High AirPlay 2 Audio system 2026: Greatest wi-fi sound for Apple units

We’re placing the HomePod mini within the high spot on the idea of its low price ticket, wonderful sound high quality and deep integration with Apple’s software program ecosystem – so long as you don’t thoughts being tied to Siri.

The HomePod mini can’t match the bass punch of the full-size HomePod, however the output remains to be much better than now we have any proper to anticipate at this dimension and worth. (Simply to reiterate, it’s a 3rd of the value and a seventh of the burden of its bigger sibling.)

For jazz, rock and classical we had been blown away by its clear, wealthy sound. And whereas it’s not fairly acquired the welly to deafen your neighbors with home music at 3 am, and also you received’t fill a village corridor with sound, but it surely does fill a room superbly – particularly when teamed with a second mannequin as a stereo pair.

When you’re deep within the Apple ecosystem and also you recognize high quality audio, that is the sensible speaker for you: it should play your music superbly and make TV watching a delight.

As with the HomePod mini, ease of setup is one in all its strongest options–plug within the HomePod and wave an iPhone vaguely in its route and an onscreen popup (on the cellphone) will invite you to set it up. If there’s one other HomePod of the identical mannequin within the chosen room, you’ll be given the choice to hitch them as a stereo pair.

It sounds nice whether or not used as a single unit, or as a stereo pair, and it’s an ideal accompaniment to your Apple TV because it helps Dolby Atmos and Spatial Audio (the HomePod mini doesn’t). To seek out out extra, learn extra about how the HomePod compares to the HomePod mini.

The principle disadvantages of the 2023 HomePod are the excessive worth (thrice that of the HomePod mini) and the frustrations related to being reliant on Siri to regulate it. We actually need a HomePod with a display.

The Audio Professional C10 MKII W has a minimalist design, consisting of a easy rectangular field measuring 166mm excessive, 320mm vast, and 180mm deep. Regardless of its small dimension, it’s sturdy, weighing over 4kg.

The entrance panel includes a sensible material grille that may be eliminated for a retro look with uncovered drivers. Eradicating the grille reveals a big woofer within the centre for deep, full sound, with smaller tweeters on both aspect for increased frequencies.

The C10 MKII W has a complete output of 80W, making it appropriate as a most important speaker system in the lounge. Nonetheless, it requires mains energy and is probably going for use in a single room at house resulting from its weight. 

The C10 MKII W helps Bluetooth, Apple’s AAC codec, and dual-band Wi-Fi. The up to date Audio Professional app works with numerous streaming companies, together with Spotify, Amazon Music, and SoundCloud. It additionally helps AirPlay 2, permitting audio streaming from Apple units and integration with multi-room music programs. Android customers could also be upset that there’s no aptX help with Bluetooth, however the C10 MKII W helps Google Forged.

The speaker has RCA connectors for wired connections, however no audio cables are included.

The C10 MKII W delivers good sound high quality. The lossless model of Madonna’s Frozen on Apple Music by way of AirPlay revealed delicate string touches and delicate digital chimes, adopted by a pointy percussion crack that led into the refrain.

The C10 MKII W handles tougher rock sounds effectively. Sing Alongside by Sturgill Simpson, captured the thick, fuzzy guitar sound and the wailing keyboards, making a full of life environment. The deep bass could possibly be firmer, however an additional RCA connector permits for an exterior sub-woofer for enhanced bass.

Whereas it’s dearer than Apple’s HomePod, the C10 MKII W excels in readability and precision, particularly with high-res music on Apple Music and different streaming companies. It additionally gives higher connectivity.

Audio Professional’s mannequin numbers are inconsistent, with some older fashions nonetheless on sale, so be sure to purchase the proper mannequin.

When you want correct stereo audio system the A28 W is a good choice.

The speaker cupboards are made from MDF, which feels very sturdy and likewise helps to cut back vibrations that may have an effect on the sound high quality. The A28 W is obtainable in black or white, or with a walnut wooden end. There are detachable material grilles supplied with every speaker.

