Speakerphones bluetooth: Best Speakerphone in 2023 for Working From Home

Do You Need a Fancy Bluetooth Speakerphone to Make Your Zoom Meetings Better?

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Photo: Brent Butterworth

Published September 19, 2022

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As if freeing up printer jams and troubleshooting Wi-Fi problems weren’t enough, audio engineering has now joined the list of frustrating technical tasks that office workers are expected to master. With many meetings now combining employees in a conference room with colleagues on Zoom, office workers who can barely figure out their home stereo often struggle to get everyone coming in loud and clear. The causes are manifold: cheap webcam microphones, noisy conference rooms with terrible acoustics, and most annoying of all, TED Talk wannabes who wander the room when they speak. What should be a productive conversation can turn into a frustrating exercise in lip reading, clairvoyance, and disambiguation. Did you just agree to proofread a contract for the boss—or to take care of their basset hound for a week?

Fortunately, new, sophisticated Bluetooth speakerphones aim to make conference calls sound as if they were produced by Quincy Jones. (Well, almost.) These compact devices combine the functions of a conference-call microphone and a portable Bluetooth speaker. We found their promise to pluck people’s voices cleanly out of the noise and echo irresistible, so we collected several leading models and put them through the toughest tests we could conjure up.

I’ll confess that part of this quest was personal. I’ve been pining for a good speakerphone ever since the pandemic hit in 2020. Not for me, but to send to my family. When I call them, they often put an iPhone in speakerphone mode and then huddle around it to talk with me. Or rather, they start by huddling around—and then they gradually wander off to different parts of the room, where the reverb from their marble floors and wood-paneled walls starts to swamp their sentences.

Simulating the chaos of corporate meetings

Photo: Brent Butterworth

The Bluetooth speakerphone models we tried were the Airhug 01, the Anker PowerConf S500, the Beyerdynamic Space, the Cyber Acoustics Essential SP-2000, the Emeet M3, the Jabra Speak 510, the Poly Sync 20+, and the Raycon Work Speaker. The models are priced from $60 to $220. All of them can also hook up directly to a computer, tablet, or smartphone through a wired USB connection—a useful feature considering the scant possibility of getting a room full of people to deactivate Bluetooth on their phones.

To test the speakers’ ability to pick up multiple voices in a suboptimal space, I asked three of my Wirecutter colleagues to record themselves reciting text from different Wirecutter guides, after which I edited the recordings into a simulated conversation—with people speaking singly and sometimes with multiple people talking at the same time or talking over each other, much like what you’d encounter in a real meeting. I then played each of the four voices (including mine) through its own speaker, with the speakers arranged around a table in my acoustically reverberant kitchen to simulate four people sitting around a conference-room table. As luck would have it, we got a great mix of voices: two female and two male, and each gender included someone who spoke loudly and someone who spoke with a softer voice.

(Here’s a video that shows how we did the testing and lets you hear the difference between a couple of the speaker models we tested.)

I placed each speakerphone in the middle of the table, played the fake conversation, and recorded the results. I then added 60 decibels’ worth of noise (a moderately loud refrigerator and two fans) and repeated the process to see how well the speakerphones cancelled the noise. I did the same tests with my Samsung Galaxy S10 phone to see how its speakerphone function compared with the dedicated speakerphones. Five Wirecutter colleagues and I then listened to the recordings (identified only by number to eliminate brand bias) to judge how well the speakerphones picked up the voices. Afterward, I set up a Zoom call with Wirecutter senior staff writer Lauren Dragan to find out how well my voice came through on her side. Finally, I listened to the same simulated conversation through each speaker, followed by some music, to see how good the speakers sounded.

A Bluetooth speakerphone that cuts through the noise

As the listeners weighed in with their opinions, I started to worry that speakerphones weren’t all they were cracked up to be. There was some disagreement as to which models performed best on what we believed was the most relevant test (multiple talkers without added noise), and models that did well on that test didn’t necessarily do well on other tests—and vice versa. Some listeners put the greatest value on reducing the amount of room echo, while others preferred speakerphones that preserved more of the natural tonality and fullness of voices instead of thinning out the sound of the voices as some models did.

