It’s no small task to find American made bluetooth speakers in this day and age. All of the big audio brands have production facilities outside the US, and only one sells any speakers that are fully made in the USA.
I spent about 3 weeks doing research for this article and what I’ve learned is that you really have two options for buying American made speakers.
Option one is that you buy from the Klipsch Heritage series. Option two is that you find a shop that sells American made speakers. That could prove to be quite the arduous task, but you could also end up with the perfect speakers for you.
What Qualifies As “Made in the USA”?
The Federal Trade Commission is the entity that determines the guidelines for whether a product is actually “Made in the USA”.
The FTC definition for made in the USA is as follows: “For a product to be called Made in USA, or claimed to be of domestic origin without qualifications or limits on the claim, the product must be “all or virtually all” made in the U.S. The term “United States,” as referred to in the Enforcement Policy Statement, includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories and possessions.“
And in this definition, “all or virtually all” means that all significant parts and processing that go into the product must be of U.S. origin.
This makes it pretty clear what qualifies as a speaker that is made in the USA.
The reality is that fewer and fewer speaker producers actually sell products that are truly American made. There are a lot of speakers that are largely made in the United States that don’t qualify for the “Made in USA” claim.
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Speaker Companies With Fully American Made Products
The unfortunate reality is that very few big companies actually still make speakers made in the USA. I’ve done some serious research to find the companies (some big, but mostly small) that sell ACTUAL made in the USA speakers.
Klipsch
Klipsch has been known for selling American speakers since 1946. They are the biggest speaker producer that still sells speakers that are actually “made in USA”. However, that doesn’t mean that every speaker they sell is American made.
Unfortunately, if you want a Klipsch speaker that actually has “all or virtually all” of its significant parts made in the states then you must do some digging.
The good news is that I’ve done that for you, and I’ve listed some of them further down in this article. The company also keeps a page of speakers they produce that are American made.
Ammo Audio
Ammo Audio was one of the coolest companies I came across during my research. They sell one bluetooth speaker and it’s made by members of the military community from an ammunition box.
Fern and Roby Audio
Fern and Roby hand makes all their speakers out of Richmond, Virginia. They even used recycled materials whenever possible.
Genesis
Genesis designs and makes high end loudspeakers here in the USA. All of the manufacturing and sales for Genesis is based out of Woodinville, Washington.
Magico Audio
Magico has a 30,000 square foot facility in Hayward, California where they design and build all their loudspeakers “without outsourcing”.
Rockport Technologies
Rockport Technologies has a production facility in Maine where all their design, building and testing is done for their loudspeakers.
Ryan Speakers
All Ryan speakers are handcrafted in Riverside, California.
Salk Sound
Salk Sound has a production facility in Michigan where all their products are assembled.
Tekton Design
As I browsed through the Tekton Design website, every speaker set I looked at was “manufactured in the USA”.
Vandersteen
All Vandersteen speakers are designed and produced in Hanford, California.
Von Schweikert
From the website: Von Schweikert Audio handcrafts state-of-the-art, heirloom products in the U.S.A. which allow you to experience live performances by your favorite musical artists in the comfort of your home.
YG Acoustics
All of YG Acoustics‘ speakers are “crafted in the USA.” I had a hard time confirming that this means the same thing as “made in USA.” However, at the very least, YG assembles all their speakers in the states. It’s possible they use some foreign made parts.
Quick disclaimer
I can’t guarantee that all the products from all these companies are officially “made in the USA.” In fact, the FTC doesn’t require companies to get pre-qualification to make the claim that their products are American made. They only punish companies if they are found to be making false claims about their production process.
I did my best to verify that all the companies on my list are truly making all or virtually all of the speakers in the US, but it’s absolutely possible that a mistake was made. And it’s also possible that a company changes its production process after this article was written (and I haven’t had a chance to update).
Please verify that your speaker of choice was made in America before buying!
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American Speaker Companies Whose Speakers Aren’t Actually “Made in the USA”
Some audio companies have a portion of their production that runs through the United States and a portion that goes elsewhere in the world.
Bose
At one time, Bose Corporation did have several products Made in the USA, but this is no longer true. Bose has production facilities in Massachusetts, Mexico, Malaysia and China.
While Bose has a significant amount of their production done in the US, some important parts of production for all their products are done elsewhere in the world.
And some audio companies are actually United States companies, but none of their products are made in the US. This means that other parts of their business, like management, marketing, and their headquarters are based out of the US. They will also report income and pay taxes in the states.
I won’t be listing any products made by these companies, but I thought it would be meaningful to see this list anyways.
JBL
JBL is one of the most popular speaker producers in the world and they are headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The first pair of high quality speakers I ever bought were JBL, and I still use them for karaoke parties 10 years later.
But JBL has production facilities only in Mexico, Germany, India, Hungary and China.
