Passive speakers are the easiest to understand--they're the speakers we all grew up with, and they're the speakers you need to complete a traditional audio system. They have no power supply of their own and need to receive an amplified electrical signal in order to function. So you don't plug them into the mains--instead, you wire them to an amplifier that provides the electrical impetus they need to create sound. Bluetooth, as you know, is a method of wirelessly streaming audio information--so a Bluetooth speaker has its own power supply (from the mains or batteries) and amplification, and once it receives a Bluetooth signal it can decode it and turn it into sound. A wireless speaker has its own source of power and its own amplification--and there's every chance it will be able to deal with a Bluetooth signal. But in addition, it can deal with audio information using a Wi-Fi network or cloud storage--so if you subscribe to a streaming service, its cloud-based service (such as Spotify Connect) is available without the need for a Bluetooth connection.

After spending so much time cooped up, most of us are ready to stay outside as much as possible this summer. With the weather warming up, we're already seeing visions of long beach days, camping weekends, park picnics and just about anything else that involves the great outdoors. On our list of necessities to make said activities a success, we count a great wireless speaker, like this stylish device that's currently on sale for 20 percent off. The LSTN Satellite 2.0 Wireless Speaker is small but mighty: It's just 3.5 inches tall and delivers crisp, clear sound for an impressive eight hours of battery life. That excellent audio quality comes courtesy of the 40mm 5W driver that provides a frequency range of 20Hz to 20kHz.

USA TODAY's Jefferson Graham takes a look (and listen) to the new Sonos Beam which incorporates Amazon's Alexa.voice The Santa Barbara, California company is set to go public. Sonos' premium wireless speakers have been a hit with consumers. Now the audio company is about to find out how it plays on Wall Street. The Santa Barbara, California-based company's shares will begin trading on Nasdaq on Thursday.

Roku is launching its own pair of wireless speakers for the living room. They're aimed at casual TV and movie watchers who want better audio, without the headache of having to install a complicated home audio system. However, you'll have to own a Roku TV in order for the wireless speakers to work. Roku is launching its own pair of wireless speakers for the living room. However, you'll have to own a Roku TV in order for the wireless speakers to work Roku on Monday launched its first pair wireless speakers.

The company's first foray into smart tech adds Amazon's Alexa to a great wireless speaker to create a formidable combo Thu 15 Feb 2018 02.00 EST Last modified on Thu 15 Feb 2018 02.02 EST Having practically invented the multi-room wireless speaker category in 2005, Sonos has lagged behind in the race to become smart. Now the Sonos One is here, packing Alexa in the top and premium audio in the bottom. The Sonos One is very deliberately designed to look, feel and sound like the company's successful Play: 1 – a compact wireless speaker launched in 2013 at about £150 that was arguably the best for the money for years. Side-by-side they look identical apart from the top of the speaker, which is flat on the One, perforated by holes for the microphones that enable the voice assistant to hear you. The 161mm tall cuboid with rounded corners is available in black or white and is designed like a traditional bookshelf speaker.

There will come a day, and probably pretty soon, where pretty much every standalone speaker will have a voice-operated assistant inside of it. In the same way way that most TVs today have integrated "smarts" in the form of streaming apps for video, "smart speakers" will simply be the default, offering streaming audio apps and music at your voice's beck and call. At CES 2018 there were a raft of new models were announced with either Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa or a mixture of both. From the JBL Link View to the Polk Command Bar to Klipsch's The One, most audio brands had at least one speaker on display. And the list is only going to grow, and move far beyond traditional audio brands.

Ring founder and chief executive Jamie Siminoff holds a Ring Video Doorbell, left, that has a video camera so residents can see who's knocking with a smartphone app. Ring founder and chief executive Jamie Siminoff holds a Ring Video Doorbell, left, that has a video camera so residents can see who's knocking with a smartphone app. Before you buy any "smart" gadgets, make sure they're not dumb. This holiday season, a third of Americans plan to buy a smart home device, according to the Consumer Technology Assn. The trick is figuring out which ones are worth the cost, trouble and inevitable security risks.

Before you buy any "smart" gadgets, make sure they're not dumb. This holiday season, a third of Americans plan to buy a smart home device, according to the Consumer Technology Association. The trick is figuring out which ones are worth the cost, trouble and inevitable security risks. I've been in those weeds. After reviewing dozens of smart home products, I've learned to be skeptical of any gadget that feels like a Star Trek prop--and a little paranoid about things that are listening, watching or collecting data.

The Sonos One wireless speaker, priced at $199, will be available Oct. 24. It will support multiple voice services, launching with Amazon Alexa, but will add Siri using AirPlay 2, and Google Assistant, in 2018. Sonos is upping the volume in the smart speaker race. Already well-known for its great sounding wireless home speakers, Sonos is bringing to market the first whole home speaker system with built-in voice control using Amazon's digital voice-commanded assistant Alexa. The new speaker, the $199 Sonos One, due out Tuesday, raises the bar for good-sounding smart speakers.

On Wednesday, the Santa Barbara, Calif.-based company is announcing its first smart speaker, the $199 Sonos One, powered by Amazon's Alexa voice assistant. By next year, the company will integrate Alphabet Inc.'s GOOGL 0.86% Google voice assistant, and down the road hopes to make its smart speaker compatible with Apple Inc.'s AAPL -0.06% Siri and others. The partnerships would mean consumers wouldn't need to choose one tech giant's services over another--Sonos could serve them all. The company built a loyal fan base by letting customers play music in every room of a home through a network of wireless speakers that supported streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music. Speakers, though, are no longer just for listening to music.