Inside every cupboard you’ll discover a 4.5-inch woofer for dealing with the mid-range and decrease frequencies, together with a 1-inch tweeter for the upper frequencies. Every speaker gives 75W output – 150W complete.

The ‘W’ refers back to the audio system’ emphasis on wi-fi connectivity. There’s help for Apple’s AAC codec (however no aptX for Android customers). There’s dual-band Wi-Fi for connecting to your house community (2.4GHz and 5.0GHz). And there’s help for AirPlay 2 and Google Forged.

Wired inputs embrace stereo RCA inputs, one digital optical enter to be used with different Hello-Fi tools, and an HDMI-ARC interface for a TV. There’s additionally another RCA connector that means that you can hook up with an exterior sub-woofer as effectively. No commonplace 3.5mm or USB-C connector for wired audio although.

There’s a 10-band equaliser, however what actually impresses in regards to the A28 W is its capability to create an expansive stereo sound that’s much more immersive and atmospheric than one-piece audio system equivalent to Apple’s HomePod. It’s pretty costly, however the sound high quality is superb.

Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin vary of audio system first appeared again in 2007. The  Zeppelin Professional Version launched on the finish of 2024 and appears virtually equivalent to the Zeppelin launched, so watch out to examine which mannequin you might be contemplating shopping for. 

At $799/£699, it’s one of many dearer AirPlay audio system presently accessible, but it surely actually does ship the products when it comes to sound high quality.

The Zeppelin Professional Version measures 210 x 650 x 194mm and weighs 6.6kg. It’s accessible in a darkish ‘area gray’ or ‘photo voltaic gold’. 

In contrast to many one-piece speaker programs – together with Apple’s HomePod – the Zeppelin Professional Version gives a full stereo system, with separate left and proper audio channels, in addition to a devoted sub-woofer for dealing with decrease frequencies. That’s an analogous set-up to earlier Zeppelin fashions, however Bowers & Wilkins says the woofers and tweeters have been redesigned for the Zeppelin Professional Version for even higher sound high quality.

Like earlier fashions, the Zeppelin Professional Version helps Bluetooth with AAC for Apple units, and aptX Adaptive for Android. There’s additionally Wi-Fi with help for AirPlay 2, which lets you stream wi-fi audio (and Apple Music) over your house community out of your Apple machine. Utilizing AirPlay with Apple units gives extra bandwidth for high-quality audio recordsdata. The Zeppelin Professional additionally helps Spotify Join, and Tidal and Amazon Music by way of an app. 

Our solely criticism is that the Zeppelin Professional doesn’t supply wired inputs, so you may’t join it to a CD participant or Hello-Fi.

The Zeppelin Professional Version is among the bigger and dearer AirPlay audio system. If you would like a robust, high-quality stereo speaker that helps AirPlay 2 this can be a nice choice. 

Roku is well-known for its vary of streaming media units, which supply an inexpensive various to Apple’s personal Apple TV field. Nonetheless, the Roku Streambar goes a step additional by combining streaming options with a compact soundbar speaker and help for Apple’s AirPlay 2 – and all for a extremely aggressive $129.99/£129.99.

The AirPlay help and built-in dual-band Wi-Fi imply that you may merely use the Streambar as a standard AirPlay speaker, utilizing AirPlay to stream music by way of Wi-Fi from any Apple machine. It’s surprisingly highly effective for such a compact speaker, and greater than loud sufficient for taking part in music at house or watching a couple of Hollywood blockbusters. It even gives fairly good bass too, touchdown the bass guitar and crashing drums on Kate Bush’s The Large Sky with actual affect (and Roku has lately introduced a brand new vary of wi-fi audio system that additionally help AirPlay 2, though we’ve not had the prospect to check these but).

Going past fundamental speaker mode, you may as well use the HDMI port on the again of the Streambar to attach it to a TV or pc show, and this lets you stream video at as much as 4K decision out of your Apple units as effectively. You’ll be able to even eliminate your Apple units altogether, and simply use the Streambar’s built-in streaming options to attach your TV or pc monitor to a variety of video companies–together with Apple TV+, Netflix, Disney+ and so forth. It additionally helps numerous music streaming companies too, equivalent to Apple Music and Spotify.

