The 5 Best Retro Bluetooth Speakers You Can Find on Amazon

What do you get when you cross nostalgia with portable audio? A boatload of retro-designed speakers. Over the past few years, many consumer technology devices, including Bluetooth speakers, have become smaller, sleeker, and a little less stylish. Brands like JBL, Bose, and Sony also prioritize simple setups and ease of use, so your brand new speaker can be out of the box and streaming music in just a few minutes. But not all manufacturers try to keep the appearance simple.

Retro gadgets are making a comeback, and Bluetooth speakers are having their moment to shine in an old-fashioned way. We’re talking woven speaker grilles, analog-style knobs, and faux wood finishes, but these are paired with modern Bluetooth capabilities and other audio features. Fortunately, a handful of speaking companies have embraced this mix of new and old, and the results are quite impressive.

However, retro versions are popular right now, so there are hundreds of older-looking Bluetooth speakers to choose from. As you might have guessed, some of them aren’t very good. But there are plenty of great products that offer vintage charm and great sound, and a few of these speakers won’t even hurt your bank account too much. It’s our job to dig up the needles in the haystack, so let’s dive into our list of the five best retro Bluetooth speakers you can find on Amazon.

The first retro-style Bluetooth speaker we’d like to discuss is the $300 JBL Authentics 300, a feature-rich device with a cool appearance. Sporting a leather casing, Quadrex grille, and cast aluminum handle, the Authentics 300 recalls a ’70s aesthetic that we can’t help but love. But looks aren’t everything, and we’re just as happy to highlight the built-in speakers, including a 5.25-inch woofer with a 6.5-inch passive radiator and a pair of 25mm tweeters.

If you’ve never heard the sound of a JBL speaker before, the Authentics 300 is one of the best places to start. Out of the box, the speaker offers bass adjustment that can be customized using the bass and treble knobs and the JBL One app. The Authentics 300 uses Bluetooth 5.3, but it also has built-in Wi-Fi capabilities, allowing you to pair the speaker to the 2.4GHz and 5GHz network bands to access AirPlay, Alexa Multi-Room Music (MRM), and other music streaming platforms.

What Hi-Fi gave the Authentics 300 a rating of 4 out of 5 and felt the speaker offered powerful sound and intuitive controls. More than 250 Amazon users shared their feedback on the JBL product, earning it a rating of 4.4 out of 5. The praise was similar to What Hi-Fi’s thoughts, although a handful of people had connectivity issues with Alexa, Google Home, and AirPlay. It’s also worth mentioning that if you plan to use it portable (up to eight hours of battery life), it’s not the lightest speaker to take on the go.

Although Marshall is best known for its prolific line of guitar and bass amplifiers, the company also makes Bluetooth speakers that pay homage to its favorite musicians’ gear. The $200 Marshall Acton III features a classic Marshall aesthetic and comes in three colors: midnight blue, black, or cream. The Acton III supports Bluetooth 5.2 LE and has a 3.5mm headphone jack if you want to connect a device directly to the speaker. Measuring 10.3 inches high, 6.7 inches wide, and 5.9 inches front to back, it’s also the perfect size for portability.

The mesh covering, brass control knobs and Marshall script give this speaker a vintage look. One thing to keep in mind is that the Acton III doesn’t have a built-in battery or IP rating. This means you’ll want to keep this speaker away from water but near a wall outlet for power. PCMag gave the Acton III a 3.5 out of 5 and found its out-of-the-box sound quality to be impressive. That said, the reviewer did notice some slight deep bass distortion at higher volumes.

The Amazon audience has been very kind to the Acton III, with over 2,300 users providing feedback, earning the speaker a 4.8 rating. People generally like the looks and performance of this Marshall speaker, but a few users complained that the Bluetooth standby feature was too aggressive. Apparently there’s no way to disable the setting in the Marshall app, so if you haven’t played audio from a host device for 10 minutes, it will automatically disconnect from the Acton III.

Klipsch strives to keep things classic. The company’s iconic horn-shaped drivers have been a staple visual element of its bookshelf and floor-standing speakers for many years, and the $275 Klipsch The One Plus is vintage charm done right. While you won’t find any Klipsch horns, behind this Bluetooth speaker’s fabric grille are a pair of 2.25-inch full-range drivers and a 4.5-inch woofer. But how does this translate into sound quality? According to Tom’s Guide, the One Plus offers “great sound, clear, loud and punchy.”

The speaker supports Bluetooth 5.3, and your host device should stay connected as long as it is within 40 feet of the One Plus. This is the second Bluetooth speaker on our list to require a wired connection for power, but its 12 x 6.39 x 6-inch (WDH) footprint and lightweight build make it easy to move the speaker from one outlet to another. Conveniently, it even has a 3.5mm jack and USB-C for wired playback, and the latter can also be used to charge a phone, tablet, or other small gadgets.

More than 440 Amazon users have written about the One Plus, earning it 4.2 stars out of 5. Most people like the sound of the speaker, its ease of use, and the robustness of the companion app. That said, we’ve read a number of complaints about Streaming Mode, a feature that lets you pair multiple One Plus speakers together. Apparently it just doesn’t work very well, so hopefully Klipsch will fix the issues via a firmware update.

Edifier has been making speakers since 1996, and if you want a retro Bluetooth speaker that won’t break the bank, you should consider the $80 Edifier MP230. This small-sized device uses Class-D amplification to push out up to 70 watts, and its vintage enclosure is acoustically optimized to deliver punchy, distortion-free sound. The MP230 connects wirelessly to phones, laptops and other host devices via Bluetooth 5.0, while also including additional options such as 3.5mm Aux, USB-C and a microSD card slot.

The MP230 offers up to nine hours of playback on a full charge and charges via USB-C. We’re also big fans of the retro-style piano key buttons on the front of the speaker, which control functions like Bluetooth pairing, play/pause, and volume. Reviewed by TechHive, the MP230 earned four stars and was praised for its mid-century shell and effective stereo imaging. “If the look delights, so will the sound,” wrote critic James Barber.

On Amazon, the Edifier MP230 has a rating of 4.6 with 100 reviews. While not a party speaker by any means, the MP230 is a fantastic addition to a nightstand or kitchen counter.

Finally, we have the Victrola Willow, a retro-inspired Bluetooth speaker from a brand that has been around for a while. “Vintage” is the name of the game with this little device, which measures 6.3 inches high, 9.5 inches wide and 4.9 inches long. Everything from the wooden casing to the woven grille to the front dials makes this speaker feel like a blast from the past. There’s even an AM/FM tuner to tune in to local and regional stations.

The Willow is sold in three finishes: Walnut, Espresso and Natural. This is another Bluetooth speaker that also requires wired power, so it will need to be placed near a wall outlet. Over 7,400 Amazon users have given their feedback on this model, earning the speaker a 4.4 rating. Many customers like the look and sound quality, but a few users have reported poor AM/FM performance. We understand that Victrola may not have the same appeal as some of the other brands we’ve mentioned, but the Willow was too cool a Bluetooth speaker for us not to highlight it.

Bluetooth speakers aren’t hard to find, but vintage speakers that still sound great are a harder niche to fill. Luckily, there are plenty of notable audio brands behind many retro-inspired Bluetooth speakers, and we’ve made sure to highlight reliable manufacturers for each of our five picks. We also relied on hands-on professional reviews and Amazon user feedback to help us understand the pros and cons.