Making the judging more challenging: In the panelists’ opinion, the Samsung Galaxy S10’s speakerphone function outperformed all but three of the dedicated speakerphones. The Galaxy S10 is a higher-end Samsung model, so its performance is pretty good, and we can’t generalize about other phones’ potential performance on this test. But this result does suggest that before you rush out to buy a dedicated speakerphone, you should try using your phone to see how well it works in this role. If it does the job, it won’t cost you a penny extra, and you won’t have to carry an extra device around.

The Emeet M3 Bluetooth speakerphone has LED lighting that shows the direction in which its microphone array is focused. Photo: Brent Butterworth

Once all the results were in, though, one speakerphone model stood out: The Emeet M3 was the top pick on the multiple-talker test for four of our six panelists, and it didn’t flub any of the other tests. Unlike many of the other models, it largely preserved the natural sound of the four different voices, which is important in an animated conversation where it may be difficult to distinguish talkers’ identities. The M3 eliminated most of the room echo, and on the test with noise added, it cut out most of the noise, although it sometimes made voices sound a bit unnatural and chopped-off in the process. “I felt it had clear vocals that sounded the most like the actual person, and had less sense of room presence affecting the quality of the sound,” one panelist noted. Some of that performance is probably due to the fact that the M3 features four microphones with a “steering” system similar to that found on many smart speakers: It detects the direction of the loudest talker and focuses on them. An LED array on the top indicates the direction in which the microphone array is focused.

The M3 was capable of playing voices from the people on the other end of the line about 6 decibels louder—about the difference between speaking normally and raising your voice—than many of the other models. That’s important for large conference calls. For especially large meetings (up to 20 people, according to Emeet), you can connect two M3 units together. However, at 5.25 inches in diameter, 1.5 inches thick, and 14 ounces, the M3 might be more than some people want to carry. It does come with a carrying case, though.

Other good options for clear conference calls

Clockwise from left: the Anker PowerConf S500, Poly Sync 20+, and Emeet M3. Photo: Brent Butterworth

Two other models also earned praise from multiple panelists: the Anker PowerConf S500 and the Poly Sync 20+. The PowerConf S500 edged out the Sync 20+ for second place in the multiple-talker test, and both speakerphones did an excellent job of picking out our talkers’ voices clearly in the presence of added noise—better even than the Emeet M3 did. The Sync 20+ had the clearest reproduction of voices from the other end of the line. Although my measurements showed that the Sync 20+ didn’t really play any louder than my Samsung phone, it sounded much clearer. Considering that the Sync 20+ cost only 60% as much as the Emeet M3 at the time of our tests, that makes it an appealing choice for budget-minded businesspeople and families.

The PowerConf S500 also did pretty well in reproducing voices from the other end of the line, but its price was 10% higher than the Emeet M3’s price last time we looked, so we suggest buying the M3 unless it sells out or is discontinued.

Although none of these speakerphones will make you feel like all your remote meeting colleagues are with you in the room, they do have the potential to make conference calls and Zoom meetings more effective and enjoyable when multiple people are in the same room—and the best of them should be especially helpful in reverberant or noisy rooms. Buying a good speakerphone is much cheaper and simpler than fixing a conference room’s poor acoustics.

There’s also one more benefit to placing a speakerphone on the table while everyone is gathering around for a call. As a business associate in Silicon Valley told me when I mentioned that I was doing these tests: “If you show up with one of those, it looks so much more professional than plopping someone’s phone in the middle of the table.”

This article was edited by Erica Ogg.

Best Bluetooth Speakerphone for the Home Office in 2023

Over the past two years, remote work has become a more and more popular option. Even as the pandemic – hopefully – moves into its final phase, many people continue to work from home. In retrospect, this shouldn’t be surprising. Businesses pay a lot of money to rent commercial office space. If an employee is just as productive from home, the rent on their cubicle space is just wasted money. But companies are taking a similar attitude towards remote meetings. It used to be commonplace for employees to fly coast-to-coast for a two-hour meeting. For most companies nowadays, that would be seen as a huge waste of money. Why spend thousands on airfares and hotel fees when a simple conference call will do?

