Today we are having some fun as we look for the best small vintage speakers. Not too long ago we had a look at Best Vintage Speakers Under $500 which featured more higher-end speakers that will cost you a fair bit of money. That is not really the spirit of what we are looking at today. Today, we are looking at much smaller and compact speakers that first of all do not take up a lot of space in your home, but also do not take much money from you either. All of the speakers we are looking at today are priced between 20 and 110 bucks so there is a good mixture of products here.
Small Stature, Small Price, Big Expectations
Ok, so if you are spending under 100 bucks for a speaker, you have to be realistic with the sound quality that you are going to get. I would wager that these speakers we are looking at today will sound better than the speaker on your phone. However, as we are looking for the best small vintage speakers, you do also have to be realistic with your expectations. You cannot spend 50 bucks on a cool looking speaker that has a design from the 1950s and expect it to rock the house! By the way, if “vintage” is your thing when it comes to music be sure to look at our Top 6 Automatic Vintage Turntables guide which has some awesome retro style turntables to look at.
Our 5 Best Small Vintage Speakers Reviews
I have personally tested three of the speakers that we are looking at today and for the other two, I thought that they had a kind of funky and cool design so I decided to pick them too as they were fun.
- Edifier R1280T Powered Bookshelf Speakers
- Klipsch R-41M Home Speakers
- Trenbader.com Retro Bluetooth Speak
- Greadio Walnut Wooden FM Radio
- BIGJOY Retro Music Speaker
1. Edifier R1280T Powered Bookshelf Speakers
To say that I love these Edifier R1280T Powered Bookshelf Speakers is a massive understatement. These are priced at a very reasonable $99.99 and I think that is excellent value for money, especially when you consider the fact that Edifier is a brand name. I just love the design of these speakers and as we are looking for the best small vintage speakers, I feel that that they do have a rather vintage look to them. The classic woodgrain style that these have just screams 70s and 80s to me. I remember as a kid, my grandparent’s living room had all kinds of woodgrain stuff. The black grille on the front really does finish the design of these off very nicely. It is worth noting that there is no Bluetooth here. These are designed with being hooked up to a record player or a stereo in mind so please keep that in mind. They are easy enough to set up with your standard jacks right on the back. On the side of the speakers, You do have a volume dial, but you also have dials for treble and bass too. They even give you a remote control which is a nice bonus.
Even though these are priced at around the 100 bucks mark and they are a rather compact 6.9 x 9.5 x 5.8 inches in their size. They do have a bit more power than you would think. It is not going to completely fill the room or anything like that, but for kicking back and listening to some records these are more than good enough. The 4-inch driver gives these way more kick than I was expecting and in all, I was impressed with the sound quality. Plus, you do have those dials on the side so you can play around and get things just the way that you want. I have used many other speakers at this price range and I would put these near the top for sound quality.
What Other People Are Saying
I found this really neat video review and unboxing that not only gives you a better idea of the size of these things along with the style. They also have a sound test and the video is very complimentary about the sound quality. On Amazon, these are some of the best reviewed speakers that you will ever see! As I write this there are the better part of 12,000 customer reviews and 94 percent of these are positive!
For around 100 bucks I have to say that these Edifier R1280T Powered Bookshelf Speakers are very tough to beat. I think that the sound quality these provide you at this price range is some of the best around. However, as it is the best small vintage speakers, we are looking for today, I do also think that their design is very vintage and retro, especially if it is a wood grain kind of thing you are going for.
Pros:
- These do have a real retro charm to them
- They come with speaker cable which is a nice bonus
- You can play around with the bass and treble
- For the asking price, the sound quality is great
Cons:
- These do not have Bluetooth
- I guess you do have to like woodgrain to like these
2. Klipsch R-41M Home Speakers
Next up we have these fantastic looking Klipsch R-41M Home Speakers. I have had the opportunity to check out a lot of products from Klipsch over the years and I thought these were perfect for our list today. These are the most expensive speakers on our list today as they are currently priced at $112 which for a set of speakers from these guys is not a bad price at all if you ask me. The reason I think their style fits the whole best small vintage speaker’s thing we have going on today is that they just scream the 1980s to me. In the mid to late 80s, everything had to be black and it was cool, that is the kind of vibe I am getting from these speakers and that is meant in the most complimentary way possible.
