ve found perfect options from Samsung, JBL, and more. If you’re ready to party down this season, be sure to check out our picks for the best Bluetooth party speakers for 2024.
The best Bluetooth party speakers for 2024
Best Bluetooth party speaker: JBL Pulse 5: $200 (20% off)
Amazon
This eye-catching speaker features 360 degrees of dazzling colors that sync to the beat of your favorite tunes. The lights are also customizable by way of the JBL Portable app. The lighting effects will have eyes glued to this speaker all night long.
Pump up the jams with bold bass and crisp highs thanks to the speaker’s separate tweeter and driver, with especially clear treble that’ll have everyone singing along.
You get 12 hours of playtime on a single charge, so you’ll be good to go even if your parties end up lasting until question marks.
Plus, you can connect up to two smartphones or tablets (or whatever mobile device you’re using) to the speaker so multiple users can take over and spin their favorite tracks.
It’s also rated IP67 dustproof and waterproof, so a little bit of drizzle won’t end the party.
Best compact Bluetooth party speaker: JBL PartyBox Encore Essential: $250 (17% off)
Amazon
The JBL PartyBox Encore Essential is a compact portable party speaker with 100-watt sound, deep bass and features LED lights with a strobe effect. Its cube-shaped form factor make it a great option for partiers who don’t have a ton of space.
It offers six hours of play time per charge, which should be long enough to last you through a backyard gathering or solo listening session.
Like many of JBL’s offerings, you can also pair two of these speakers together to make for an even more dramatic sound. If you need things louder or you want to cover more ground, that’s the way to go here if you buy two devices.
It’s also IPX4 splash-proof and provides up to six hours of play time on a single charge.
Best Bluetooth party speaker boom box: Soundcore Motion Boom Plus: $180
Amazon
If you really want to pump up the jam, you can’t go wrong with a boom box. This 5.29 pound unit is lightweight but powerful, and it comes with a shoulder strap so you can tote it around or keep it close if you prefer.
It has dual 3.5-inch woofers as well as dual 1-inch tweeters for 80 watts of total audio output, so wherever you go, you can bring the tunes with some impressive sound.
You get 20 hours of battery life per charge, and that’s with playback at a moderate level. It’s perfect for setting up poolside and queuing up a playlist, since its IP67 waterproof and dustproof rating has you covered from any watery accidents. Plus, it floats, so if it falls into the water, you’re still good.
Need extra sound? You can link two of these units together. Plus, you can alter the boom box’s settings to your liking via the companion Anker Soundcore app.
Best Bluetooth party speaker for karaoke: Sony X-Series portable party speaker: $548
Amazon
Do more than just listen to music at your next party. Sing along to it. This speaker not only provides omnidirectional sound, Bluetooth and USB connectivity, but it has two microphone and guitar inputs, so you can croon along to your favorite songs and jam on the guitar.
You can let your inner pop star rise to the surface with this speaker’s 25 hours of battery life and IPX4 splash-resistant design. It also has LED lighting, which can help you mimic the lights on a stage and keep the party hot. Plus, it’s a sleek-looking unit with a handle to make toting it around a breeze.
Don’t spend a few thousand on a karaoke machine when you can bring home this powerful speaker with excellent sound and plenty of room for folks to get their sing on. It’s got everything you need to start the party, and you don’t even have to choose from a song list.
Best premium Bluetooth party speaker: JBL PartyBox 1000: $949 (27% off)
Amazon
The JBL PartyBox 1000 is a high-tech party speaker for serious audio enthusiasts. It does it all and then some, with just about everything you could need to get the party started right in your backyard.
It includes a DJ launchpad that even lets you play drums, keyboard and piano as well as record and loop sounds for custom songs and recordings. It also includes full-panel lighting effects, a microphone and guitar input, and powerful sound quality.
As with many of JBL’s other speakers, it also has inputs for both mic and guitar. so you can queue up a full-fledged concert.
Just be vigilant around water, as this speaker is not waterproof. If you plan on using it during a pool party, keep it far away from water.