That said, remote work and remote meetings don’t always go as smoothly as intended. Malfunctioning software and low-quality hardware can make it more difficult to communicate. If your speakerphone is not up to par, it can be the weak link in your business communications. To keep things running smoothly, you want a good quality speakerphone. You want clear, crisp communications, ideally from all directions. You want at least some noise reduction, to keep background noise from intruding. And you want multiple ways to connect the phone. Otherwise, it might not be compatible with all your devices.

We’re about to review three of the best Bluetooth speakerphones for your home office or conference room. We’ll start out by taking a look at the Jabra Speak 710 UC. This is a loud speakerphone that can be paired together to provide stereo sound. Next, we’ll examine the Anker PowerConf S3. This is a versatile speakerphone with a 24-hour battery and smart volume adjustment. Third, we’ll check out the eMeet M2 Max. This is a beefy desktop speakerphone that can pair with two phones at the same time. We’ll go over their physical design, their speaker and mic quality, and their connectivity. We’ll also talk about their battery life, and any other relevant features. After that, we’ll be prepared to render a final verdict. Let’s get started!

Jabra Speak 710 UC

Jabra is known for producing high-quality audio equipment. Among their other offerings, we’ve reviewed the Jabra Elite 75T wireless earbuds. Given Jabra’s reputation in the industry, it made sense to take a look at their Bluetooth speakerphone.

The Jabra Speak 710 UC has a roughly disc-shaped black plastic housing. The base is slightly smaller than the top, where it flares out to its maximum width. It has a diameter of 6.2 inches, and a total thickness of 2.1 inches. And at only 1.06 ounces, it’s almost ridiculously lightweight for the size. It can also be used in two configurations. To begin with, it can be laid flat on a desk or a conference table. This is ideal when the phone is being shared by multiple people, since everyone gets equal sound distribution. If you’re working by yourself, you can pop out the little kickstand on the bottom of the housing. This will point the speaker directly at you, so you can hear even better.

On the top of the housing, there’s a silver speaker grille, which is round, and occupies much of the top. It’s perforated from the edges in a spiral pattern that runs almost to the center. The very middle of the speaker is smooth, with a small white “Jabra” imprint. The only physical control button is a soft touch power button, located just south of the grille. It has a small LED indicator, so you know when the speakerphone is active.

The bottom of the housing has an integrated USB pigtail. This can be used to connect directly to your PC, Mac, or laptop. It’s only a few inches long, and wraps around the base when it’s not in use. You’ll also find a little USB receiver fob, which snaps into the bottom of the housing. This can be used to connect wirelessly to any device with a standard USB port. The package also includes a padded zipper carrying case. This makes it easy to transport without causing any damage.

If you’re using a smartphone instead of a computer, you’ll still have options. You can connect via Bluetooth instead. The Bluetooth mode uses Bluetooth 4.2, which will be compatible with any Bluetooth device. It has a little more latency than newer Bluetooth versions, but it draws less battery power.

This speakerphone has an internal battery, which lasts for about 15 hours. This is a rough estimate, because a lot depends on how you’re using it. The volume level will have a major impact, as will how much you’re actually on the phone. The battery will theoretically last for much longer if it’s just sitting in standby mode. Conversely, you’ll get a shorter life if you’re using the phone nonstop.

As far as voice quality goes, you’re looking at a solid performer. The internal microphone provides HD voice quality, so the other party will hear you clearly. It’s also omnidirectional, and can easily be used at a medium-sized conference table. If you want to cover a larger area, you can. By using the Bluetooth connection, you can pair two Speak 710 UC speakerphones simultaneously. This gives you broader coverage, enough for even an oversized conference table with a dozen people. It also provides stereo sound for music playback – a great touch if you’re working from home.

Anker PowerConf S3

Anker is another well-known electronics manufacturer. They produce all kinds of equipment both for work and for entertainment, like the Anker Nebula Cosmos Max Projector. So when we learned that Anker makes a Bluetooth speakerphone, we were eager to take a look!

