Verdict
A brilliant - sounding portable loudspeaker system from Bose that will light up any out-of-door event , it ’s a sport , rich - sounding effort that will mirthfully play any tune you flip at it . The only annoying thing about the loudspeaker is that it ’s so difficult to charge the battery
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The Bose SoundLink Max is a portable speaker system that aims to get strident wherever you take it .
Does the Bose SoundLink Max bring the racket ? rent ’s find out .
Design
The SoundLink Max has the look of a transonic handbag with its tough handgrip , a handgrip that ’s useful considering the speaker weigh over 2 kilogram – that ’s not precisely portable .
You ’re not go bad to throw this speaker in a bag so it ’s mightily useful that the integrated handle mitigates some of the strain of carrying it . It ’s also a fine looking at speaker with curving outlines , front - facing grill , and minimalist looks .
It ’s a mere and refined speaker unit – essentially a bigger version of the SoundLink Flex – and I quite like the blue finish it follow in , though there is an option of a opprobrious colourway .
It ’s well built and feels substantial – a rap on the open suggests it ’ll be hard ( but not impossible ) to make a nick in it . An IP67 evaluation ensures that it ’s waterproof ( for a circumscribed prison term up to a meter in depth ) and that splashes of piddle and junk wo n’t be a job either .
On top are physical buttons for office , Bluetooth pairing , cutoff and playback / book controls . Tiny but visible LED luminousness for the first three buttons show up when they ’re engaged . Around the back is a USB - C input and an aux - in for plug in an analogue source .
Features
Bose claims 20 hour of electric battery life story for the SoundLink Max , which is somewhat good go for a wireless speaker system . While less expensive , theJBL accusation 5 Wi - Fiis up to 20 hours . TheMarshall Middletonis 20 + hours , theSony SRS - XG300is around 25 hours , theLoewe We Hear Prois 25 hours – I think you get the point that the SoundLink Max is towards the upper limit of battery capacity , and in a smaller soma than some of those speakers .
However , it has a inclination to lose its charge when not used . I had a sneaking suspicion about this so I charged it back up to full electric battery and leave it for a couple of weeks – it dropped to 80 % despite not being used .
It ’s also a portable utterer that ’s a pain to care . Bose supplies a USB - C cable but without a plug , and plugging it into devices often comes with the message that the speaker is charging too slowly . With some plugs , it wo n’t charge at all .
I managed to use a Samsung chew for my laptop computer ( which is every bit irritating in term of charging ) and it charge relatively apace but getting this speaker unit up to full billing is more of a painful sensation than it needs to be . The talker hail with a USB - century plug in the US but not in the UK , so it ’ll be worthpurchasing a USB - vitamin C plugfor a smoother charging experience .
you could use the SoundLink Max as a powerbank for a mobile gimmick .
Its wireless bread and butter equalsBluetooth 5.3(there ’s no Wi - Fi support ) , and in a welcome surprise there ’s aptX Adaptive compatibility , which should offer a stickier connection and allow for more data to be transplant over a Bluetooth connection helpful if you ’re listening to higher quality music well out services such as Tidal andQobuz .
The connection has been stable even from a distance . No hiccough , no extended break – the SoundLink Max influence as described .
Bose ’s SimpleSync connectivity allows for the SoundLink Max to be connected to other Bose product ( saucy verbaliser , soundbars ) , so you’re able to listen to your music in more billet around the home . There ’s also a company mode ( encounter the same medicine ) and two-channel reenforcement with two SoundLink Max speakers thanks to a recent update .
The Bose app allows the speaker to be updated , as well as designate a feature article to the Shortcut push ( Spotify or switching the aux input ) , a three - band EQ ( or sea bass and treble adjustment ) much like there is with Bose ’s headphones .
you may also customise the name of the SoundLink Max , and the ones Bose are almost more suggestions to inspire you . Names such as ‘ Tailgater ’ ( for NFL tailgates presumptively ) and Workout Warrior are more than just clue .
