Planning a proper party? That Bluetooth smart speaker might not be up to the job! You’re going to need something with a bit more clout to pull this off! Something serious. Something loud.
You need a house party speaker.
Getting set up for that party takes some work. Hopefully, your friends at AudioPunch can save you a bit of time picking out the best house party speaker for your do.
Whether you’re looking for something that will play Bach beautifully in the conservatory, or a speaker that’s guaranteed to wake the neighbors up, we’ve got you covered.
Let’s get started!
Above: The Sharp PS-920 Party Speaker – Amazon UK
In This Guide
What’s the best house party speaker in 2021?
OK, not everyone wants to wade through pages of text and stats, so what’s the quick version? We’ve slashed the products that we think make for the best bluetooth party speaker award down to a few ‘top choices’. These are the speakers that really deliver in terms of quality and the essentials we look for:
Top party speaker products in the UK as of 2021
- Sony GTK-XB5
- Sony MHC-V11
- Sharp PS-920
Sony GTK-XB5
There’s a full overview of them all below, but this set of party speakers is way ahead in terms of quality, sound, volume and pretty much everything else.
What we looked at when picking best bluetooth speaker for a house party
Speakers for a good house party, or hall / venue party are slightly different to other audio equipment. Here’s some of the things we were mindful of when selecting the top of the bunch.
- Sound quality – For starters, it should be LOUD. But we also want to see good bass, and a nice crisp quality.
- Volume – A lot of house party speakers are too quiet. Nothing worse than that! Parties can get pretty loud and you need a speaker that can stand it’s ground.
- Reliability – You want to enjoy your party, not spend it worrying about if the Bluetooth is down again. One thing we definitely sought out was a stable Bluetooth connection. But everything else should just WORK as well.
- Durability – Some speakers are just too light weight for party use. Even if you’re not throwing anything too insane, accidents happen and we looked for speakers that can take a good knock or two.
- Value for money – Unless you’re a complete PARTY ANIMAL, you might not get this out every single night. So we looked at the cost of each speaker and tried to find a balance between quality and value for money.
#1 Choice: Sony GTK-XB5
About this party speaker
The Sony GTK-XB5 is a floor standing party speaker with a compact size and an extremely very loud output, when you need it.
Connect to it via Bluetooth as well as control it via the downloadable app. There’s lighting on the speakers, around the edges and also strobe lighting. It’s our number one choice for best party speaker.
What’s it sound like?
This party speaker has some serious punch to the bass (thanks to Sony’s ‘EXTRA BASS’ button) and the volume will fill any room or even a hall. However the XB5 isn’t just about making noise, it can also be toned down to play more subtle music.
The mid range are beautifully clear too and it’s equally as happy with refined music or dance music. Overall, high quality sound.
Why we think this speaker will rock your party
The size of the XB5 makes it ideal for anyone with limited space, or if you’re looking for something you can port around with you. The lighting effects with this party speaker are especially good – far from being a gimmick as you might expect.
Another clever thing with this speaker is how you can set it horizontally or vertically. If laid flat, it auto adjusts the volume for stereo sound. Nice!
Everything from the design to the feel of the product is top notch
Connectivity
Getting connected to the XB5 is straight forward and you’ve got the choice of pairing it yourself, or using NFC (where you just tap your device on it to get paired up). No problems to report with the connection. There’s also an app that lets you do all kinds of things from EQ to controlling the lighting.
Build quality
This is a Sony product so we had high expectations. Everything from the design to the feel of the product is top notch and just what you’d expect. It should last a long time and isn’t going to drop to bits if someone knocks into it at your party. It’s pretty tough!
What it could do better
Sony have clearly gone for the Bluetooth streaming market here and it does that very well. However, if you’re looking for something with an FM radio, or CD player then you might want to look elsewhere. There’s no built in playback for anything other than Bluetooth.
Verdict
BEST ALL ROUND PARTY SPEAKER
This is an easy pick for just about anyone looking for a seriously good party speaker they’ll want to use again and again. The lighting works brilliantly, adding a lot of atmosphere to the party and, more importantly, the sound quality is first class. An excellent party speaker from Sony!
- It’s loud!
- The BASS has a great feel to it
- Lighting effects are super-cool
- Connectivity and streaming works perfectly
- Excellent build quality
- Clear sound for any kind of music
- No FM Radio
- No on-board CD player
#2 Sony MHC-V11
About this party speaker
Another Sony speaker in our top party speakers here, although this one offers something slightly different.
You’re getting a floor standing speaker that features a lot of different ways to play music, as well as karaoke inputs and simple lighting.
What’s it sound like?
This party speaker has surprisingly clear sound that’s equally capable of a huge, full sound when it’s cranked up to max.
Bass is excellent here with that quintessential party ‘feel’ to it that will get the night really going. There’s no vibration or distortion either.
Why this speaker will rock your party
The MHC-V11 (available on Amazon) offers a fab array of ways to enjoy your party music as well as the karaoke mic inputs. (You actually get two so at least two people can sing at once). The nifty SongPal app from Sony gives you more control over the speaker too.
Lighting is more subtle here than some party speakers but it’s there and it looks good. You’ll know where the speaker is without it taking over things.
Connectivity
One of the best things about this party speaker is the large number of ways to get your party music playing through it. As well as Bluetooth, any CD can be played with the built-in CD player, and there’s an FM radio as well. If you’ve got some MP3s knocking around on a USB stick, then it will even clean up the sound of those compressed files.
Build quality
The cabinet feels extremely sturdy without adding too much to the weight of the product. It’s still pretty easy to move around. Everything from the buttons to the CD drawer have a high quality feel to them.
