I tested the best party speaker of 2026: this is the Marshall Bromley 450

I always enjoyed using Marshall's Bluetooth speakers; I bought a Stanmore 11 years ago, and it's still going strong. The Emberton III is my go-to choice for portability, and its small design combined with great sound and water-resistant chassis makes it ideal for use anywhere.

And then there's the Bromley 450. I've been using the portable Bluetooth speaker for just over a month now, and it is a powerhouse: it weighs 24lb, has two woofer units and four audio drivers that produce a 360-degree sound, comes with Auracast, and has RCA as well as XLR connectors that lets you easily start a karaoke party.

Basically, the Bromley 450 has everything you need to get a party started, and it is more powerful than most home-focused Bluetooth speakers I used, including the likes of the Stanmore. There's a price attached to all of this: the Bromley 450 costs $746 on Amazon as of writing. There are plenty of other speakers like the $279 Tribit StormBox Blast 2 (which I like a lot), but the Bromley 450 is in an entirely different league altogether.

There's also the small matter of the design; the Bromley 450 looks like an old-school Marshall amp, and that alone makes it worthy of consideration. Instead of a regular review, I'm going to highlight four things I liked the most about the Bromley 450, so let's dive in.

The Bromley 450 is the loudest Bluetooth speaker I used yet

The sheer size of the Bromley 450 has allowed Marshall to slot in a total of six driver units, and this leads to wall-rattling sound. This is designed to be a party speaker, and it absolutely nails the brief; even with the volume at 50%, the sound is loud enough to fill a decent-sized room, and crank it any higher than 80%, and you'll have the neighbors at your door.

It's not just the loudness either — the Bromley 450 sounds pretty great in its own right. The speaker has two 90W woofer units alongside four 55W drivers and two passive radiators, and you get a classic Marshall sound: engaging low-end with a lot of energy, clean mids that make guitar riffs stand out, and a soaring treble.

The orientation of the drivers means you get 360-degree sound, and it makes a big difference, particularly if you're looking for a party speaker.

Of course, like most Marshall speakers, you have full control over the tonality of the sound. There are physical controls to adjust the volume, bass, and treble, and the app allows you granular control over the equalizer.

Lastly, you can daisy-chain two Bromley 450 units; the speaker has aux in and out, and this makes it easier to connect two units to double the sound.

It connects to just about everything

The Bromley 450 has the best connectivity of any portable Bluetooth speaker around — it connects to just about everything. It uses Bluetooth 5.3 and Auracast, and it connects to two devices at once. I didn't see any issues with range in my testing, and it maintained a steady signal even at 30ft.

Where it stands out is the inputs; you get 3.5mm aux in and out, USB-C, RCA, and the ability to connect two instruments via XLR. You can easily hook up an XLR mic as well, and it's this versatility that makes it stand out. I predominantly tested the Bromley 450 with Bluetooth — I paired it with my Find X9 Ultra and Vivo X300 Ultra — but I also used it with RCA by plugging in my WiiM Pro Plus, and connected it to my Teenage Engineering OP-1 field synthesizer via 3.5mm.

Oh, and you can easily charge your phone with the speaker — the USB-C port charges at up to 15W. While it isn't as fast as a dedicated power bank, it's still nifty to have, and I like that Marshall included the feature.

This speaker is built for all-nighters — and it charges your phone

Marshall did all the right things when it comes to battery tech. The Bromley 450 uses an LiFePO4 battery that has better longevity than the standard lithium-ion batteries in most speakers.

The best part about the battery is that it is removable, and this gives the Bromley 450 a definite edge over other Bluetooth speakers. You can basically switch out the battery should it degrade down the line, and honestly, it's refreshing to see a manufacturer provide this in 2026. The battery itself doubles as a power bank, and it has USB-C.

It also makes charging effortless; I only had to charge the speaker once, and in that instance, I just took out the battery and connected it to a 100W USB PD charger. The Bromley 450 comes with a standard AC connector, but I found it much easier to just take out the battery and use USB-C instead. It takes over three hours to fully charge the battery, but there's fast charging that gives you six hours of music playback with just a 20-minute charge.

And when it comes to battery life, the Bromley 450 easily lasted over 40 hours with the volume set to 50%. This is a speaker that just doesn't quit, and it can easily handle all-night parties.

It has an iconic design that grabs attention

A big selling point of Marshall products is the classic design, and the Bromley 450 is its best showing yet. It has a domineering presence that immediately stands out, and the Marshall logo with the grille are all reminiscent of the brand's vintage amps.

Build quality is excellent, the edges are reinforced, and it gets IP55 dust and water resistance, making it ideal for pool parties. There's a carrying handle on the left that makes it easy to lug the Bromley 450 around, but there's no getting around the fact that this is an absolute unit.

I also like the physical controls; you get knobs to adjust the volume, bass, treble, a delightful power button, toggle to switch between connection modes, and knobs to adjust the volume of connected instruments, and add effects. It's just plain cool, and there's built-in lighting as well, with three effects. The lighting isn't distracting, and it makes the Bromley 450 that much more enjoyable to use.

Overall, the Bromley 450 is an absolute beast of a Bluetooth speaker. It gets louder than anything else I used in this category, it has the best design, connectivity, and battery life. You are paying quite a lot, but after a month of use, I can say with some confidence that it's worth it.

Marshall Bromley 450

There's no doubt in my mind that the Bromley 450 is the ultimate portable party speaker. It has wall-rattling sound, connects to everything, lasts an entire week, and looks cool.