Bose Soundlink Plus Review: Compromise Never Sounded So Good

With truthful many Bluetooth speakers retired there, and much arriving almost daily, it tin beryllium easy to underestimate 1 that dwells successful nan mediate ground. Sandwiched betwixt nan packable Soundlink Flex and nan beefy Soundlink Max (9/10, WIRED Recommends), Bose’s caller midsize Soundlink Plus (no, these aren’t streaming services) carves retired its ain niche acknowledgment mostly to winning sound pinch adjacent parts nuance and bravado.

Like its siblings, nan Plus looks and feels for illustration a premium speaker pinch an accordingly premium price; it’s dressed to nan nines, particularly fetching successful nan Citrus Yellow colour I reviewed, but bears commensurate dust- and waterproofing for bully defense against nan elements. Medium build notwithstanding, this is still a hefty package, but if you’re aft a bully discuss betwixt boombox mightiness and breezy portability, nan Soundlink Plus abides.

Premium Protection

There’s style successful nan Sound Plus’s minimalism, pinch a sleek yet beardown powder-coated alloy grille, supple touch keys on its rubberized topside, and a hearty checkered nylon grip astatine nan broadside that makes it easier to haul (or hang).

At nan backmost are vents for its 4 bass radiators and an unfastened USB-C port. A constituent of statement there: nan Plus is good to dunk fixed its IP67 rating, and it moreover floats, but you’ll request to hold for nan larboard to barren earlier charging. That’s further notable fixed that, for illustration nan Max, nan Plus takes a sluggish 5 hours to complaint its 20-hour artillery from zero. That said, it didn’t return agelong for nan orange-and-white flashing LED to return to coagulated achromatic pursuing a bath successful my laundry sink, signaling a clear and fresh port.

Measuring 9.1 x 3.94 x 3.4 inches (WxHxD) and weighing complete 3 pounds, this is not nan astir packable speaker, but it’s still crippled for nan unfastened road. It took maine a while to get utilized to its heft, but it fared good connected its first task aft unboxing, a camping travel successful nan Columbia River Gorge. If it seems risky taking a shiny caller lemon-meringue speaker into nan dusty woods, you’re not wrong, but I was pleasantly amazed by really good nan speaker cleans up. You’ll inevitably pull immoderate marks, though, and nan Dusk Blue and Black should property better.

Whatever nan color, I excavation nan Plus’ aesthetic, and truthful did astir group I showed it to (though they mostly remarked connected nan awesome sound). It feels bully to nan touch, and some nan look and build value look a measurement supra flack-jacketed rivals for illustration nan JBL Charge 6 and UE MegaBoom 4. I’d still for illustration either of those speakers for a difficult fall—not because nan Bose wouldn’t survive, it’s conscionable much apt to get nicks aliases dents. The Charge 6’s IP68 standing theoretically gives it bragging authorities for h2o resistance, but each 3 are dunkable, for illustration astir speakers we test.

Solid Extras

Soundlink Plus features look a small austere astatine first glance, but there’s capable present to support distant characteristic envy. The unified Bose app’s compact interface will beryllium acquainted to anyone pinch Bose headphones, pinch options for illustration nan expertise to link to 2 devices complete Bluetooth multipoint, a three-band EQ and presets, and monitoring for artillery and volume.