These are a tad bigger than the offering from Edifier that we just looked at as the dimensions are, 7.87 x 5.75 x 11.3 inches. Still, these do take up very little space they are just a little taller, but those extra inches are worth it. Klipsch has been very clever with the design of these speakers as they feature their “tractrix horn technology” basically, it ensures you can crank the volume up and not have to worry about a bunch of reverb ruining things. I had a lot of fun playing some of my favorite records such as Guns n Roses Greatest Hits vinyl and I had these loud and it was very nice and clear.
What Other People Are Saying
What I love about this video review is that it was titled Small Speaker, Big Sound and that was what caught my attention. Be sure to give it a watch if you want to see these things in action. Also, I noticed a lot of people in the comments section were singing the praises of these speakers too. On Amazon, these are currently sitting at a very nice and pretty 95 percent 4 and 5 stars when it comes to customer reviews and as of writing, there are over 2 thousand reviews for these speakers.
These, Klipsch R-41M Home Speakers really are awesome. I love the 80s so that black ash kind of design is something that really sits well with me. I think if that is the kind of style you are into, these have to be the speakers that you strongly consider getting. The asking price is the highest of the speakers we are looking at today, but I think you are getting tremendous value for money with these things.
Pros:
- That design just screams the 1980s to me and that is very cool!
- They have a very sleek design overall
- These provide some very impressive power
- The asking price is more than reasonable
Cons:
- These are wired only so no Bluetooth connectivity
- I understand that the black design might not be to everyone’s taste
3. Trenbader.com Retro Bluetooth Speaker
I was actually sent the Trenbader.com Retro Bluetooth Speaker to check out a while back and have just recently got round to doing so. This is the kind of thing that I bet most people are looking for when they want to know what the best small vintage speakers are. This comes in three different colors, but it is the wood one that I got to play around with, black and blue are also available. This is priced at a very reasonable, $56.99 and it does have Bluetooth connectivity so you can stream your favorite albums and playlists from your phone through this. It does also have an AUX port so you can connect things to it that way too. Also, this has a built-in radio and I freaking love the old timey radio dial that it has, now that is a lot of fun. This is fully portable and you get a very impressive 10 to 12 hours from a single charge with it.
I cannot stress how compact this thing is, coming in at only 5.32 x 3.62 x 2.38 inches. With this compact size in mind, you have to be realistic about the sound quality. Did this blow me away? No, but the sound was perfectly passable, it was nice and clear and I was pleasantly surprised with how loud this thing could get and still not have any kind of distortion to ruin the experience. There is one other thing I have to mention and it is super weird. You can paint the grille. That is right, this can have its grille changed and you can paint it if you like. I never did this and I am not sure what the point is. Plus, if the grille is covered in paint would that not at least in a small way, affect the sound that you are getting? Still, if you are an artistic type, I guess this could be something you are interested in.
What Other People Are Saying
There is not exactly a ton of reviews for this on Amazon. As of me writing this, there are 99, hell I am tempted to write one myself to get them to the 100! This is currently sitting at 75 percent for 4- and 5-star reviews which is not the best, but most of the complaints do seem to be from people who may have had unrealistic expectations. Ok, so this video showcase may be short, but it does show you just how tiny this thing is, even the coffee mug is bigger!
I felt that I had to put this Trenbader.com Retro Bluetooth Speaker on our best small vintage speakers list. This is great if you want a speaker that is fun, has a very old-school kind of design, and is very affordable. The fact this is completely wireless and can give you half a day of use off a single charge is great. The Bluetooth connectivity is wonderful and perfect if all you do is stream music on your phone.
Pros:
- I really do dig the retro design of this speaker
- It costs around 50 bucks which is a great price
- It is very easy to use and I loved the old timey radio dial
- The battery life this has is very impressive and means you can take it anywhere
Cons:
- What is the deal with the whole “art” aspect of this speaker?
- Some people have said that theirs broke after a short while!
4. Greadio Walnut Wooden FM Radio
Here we have this Greadio Walnut Wooden FM Radio which can be yours for only 40 bucks! I love the very retro style that this thing has, it is a lot of fun to look at, and at 4.4 x 2.7 x 2 and under a pound in weight, it is crazy just how compact this thing is. I liked the walnut color, but there is also a cherry wood design too. This is supposed to look like a classic radio from the 1950s and I think they have really nailed the design very well. The retro radio dial is cool and I like the way the dial to change the volume, as well as the input, has been made to look old too. You can connect your phone to this via Bluetooth, but it does come with a micro-USB & AUX cable too.
