Bose - SoundLink Max

Bose soundlink max, Bose Soundlink Flex 2nd Generation, Soundcore Motion x600, Soundcore Boom 2 Plus, Harman Kardon Go+ Play, JBL Xtreme 4, are just a few of my favorites that I own.

My top 3 that i own Bose Soundlink Max, Soundcore Motion X600, Treblab HD360.

I have over 40 different speakers, and i have the soundlink max since it was on sale on april / may last year. There's nothing too special here when i compare it to the the jbl's, soundcores, tribits, marshalls i have.

Soundcore boom 2, jbl xtreme 4, tribit stormbox flow, tribit stormbox micro 2, bose soundlink max, jbl boombox 3 The best battery life speakers that i own.

Bose soundlin max is one of my gems currently, then i guess that medium sized winner it is.

Sound quality goes on there as well. This is my favorite speaker to listen with my face exactly in front of it. It makes the music alive.

Are you talking about the max? If so that's a pretty innacurate and false perspective of this speaker. I had if for half a year now and it sounds the best at lowet volumes, it sounds the best when you're listening on axis in front of it, the lack of mic is not a big deal for most people. A pool speaker would be a boom 2, but hell nah the bose soundlink max has a great tuning for indoor listening so that's hogwash mate. X600 is funny to even mention, a speaker that has the most aggressive marketing by soundcore, the saptial mode is more than terrible for those who understand sound, and distorts with bass heavy recordings at higher volumes. The voice response of the battery and welcome tones are unique, and by the way can be turned off for those who don't like it. I own over 40 speakers, x600 is one of them, and hell no the x600 will be returned soon.

Not sure if that's the case. Most people agree with what i say🤣 a speaker that clearely performs the best at low to mid volumes and gets a bit messy at high volumes because of it's stereo proccessing.

Well, you can think what you want, so far the majority of users like this speaker. And i have over 40 speakers to compare it to, there's pretty much nothing else to talk about🤣 You don't see the potential of this speaker, your loss i guess.

We were talking about the max, not the flex. And bose soundlink max wipes the floor with the x600. Boom 2 is a different conversation. The boom 2 is a cheaper speaker than the x600 but it's funny how well it competes against the max.

Btw bose max destroys pretty much everything in it's size category and smaller. And the bass is the best out of these. I personally have it.

Nope, complete bullcrap comment. I have 5 other speakers from this size category including the boom 2, xtreme 4 and marshall middleton. The bass on the bose is very good and has zero problems with quality.

Lol. More cap. I like it🤣 the only thing that i got from you is that you never really heard it irl, only mad because you can't afford one. Funny but it actually is not 150 hz focused, it has hearable bass all the way from 50 hz and up and it's vshaped that's the sound signature from bose. You don't have to like it but if you think that bluetooth speakers should sound neutral you gotta get out of this reddit channel and go to the hifi nerds

We get it you don't like (think that you don't like) The soundlink max, alright man, keep on going. There are enough people that like this speaker for you to be in a minority. Every product had, has, and will always have lovers and haters. That's why we have so many options on the market. But statistics never lie mate!!

If you can get the bose soundlink max for 300 dollars, it's a blast. I take it easily with me in the backpack and it sounds great.

Yea bose are known for hiding their product specs like that. But i saw a teardown of it on youtube, looks pretty solid. Two full range drivers that are side positioned, and a tweeter in the middle to balance it out on axis. I believe that was their purpose when putting one single twitter in the middle. Pretty powerfull drivers as well, big magnets. The sound is pretty unique as well, because they use a lot of stereo proccessing to make it seem wider when listening in front of it. It gets pretty loud at high volumes, but like most speakers, it sounds the best at low to mid volumes.

Very good sounding speaker. Too expensive for those who want a budget speaker i gotta admit, but it's premium and sound is very clear. Tho it's a very specific soft vshaped sound signature, and a lot of stereo proccessing to make the illusion of wider left and right distance. I recommend.

Doesn't make sense bro🤣 the bose is also very high quality sounding, it has a totally different tuning. The bose is just a smaller and more portable package, it is definitely more impressive for it's size.

Well that's why i reply, i completely disagree I don't think that harman is higher quality than bose. I think both are great and make their own unique products. Bose is a premium company with no exception

Amount of drivers doesn't really indicate sound quality man🤣 I agree that both speakers are different, so there's really no reason comparing them. They also sound very different, and both sound good on their own, i simply can't compare them

At this point when this conversation expends i don't care what the op asked lol. And i don't mind the downvote wankers in here, the fact that you claim that the bose is only for outdoors is false claim, it sounds good indoors but you seem to ignore the fact that bose is tuned differently, and you decide that it's an outdoor tuning. You can say whatever you want, that ain't true

And again, even if you're not actually a bot you act exactly like a bot, after i told you that i own both speakers and i love HK and bose, you still see me as a bose fanboy that prefers bose🤣🤣 what a loser kid

I started loving the luna more than before. My trick is using the samsung music dolby atmos function to enhance the treble which sometimes lacks on the luna to my ears. The go & play 3 is amazing, the battery life is a bit disappointing tho. I take the luna to work just to listen in the office. But when it comes to the go play 3 i love the bass, but i don't end up using it as much. Because sometimes i prefer something smaller indoors to take from a room to another. I use the soundlink max more, but the bass on the HK is another level.

