The demand by audiophiles craving the convenience of high fidelity sound in a single device has compelled the premium wireless speaker industry to blossom. Innovation in this category has evolved at a rapid rate over recent years.

High-end speakers now have smart functionalities that you can use thanks to voice assistants such as Google Assistant and Amazon’s Alexa. You can now ask your speaker to tell you about the weather, read you the news, and most importantly, play your favorite tracks.

Designer speakers have incredible sound quality to match their smart skills. Most of them come with a bass knock so powerful that it will give you instant goosebumps. Not only are they smart and loud, but they also look immaculate when it comes to appearances.

High-end speakers are available in meticulously designed shapes such as spheres, wedges, cylinders, oblongs, and even teardrops.

If you are in search of a speaker with impeccable design, high versatility, sound that’s simply out of this world, and a load of stunning features, continue reading our comprehensive list of the best designer speakers you’ll find on the market in 2021.

1. Bang & Olufsen BeoSound 2

You would be forgiven for thinking the Bang & Olufsen BeoSound 2 is a small device when you look at it for the first time. That’s until you listen to its deeply satisfying musical prowess.

The Bang & Olufsen BeoSound 2 has a small, unique design that is too intriguing not to look at even when it’s not playing anything. It has a thick casing (available in both silver and gold) of extruded aluminum with finely sculptured edges.

When it comes to audio, this speaker offers 360-degree sound output which means you can place it anywhere in a room and you will still get incredible sound quality.  Even at the limits of its peaks, it nonchalantly offers excellent tonal variation.

The Bang & Olufsen BeoSound 2 will upgrade your listening experience so much so that everything you enjoy from beat-pounding hip-hop to chilled lo-fi beats will feel like new music.

It is the ultimate premium choice for a powerful, portable sound system.

2.  Devialet Gold Phantom

The Devialet Gold Phantom is one of those speakers that completely changes your perception of audio.

At first glance, it looks like a mysterious object. It gets even more dramatic when it starts to play. This speaker has a power of 4500W making it capable of insanely high peak volume levels that might cause vibrations in your house’s foundation. It has a very impressive punch and low-frequency speed in-tune with a deep, fast-moving bassline.

Its design is nothing short of magnificent. Weighing in at just over 11kg, the build is spectacular and rightly authoritative. It’s 25cm wide and a centimeter more in height. It has a spherical shape that makes for easy positioning and similarly simple to use.

The one downside to this speaker is that it is not Roon-compatible so you might have to use it as an AirPlay device.

3. Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar

Surprisingly enough, Sennheiser was not immediately moved by the Bluetooth speaker trend.

For a while, the German brand refrained from releasing smart speakers, choosing to operate within its comfort zone of headphones. But the advent of Dolby Atmos prompted Sennheiser to eventually step into the market with the Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar.

This designer speaker is much bigger, measuring 14cm tall and 127cm wide. Not only is it better, but it is also a lot fussier than other competing Dolby Atmos soundbars. That’s not the only edge this beast has over other speakers within its category.

While most soundbars often combine multiple small drivers with an external sub, Sennheiser chose to build this soundbar with bigger drivers that can cover a wider portion of the frequency range thus eliminating the need for a separate subwoofer.

The Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar has four HDMI ports that support HDR and 4K. As far as connectivity goes, this device is Bluetooth enabled and is also compatible with Chromecast as well as a Sennheiser Smart Control app.

4. Master & Dynamic MA770

This may be hard to believe but the Master & Dynamic MA770 is a speaker that’s made of concrete composite. However, by using unorthodox materials to make this product, the New York-based company managed to create something truly special.

The speaker weighs an incredible 16.5 kilos which may make it difficult to carry to the other room. But when it comes to audio delivery, the Master & Dynamic MA770 produces heavy and substantial sound than you’d expect.

This high-end speaker has what most would say a sculptural build, perhaps inspired by its material. It looks slabby on the front and has two 4-inches woven kevlar drivers positioned in the middle. Across the bottom is an aluminum strip with power, volume, and input selection controls.

It doesn’t pack a lot of features but the few that are there have been highly prioritized. It has a built-in Google Chromecast which allows for multi-room connectivity and a digital-to-analog converter that will take files of any size.

5. KEF LS50 Wireless

For the past 50 years, KEF has produced speakers with great aesthetics and phenomenal sound, and the KEF LS50 Wireless high-performance powered speakers are a great example.

KEF LS50 Wireless speakers are perfect for those audiophiles who believe that stereo sound has to come from more than one speaker. They may not be an entire home theater system but they have certainly reduced the box count to just two.

These KEFs are arranged in a classic master and slave setup. All sources go to the master speaker which links to the slave through an ethernet cable. It has a dedicated Android and iOS app with EQ presets depending on where the speaker is placed.

However, the app doesn’t allow users to change input modes because it functions only in streaming mode. It also doesn’t change volume until you let go of the volume control which makes volume adjustment a bit difficult.

But these are no deal-breakers although it makes living with the speakers a bit messier than it should.

The Bottom Line

Thanks to a diverse market of hard-knocking designer speakers, you no longer have to compromise on quality for your money. To get the best value for your money, make sure you consider your ideal speaker’s tech functionality, audio quality, and multi-room capabilities.

Start with the speakers highlighted above since they have everything you should look for in a premium device. They are stylish, powerful, and boast plenty of features that you will not find in an average wireless speaker.