Altec Lansing
Altec Lansing is headquarted in San Diego, California. As I searched through their site and their products, I couldn’t find any information about where their products are produced. I have to assume this means everything they sell is produced by foreign countries.
Best American Made Speakers
Let me start by saying that American made speakers are neither cheap nor easy to buy online. I’ve found only 3 speakers on Amazon that were actually made in the USA. All of them are Klipsch speakers from the Heritage Series. The Klipsch Heritage speakers are all made in Hope, Arkansas.
Most other American made loudspeakers are made by regional shops (many of them are in California). Some of them sell online (not Amazon) and some don’t.
I’ve done my best to give you the best of the best that you can actually buy online. Otherwise you’ll want to visit the websites of the manufacturers I listed earlier and find a way to sample/buy some of their speakers.
So without further ado, here are some of the best American made speakers available online (at a few different price points).
Klipsch Heritage “The One”
- Made in Hope, Arkansas
- Very affordable
- Connect with bluetooth or 3.5mm connector cable
- Small, made to move from room to room
This Klipsch device is a medium sized bluetooth speaker made in the USA. It’s about a foot wide, 6 inches tall and 5 inches deep and weighs just over 8 pounds. So it’s not small, but the speaker is easily portable. You can easily move this unit from one room to another.
The ideal use for “The One” is for home use in a smaller room. It’s capable of getting quite loud and filling up large rooms, but the sound will start to get thinner as you push the limits.
The vast majority of reviewers agree that the sound quality is excellent when compared with other competing speakers. It often sounds as good or better than three piece speaker set.
It’s also mentioned in reviews that the sound quality improves when you plug in the 3.5mm connector when compared with the bluetooth connection.
Klipsch Heritage “The Three”
- Made in Hope, Arkansas
- Higher quality version of “The One”
- Connect with bluetooth or 3.5mm connector cable
- Small, made to move from room to room
The Three is very similar to The One, just with a few more features, a nicer look and a clearer sound. The Three is typically rated as having a higher quality sound, but not as good of a value.
Klipsch Heritage “Heresy”
- Made in Hope, Arkansas
- Extremely high quality sound
- Made to sit on the floor and stay in one place
- Can be set up with bluetooth
The Heresy comes with two medium sized speakers. These are meant to sit on the floor and at 50 pounds a piece they are not easy to move.
However, these are some of the best sounding speakers you can get on Amazon today. It comes as no surprise that you pay more for the “Made in America” label, but the quality and durability won’t let you down.
The Heresy has all the characteristics of high quality speaker. It’s loud, well balanced and has no distortion.
These are just speakers, so you can’t just buy them and start playing music. You’d need a full sound system set up with something to feed a signal to the speakers. You can do this in a number of ways, but most often you would use some sort of AV receiver, where bluetooth is absolutely an option.
From the Amazon Flyer: “When Paul W. Klipsch was developing a smaller speaker, an acquaintance declared he couldn’t introduce it to the public because it was in direct violation of the corner horn principles, amounting to acoustic heresy. ‘The hell I can’t,” Klipsch said. “And that’s exactly what I’m going to call it!'”
Klipsch Heritage “Klipschorn”
- Made in Hope, Arkansas
- Highest quality sound available on Amazon
- Capable of extreme volume
The Klipschorn is Klipsch’s original flagship product. If you’re planning to buy a speaker of this quality, I wouldn’t recommend buying on Amazon. You should go to a local shop and listen in person.
Two speakers weighing a combined total of 350 pounds that can reach up to 105 decibels is enough sound for a gymnasium.
Just like the Heresy, you’ll need a way to get an audio signal to these speakers (like an AV receiver or turntable), and again there are many products that will connect with bluetooth.
I don’t want to hype this product up too much, because like I mentioned, you should really be buying this product in person after hearing a live test of the speakers.
What If I Don’t Want Klipsch?
The Klipsch Heritage series is really your only option if you want to buy American using the convenience of online shopping.
But what if none of those speakers appeal to you?
Here’s my advice: Go to the speaker company’s website and look for their authorized dealers or distributors. These are places that sell speakers. If you find an authorized dealer near you, you can visit the dealer, listen to the speakers and then buy them if you want.
Or in some cases you may be able to buy the speakers directly on the website. I wouldn’t recommend doing this unless you’re buying speakers that aren’t expensive for you.
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Conclusion
The reality today is that finding bluetooth speakers that are truly American made is quite difficult. The only major manufacturer that has ANY speakers with the “Made in the USA” label is Klipsch, who are actually somewhat small compared to the super popular brands like Bose and JBL.
If your set on buying American, then your most convenient option is to find one of the Klipsch Heritage series speakers on Amazon. But if you’re willing to put in the time, research and probably some miles on your car, then you can find some pretty amazing American made speakers from small specialized companies.
Many of these companies are located in California, but you can find a few in the Midwest and the East coast as well.
