Five upwardly mobile speakers to ensure the party follows you indoors, outdoors, into the shower

THERE’S only so much fun you can have listening to music from your phone — unless you add a powerful, portable speaker to the mix.

Five ways to make parties portable

THERE’S only so much fun you can have listening to music from your phone ... unless you add a powerful, portable speaker to the mix.

Braven Mira

Sol Republic / 3.5/5 / $129.99 / braven.com

Braven Mira speaker.

If you’re a shower singer, this could be the speaker for you. The Mira has a rubber cover over its ports and an IPX5 water rating that means it’s just the thing to hang off a tap in the shower using the hook that doubles as a stand. Leave your phone safely in another room and you can control play and volume using large buttons around the edge of its circular face. It also doubles as a phone speaker, although you probably want to get out of the shower before you take a call.

Bang & Olufsen BeoPlay A2

Bang & Olufsen / 4.5/5 / $479 / beoplay.com/a2

B&O Play BeoPlay A2 speakers.

It’s hard not to be impressed by the style and quality of this speaker, with its retro look and leather handle. An aluminium core is covered by a polymer shell, giving the portable device added toughness. The design has a channel on each side of the box, plus a tweeter out back, delivering a genuine 360-degree sound experience with surprisingly little distortion at full volume. You can connect your audio device using Bluetooth or an auxiliary port, and it also has a USB port for charging devices. The A2 also offers a battery life of up to 24 hours and can be wirelessly paired with up to eight devices.

BenQ TreVolo

BenQ / 4/5 / $399 / benq.com.au

BenQ TreVolo speaker.

The TreVolo stands out from the ever-increasing wireless speaker crowd in two ways: appearance and structure. It’s a small, wedge-shaped speaker that will fit in a corner, but the two side flaps fold out to fill a room with sound. It uses electrostatic technology that uses a flat-panel design rather than a traditional speaker cone. It is pitched at the audiophile with a keen ear, being programmed with three presets to suit the music. There are cheaper speakers on the market but its features will appeal to those looking for more than just a basic speaker.

Definitive Technology W7

Definitive Technology / 3.5/5 / $649 / advanceaudio.com.au

Definitive Technology W7

It might not win beauty contests but this speaker has a method to its form, with the cube shape allowing music to bounce off walls. The W7 only uses wi-fi or Ethernet connections for music streaming, rather than Bluetooth, which might make it fiddly to set up. It is part of a wider family of speakers capable of playing different music in every room and from different sources, including streaming services. If you’re looking to invest in a family of speakers, this offers a credible alternative to the brands already popular in that market.

NudeAudio Super M

NudeAudio / 4/5 / $149 / nudeaudio.com.au

NudeAudio Super M speaker.

The large version of the Super M is about the size of a pocket transistor radio but infinitely cooler. It has an IPX5 rating so it’s okay to take into the shower (using the handy shoelace-like cord) but don’t try to listen to music underwater. It has a 10m Bluetooth range and an eight-hour battery life. A silicon bumper sleeve protects it from knocks, and it offers a few simple buttons including on, off and volume control. It doubles as a phone speaker and although it’s small, it delivers sound quality close to some of the others on this page.