The app is clean , easy to use and navigate but it ’s never been the most stable . Sometimes it ’ll recognize the speaker and connect , other time it wo n’t bother . Annoyingly , if you jump to another app and go back to the Bose app , it ’ll crash and restart again .
Sound Quality
This is a colossal - sounding portable speaker unit .
The first affair you ’ll observe about the Bose SoundLink Max is how wide its soundstage is . This speaker crusade sound out from its body to the point in time where you’re able to instrument either side of the utterer or else of hem into its body .
It make a broad strait , more room for vocal music and orchestration to exist alongside each other without touch on the other . And it ’s not just width either , with some track ( Maye ’s La Cancion , for good example ) , there ’s actual profundity to the track too – not quite as well-defined or as detailed as to what ’s materialise in the foreground , but again it ’s the sensation of space that the Bose creates just very impressive .
Many portable Speaker have jumped onboard ‘ 3-D ’ or stereoscopic sound but this is the first speaker I ’ve find out that creates an almost hi - fi strait with its carrying into action – and it does n’t even boast a 3D sound feature film . The spaciousness also aids the speaker ’s stereo effect – Stealers Wheel ’s Stuck in the Middle of You has genuine placement of instruments to the rightfulness , articulation in the midriff and the clap sound to the left wing . It ’s telling for a talker of its sizing to be able-bodied to do this .
The 2nd matter you ’ll notice is the bass this speaker can output . The downcast frequencies have a richness that impart them depth and pizzazz , but there ’s control in the basso too . This is n’t a portable speaker that gives the low frequency a hefty rise at the disbursement of limpidity elsewhere – vocals are given solid floor of clarity and focus so you could hear what ’s being sung .
The third is that this is a portable talker that ’s adequate to of refinement and good layer of point . Its phone has an overall fondness to it , but like with the bass , it ’s not lacking for clarity , definition or detail . high gear are dealt with a clarity and edge that I did n’t wait in GoGo Penguin ’s Erased by Sunlight . Even with its basso carrying out , there ’s no good sense of higher frequencies being lost in the mix – tonally it strikes a well - judge Libra the Scales , retrieving plenty of point that earn it a good choice with a mountain chain of music genres . I have n’t amount across one that seems to have flustered it yet .
It ’s capable of a sound that ’s gumptious and flow , especially at high-pitched volumes , though increase bulk upshot in a deprivation of item . With slow path , the SoundLink Max settles into a deliberate and balanced carrying into action , and there ’s dynamism on both a diminished and with child scale .
Whatever you put away at the Bose SoundLink Max it seems able to take in its stride and make something of it . With portable loudspeaker I ’ve tested there ’s always been some sort of weakness : too smooth , too rich , too frosty or too cramped with its soundstage . The Bose is a rich - go and expansive listen , but most of all its playfulness . I have n’t learn a portable verbalizer as ripe as this in years .
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Should you buy it?
A warm , spacious audio , with rich bass , vindicated heights and a good focussing on vocal music . This is a terrific - sounding Bluetooth speaker unit from Bose .
Nothing seems to charge the SoundLink Max with great speed unless you ’ve got a mains wad that can render it with more big businessman .
Final Thoughts
The Bose SoundLink Max is one of the most fun portable speakers I ’ve take heed to in some time . From its rich , merriment , but well - pass judgment phone , to its stone - hearty blueprint and serious feature readiness , this is a stellar premium portable speaker .
The only affair I ’d fault is the battery charging , which is more fuss than it needs to be , but otherwise , this is a portable that ’s almost hi - fi - like in its strait . It ’s the best portable Bluetooth talker I ’ve examine since theB&O Beosound A1 2ndGen , and that is high praise .
Trusted Score
How we test
We test every wireless speaker we survey good over an extended point of time . We employ industry received run to compare feature properly . We ’ll always separate you what we regain . We never , ever , accept money to review a product .
Find out more about how we test in ourethics policy .
FAQs
With another SoundLink Max you could coiffure the utterer up in company mode , or have them pretend as a stereoscopic picture brace .
