Do you looking for an effective way how to synchronize multiple speakers in your home, but don’t want to lose in audio quality from compression as Bluetooth speakers do? Airplay speakers could be an elegant solution.
You know, for listening to music or just transmit from one audio source to a single speaker, Bluetooth is an ideal option. Fast, effective and with a decent signal range. But you will get in trouble if you try to sync up multiple speakers in your house. In this case, Bluetooth is not the best technology you should use. In fact, Airplay technology from Apple should be preferred in this scenario.
BEST AIRPLAY SPEAKERS 2024
Table could not be displayed.What Does AirPlay Mean?
Airplay is an Apple feature that allows iOS devices to wirelessly stream videos, music, and photos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to Apple TV (2nd generation) and stream music to AirPlay speakers or receivers.
This technology works over your Wi-Fi network, and unlike Bluetooth streaming, your music doesn’t get compressed. The result is a better sound, depending on the quality of the speaker you are streaming to. Another great thing about AirPlay speakers is that the range isn’t limited.
The downside? Airplay is not friendly with Android devices.
If you prefer this Apple technology over Bluetooth and you want a great AirPlay speaker to go with your device, we made a list of the 10 best AirPlay speakers in 2024 for pairing with your iOS devices.
Best Airplay Speakers Under $100
GGMM E2 Speaker – Best Portable
Size: 3.1 x 1.1 x 5 inches (7.8 x 2.7 x 12.7 Centimeters) | Weight: 0.5 lbs (200 g) | Active Drivers: 2 | Multi-room setup: Yes | Connectivity: AirPlay, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, DLNA, Aux and more | Voice Control: Alexa
FOR: Solid build quality • Easy to carry • Easy setup • Compact
AGAINST: To activate Alexa you have to press the voice control button
GGMM E2 is a cheap airplay speaker with features of more expensive models from the same manufacturer. Boasted with dual 5W drivers, GGMM E2 produces a clear and rich stereo sound, and the enriched bass system provides a deep bass that fills the whole room with music. The model supports Airplay, Bluetooth, and Amazon Alexa connection. A great addition to all that is the Multi-room function that allows you to play various songs in different rooms.
Fabriq Chorus – Best Sounding Small Speaker
Size: 8.1 x 5.3 x 5.2 inches (20 x 13.4 x 13.2 Centimeters) | Weight: 3 lbs (1.4 kg) | Active Drivers: 2 | Multi-room setup: Yes | Connectivity: AirPlay, Bluetooth, Amazon Music, iHeartRadion, TuneIn and more | Voice Control: Alexa
FOR: Good value • Good sound for such small device • Bright touchscreen
AGAINST: Limited Wi-fi connectivity
For people looking to buy a good wireless speaker with an Airplay technology or an Alexa device, Farbiq Chorus is an ideal choice at an affordable price. It sounds, it looks and can be used as a hub for your smart home. A big advantage over other low-budget speakers is the rechargeable battery which lasts up to 6 hours.
On the bottom of the Chorus is an LED ring that has 3 different colors. Red, blue or white color. Red if the battery is low, blue for Bluetooth connection and the white color indicates Amazon Alexa voice service. Overall, the Fabriq Chorus is powerful, a voice-activated multi-room speaker with average sound quality and a reasonable price.
Best Airplay Speakers Under $200
Sonos Play:1 – Best Value
Size: 4.7 x 4.7 x 6.4 inches (12 x 12 x 16 Centimeters) | Weight: 5.5 lbs (2.5 kg) | Active Drivers: 2 | Multi-room setup: Yes | Connectivity: AirPlay, Bluetooth and more streaming services | Voice Control: Alexa
FOR: Simple design • Awesome value • Bright touchscreen
AGAINST: No aux input • Cannot stream from every app on your phone or tablet
The Sonos Play:1 is much more than a basic smart speaker. It is compact, sounds good, and includes all the capabilities and streaming options you can find in other similar devices. Extremely easy to set up – plug into power, install the app on a phone or computer, and connect.
That’s all, now you get a loudspeaker with a powerful and rich sound. Without hesitation, Sonos Play:1 is the most affordable model from the Sonos family and one of the strongest small speakers money can buy.
GGMM M3 Retro – Best For Large Rooms
Size: 6.7 x 5.5 x 13.4 inches (17 x 14 x 24 Centimeters) | Weight: 7.1 lbs (3.2 kg) | Active Drivers: N/A | Multi-room setup: Yes | Connectivity: AirPlay, Bluetooth, Aux, DLNA, Spotify, iHeart radio and more | Voice Control: No
FOR: Excellent audio quality • Ideal for large rooms • Deep booming bass, warm mids, clear highs
AGAINST: Poor Wi-fi connection
For those who like heavy bass, warm mids, and clear treble, we include GGMM M3 here. One of the best-looking Apple Airplay speakers out there. The retro leather, simple, sleek interface, and premium materials.
