Google Home Max

[TeaLeaf]

I snagged one of these whilst they are down at £199 rather than the £399 RRP, although to be fair they are usually found discounted to £299.

Build quality is great, and darn the thing is heavy.  Sound quality seems excellent for a speaker effectively producing a mono sound.   I've sorely tempted to add a second and pair it for stereo.  As a pair of hi-fi speakers I am sure other things would give it a run for its money at £400, but as a smart speaker I have been seriously impressed in particular with the bottom end these things produce.

[Chaosphere]

There are many options now in the smart / wireless speaker market. Many involve you buying into one ecosystem or another, but there are often ways to mix and match that don't cost the earth. Compared to a few years ago, most offer pretty good sound quality, from what I've read.

We recently got one of these - https://www.audiopro.com/en/product/addon-c5/#white

I'm about to get some more traditional floorstanders for the lounge, but for ease of use and simplicity things like this are great, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the speaker above.