The Anker PowerConf S3 has an oblong housing that measures 4.88 inches wide, 4.84 inches long, and 1.18 inches thick. The frame and back of the housing are constructed from a charcoal-colored plastic. On the top surface, there’s a black fabric speaker cover, which is stiff, but soft to the touch. There’s also an alternative blue variant, with a matching blue plastic housing. In the center of the top surface, there’s a little touchpad with all the controls. The mute button is smack dab in the middle, with the call/answer button just above it. The volume buttons are off to the sides, and the play button is underneath. The power and Bluetooth buttons are in the front of the housing, with their own separate LED indicators. Like the Jabra speakerphone, the kit comes with a padded zipper case for transport.

This speakerphone can be connected to your phone or computer. It’s compatible with all operating systems, from Windows to Mac, as well as iPhones and Androids. To connect to your phone, you’ll need to use the Bluetooth connection. You can also use Bluetooth to connect to your computer. But when you’re using Bluetooth, you’re draining the battery. Admittedly, this isn’t that bad of a thing. With 24 hours of call time, the 6,700mAh internal battery packs quite a punch. But you can also use the USB Type-C cable to connect to your computer. This frees you from the limitations of using the battery. The same USB port is also used to charge the battery, which only takes a couple of hours.

The audio quality on the PowerConf S3 is excellent, both on the receiving and the sending side. An advanced voice optimization algorithm filters out background noise. It also boosts the human voice above other sounds in the environment, like keyboards clacking. There’s another algorithm that’s designed to detect when multiple people are speaking. This software will attempt to eliminate cross-talk, so you’re not missing chunks of a multi-sided conversation. How well you hear the other person will depend more on their mic than anything else. But the speaker here will do an excellent job of reproducing whatever sound is sent to it.

Inside of the housing, there’s a total of six microphones, arrayed in six directions. This allows for even audio pickup from all directions, so nobody sounds too quiet or too loud. In addition, the software can detect when you’re moving closer or further from the mic. The result is that you can walk around the room while you’re talking. The software will adjust your volume up as you move further away, and louder when you get closer. From the other party’s perspective, it will be just like you were sitting still in front of your speakerphone.

eMeet M2 Max

eMeet is a company that specializes in communications technology. For example, we’ve reviewed the eMeet Luna, and we very much enjoyed it. As a result, we decided their newest Bluetooth speakerphone would be well worth investigating.

The eMeet M2 Max has a circular housing, constructed from durable black plastic. It has a diameter of 7.4 inches and a thickness of 1.77 inches, with a domed top. Most of the top surface is perforated for the internal speaker, but there’s also a center control panel. Right in the middle, you’ll find a large mute button. Arrayed in a circle around that, there are call, Bluetooth, volume, daisy chain, and power buttons. There’s a little Bluetooth dongle as well, which snaps into a socket in the bottom of the housing.

This speakerphone gives you four different ways to connect to your devices. You can use a direct USB connection to save batteries and minimize latency. You can use the USB dongle for a quick wireless connection. Alternatively, you can use a 3.5mm aux cable, to connect to any Android phone or computer. And of course, you can use Bluetooth, which gives you a battery life of 8 to 12 hours. All connection modes support full duplex. This means that upstream and downstream transmissions come through simultaneously. As a result, your audio won’t get cut off because the other person started talking.

Using a 3.5mm patch cable, you can connect two M2 Max speakerphones together. Press the daisy chain button, and both speakerphones will act as if they were one. This is useful for larger conference rooms, where one speakerphone may not cover the entire space. As an added bonus, you can also pair two phones with one speaker simultaneously via Bluetooth. That way, you can receive a call on either line. You can even pair with a phone via Bluetooth, and use a USB cord or dongle to connect to a computer.

There are four directional mics inside the housing, pointing in four different directions. This ensures excellent pickup quality from anywhere in the room. The internal speaker is very loud at the highest setting, enough to fill a large space. If you’re concerned about not getting enough volume, that’s not going to be an issue here. To maximize audio quality, there’s a set of three layers of rubber insulation around each mic. This prevents them from being disturbed by room vibrations, or vibrations from the speakers.

Final Verdict

So, which one of these Bluetooth speakerphones is the best for your home office? A lot depends on what you’re looking for. The Jabra Speak 710 UC is versatile enough for home or office use. When it stands up, you get great directionality for a one-person phone call. When it’s laying down, the omnidirectional mic will pick up sound from the whole room. We also liked the option to pair two speakerphones, since you can cover a very large space.