The sound? The sound quality is the real star here. This little device has an awesome output and can put more expensive and larger speakers to shame. Most owners agree that it’s a delight to listen to. Simply put, the audio is warm and responds well even to complicated tracks. While the GGMM M3 is pricey, it’s a true high-end speaker worth the money.
Best Airplay Speakers Under $300
Libratone Zipp AirPlay Speaker – Best AirPlay Speaker Overall
Size: 4.8 x 4.8 x 10.3 inches (12 x 12 x 26 Centimeters) | Weight: 6.75 lbs (3 kg) | Active Drivers: N/A | Multi-room setup: Yes | Connectivity: AirPlay (AirPlay 2), Bluetooth, DLNA & Other music sources | Voice Control: Alexa
FOR: Easy to use • Sleek design • Balanced and clear sound
AGAINST: Short battery life
The Libratone Zipp is one of the most impressive portable speakers with a PlayDirect AirPlay connection on the market. An eye-catching modern design, good acoustic performance, even at high volume levels. The sound is clean, crisp, and clear. No distortion.
You can enjoy your favorite songs through the flawless Bluetooth connection or use Wi-Fi to enhance the audio experience in multi-room scenarios. The Libratone Zipp provides a nice balance between modern design and powerful audio. It may not be the cheapest option but it does a good job of making sure you get your money’s worth.
OPPO Sonica Speaker – Best Versatility
Size: 11.8 x 5.8 x 5.3 inches (30 x 14.7 x 13.4 Centimeters) | Weight: 5.3 lbs (2.4 kg) | Active Drivers: N/A | Multi-room setup: Yes | Connectivity: AirPlay, Bluetooth, DLNA & Other Music Sources | Voice Control: No
FOR: Great sound and versatility • Premium look
AGAINST: No Spotify
In this price range, every new entry must be strong enough to withstand competition. The OPPO Sonica does its job well. The speaker is awesome-sounding, and nicely balanced, with fantastic treble, stellar mids, and bass frequencies. It looks like the Sonica has been designed to filling a room with a sound. Not only that.
The unit connects reliably and has all the important features you’ll ever need. It may not have tons of music services like some competitors, lacks portability, and isn’t water-resistant, but we still think that OPPO Sonica is one of the best-sounding AirPlay speakers priced at less than $300 (at time of review).
Riva Arena – Best For Small Rooms
Size: 7 x 7 x 11 inches (17.8 x 17.8 x 28 Centimeters) | Weight: 4.75 lbs (2.1 kg) | Active Drivers: 3 | Multi-room setup: Yes | Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Chromecast built-in, Spotify Connect, AirPlay, DLNA & more | Voice Control: No
FOR: Excellent sound in small rooms • Flexible connectivity options
AGAINST: Good sound only in small and medium rooms
The Riva Arena is the first multiroom wireless speaker from the manufacturer and it is an awesome sounding and performing speaker. In an ideal device for small and medium-sized rooms. The 50W speaker has a shocking power output for its small size.
The Riva Arena provides best-in-class connectivity and streaming options allowing input from different areas of wireless and wired sources. You can stream just about anything to this speaker. The Arena is a flexible and great-sounding wireless speaker, best performing at low and moderate volumes – sounds realistic and natural.
Best Airplay Speakers Under $500
Sonos PLAY:5 – Best Alexa-enabled Airplay Speaker
Size: 8 x 14.3 x 6.1 inches (20.3 x 36.4 x 15.4 Centimeters) | Weight: 14 lbs (6.3 kg) | Active Drivers: 6 | Multi-room setup: Yes | Connectivity: AirPlay | Services: Amazon Music, Pandora, Apple Music, and Spotify | Voice Control: Alexa
FOR: Superior sound • Awesome for large rooms • Easy setup
AGAINST: Boring simple design
The next generation of Sonos is here, and it’s awesome. Sonos knows its game and Play:5 is an example of a well-crafted, powerful and dynamic speaker that looks stylish enough to be a part of each room at your home.
With great sound and an easy-to-use app, the Sonos Play:5 can easily replace the most wired stereo system. It works with most popular music services, including Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Pandora. Simply put, Play:5 is a great multi-room speaker, combining great design, software, and sound.