Admittedly, the low price of the Streambar signifies that it does lack a couple of superior options, equivalent to help for Dolby Atmos, which you may get from Apple’s HomePod and likewise the Apple TV 4K. However, in fact, the Apple TV field doesn’t embrace a speaker, and the Streambar’s low-cost mixture of AirPlay speaker and music and video streaming options makes it an absolute discount at this worth.

In 2024 Roku launched the Streambar SE, which is a less expensive model of the Streambar reviewed right here. The bigger Streambar Professional has been discontinued, however for now Roku appears to be persevering with to promote the Streambar.

When Sonos first launched the Period 100 it was positioned as a mid-range choice that sat between the entry-level Sonos One and the imposing Period 300 with Dolby Atmos on the high quality. Nonetheless, the veteran Sonos One quietly pale away a couple of months in the past and the Period 100 has taken over as the brand new entry level for the Sonos vary of multi-room audio system, with a $249/£249 price ticket that makes it a superb various to the Apple HomePod at £299/$299.

At first look, the Period 100 does look similar to the unique Sonos One, with an upright cylindrical design that’s accessible in black or white. It’s barely bigger than the Sonos One, although, standing 182.5mm excessive, 120mm vast and 130mm deep. This enables the Period 100 to squeeze in a further high-frequency tweeter, in order that it now homes two tweeters which might be angled out to the appropriate and left to unfold sound extra extensively than the Sonos One. It additionally features a bigger woofer than the Sonos One, to deal with the mid-range and bass and add a bit of further energy as effectively.

This new design works a deal with and the Period 100 gives excellent sound high quality for a comparatively compact speaker. The atmospheric harmonies of Enya’s Orinoco Circulate have a light-weight, shimmering sound, however the compact speaker has acquired some muscle too, and is definitely capable of fill the room round me with Enya’s swirling cloud of sound. The dual tweeters present a crisp, clear sound for the digital loops that fly via the air, however that bigger woofer may also attain down and embrace the gradual bass pulse and rumbling drums that enter as Enya’s multi-tracked vocals chant – “flip it up, flip it up”.

The one minor disappointment is that the Period 100 doesn’t help Dolby Atmos or spatial audio. When you’re a house cinema fan who actually needs Atmos then you definately’ll must pay a bit of extra for options such because the Apple HomePod or the high-end Period 300. However, when you’re simply searching for a compact, high-quality speaker with wi-fi and help for AirPlay, then the Period 100 delivers the products at a cheaper price than most of its AirPlay rivals.

Sonos’ Roam must be the smallest and most transportable AirPlay 2 speaker we’ve seen to date.

Sonos’s unique Roam sensible speaker was launched again in 2021, and it was top-of-the-line transportable audio system we’ve ever seen, offering excellent sound high quality in a extremely compact design that additionally managed to squeeze in helpful options equivalent to wi-fi charging and even help for Wi-Fi and AirPlay for Apple units. The Roam 2 fine-tunes numerous options equivalent to its set-up and tuning course of, and gives extra easy controls.

Obtainable in quite a lot of colours–together with pink, inexperienced, blue and plain outdated black and white–the Roam 2 appears equivalent to its predecessor. It’s 168mm tall, 62mm vast and 60mm deep, and weighs 0.43kg. It’s not pocket-size, however it should match right into a backpack. It has a IP67 score water and mud resistance, so it’s suited to the outside.

There’s no room for a big battery within the compact design, but it surely ought to final for as much as 10 hours with music at 50% quantity. It wants to face upright for wi-fi charging and the quantity, playback and microphone controls sit on the highest, however you may flip the speaker onto its aspect and lay it flat. A USB-C port on the again can be utilized for charging too. 