What it could do better
You could argue that the look of this speaker is a bit clunky, but we’ll leave that to you! The lighting feature isn’t as good as some other’s out there either. Apart from that, there’s not much to complain about here.
Verdict
BEST FOR: Playing music from CDs, MP3 and Karaoke use
Another good choice for anyone looking for a good quality party speaker. It’s good value for money and offers a wide range of connection options. The CD player and USB connection are extremely well integrated and work perfectly. Sound quality is crisp and clear while having some serious punch too.
- Top quality sound with no distortion
- Clear mid levels and thumping bass
- Stacks of ways to get your music on
- Double karaoke mic ports and audio FX
- Easy to move around and store
- Lighting not that exciting
- Plasticky exterior
#3 Sharp PS-920
About this party speaker
The PS-920 is a compact party speaker – available on Amazon – with flashing lights, mic input for karaoke and a range of handy ways to play music from your devices. One great thing is it’s rechargeable and comes with one mic. It’s also one of the cheaper party speakers and is top value for money.
What’s it sound like?
For a compact speaker there’s plenty of volume from the PS-920. 150 watts to be precise. For the price, the sound quality is surprisingly good and it will be ideal for small / medium rooms and for outdoor BBQ style parties. The bass it puts out is definitely something you can feel and brings that party feel.
Why this speaker will rock your party
Sharp’s portable party speaker is easy to carry around. The sturdy handles make it a doddle to take to the office party, or someone’s house. The rechargeable battery means it’s really easy to play anywhere, including outdoor use.
Aside from the bold sound, the price tag is also pretty good. You can normally pick this product up for under £100 mark and, for that, it’s a great little party speaker. There’s also 2 mic ports for those karaoke parties people will be talking about for a while.
Connectivity
You’ve got Bluetooth here although there’s no NFC (not a massive problem and not expected at this price point).
Build quality
Sharps party speaker looks good but feels like it’s got some toughness about it. It has a chunky, robust sort of feel about it, which makes it ideal for transporting around. It certainly won’t crumble it it takes a few knocks at a party by the looks of it.
What it could do better
So what’s not so stellar about this portable party speaker? Well, despite the fact it sounds perfectly fine blasting our party tunes, you could make the case that, at quiet levels, it’s not the best sound. Plugging in the mic also adds some noise to the mix. Overall though, good sound reproduction for the price.
Verdict: Best cheap speaker for party use
If you’re looking for a really good sounding party speaker that has loads of features like karaoke that doesn’t cost the earth, don’t miss Sharp’s PS-920. While it can’t keep up with the sound quality of some more expensive party units, it can hold it’s own and is great for outdoor parties too.
- Very loud and a good all-round sound
- Flashing disco lights!
- Karaoke with included mic
- Plays MP3s from USB
- Portable and easy to carry
- Not suitable for large rooms
- Isn’t perfect at quiet levels
The Big Party Speaker BUYER’S GUIDE
Party speakers with lights!
As well as really LOUD (and good quality…) audio, you can get some fantastic speakers which blast out awesome visual effects too. They generally fall into 2 categories – coloured ‘mood’ style lighting, and dance-floor strobe lighting. Depending on your party vibe, it might be something you want to look for in your new party speaker.
Also – don’t be put off by a speaker with lights! Far from being some unwanted gimmick, party speakers with lights (done correctly) can add a load of atmosphere and our buyers constantly report that they are surprised how well they worked.
At parties, it’s all about the BASS!
BASS is one very important ‘spec’ you’ll want to investigate when buying your new party speaker. If you want to get things going, it’s no good having a wimpy sound. You want something with some seriously deep bass that will do your tunes justice on the dance floor.
Connectivity
Modern party speakers should all allow you to connect to smartphones, tablets and other devices via Bluetooth. This means anything you’re playing on your device will be played through the party speaker.
A quality speaker should also be easy to connect via bluetooth and maintain a strong connection. It’s going to be a bit ahem awkward if your party goes quiet every few minutes while you desperately try to re-connect the Bluetooth.
Our guides always cover connectivity!
Other playback options
Want to dig out your CD collection at your party? Let people bring their own? you could always connect a CD player but there’s other party speakers that do that for you. A number of speakers have built in CD players that make it so much easier, if this is something you’ll want to do!
USB playback is another option that not all party devices feature and something else to consider when you’re buying yours.
Bring out the Karaoke!
While you might regret it after the 4th time someone does Bohemian Rhapsody, karaoke definitely brings a party to life. A good number of party speakers will feature at least one mic input. But, to do the job properly, think about getting a system with a double mic setup, where 2 people can sing at the same time.
Also look for some DJ effects that can help make the voice sound at least a bit better.
Waterproofing
If you’re buying for a swimming pool party, foam party etc then you might want to check just how waterproof your party speaker is. There are some really good waterproof ones on the market, although it’s not something each one features.
What size is this thing?
Bluetooth party speakers come in various sizes depending on what you need for your shindig. You can get meaty big ones or smaller compact ones. Two words – portability and storage. Even if you’re not planning to carry it over to a mate’s house, you might want to get something that doesn’t take up too much space the morning after.
It’s worth noting that size doesn’t always mean ‘quiet’ output. These days there’s some ingenious compact party speakers that pack a hell of a punch and will be very loud even in big spaces.
Is it a GROUND SHAKER?
Depending on how you look at it, massive volume can be a positive or negative point when picking your party speaker. Definitely a negative for the neighbors if you’re in a semi or a flat. Any decent party speaker will at least have the capability of some serious volume without distortion.
You’ll also have to pick one that’s right for your room size. If you’ve got a small living room or conservatory then you’re not going to want something two people can stand on, that you can hear at the end of the pier.
At the other end of the spectrum, it’s going to be a bit of a soggy get together if you can’t hear much at the back on full volume.
