Things You Should Consider While Choosing A Speaker for Small Rooms/Area
If you are planning to purchase a speaker for a small room or area, here are the factors that you need to consider
Size
If you are looking for a small speaker, it is possibly because there is not a dedicated space for a larger unit. You want something that sits on a table or a counter and provides the best sound possible. So, speakers that are around 10 to 15 inches tall (or wide if they sit horizontally) are the best sizes for a small speaker.
Portability
Another reason why people seek out small speakers is that they wish to carry the speakers to different places as a constant companion. It is indeed great to have a speaker that is great and portable when you are doing fun activities like picnics, hiking, or hanging out with your friends to relax. It is also convenient to place the speaker in different rooms as you move if it is portable and light.
Battery Life
Battery life is a major factor to consider while shopping for a small portable speaker. Chances are that you will be taking it without on your trips and tours and you don’t want the speaker to die within a couple of hours. Modern small speakers are capable of over 12 hours of battery life on one charge. This will take you through your day or even weeks of showers if you like to listen to music in the bathroom.
Durability
The measure of durability is provided by the IP (Ingress Protection) rating or scale. The particular number of the IP rating defines if the device is resistant to dust and water. Wireless, portable, and small speakers come with at least an IP67 rating which makes them resistant to dust and water (under 3.3 feet) for around 30 minutes.
Smart features and voice control
Smart features cannot be missed on modern speakers. And you don’t have to settle for fewer features just because you are looking for a small and portable speaker. Almost all the modern speakers come with built-in smart assistant support like Alexa, or Google Assistant.
This will allow you to control your speaker with your voice and perform more tasks than just listening to the music. This can come particularly handy if you are in the shower or working in the kitchen and want to change the song without leaving the job at hand.
Pairing with multiple speakers
The speakers of today, especially the small ones are capable of pairing with other speakers of similar kinds and creating loud music in true stereo. This will also allow you to listen to the same music in different rooms at the same time. There are speakers that can be connected to around 100 other speakers to play music from the same source. This comes handy in at parties when you want the music to be loud but there isn’t any large speaker available.
What is considered a small room for speakers?
To quantify the size of a room and label it small, you will need measurements of the room in terms of its length and width. Any room that is less than or equal to 15 feet long and 15 feet wide is considered a small room.
In such a scenario, the listener will be at least 10 feet away from the speaker or even less than that.
Best Speakers for Small Room
Harman Kardon Onyx Studio 6
Harman Kardon Onyx Studio 6 is a new player in the market of portable and small-sized speakers. It is quite popular for all the right reasons. First of all, with a dimension of 11.5 inches tall and 11.2 inches wide, this is the limit when it comes to speakers for small rooms. It is also quite heavy with a weight of around 8 pounds. The handle provided on the speaker makes it easy to carry it around.
With the Harman Kardon Onyx 6, you are bound to get the best bass quality and 8 hours of continuous music playback with a single charge. It is quite easy to charge it as well. You will just need to use the MicroUSB cable which is quite ubiquitous nowadays. The Onyx Studio 6 from Harman Kardon comes with 4.72 inches of the amazing woofer. This guarantees great bass and mid-range qualities. The inch tweeter will take care of the treble or the high frequencies.
Harman Kardon Onyx Studio 6 comes with a dual driver system that outputs much better sound than a single driver system. This will further allow you to pick the sounds of different instruments in the music more clearly. The presence of large audio components makes the speaker slightly bigger.
Another great advantage of the Harman Kardon Onyx 6 Studio is the IP67 rating which deems it dustproof and waterproof even when submerged in water. It is not advised to do so as the Bluetooth signals don’t work properly under the water. All you need to make sure is that the connection ports are closed. So, you can take the speaker to the beach or poolside without the risk of damaging the speaker.
On the drawback side, the Harman Kardon Onyx 6 Studio doesn’t support the pairing of multiple speakers to create a large stereo effect. But, you can connect to Onyx Studio 6 speakers to share the duty of a DJ. Further, there are no smart features like Alexa or Google Assistant provided with the speaker. So, the main USP of the Harman Kardon Onyx 6 Studio speaker is the quality of sound and durability.
