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Play music in every room


We test a number of wireless speakers every year that feature multi-room capabilities. but not every multi-room speaker will necessarily suit you, so we created this list to help you find the best multi-room speaker

And considering the emphasis on multi-room, we’ve not chucked an array of speakers at you just to fill a best list, different price tiers or a weird category for a multi-room speaker. We’ve gone for the best speaker in each multi-room system that we’ve reviewed, so whether you’re someone who favours Apple, or is in the Amazon Echo system (Echo-system?), or perhaps even Sonos, we’ve picked our the best contender for those and other multi-room systems.

And the criteria for these choices isn’t just about how they sound, though that forms the bulk of our assessment since who wants a poor-sounding speaker? We also take into consideration their feature set, how easy they are to use through their control apps, and which music streaming services they support.

If you’re interested in other types of wireless speakers, check out our pages for best outdoor speakers, best smart speakers and our best Bluetooth speakers.

Best multi-room speakers at a glance

How we test

Learn more about how we test wireless speakers

We play a lot of music, and we play it loud. We play it everywhere – in the house, in the garden, and even in the bath if a speaker is waterproof.

We don’t just listen to the speakers; if there are special features then we make sure we fiddle with them until we’re satisfied. Recently, some Bluetooth speakers have begun to get smart functionality with the integration of Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant, and as a result we’ve started speaking to our speakers as well.

Of course, it always comes back to the music. Speakers are tested by reviewers who have a love of music, a knowledge of sound quality, as well as a context of the market. We’ll listen to wireless speakers alongside similarly priced rivals, so when we recommend a particular model, it’s among the best you can buy for the money.

Obviously, we know not everyone has the same taste in music, so we won’t only test with the same perfectly mastered album, but with a variety of genres and file qualities, from MP3 to Hi-Res FLAC.

Apple HomePod Mini

Best Apple multi-room speaker

Pros

  • Sound incredible
  • Very small
  • Great price
  • Decent voice control

Cons

  • Captive cable
  • Very reliant on Apple services (for now)

You might think we’d opt for the HomePod 2, but for multi-room listening the HomePod mini is the best for iOS users. It’s less expensive at £99 / $99, which means you could add several to a house.

Like its bigger sibling, the HomePod mini looks great in any setting. Available in a range of colours, you can find a look that suits your tastes and décor. It’s smaller than the Echo Dot 5th Gen model and weighs 345g, making it lighter and easier to store than the HomePod 2.

You do need an iOS device to set it up, and it comes with a captive cable, which our reviewer was not fond of as if it were to get damaged, the whole unit would need to be taken back for service.

Multiple updates have added new features but the HomePod mini remains an iOS-centric device. Apple Music offers the best integration in terms of music services with direct control from another device, especially when playing music to multiple devices. With Spotify, it’s restricted to one track at a time whereas with Apple Music you can play different songs on different speakers. However, Apple has opened up third-party control to the likes of Amazon Music and Pandora. We’d like to see the likes of Spotify and Tidal make the cut too.

The sound output of the HomePod mini belies its size. It generates a big sound from its small enclosure, with good bass output and a balanced performance across the frequency range. There’s not as much detail as there is on the HomePod 2, but for a speaker of this size, this is a capable-sounding effort, at times subtle and at other times able to dig into a bass heavy track with relish. 

It can reach a high volume, able to fill any room but still maintain clarity, and if you get a stereo pair the HomePod mini sounds even better. Consider you can buy two mini speakers for less than a Sonos Era 100 and this speaker is one of the best bargains around – as long as you’re an iOS user.

Reviewer: David Ludlow
Full review: Apple HomePod mini

Amazon Echo (4th Generation)

Best Amazon multi-room speaker

Compared to previous generations, the Amazon Echo (4th Generation) features an all new design, styled as a large ball, so while it’s not as techy-looking as previoud models, we think It’s a good choice. It fits in your home much better, and it comes in a wider choice of colours which included charcoal, glacier white and twilight blue.

The status light is now at the bottom of the speaker, so when the speaker receives a notification, the speaker doesn’t distracting light a room up in the same way as power. You still get the same set of tactile controls on top, with a mute button to stop Alexa from listening to what you’re saying.

In terms of its sound, the Amazon Echo has two 0.8-inch tweeters and a 3-inch woofer make the Echo (4th Generation) and for a speaker of its size, we found it sounded pretty good in our tests. The sound quality is a step up that we no longer hankered for a better audio system. Detail levels are better than before, and there’s more attack and bass with this model than there was with previos Echo speakers. It’s not the best-sounding Echo, that honour would go to the Echo Studio, but for the money it’s an enjoyable effort.

And of course there’s multi-room support, allowing you to play music across multiple Echo devices in a home. It only supports Alexa multi-room though, so if you were hoping for AirPlay, the HomePod mini would be a more suitable choice.

Reviewer: David Ludlow
Full review: Amazon Echo 4th Generation

Sonos Era 100

Best Sonos multi-room speaker

Pros

  • Better bass delivery than the One
  • Quick Tune Trueplay
  • Supports Bluetooth connectivity
  • Wider sweet spot
  • Excellent app interface

Cons

  • More expensive
  • Not as clear as previous One speaker
  • No adapters included

Sonos has long been a major proponent of wireless, multi-room speakers, and the Sonos Era 100 is one of its best speakers.

