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I live in Southern California. My wife and I love the outdoors, swimming pools, and beaches. We literally live between mountains, deserts, and the California coastline, so we love a quick VRBO weekend getaway, and music plays a part in that, no matter where we might find ourselves. Often, those getaways also include our friend group, so having a portable speaker that sounds good and can withstand the demands of wherever we might find ourselves is essential.
I have a feeling that the Bose SoundLink Plus will play an important part in those excursions going forward. It sounds great and can stand up to the beach, the boat, a small gathering, and more. Let’s get into that, along with my recounting of the day I almost drowned, but the SoundLink Plus didn’t.
|
Categories |
Bose SoundLink Plus |
|---|---|
|
Connectivity |
Bluetooth 5.4, Multipoint support |
|
Driver/Acoustic Architecture |
One subwoofer, one tweeter, four passive radiators |
|
Codec support |
SBC, AAC, aptX Adaptive (Snapdragon Sound) |
|
Battery life |
Up to 20 hours, 4 hours at max volume (replaceable battery) |
|
Charging |
USB-C, 5 hours to full, charge-out at 15W |
|
Durability |
IP67 |
|
App support |
Android, iOS |
|
Colors |
Black, Blue Dusk, Citrus Yellow |
Drowning in sound. In a manner of speaking.
The day after the summer solstice, my wife and I visited a beach that we’d been to before. It wasn’t one of the highly trafficked, well-known beaches like those found in Venice, Santa Monica, or Malibu. We went to a section of the beach, a bit off the beaten path, a spot we’d been to before.
Long story short, the tide came in much higher and earlier than expected, and we had some dicey moments getting back up the beach. So much so that we lost most things in our wagon, trying to get it across that wet section, including the Bose SoundLink Plus I had just started reviewing.
Much to my surprise, about 10 feet further down the beach, on some rocks, there was the SoundLink Plus. It had washed out, and the tide brought it right back in. It passed the float test, and we didn’t die.
With the accidental durability test out of the way, I turned my attention to testing the sound quality. Let’s backtrack a little, first.
The last speaker I tested was the Beats Pill. It’s very light, quite small, and a pretty solid device with great sound for its size. You notice the difference immediately when you pick up the Bose SoundLink Plus. It feels much heavier in hand and is visibly larger than the Pill, about the size of a Pill and a half.
It features a soft-touch body, playback and function controls on top, a powder-coated speaker grille on the front, and an open USB-C port on the rear, along with more porting. I used that port on three different devices to test out the charge-out feature and had no issues charging any of them.
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The controls are responsive and easy to access, with the one in the middle serving as a customizable shortcut button that can be assigned to support Bose Speaker Link or to launch Spotify features.
This may sound silly, but the premium finish of the SoundLink Plus is a delight, down to small details like the thick, color-matched nylon carry rope attached to the side that feels like it will stand up to years of abuse. I have a love for the tactility of objects, so the rope is actually a very pleasing addition for me.
The sound quality, in a word: Robust
The outdoor sound quality is the most important aspect of any portable speaker for me. I took the SoundLink Plus to my local park for testing. It’s a large park with large, open spaces alongside playgrounds, a skate park, baseball diamonds, and soccer fields.
I tested the sound quality at distances of 10, 25, and 50 feet. As physics dictates, the further away from the speaker you get, the more nuance you’ll lose. That said, for a speaker this size, the volume is surprisingly loud at 50 feet. Even better at 25 feet, and ideal at 10 to 15 feet.
Using Sennheiser’s new BTD700 dongle, which supports aptX Snapdragon Sound, I was able to maintain a stable connection 50 feet away from the Soundlink Plus. This was line of sight with no obstructions between me and the phone. I’ll explain why I was using the dongle shortly.
The sound was weighty at 10 and 25 feet. It was warm, robust, and had a very satisfying bass response. The genres best played through the speaker will be those with upper mid and treble-forward sonics, such as Jazz, Folk, Rock, R&B, and Classical. Instrumentation and vocals are clear and crisp, but keep in mind this is a mono speaker, so instrument separation is affected. The speaker sounds so good that I’d love to hear two in the supported stereo configuration.
Hip hop, Dubstep, and the more bottom-heavy genres fare well, but the bass will lose punch further from the speaker than 20 feet — something you’ll experience with all but the largest of wireless speakers intended for outdoor use, like the 36lb SOUNDBOKS 4.
Indoors, the SoundLink Plus is a delight! All the weighty warmth and fullness, despite mono sound, fill small and medium-sized rooms with ease. The hallmark of a well-engineered portable Bluetooth speaker is its ability to produce well-weighted sound at all volumes, and Bose did a great job in this regard.
Even at low volumes, sound is warm and full, and entertaining.
What could use improvement
The Bose companion app for the SoundLink Plus is fairly basic. Having more control over EQ than three bands means being able to control frequencies that tend to be masked by ambient noise, like the tide at a beach.
Snapdragon Sound‘s aptX Adaptive and Lossless aren’t supported by my Google Pixel 9, iPhone 16 Pro Max, or Samsung S22 Ultra. It also isn’t supported by the FiiO M21 DAP I’m currently reviewing, which is why I was using the Sennheiser BTD700 for some of my testing. The added dynamic range of HiRes Wireless codecs is a great addition to the speakers I use outdoors.
The SoundLink Plus doesn’t include USB-C playback support, but the aptX support makes up for this. Still, I’d like to see it because it would be more universally compatible with smartphones than aptX.
Battery life is very good, and depending on how you use the speaker, you’ll get 20 hours or close to it. However, charging the speaker is a chore, taking five hours to reach full capacity from zero. Knowing that, you’ll have to plan ahead for trips to the park or beach if you’ve run the battery down. I haven’t run it down yet, though, so I don’t think this is a huge deal.
Should you buy it?
There are speakers above and below the $270 price of the Bose SoundLink Plus, but few directly in this price range. Tribit’s StormBox Blast 2 lacks the luxurious design and the ability to float, but it can be found on Amazon for $255, gives solid sonics, and our Harish Jonnalagadda had great things to say about it. The JBL Xtreme 3 can be had for $10 more, but takes on a different aesthetic that is more monster truck rally than box seats at Wimbledon.
At the end of the day, it comes down to refinement and float. The SoundLink Plus isn’t large on features, but big on sound and refinement. The Tribit isn’t as portable-friendly as Bose, but some may prefer its feature set and sound. The Xtreme 3 is larger and louder, but with the size comes less portability, subjectively speaking. It’s also a generation old. If you want to spend less, JBL’s Charge 6 is a great option that is nearly as durable, with sound output that is close to the SoundLink, though it doesn’t float.
I’ve really enjoyed my time with the Bose SoundLink Plus, so if you have the budget for it, I can definitely recommend it, especially if you’re someone who occasionally finds themselves on boats or kayaks.
I almost drowned but the SoundLink Plus didn’t!
One of the top Bluetooth speakers for its size, it’s easy to recommend for its sound quality and rugged design. Plus, it floats!