Pros
- Provides amazing sound output with intense depth in bass and crisp highs
- Elegant, handsome with a waterproof design
- Quite easy to use and operate
Cons
- Slightly heavy and large in dimensions compared to other speakers in the section
- No app or adjustable Equalizer
- Absence of smart assistants and voice control features
- No connection via WiFi
Braven BRV-Mini
I personally have found the BRV-Mini speaker from Braven to be an ideal companion, given its size and the surprising sound quality. It stands just 4.21 inches tall and is quite rugged and portable. The size of the speaker might inculcate doubt in your head but be sure that it will be one of the best speakers you have ever owned when it comes to sound quality.
The Braven BRV Mini is completely wireless and comes with Bluetooth 5.0 support which makes it a modern device. The new Bluetooth version improves the range of connection and you can play music on it from a distance without any cutout or lag. The IPX7 rating makes it dustproof and it can handle being submerged underwater for 30 minutes at a depth of 3.3 feet.
Wait there is more! You can seamlessly pair two BRV Mini speakers from Braven and create a loud and awesome stereo system that works pretty well. You will notice the surprising amount of depth in the sound when the speaker is placed at a distance and angled towards you. The 5 Watts output will fill the room with the accompanied boosted bass that comes from the integrated passive radiator or woofer.
The Braven BRV Mini claims a continuous playback time of 12 hours with a single change. Further, you can charge your Braven BRV Mini using the USB-C connector and use it as a speakerphone. There is also a lanyard provided in the box so that you can carry it around without much hassle.
The lack of smart features like Alexa or Google Assistant support might make it less appealing for some users. Further, while the mid-ranges and the bass is awesome, there is slight shrillness at the high frequencies. The quality of the instrumental is amazing though. So, at a reasonable price, if you are looking for a speaker for a small room that produces good sound and nothing else, Braven BRV Mini can be your go-to speaker.
Pros
- Awesome sound quality
- Reasonable price
- Ruggedness
Cons
- Lack of smart assistant supports
Klipsch Heritage Groove
With the Klipsch Heritage Groove portable speaker, you are sure to enjoy the long heritage of Klipsch of creating a masterpiece audiophile. The Klipsch Heritage Groove stands 6.6 inches tall and is around 7.7 inches wide which makes it a portable speaker on the bigger side. But, you will be able to pick it up quite easily or just stash it in a bag when you go on a trip. The maximum output that the Klipsch Heritage Groove can deliver is 20 Watts.
When it comes to the audio hardware and the overall aesthetics, it is quite hard to beat Klipsch Heritage Groove as it has gone above and beyond. The Klipsch Heritage Groove comes with a three-inch driver that is connected to a custom digital signal processor. In addition to that, it comes with two bass radiators that fire sideways to create that extra depth or additional low-end. The cover or the cabinet of the speaker is made out of a real wood veneer and with a soft fabric cover. So, there is a class written all over it.
Speakers from Klipsch have always been known for their sheer focus and brightness in the upper frequencies. You will get a punchy and snappy bass on these Heritage Groove speakers from Klipsch. The bass drops when you play EDM but that is true with most of the speakers of small size as they cannot offer boomy reverberation or deep bass.
Klipsch Heritage Groove speaker boasts a battery life of 8 hours with a single charge. It can be charged using a common MicroUSB cable. With the level of class that the Klipsch Heritage Groove portable speaker offers, it would have been nicer to see a Type-C connector for charging as it is becoming more and more the defacto standard of today’s electronic devices.
On the downside, it is suggested that you use Klipsch Heritage Groove speakers indoors or in a small room as there is no IP rating on them. It is not dustproof or waterproof. So, you will not want to get it wet by taking it to the beach or the poolside area. There are no smart assistant features or connections with multiple speakers for stereo effects. You get Bluetooth and AUX as two ways of connecting the device with your smartphone or computer.