It’s one heck of a party splurge, but if you’re serious about throwing one of the best bashes your block has ever seen, it’s totally worth it.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters says workers at seven Amazon facilities will begin a strike Thursday morning in an effort by the union to pressure the e-commerce giant for a labor agreement during a key shopping period.
The Teamsters say the workers, who authorized walkouts in the past few days, are joining the picket line after Amazon ignored a Dec. 15 deadline the union set for contract negotiations. Amazon says it doesn’t expect any impact on its operations during what the union calls the largest strike against the company in U.S. history.
The Teamsters say they represent nearly 10,000 workers at 10 Amazon facilities, a small portion of the 1.5 million people Amazon employs in its warehouses and corporate offices.
Amazon is ranked No. 2 on the Fortune 500 list of the nation’s largest companies.
At a warehouse in the New York City borough of Staten Island, thousands of workers who voted for the Amazon Labor Union in 2022 and have since affiliated with the Teamsters. At the other facilities, employees – including many delivery drivers – have unionized with them by demonstrating majority support but without holding government-administered elections.
The strikes happening Thursday are taking place at an Amazon warehouse in San Francisco and six delivery stations in southern California, New York City, Atlanta and the Chicago suburb of Skokie, Illinois, according to the union’s announcement. Amazon workers at the other facilities are “prepared to join” them, the union said.
“Amazon is pushing its workers closer to the picket line by failing to show them the respect they have earned,” Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said in a statement.
“If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed. We gave Amazon a clear deadline to come to the table and do right by our members. They ignored it,” he said.
The Seattle-based online retailer has been seeking to re-do the election that led to the union victory at the warehouse on Staten Island, which the Teamsters now represent. In the process, the company has filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the National Labor Relations Board.
Meanwhile, Amazon says the delivery drivers, which the Teamsters have organized for more than a year, aren’t its employees. Under its business model, the drivers work for third-party businesses, called Delivery Service Partners, who drop off millions of packages to customers everyday.
“For more than a year now, the Teamsters have continued to intentionally mislead the public – claiming that they represent ‘thousands of Amazon employees and drivers’. They don’t, and this is another attempt to push a false narrative,” Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in a statement. “The truth is that the Teamsters have actively threatened, intimidated, and attempted to coerce Amazon employees and third-party drivers to join them, which is illegal and is the subject of multiple pending unfair labor practice charges against the union.“
The Teamsters have argued Amazon essentially controls everything the drivers do and should be classified as an employer.
Some U.S. labor regulators have sided with the union in filings made before the NLRB. In September, Amazon boosted pay for the drivers amid the growing pressure.
NEW YORK — The Teamsters union is launching a strike against Amazon at numerous locations across the country, including in Maspeth, Queens.
The Teamsters are calling it the largest strike against Amazon in United States history, and it’s set to begin at 6 a.m. Thursday. In addition to New York City, workers will be joining picket lines in Atlanta, Southern California, San Francisco and Illinois.
In a video announcement released Wednesday night, workers voiced their frustrations.
“Us being strike ready means we’re fed up, and Amazon is clearly ignoring us and we want to be heard,” one worker says in the video.
“It’s really exciting. We’re taking steps for ourselves to win better conditions, better benefits, better wages,” another worker in the video says.
The union says it represents about 10,000 Amazon employees and that Amazon ignored a deadline to come to the table and negotiate. The $2 trillion company doesn’t pay employees enough to make ends meet, the union asserts.
At the height of the holiday season, many are wondering what this means for packages currently in transit.
Teamsters President Sean O’Brien said, “If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed.”
Amazon says Teamsters are misleading the public
An Amazon spokesperson says the Teamsters are misleading the public and do not represent any Amazon employees, despite any claims.
“The truth is that the Teamsters have actively threatened, intimidated, and attempted to coerce Amazon employees and third-party drivers to join them, which is illegal and is the subject of multiple pending unfair labor practice charges against the union,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
An Amazon representative says the company doesn’t expect operations to be impacted.
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