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Some days, we mope around in our tracksuit, feel sorry for ourselves and drink wine like water. On others? We workout at 8am, drink a juice and blast our favourite playlist (yanno, the labour-of-love aptly named “self isolation 2k20”/”lazy lockdown vibes”) all day long. If we play our music loud enough we can *just about* imagine we’re in Ibiza. Kind of.
The latter is our bank holiday weekend mood, and in lieu of being able to party as we usually would, we need the scientifically proven mood-booster of music to help us escape to a better place. Think of it as bringing your night-out game in house. Enter: the best at-home speakers, each designed to deliver said party playlist, your lunchtime podcasts or some chilled-out Sunday morning Bublé in high resolution.
One-box wireless speakers have got pretty damn good of late, offering high-quality sound, portability and customisable audio in one fell swoop. You can get surround-sound speakers, multi-room speakers, waterproof speakers and Bluetooth speakers – which still rock despite the surge in popularity of their ‘smart’ counterparts. Speaking of which, controlling your music with your voice has never been easier, thanks to the likes of Amazon’s Echo and the Bose Home 300 speaker which has built-in voice control from Google Assistant.
Our favourite all-rounder is the Sonos One. It’s sleek in design, easy to use and has great sound quality whether you’re in the garden or indoors. If you have a little more money to spend, the Bowers & Wilkins Formation Edge is hard to beat. It costs just short of £1,000, but the audio is so powerful, and you can connect it up to different devices in the range to extend the party to your entire house. If you want to recreate Glasto in your garden *cry*, the Sony SRS-XB32 speaker is for you. It has synchronised line lights and two strobe lights which flash in time with your music. Extra AF, just as we like it. For under £100, the Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2 is your best bet. It costs £70, has a 13 hour battery life and will withstand the future rigours of a day poolside.