Roam 2 helps Bluetooth 5.2 and now has separate buttons for Energy and Bluetooth pairing, that are simpler to make use of than the fiddly multi-function button on the unique Roam. You’ll be able to press the Bluetooth button to pair by way of Bluetooth, however it’s worthwhile to obtain the Sonos app for iOS with a view to set the speaker up correctly. We encountered issues getting the speaker related to our Wi-Fi community and needed to spend time altering the Wi-Fi settings. However, as soon as that was carried out, the Roam 2 labored very well. Fortunate its help for AirPlay made connecting it to further Apple units easy.

The Roam 2 gives nice sound high quality for such a compact speaker, particularly over a Wi-Fi connection. It did a superb job with Sturgill Simpson’s Sing Alongside, laying down the grinding, fuzzy guitars that type the bedrock of the sound. On Billie Eilish’s Unhealthy Man it achieved a reasonably respectable bass beat for such a small speaker.

Switching to Bluetooth prompted the sound to lose a bit of readability–however that’s a limitation of Bluetooth fairly than the speaker itself, and the Roam 2 can go head-to-head with any transportable speaker of this dimension and weight. The Roam 2 actually punches above its weight on the subject of sound high quality and its sturdy and light-weight design is nice for out of doors use. 

Apple has been banging the drum for spatial audio for a couple of years now, however Sonos actually took a step ahead with that know-how when it launched the Period 300 in 2023. Appropriately sufficient, it additionally marked a brand new period for the Sonos vary of multi-room audio system, with a wholly new design that was not less than eye-catching even when it wasn’t maybe as elegant as Sonos claimed.

Obtainable in black or white, the cumbersome, hourglass design of the Period 300 may be very a lot designed for spatial audio, housing at least six separate speaker drivers, with help for Dolby Atmos when watching movies and video, or listening to spatial audio on Apple Music. There’s one woofer and one tweeter on all sides of the unit, which give a large stereo soundstage, whereas one other tweeter on the entrance highlights vocals and dialogue, or lead devices. There’s another tweeter on the highest, which is designed to fireplace pontificate the ceiling to assist create a way of top and area when listening to music or video that makes use of Atmos.

Like most Sonos audio system, the Period 300 makes use of dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4GHz/5.0GHz) to hook up with your house community, and likewise helps AirPlay 2 to be used with Apple units and different AirPlay-compatible audio system. However, not like earlier Sonos audio system, the Period now helps Bluetooth as effectively, in order that it might probably present a fast and straightforward wi-fi connection for cell units and computer systems when required. You can too purchase an adaptor that gives a wired connection (though it’s annoying that this prices an additional $19/£19, given the speaker’s hefty $449/£449 price ticket).

The Period 300 can earn its maintain, although. The Dolby Atmos help works very well on the opening scene of Blade Runner, creating an actual sense of motion because the hovercar flies over the Los Angeles skyline, and there’s a satisfying bass rumble to the bursts of steam and flame that erupts into the air.

It does a superb job with spatial audio on Apple Music too, particularly with Ringo’s deft percussion on the Atmos mixture of Come Collectively by the Beatles. The bongos skip calmly via the air and the bass guitar glides ahead with a swaying, sinuous rhythm. There’s actual weight behind the guitar riff that leads into the refrain, however the Period 300 can nonetheless select gentler particulars such because the shimmering cymbals and rhythmic keyboards. Admittedly, it’s one of many dearer AirPlay audio system presently accessible, however the highly effective and atmospheric sound of the Period 300, and help for Dolby Atmos, make it a superb various to dearer soundbar programs for music and watching video.

It sounds higher than most transportable audio system this dimension, however nonetheless sounds clipped at excessive volumes and a few controls are a bit of opaque.

The Beats Capsule is way improved over earlier variations, but it surely has a couple of faults that we’d like to see addressed within the subsequent revision.

Beats’ iconic “capsule” form is useful to hold round, suits anyplace a water bottle would go, and sits effectively on a desk or equally flat floor. You may get one in traditional Beats colours—black, pink, or champagne.

When at relaxation the audio system are tilted 20 levels upward, which is a good way to undertaking the sound extra instantly at you. 

The Capsule is IP67-rated, so is must be secure on the seashore, beside a pool, or within the rain. A silicone outer wrap helps forestall bumps and dings, whereas including weatherproofing.