Best Airplay Speakers Under $700
Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Wireless – Best Sounding Airplay Speaker
Size: 7.2 x 26 x 7.4 inches (18.6 x 66 x 18.8 Centimeters) | Weight: 18.7 lbs (8.4 kg) | Active Drivers: 4 | Multi-room setup: No | Connectivity: AirPlay, Bluetooth, or Spotify Connect | Voice Control: Alexa
FOR: Premium build quality • Top-notch audio performance • Detailed mid-range
AGAINST: No Android app • No multiroom functionality
The British company Bowers & Wilkins is renowned for focusing on the audio experience foremost. They have already amazed the world with its Zeppelin, Zeppelin Mini and Zeppelin Air speakers, but the Zeppelin Wireless arrives to make its mark and indeed, it takes things to the next level. This new version has new drivers, an upgraded cabinet, and better digital signal processing.
The Zeppelin is versatile in its connectivity, offers both wired and wireless connections via Bluetooth and Wi-fi. It streams music via AirPlay, Spotify Connect, and Bluetooth apt-X, and with a dedicated control app for iOS, PC, and Mac, it’s easier to use too.
For the price, the Zeppelin Wireless belongs to the high-end wireless single speaker category. It is expensive for sure, but everything about Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Wireless is top-notch. An excellent build quality, sleek design, versatility, and sound performance. This is Zeppelin Wireless.
Best Airplay Speakers Under $1000
Polk Audio Woodbourne – Best High-end Versatile Speaker
Size: 24.1 x 6.9 x 7 inches (60 x 17.5 x 17.8 Centimeters) | Weight: 17.5 lbs (8 kg) | Active Drivers: 6 | Multi-room setup: Yes | Connectivity: Airplay, Bluetooth with Apt-X, USB, Optical, Stereo 3.5mm, Ethernet | Voice Control: No
FOR: Powerful sound performance • Stylish design • Versatile connectivity
AGAINST: Expensive
A stylish, well-designed, gorgeous AirPlay speaker with fantastic sound clarity. A well-balanced, crisp sound from all angles. And heavy. This is Polk Woodbourne AM6119-A. The speaker has a ton of power, you can use it for a party and it may fill the entire room with music.
Even at higher volumes, the audio performance is without distortion. In short, Polk Audio AM6119-A has wonderful sound, a beautiful appearance and you can connect to it via Apple AirPlay, Bluetooth, optical cable, or stereo port.
Quick Intro to Apple AirPlay
What is Airplay? AirPlay is a system developed by Apple that works over Wi-Fi. What does it mean? When you connect your iPad/iPhone and your AirPlay speakers to your home Wi-Fi, you’ll have no problem streaming your music.
AirPlay offers some useful benefits over traditional Bluetooth speakers. So, which technology is better? AirPlay or Bluetooth? Plenty of Apple devices support both, but what’s the difference?
Bluetooth vs AirPlay: What’s The Difference?
Both have their advantages. But for audio lovers, the Airplay seems to offer more advantages over the average Bluetooth-enabled devices.
Performance – Sound quality is crucial for most audiophiles and in this category, AirPlay holds the advantage. To send audio data, it uses lossless compression, so you get higher-quality sound that won’t be reduced by wireless transmission.
Range – The winner – AirPlay. While you are using your home Wi-Fi network, you can keep your iPhone in your pocket and go anywhere in your house you want without losing the quality of the connection. If you have multiroom AirPlay speakers, you can easily broadcast the music throughout your house.
Bluetooth requires devices to be in a short range of each other. In general, the distance between these two devices can be no more than 15 meters apart.
Portability – Two Bluetooth-enabled devices can stream without a Wi-Fi network. This is great for various outdoor activities. Bluetooth scores.
Compatibility – Here wins Bluetooth again. Bluetooth is a universal standard and works on virtually every smartphone, tablet, and computer.
Cost – It’s not easy to generalize by comparing costs between Airplay and Bluetooth speakers. On average, Bluetooth-enabled speakers are cheaper, because AirPlay is an Apple standard, it’s generally more expensive than other options. It is a common idea (Apple products are more expensive), but there are already few offerings on the market at a reasonable price.
Bluetooth vs Airplay Comparison (Video)
Watch the comparison between these two popular streaming formats Bluetooth and AirPlay in the video below [source: Abt Electronics]. It shows you the pros and cons of each platform and explains the different devices that use each of these streaming formats.
MORE INFORMATION
If you enjoyed this best Airplay speaker review, you’ll probably like our other content focusing on audio technology as well. Here are some popular resources from the Nechstar.
Sources
- How Apple AirPlay Works, HowStuffWorks
- Apple AirPlay & AirPlay Mirroring Explained, Lifewire
- Here’s everything you need to know about Apple AirPlay 2.0, Digital Trends
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