The Anker PowerConf S3 is a little more limited in terms of connectivity. There’s no USB dongle, so you either use a wired connection or Bluetooth. That said, the software is out of this world. It does a great job of tracking you if you tend to pace during phone calls. And if there are multiple speakers, any cross-talk will be reduced to a minimum.

The eMeet M2 Max is a powerful speakerphone with a loud maximum volume. It can be daisy chained, and you can pair two phones with a single speaker. This gives you plenty of flexibility to use the speakerphone in different situations. It also provides quality audio, with excellent vibration protection to keep the internal mics safe.

VoiceXpert

USB and Bluetooth speakerphones

VoiceXpert VXA-110-U – Personal USB Speakerphone, DSP Audio, Hi-Fi Speaker, 3.5mm Jack

Article: VXA-110-U

Personal speakerphone
USB connection
Illuminated “Mute” button
Volume keys
Coverage up to 3 meters
Compatible with Astra Linux OS (Certificate)
Tested for compatibility with conference services: Yandex. Telebridge (Yandex 360), VK calls, Kontur.Talk, Videobridge

VoiceXpert VXA-120-UB – personal USB/Bluetooth speakerphone, HD audio, speaker, built-in battery

Article: VXA-120-UB

Personal speakerphone
USB and Bluetooth connection
Battery 2000 mAh, up to 8 hours of operation
Volume keys
Status indicators
Reach up to 4 meters
Tested for compatibility with conference services: Yandex.Telebridge (Yandex 360), VK calls, Kontur.Talk, Videobridge

VoiceXpert VXA-211-W – Wireless USB/Bluetooth speakerphone with wireless microphone kit, DSP audio, Hi-Fi speaker, built-in battery

Article: VXA-211-W

Speakerphone with wireless microphone set for audience up to 14 people
USB and wireless Bluetooth connection
4-microphone array up to 8 meters
Hi-Fi speaker
3000 mAh battery (up to 10 hours talk time)
Echo and noise reduction, dynamic speech enhancement
Two wireless microphones included

VoiceXpert VXA-210-UBE – USB/Bluetooth speakerphone with wired microphones, DSP audio, Hi-Fi speaker, built-in battery

Article: VXA-210-UBE

Speakerphone for small to medium rooms
USB and Bluetooth connectivity;
4-microphone array with coverage up to 8 meters;
Hi-Fi speaker
3000 mAh battery (up to 10 hours talk time)
Echo and noise reduction, dynamic speech enhancement
Two wired microphones included
Tested for compatibility with conference services: Yandex. Telebridge (Yandex 360), VK calls, Kontur.Talk, Videobridge

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Jabra SPEAK 510 MS: High quality speakerphone with omnidirectional microphone and Bluetooth connectivity / Conferencing comfort speakers

157510-109

Complementary Technologies Wideband Audio Unified UC Communications Phone Conferencing Function Softphone PC-Suite Phone Pairing Omnidirectional (Omni) Noise Filtering DSP Noise SuppressionCategory Contact Center OfficeProduct Type Wired Headset Wireless Headset SpeakerphoneConnection Type Bluetooth USB Wired-WirelessOperating Conditions Average Noise LevelStereo Sound Connectivity Softphone Mobile Phone Tablet Talk time More than 4 24 7510-109 Rs. In response to these needs, Jabra has developed the Jabra Speak 510, which combines all the benefits of the previous model with Bluetooth connectivity, making the Jabra Speak 510 a truly mobile device.

Compact and easy to carry

The Jabra Speak 510 is the perfect companion for your communications needs. With its compact design and built-in travel case, it’s easy to carry and great for use in your workspace or small rooms. Whether you’re hosting an on-the-fly conference at another office or you’re traveling, collaboration is much easier with the Jabra Speak 510.

Intelligent audio for your conferences

The Jabra Speak 510 MS is equipped with a powerful microphone and speaker for 360-degree audio. This means that all conference participants in the room can actively participate in the conversation, regardless of the location of the device itself.

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