The Era 100 is a wireless smart speaker that boasts hands-free control from Amazon Alexa and Sonos’ own Voice Control although it does not support Google Assistant. Regardless, we found the voice integration offered easy control, and if you don’t like voice assistants listening all the time, you can turn them off completely.

The breadth of music streaming services supported in the app is huge, with Spotify, Qobuz, Tidal, Amazon Music, TuneIn and much more available. Support for AirPlay 2 allows the speaker to be paired with other compatible speakers, and you can group with other Sonos speakers such as the Move 2 or Beam Gen 2, plus there’s Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect, which adds more multi-room possibilities if you’re subscribed to those services.

As for its audio, the One produces a very good sound. It’s not as balanced across the frequency range as the Sonos One was, lacking a little subtlety in the midrange. But it does offer deeper and richer bass, a clear mid-range and a more defined treble performance. The soundstage is wide and spacious, especially from such a small unit as we found no issues with it filling the mid-sized room the speaker is in.

Reviewer: Kob Monney
Full review: Sonos Era 100

Denon Home 150

Best HEOS multi-room speaker

Pros

  • Enjoyably bombastic
  • Big sound
  • Smart looks
  • Now with native voice support

Cons

  • Sonos One strikes a better balanced sound

There are multi-room systems other than Alexa, Sonos, and Apple; and Denon’s HEOS is one such alternative. We’d rate the Home 150 as one of the better buys within a HEOS set-up, partly because of its size and mainly because it’s the cheapest Home speaker at £219 / $249.

That price undercuts the Sonos Era 100 too, and the Home 150 carries similar features to its Sonos rival. There’s built-in support for Amazon Alexa voice control (there’s also Google Assistant compatibility), along with AirPlay 2 (so you could add the Denon to an iOS multi-room set-up as well); and via the HEOS app there is integration with music streaming services such as Amazon Music, Tidal, Deezer, and Napster. Spotify Connect is also enabled, allowing for another means of creating a multi-room audio system.

The HEOS app is a tidy, efficient looking interface; though we prefer the modern sheen and interaction of the Sonos app which feels much nicer to use. Hi-res audio is supported via USB with 24-bit/192kHz FLAC, WAV, ALAC, and DSD 2.8/5.6MHz supported.

The Home 150 can look slightly on the anonymous side but that allows it to disappear into the environment it’s in. We especially like the glass touch panel with proximity controls, it adds some class and elegance to the speaker’s aesthetics and usability.

The sound is rich and warm, but no less dynamic for it. Voices are richly reproduced, with plenty of weight and heft to the low frequencies and a bright performance with high frequencies. If you want a bigger, more powerful performance, there’s always the option of Home 250 and Home 350 units.

Compared to the Sonos Era 100 we find that the Denon sounds the more musical of the two, with a more fluid and expressive in its midrange delivery. If you’re considering a speaker that can be used for parties, then the Era 100 packs a bigger punch.

Reviewer: Kob Monney
Full review: Denon Home 150

Audio Pro C10 MkII

Best Audio Pro multi-room speaker

Pros

  • Fun, energetic, dynamic sound
  • Great looks
  • Supports Apple, Google multi-room

Cons

  • A little short on overall clarity and definition
  • Struggles to describe with more complex tracks

The Audio Pro C10 MkII brings with it some notable smarts in the addition both Apple AirPlay 2 and Google Cast streaming to an already packed set when it comes to connectivity.

Alongside this, the speaker also has the power to work via Bluetooth, Audio Pro’s own multi-room system, and also RCA-input or a 3.5mm jack that you can a plug a turntable into and blast your vinyl music to other connected speakers.

The Audio Pro app offers loads of options, with access to good range of streaming services (Tidal, Qobuz, Amazon Music, Deezer) and internet radio, as well as EQ presets. Connection to other speakers is simple whether it’s pairing to another speaker in the Audio Pro app or grouping speakers together in Google Home or AirPlay.

In addition, the design has been tweaked to offer a fabric front panel that can be removed magnetically, so you have the choice of either looking at this, or staring at the exposed drivers. We found the C10 MkII to look stylish in both modes. This is quite a big speaker, so we’d suggest you make sure there’s a decent amount of space for it.

During testing, we found the audio to big and meaty with the low frequencies and offer a detailed and crisp top end. Transitions from loud to quiet are well handled, while its sense of timing, and the energetic flow of its delivery makes the C10 MkII for a fun-sounding speaker.

Reviewer: Kob Monney
Full review: Audio Pro C10 MkII

FAQs

What is multi-room audio?

Multi-room refers to the act of grouping wireless audio systems together to play/control music throughout a home. For example, Multi-room systems can allow for the same piece of music to be played on all connected systems, or different music played on each individual speaker.

What’s Apple AirPlay 2?

AirPlay 2 is the second generation of Apple’s proprietary wireless streaming tech, which is built into all of its hardware products (and supported by many others). It’s designed to pass content from your Apple device – music, video and photos – to a compatible receiver over your Wi-Fi network such as a TV, wireless speaker, AV receiver etc.

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