Back to School: The Best Speakers to Bring to College

Lots of gadgets are useful in a college setting— laptops , AI recorders, e-readers —but not all essential college gadgets are about productivity, at least strictly speaking. Sometimes you just need a really good way to unwind, make friends, or drown out the raucous party in the dorm across the hall.

For all of those occasions, the consumer tech world has bestowed upon us Bluetooth speakers, and if you’re headed off to school, we’ve compiled the best in that category for every occasion. On this list, you’ll find speakers across the range—big, small, cheap, not-so-cheap—so at least one of them is bound to fit the exact checklist you need, house parties included.

If there’s one speaker that’s fitting for a college dorm room, both metaphorically and practically speaking, it’s the JBL Grip . The Grip is a small, portable Bluetooth speaker that resembles a tall boy in weight and in appearance. Don’t let its size fool you, though; the Grip is quite loud, and the sound is better than you might imagine.

What makes the Grip such a perfect college speaker is its size and portability—it even has a loop that can be hooked to a clip for biking and walking goodness—and also its price. This tiny beer can-shaped speaker is just $100. It doesn’t have the longest battery life in the world at 12 hours, but that should be plenty for most outings if you’re out in the quad or marathoning lo-fi hip-hop while you attempt to study.

If portability isn’t your biggest metric, there are plenty of larger options. Fender’s Elie 6 makes this list for its ability to combine design, quality, and a range of use cases. While the Elie 6 is a capable (if a little quiet) Bluetooth speaker, it really stands out for doubling as an amp. Thanks to a quarter-inch/XLR port in the back, you can hook in a guitar or a microphone and use the Elie 6 to practice with. Separate channels allow you to play Bluetooth audio and your instrument at the same time, too, while controlling the volume of each independently.

The Elie 6 lacks a companion app, which is a bummer—you won’t have any on-device effects to switch your sound up—but it’s still functional. And whatever it lacks in the software department, it makes up for in looks. I’m a big fan of the handle, the wood accent, and the click-y knobs for volume and powering the speaker on and off. Your college peers will be impressed.

Listen, as great as it is to be able to comfortably store a Bluetooth speaker, there are different speakers for different occasions, and sometimes discreet is not the vibe you’re going for. If you’re having a, um, large gathering, the Soundboks Mix is a somewhat affordable party speaker that has enough volume to blast tunes to a whole house.

Despite its size, the Mix is fairly portable, coming with a built-in handle and rubber stoppers on the bottom that make setting it down less of a hazard. The battery life is also fairly impressive. At 50% volume, you’ll get 40 hours, and at max volume, you still get 8 hours.