Over the last few years, there has been massive transpiration of features and performance in the Bluetooth speakers market from the higher-priced segments to the lower-priced ones. This was the case during the last year as well when I was testing speakers for our Zero1 and Best Buy Awards. When the contenders for this year showed up, despite being across different price segments, they carried over features from one to the other. Features like 360 audio, daisy chaining, and the like are available to consumers across budgets.
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It is not just the features; the performance differential is such that you need trained ears to make it out. After putting each of our contenders in the Best Performing Bluetooth Speaker category to the test, I was able to find out which speaker was the best fit to be crowned the winner of the Digit Zero1 Award and the Digit Best Buy Award in 2023. Have a look –
Price: ₹31,999
Marshall, as a brand, has been known to make some of the best audio products in the market. And that reputation stood true when Marshall Middleton was crowned the winner of the Best Performing Bluetooth Speakers category. While not the loudest of the lot, when I maxed out the volume on the Middleton, there was no noticeable distortion, which started things off on a positive note. Then came the sound signature of the speaker, and I would like to summarise it in a phrase – It is the best for most genres of music. This is where Marshall took the lead over its competitors. The speaker boasts a sound signature that is fairly balanced. If you are someone who loves bass-heavy audio, then you will miss some of the rumblings in the low bass, which you would ideally get from a speaker bigger than this. Apart from that, the vocals and the highs, which house some percussion and string instruments, were clear.
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Between the Marshall Middleton and the Devialet Mania, the competition was tight. Price aside, these two speakers came pretty close to each other in our performance tests. There was barely any difference between the two until I got to the battery life. This is where the Marshall took the lead over Devialet. Boasting a battery life of about 22 hours, over the 10 hours of the Devialet, the Marshall edged out and took home the crown of being the winner of the Digit Zero1 Awards 2023 in the Best Performing Bluetooth Speakers category.
Runner Up: Devialet Mania (Buy now)
Price: ₹102,000
If you are someone who has been a fan of high-quality home audio, then you would have heard the name – Devialet. The premium speaker brand showed up at the Digit Test Centre with their Devialet Mania as a contender for the Best Performing Bluetooth Speaker Category. And they nearly won. The overall sound signature of the Devialet Mania was on par with that of our Zero1 Award Winner – Marshall Middleton. The Mania produced the lower bass frequencies well, whereas the Middleton lacked behind. However, in terms of treble, I found some details to be missing, which made it lose out on some points in our tests. The competition was still strong, as the Mania produced some of the best vocals I have heard on a Bluetooth speaker.
The same is the case with other instruments as well, and the distortion on the speaker, rather I’d say, lack thereof. The place where the Mania lost the most ground was its battery life, as I stated earlier. The almost 12-hour difference between the two speakers meant that the Marshall won by a slight margin. But, if you have the money, I would say you definitely need the Devialet Mania on your list of Bluetooth speakers to get if you are a fan of high-quality audio.
Price: ₹49,999
Priced at ₹49,999 and offering great sound quality, features, and build, the JBL Boombox 3 Wi-Fi was the winner of the Digit Best Buy Award 2023 in the Best Performing Bluetooth Speakers category. There is no doubt that the Boombox 3 Wi-Fi makes for a great party speaker. With its sound signature being on the warmer side out of the box, you can confidently make an impression by playing songs from popular genres like EDM, Bollywood, and Pop. The bass, thanks to the fact that this speaker is a JBL product, is on the higher side, but as I said, it suits genres that are played in parties mostly. And, if you want, you can use the feature-rich JBL Connect app and tweak the settings as well.
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As the name suggests, the Boombox 3 is a Wi-Fi-enabled speaker and comes with all the bells and whistles you could ask for in a portable Bluetooth speaker. The build quality on the Boombox 3 Wi-Fi is also solid. The speaker has a mesh cover around the body, which is sturdy and can take on its share of hits and knicks. The carrying handle is metal, and an IP67 rating means that the speaker can power through a few splashes of water with ease. A combination of great build, performance, and features is what made the JBL Boombox 3 Wi-Fi win the Digit Best Buy Award 2023, in the Best Performing Bluetooth Speaker category.
For more information on Digit Zero1 Award winners across various categories of products, please visit: https://www.digit.in/zero1-awards