Alongside the highest, you’ll discover quantity buttons, a middle multi-function button, and an influence button. They’re far sufficient aside and labeled clearly sufficient that it’s straightforward to hit the appropriate one with out paying shut consideration.

Within the again is a single USB-C port that can be utilized for charging or as an audio enter, with help for lossless audio (not that the Capsule has the sound high quality to do it justice). It even reverse-charges with a triple-tap of the facility button so it may be a form of energy financial institution in your cellphone.

Beats says the battery will final 24 hours. We will verify it might probably simply run all day with out recharging.

With a single woofer able to 90 p.c extra air displacement than the woofer within the Beats Capsule+ and a paired tweeter, the brand new Beats Capsule sounds OK. Like all transportable audio system with a cylindrical design it lacks low-end oomph. There’s extra bass than you’d anticipate, however nonetheless lower than you want. It does get fairly loud, however at excessive volumes, there’s a clipped or restricted really feel.

There’s a microphone to allow speakerphone or voice assistants, but it surely doesn’t have a lot in the way in which of noise discount to guard from sturdy wind or close by freeway noise.

The weatherproofing, comparatively loud quantity, and improbable battery life all make this a very nice inexpensive speaker for hanging out by the pool. The $149.99/£149.99price is affordable, too. You simply must handle your expectations for getting nice sound high quality out of a bit of transportable speaker like this.

We’ve regarded on the JBL Flip 7, which launched in spring 2025, and they’re good, however they lack AirPlay. Tucked away in a quiet nook of the JBL web site the corporate has a variety of sensible audio system, referred to as Authentics, which embrace each Wi-Fi and help for Apple’s AirPlay.

There are three audio system within the vary, beginning at $349.99/£238.99 for the entry-level Authentics 200, going as much as $699.99/£529.99 for the top-of-the-range Authentics 500. Nonetheless, the candy spot for us is the mid-range Authentics 300, which has essentially the most versatile design and prices $449.99/£249.99, though you will discover them cheaper.

The Authentics 300 is attractively designed, with a sturdy picket cupboard and a giant, chunky grille on the entrance that provides it an deliberately retro look. It’s pretty giant, standing 195mm excessive, 342mm vast and 180mm deep, and it weighs in at a hefty 4.9kg. Even so, it’s nonetheless meant to be a conveyable speaker and – not like the opposite Authentics audio system – it features a rechargeable battery that lasts for round eight hours. There’s additionally a sturdy metallic carrying deal with, so it’s straightforward to select the speaker up and carry it from room to room at house, or out into the backyard when the summer time finally arrives.

Contained in the speaker are two 25mm tweeters, and a beefy 133mm woofer, together with a big passive bass radiator on the underside of the speaker to assist in giving the bass a little bit of a lift. There’s a quantity dial on the highest panel, together with separate controls for adjusting Treble and Bass, however the inclusion of wi-fi and help for AirPlay means that you may additionally simply management the speaker from any Apple units, and the JBL One app additionally contains an eight-band Equalizer that gives extra exact management over the sound.

Getting began is a chunk of cake, because the JBL One app initially makes use of Bluetooth to hook up with the speaker after which guides you thru the method of connecting to your house community, utilizing both wi-fi or the Ethernet port positioned on the again of the speaker. There are two microphones constructed into the speaker, though these solely work with Alexa and the Google Assistant, however there’s a Mute button that permits you to flip the mics off when you want to maintain issues non-public.

Sound high quality is nice, and the Authentics 300 lets the bass guitar on Blondie’s Rapture bounce together with a relaxed, infectious power. There’s a vibrant, clear tone on the chopping rhythm guitar, and the drums and percussion of the late, nice Clem Burke are as taut and exact as ever. And, with 100W output, the speaker has greater than sufficient energy to get issues going at a BBQ or house-party. Our solely minor criticism is that the USB-C port on the again of the speaker doesn’t present a wired audio enter – though there’s a 3.5mm connector on the again of the speaker when you want a wired connection.