Pros
- Detailed Midrange and high frequencies
- The treble is crisp and clear
- The design is breathtaking
- The build quality is great
- The microphone is quite reliable
Cons
- No Type-C port present (MicroUSB is all that you get)
- Lack of buttons to skip tracks
- The battery life is below average
- Slightly on the expensive side when it comes to price
Sonos One
Sonos One is a smart speaker from Sonos. Sonos One offers a minimalistic clean design and is a feature-rich device with great sound quality. The smart features need special mention because there are lots of them. You get voice assistants including Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant which are ever-improving. Apart from that, you will get the multi-room smart features from Sonos itself.
The sound quality on Sonos one is pretty fantastic with crisp treble and deep bass. You will experience some serious punch and energy with your favorite songs. Further, it is quite a surprise to see such impressive power from such a small speaker. The speaker is more than capable of handling complicated music when there are multilayers of instruments that circulate the song.
While the speaker is not offering a stereo effect and all the music is squeezed into a single channel, you can always pair more than one Sonos one speaker at a time to create that Stereo effect. So, it won’t fail to impress you with unmatched sound quality in both standalone and stereo speaker modes.
The Sonos S2 app is the companion app and it offers a novel feature called “room group”. This feature essentially allows you to build wireless speaker systems as it will be able to remember the speakers that are grouped frequently. You will find a sleek touch-sensitive surface on the top of the speaker. All you need to do is swipe in a particular direction to skip forward or backward. You can tap in the center of the top to play or pause the music.
Pros
- Excellent sound quality
- Works really well with the existing Sonos systems
- Seamless Alexa integration
- Bunch of music streaming services
- You can play music while muting the Alexa
Cons
- The setup process is quite convoluted
- Costs more than Amazon’s Echos
- Lacks Bluetooth connection
Libratone Zipp 2 Mini
Libratone Zipp 2 Mini is a perfect speaker for a small room that will win over your heart with its design and sound quality. It is one of the most fully-featured small speakers on this list which offers a sweet blend of audio quality and aesthetics. The speaker stands around 8.1 inches tall which makes it a larger speaker in the category of small-sized speakers.
The Libratone Zipp 2 Mini is a portable speaker that offers a battery life of around 12 hours with a single charge. To add, you can pair up 11 Libratone Zipp 2 Mini speakers and create a complete wireless audio system. It comes with the integration of Amazon’s Alexa and also supports Apple’s AirePlay 2 Wireless protocol. Further, it is capable of streaming music over WiFi from various streaming platforms. The Bluetooth 4.1 is not the latest one but it gets the job done.
The audio quality on Libratone Zipp 2 Mini is quite solid as it comes with multiple drivers that face both downward and upward. This kind of configuration of the drivers allows the Libratone Zipp 2 Mini speaker to create a “360-degree” surround sound. Thus, you do not have to worry about finding the perfect orientation to decide on the sweet spot of the speaker.
You get a sleek touch screen at the top of the speaker where you can use slide motions to change the track or manipulate the volume. With a single tap on the top, you can either play or pause the music. If you keep the speaker on a dresser in the center of your room, you will get a feel of what the “360-degree” stereo effect is actually about.
Pros
- A lightweight design that allows portability
- The battery life is great at 12 hours with a single charge
- WiFi support
Cons
- No IP rating present
Do smaller speakers sound better?
There are some terrific small speakers available in the market that are popular for amazing sound quality. But, if you compare any of that speaker with a larger counterpart from the same brand, you will experience a decline in the quality and range of sound outputs.
You see, when the size gets smaller, there are lots of advantages that you get with small speakers but the sound quality declines as there is not enough space inside the speaker for the sound to come out in the best form. Small speakers often do not have a problem with producing good treble. But, there are not many small speakers that offer a deep solid bass. The reason is, that the passive radiators on the small speakers are either too small or non-existent when compared to large speakers.
Having said that, unless you are really into pedantic details of sound output and quality, you won’t notice much difference in the output. It is only a matter of loudness and the size of the room for regular users when it comes to deciding on the size of the speaker. The best small-sized speakers will offer you a great bang for your buck without a doubt.
