Michael Gowan

The JBL Link 20 delivers almost all the features of Google Home in great-sounding portable speaker.

While the lights on the LG XBoom Go PL7 may attract your eyes, it’s the detailed sound that will hook your ears.

Vizio’s M-Series 5.1 M51a-H6 gives you a lot for the money, but you need to work to get it to sound at its best.

The Enclave CineHome Pro 5.1 CineHub Edition delivers better sound than a single soundbar, without sacrificing simplicity — but you’ll have to live without the latest technologies.

Ultimate Ears Hyperboom portable Bluetooth speaker is a big speaker that produces a big sound — at a big price.

The UE Megaboom 3 has what you want in a portable Bluetooth speaker: good sound quality, long battery life, ruggedness and more.

The Vizio V-Series 2.1 Home Theater Soundbar V21-H8 delivers wide sound, big bass and plenty of options for not much money.

The Bose Soundbar 500 is a slim speaker with serious smarts.

Yamaha's YAS-108 soundbar delivers plenty of features and overall very good overall sound, all for $220.

The Polk MagniFi Mini is a solid small soundbar that delivers big sound.

The Fugoo Sport 2.0 is a versatile and affordable wireless speaker, though it doesn’t improve much on the original.

The bass-rich JBL Bar 5.1 Surround soundbar creates an encompassing sound, if you can figure out how to take advantage of its talents.

The LG SN8YG delivers the precision of Dolby Atmos sound at an affordable price — and gets very loud.

Google Home plays nice with Google software and hardware, but it lacks some key features of its competitors.

With HDMI, Bluetooth and a wireless subwoofer, Sony's HT-CT370 delivers plenty of features and very good sound.

The Tailwind iQ3 brings plenty of smart features to your old garage door opener, including Alexa and Google Assistant support.

If you can afford it, the Sonos Playbase offers almost everything you want in a soundbase, especially big sound and ease of use.