If you're looking for a beastly behemoth to anchor your multi-speaker system, look no further than the Sonos Five. This recently redesigned speaker offered both the loudest sound and best quality in our testing, earning it top marks in fullness, bass power, and overall clarity. We also love that it nests perfectly within the Sonos ecosystem, which in our opinion, is the best and most convenient platform for building and managing a multi-speaker system.

Sensitive ears may find the harsh treble frequencies cause fatigue, but this can be rectified by adjusting the treble and bass dials on the top of the speakers. Two tweeters and a woofer are individually powered by Class D amps for a combined total of 80 watts of powerful sound. The Stanmore II’s advanced components combine to produce clean and precise audio, even at the highest volume. Fine-tune bass and treble via the analogue knob controls atop the speaker, or via the Marshall Bluetooth app (available on iOS and Android). If you want a speaker to move throughout your house and on the go while still maximizing sound quality, the Bose SoundLink Revolve+ II is ideal. The lightest speaker we tested, we were consistently impressed by its excellent sound design, which was never sacrificed at the altar of portability. If you feel the need to push this speaker beyond its singular capabilities, our testing found that the Bose SoundLink Revolve+ II's appropriately titled "party mode" allowed seamless pairing with other Bose SoundLink speakers. It can also link with the Bose Home series speakers via Bose SimpleSync. Furthermore, this speaker has an incredible battery life, a testament to this speaker's tremendous portability both within the home and on excursions out. Clattering synths and tactile percussion come through with sharpness and clarity - although, at times the higher frequencies can be slightly harsh, which can cause ear fatigue after a while.However, it’s getting to this stage that’s frustrating. Alexa’s iOS app isn’t very good, and you sometimes even have to use it to pair new Bluetooth devices, in addition to using it throughout the initial setup. We repeatedly tried to link our Philips Hue and Spotify accounts in it, but it constantly failed. In the end, we turned to the desktop and Alexa’s web interface. Not ideal. Marshall’s Voice app has an equalizer and a few other speaker adjustments, such as the brightness of the volume control lights. It’s reliable, if bland, and you have to install it to make the speaker work.

Connexion multi enceintes : Oui, regroupez plusieurs enceintes entre elles pour plus de puissance avec la même source musicale This speaker is boxy and brassy, with a set of no-nonsense knobs to twiddle, and we love it. None of that touch-sensitive control rubbish or a sci-fi look that’s only suitable for the ultra-minimalist here. Alexa may be able to do much of the everyday adjustments for you, but when you want more bass, you can also twist a big knob on the top. Doing so illuminates a scale around the edge, telling you instantly what level you’ve reached in a delightfully retro way. John Lewis plc, registered office: 171 Victoria Street, London SW1E 5NN. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Register no. 724309) for the purpose of introducing the credit provided by Creation Consumer Finance Ltd, registered office: Wellington Buildings, 2-4 Wellington Street, Belfast BT1 6HT.The Stanmore II is Marshall’s most versatile speaker, delivering a high-performance sound that’s ideal for any room, big or small. Connect by high-quality wireless Bluetooth, or in traditional wired fashion. The controls are fairly similar to those of the Marshall Woburn II, in that you have retro-looking dials to control the volume, bass, and treble output of the speaker - these dials are given a modern twist by the inclusion of micro-LEDs in place of the numbers, which light up as you turn them up and down.