Look, at the size, this thing is you have to be realistic about the sound quality. What made me decide this needed to be on our best small vintage speakers look was not just that 50s retro charm! I was also impressed by what I was reading, they claim that this thing has strong bass! I will admit that I am a bit skeptical of this, but I have been proven wrong before. This is completely wireless and it takes around four hours to be fully charged. Once it is fully charged you can get up to 9 hours of playback out of this which is not bad at all, especially considering the battery in this thing has to be pretty small. One other thing I have to mention is that they throw in a neat little carrying bag which will be handy if you take this thing on the go with you.
What Other People Are Saying
There are not actually a ton of reviews on the old YouTube for this thing, but I did find this one video review which is very complimentary of it. I like how you get a good idea of just how small this thing is. Also, you can see that the radio dial has a cool light up effect too. As of me writing this review, there are just over two thousand customer reviews for this on Amazon and I was very impressed to see that 90 percent of these reviews are positive. People seem to be pretty blown away by this thing and that is very cool to see.
I think that the Greadio Walnut Wooden FM Radio is one very funky looking, little vintage speaker. I love that 50s charm it has; it really does look like something you would see in an old movie and that is very cool. It has a very impressive battery life and the more I read about the sound quality, the more I want to get my hands on one of these so I can put it through its paces myself as it does sound very impressive.
Pros:
- This is awesome if you want something that looks like it is from the 50s
- To say this thing is small and lightweight is a massive understatement!
- The battery can give you up to 9 hours of playback
- It costs under 40 bucks which is a steal in my opinion
Cons:
- How loud can the sound really be is what I keep asking myself
- Some might not dig the 50s era design
5. BIGJOY Retro Music Speaker
I really wanted to close our search for the best small vintage speakers with something kind of strange and unusual (I myself and strange and unusual) Beetlejuice reference aside. You do not get much more strange looking than this, BIGJOY Retro Music Speaker. Before we get to the design, I have to talk about the price. As of me writing this article, $25.99 is the asking price for this! You can go to Burger King and spend more than that! It is clearly designed to look like an old-style record player and that is something I think is very cool. It is very similar actually to the LuguLake Record Player Retro Turntable which I also think is very cool. The dimensions for this are 7.1 x 4.3 x 4.3 inches so it takes up very little space, although I do worry about kids snapping the thing! On the back, you have a USB port, a line in, and your power.
This only takes 2 hours to be fully charged and with a full charge you are getting up to 6 hours of playback with it. It does come with a charging cable so that is cool. I am not sure what the sound is like as I have not personally tested this, but from what I read, it sounds like it is going to be in line with other portable Bluetooth speakers of this size and price range. It is not going to rock you like a hurricane (see what I did there?) however, I am sure for the average person, the sound is going to be more than fine. If I can be critical of one thing it is the plastic. I love the wooden design, but the black plastic they have used seems a bit at odds with the rest of the design.
What Other People Are Saying
With just over 100 customer reviews on Amazon, this is not exactly one of the most popular small speakers around. However, even though there are not a ton of reviews, 88 percent of the reviews that are on there are for either 4 or 5 stars so that is good to see. I could not actually find a video for this on YouTube which is kind of weird, but as I said, it does not appear to be a speaker that is all that well know about.
I do think that when you are scrolling on Amazon looking at speakers, the design of the BIGJOY Retro Music Speaker is always going to capture your attention. At first glance, I love the retro design of this, but there are a few things I would like to see improved. However, at the end of the day, they are selling this for around the 20 bucks mark so you cannot be too critical of it, can you?
Pros:
- I really do think that this has a fun retro design
- It comes with all you need inside the box
- A full charge only takes 2 hours
- It takes up very little space
Cons:
- If you have kids, you have to watch they do not snap the top of the speaker
- The black plastic looks very cheap
What Are The Best Small Vintage Speakers?
I have to say looking for the best small vintage speakers has been an absolute blast as many of these are a lot of fun. In terms of sound quality and overall build the Klipsch R-41M Home Speakers are my favorites and my winning pick. I love the black 80s design and they sound amazing. The Edifier R1280T Powered Bookshelf Speakers are also great and if you do not like the black color of the Klipsch speakers, you should go for these. If you want something portable, I can tell you firsthand that the Trenbader.com Retro Bluetooth Speaker is the way to go. It has that retro style, but the sound quality and the battery life are perfect if you want a speaker that you can take with you on the go.
