The 4 Best Outdoor Speakers of 2025
Top pick
This rock-shaped Bluetooth speaker is incredibly easy to set up and use. It doesn’t sound as full as our other picks, but it’s great for casual outdoor listening.
The Victrola Rock Speaker Connect is the easiest way to set up a music system in your backyard. You don’t need to run any wires, connect a power cable, or even turn a screw. Just set it down and pair it with your phone through Bluetooth, and you get year-round outdoor sound.
It has built-in Bluetooth and a solar panel. The Rock Speaker Connect works exactly like a portable Bluetooth speaker, except you may never have to plug it in for a recharge because a solar panel on the top charges the internal battery. We found that even in Seattle’s intermittent spring sunshine, the solar panel eliminated the need for charging through the USB-C jack.
Even with the solar panel covered, the speaker played at about 80 decibels (a comfortable listening level that probably won’t annoy your neighbors) for 31 hours after a full charge.
The only setup required is to pair the speaker to your phone, tablet, or other Bluetooth-enabled audio player. You can wirelessly connect as many as 20 of the speakers to run in sync from the same source, making it easy to cover large yards.
The rock-shaped design sits on the ground, so you don’t need to install a speaker bracket or climb a ladder.
It sounds like a good portable Bluetooth speaker. The Rock Speaker Connect is a two-way design, with a 4.5-inch woofer and a 0.5-inch tweeter. It has a clear and reasonably full sound that’s comparable to what we’ve heard from some of the larger inexpensive portable Bluetooth speakers we’ve tested, such as the W-King X10.
The molded, rock-shaped cabinet is surprisingly sturdy, so it doesn’t produce the annoying vibrations and rattles that plague many cheap outdoor speakers.
The Bluetooth range is excellent. In our tests, the range was about 110 feet, which should be enough even for a large backyard. It doesn’t have a speakerphone built in, but when you answer a call on your phone, the sound playing through the speaker pauses and you can converse on the phone. When you hang up, the speakers start playing again.
Victrola sells the Rock Speaker Connect individually, not in pairs, and it comes in three colors: stone, sandstone, and granite.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
The IP rating is a bit low. The Rock Speaker Connect’s IP54 rating means it’s dust-resistant and splashproof. That should protect it against occasional rain showers, but it may not resist a strong blast from a hose—something that could easily happen if you place it in your garden.
I found that, after leaving the speaker outside through a rainy Pacific Northwest winter, some water was able to leak in and short out the electronics. I’ve also seen a few complaints on Amazon about the product failing after a few months. Two other samples we’ve purchased are running fine so far, and we will continue to long-term test them.
The 4.5-inch woofer can’t touch the bass performance of our other picks. If you’re a fan of hip-hop, R & B, or heavy rock, this speaker’s sound may not satisfy, and it wouldn’t be a good choice for pool parties.
