Finally, A Bluetooth Speaker That Sounds Great And Is Built To Last

9 hours ago

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

The Bose SoundLink Max retails for $399 successful nan colors Black and Blue Dusk
This unassuming Bluetooth speaker delivers nan high-quality sound that Bose is known for, pinch nan artillery life to support nan statement going each night.
The regular value mightiness beryllium a turn-off, fixed you tin get perfectly tin speakers for less.

Bose's SoundLink Max portable speaker is connected waste for $299 astatine Amazon. This woody only applies to nan Black colour option.

Decades ago, erstwhile I was moving for an audio installation company, we utilized to person a saying: "No highs, nary lows; it must beryllium Bose." Keep successful mind that we were dealing pinch speakers that costs tens of thousands of dollars, truthful nan thought of thing consumer-grade was laughable.

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Fast-forward to today, and Bose still makes speakers, headphones, and earbuds tin of producing rich, elegant sound pinch wide soundstages, punchy bass, and crisp highs. Such is nan lawsuit pinch the Bose SoundLink Max Portable Speaker.

When listening to nan SoundLink Max, I'm very overmuch reminded of nan original SoundLink, a awesome speaker from astir a decade agone that I ever felt was 1 of nan champion I'd ever used. This caller loop is moreover better, arsenic it tin push nan measurement to caller heights without nan slightest spot of distortion.

Although nan sound mightiness not fulfill nan ears of a discerning audiophile, its large bass and powerful measurement are surely a crowd-pleaser. Let's get into it.

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The first point I noticed astir this speaker was nan emblematic Bose processing, which makes nan sound look a spot airy. This pairs very good pinch audio from celebrated genres that typically don't request excessively overmuch from nan hardware, and is owed to really Bose processes midrange sounds for a stereo effect. Unfortunately, it tin construe into imprecise midrange sounds that are somewhat off-color. I've knowledgeable that pinch almost each Bose speaker I've purchased aliases tested.

It's not a bad thing; it's conscionable a Bose thing.

I besides couldn't thief but announcement this speaker's deficiency of features. It allows 2 devices to link simultaneously, has a three-band EQ (accessible from nan minimal mobile app -- Android/iOS), and includes a play/pause button. That's it.

Here's nan thing: a value portable speaker doesn't request a deluge of features. I want nan instrumentality to sound great, person plentifulness of artillery life, and beryllium elemental to use. The Bose SoundLink Max easy checks each of those boxes.

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When I started testing this speaker, I changed up my accustomed testing strategy. Being acquainted pinch nan Bose sound, I decided to propulsion 2 different albums astatine it to spot really it fared. The first was "Big Generator" by Yes. This medium was recorded and mastered astatine a clip that perfectly suited nan Bose sound, and it sounded amended than I expected. The mids were perfect for Jon Anderson's chorus, nan guitars were perfectly crunchy, and nan soundstage was amazingly wide.

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Next, I opted for a genre that isn't rather suited for nan Bose sound: classical. I was taken aback by really George Frideric Handel's "Wassermusik" sounded. It was rich, lively, and not astatine each retired of place. Of course, nary statement is complete without a Baroque masterpiece.

As acold arsenic nan bass is concerned, nan SoundLink Max does a awesome occupation to astir 65Hz. Below that, nan bass rolls disconnected a bit, truthful you're not going to consciousness nan footwear drum arsenic you mightiness pinch a bigger speaker. Given nan size of this device, however, it holds its ain connected nan debased end.

ZDNET's buying advice

If you're a instrumentality of nan Bose sound and want a portable speaker that tin capable a room (and past some), nan $399 SoundLink Max is nan evident choice. If you're iffy astir nan Bose sound aliases for illustration much EQ options than 3 bands, past you should cheque retired nan Anker Soundcore Motion X500, which is besides connected waste for $80.

Ultimately, fans of nan Bose sound will bask this speaker, and fixed that it's built for illustration a tank, you won't person to interest astir it astatine a crowded party.