Memorial Day 2021 is upon us, bringing with it the warmer days and longer nights of summer. It also means Memorial Day parties, and what better way to enjoy both the day itself and the summer season than with one of the best outdoor speakers?
Here, we’ve gathered a select few of our top speaker picks that could liven up your Memorial Day parties, whether you’re hosting a BBQ at home, meeting friends and family at the park or cooling off with a pool party. As outdoor speakers, these are all water-resistant, so can survive an accidental dunk or any unexpected rain.
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Feel free to check our best Bluetooth speaker and best waterproof speaker rankings for even more options, but when it comes to the absolute best outdoor speakers for Memorial Day 2021, these models right here are hard to beat.
Sonos Roam
As we found in our Sonos Roam review, Sonos' newest speaker is a great portable pick. Unlike its predecessor, the Sonos Move, the Roam is easy to toss in a bag and take to wherever your Memorial Day get-together might be. And, once you arrive, you can enjoy the Roam’s sophisticated sound, aided by Auto TruePlay: Sonos’ system for automatically adjusting output according to the speaker’s surroundings.
With an IP67 rating, the Sonos Roam also comes well-protected against the elements. It can shrug off dust and sand, should you head to the beach, and its sufficiently waterproof to survive up to 30 minutes in water up to 1 meter deep.
As a wireless smart speaker, you can also control it with Alexa or Google Assistant voice commands, though because this needs a Wi-Fi connection it might work best at home. Still, if your yard is within range of your router, that still allows for outdoor partying.
Polk Atrium 4
The Polk Atrium 4 has held the top spot in our best outdoor speaker list for a while, and deservedly so. This dual-speaker set is affordably priced, yet pumps out crisp audio that sounds great across the entire frequency range. Install it in your yard and you’ll have enough sonic power for any party or BBQ.
As a wired, mounted set of outdoor speakers, you won’t be able to take the Atrium 4 out and about like you would the Sonos Roam, nor stuff both speakers in a cupboard when not in use. But because they’re relatively compact, and are built to survive the outdoors without so much as rusting, you’ll be able to enjoy the Atrium 4 long after Memorial Day ends.
UE Megaboom 3
This is a little cheaper than the Sonos Roam, in exchange for lacking any Wi-Fi-enabled smart features, but as we said in our UE Megaboom 3 review it’s still a powerful Bluetooth speaker that will comfortably keep your Memorial Day party entertained. Especially if it accidentally gets punted into the pool, as the Megaboom’s IPX7 rating puts it on par with the Roam for waterproofing.
It’s also got a much longer-lasting battery than the Roam, rated for 20 hours of playback compared to the Sonos speaker’s 10 hours. That could well come into play if you plan to make your Memorial Day celebration an all-dayer. As is typical of UE speakers, sound quality is great too, and there’s a wide range of colors available, from simple red or black to camo effects like “Jungle Grey” and Urban Magenta.”
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