For those who can afford it, you get a top tier build quality, a lot of bass and nice sound. But the sound signature is very unique and you have to hear it first to decide if you like it or not. It's proccessed to have an illusion of wider stereo image. Very loud and decent battery.

If you want to go for the largest option, check out TRIBIT stormbox blast 2. Absolute bass monster, and can sound pretty good especially when tweaked with the EQ. Also, if you're not looking for portability as much, consider the jbl partybox encore as well. For a medium option, if you're able to find the bose soundlink max for 300$, that's one of my favorite speakers currently. Mostly for it's sound quality, portability and design.

For a small bathroom you don't need something too crazy, but i'd go for a bose soundlink flex gen 2, i've been using this little monster exclusively in the shower. If you want something larger but still compact enough to be used in shower, Bose soundlink max. Both options are portable by the way, i think it's only going to be in your favor.

Marshall middleton is decent, but it reduces a LOT of bass at high volumes. Bose soundlink max has more definition to it's sound, and has more thump.

Avoid the Bose Flex Gen 2 and Bose Max. They have parisitic battery drain of 10-20% per week. I haven't experienced huge issues with the JBL, Sony, Klipsch, but then again, I never tested it to the level I did with the Bose products above, which are huge battery suckers. These Bose will be dead in 2 months after a full charge. Honestly, if you can go with a plug in, that would be the way to proceed!

Bose Max has parasitic battery drain of 10-20% so you know. Have you considered the Harman Kardon Goplay 3? It has Aux and mains that apparently can bypass its battery. Has a built in subwoofer.

The Tribit Stormbox Blast at Black Friday $140 on Amazon is your best bet. It's universally considered one of the best sounding boomboxes at even 2-3x the price. Buying two for under $300 will rock your garage. Plus it has a class leading 30+ hour battery. It's a no brainer! If you want something smaller (and not so ugly looking) but sounds HUGE(!) is the Bose Max at Black Friday $300 on the Bose website, you can get a 10% new user coupon and use a cashback site to get it even lower priced. I like their size and can absolutely rock a garage. I have the extra money so I got the Bose, but if I was a student, it'd be the Tribit all day! Remember that all these BT "toys" will have their batteries eventually wither away leaving you with a brick. And the sound CAN'T(!) compete with a powered audiophile 2.1 system either..... But for garden or garage background music, these two models should put a smile on your face. 👍

Bose Max for $225 (taking advantage of the tricks), two Bose Flex for under $200, or two Klipsch Nashvilles for $200 on Amazon. I'd go with 2 Nashvilles. I own all of these after trying over 30 BT speakers

A lot of bass and full sound but can sound scratchy (a known defect) above 75% volume. The bass also peters out above 75% like most all of these BT boxes. They all sound shouty & grating (i.e terrible). But if you live within it's means, then it's fine. You're not getting audiophile grade here and the battery will die out one day and leave you with a $300-$400 brick. For this price you can get TWO x600s for $120 each at Costco Next, paired in stereo. The x600 sounds close enough and 2 units will destroy 1 Bose Max! 👍

What about a Bose Max for $300 (discounted off the Bose website)? Also has a 10% coupon, 5% website, $30 AMEX coupon cashback to discount it further to \~$225.

Strong full sound. Known for its bass. Plays way bigger than the purse size it represents. It sounds like a boombox in how it plays. There's obviously bigger boomboxes that play louder and deeper but this is the only box that is so small but sounds so full. Nothing in the market at this size that can compete. You can also play with the app EQ to suit more your taste.

Bose Max has parasitic battery drain. About 10-20% per week. Unless you use it daily, the battery drain will be such that you'll go from full recharge to 0% if it sits idle. I've tested 3 Bose Max's with this issue. Read about it here: [https://www.reddit.com/r/bose/comments/1eg4hn8/bose\_soundlink\_max\_battery\_drain/](https://www.reddit.com/r/bose/comments/1eg4hn8/bose_soundlink_max_battery_drain/)

This bose max and jbl xtreme 4 where total failures for the price asked. I prefered to aquire a mini stereo or a pair of powered audioengines than these overpriced gears who charges pure logo brands. Seems anker boom 2 is the optimal choice in compact boomboxes but even that is to boomy.

La probe en dos tiendas y se siente como una bocina de 50 a 60 watts a lo mucho pero los decibelios son los que indican el poder real. Si puedes mejor comprate la Ruark r2 mk4 por 1500 pesos mas aprox en palacio de hierro, es para interiores pero suena super muchísimo mejor que todas esas (lo malo es que es para interiores) y lo mejor es que la ruark no tiene esos artefactos congestionados como esta bocina de bose, las lg, sony y la jbl xtreme que todas se congestionan en la intrumentación.

Agreed. /u/Unlucky_Bend5302 has fairly old information. Although the battery is rough.

It's very good for the weight. The recent firmware updates fixed the compression at high volumes. I'm only keeping it because I managed to get most of it expensed with my job otherwise at that price I'd rather deal with a less convenient form-factor and stick with JBL Boombox 3. For purely its sound quality for the weight/form factor I don't believe there's better in the industry right now. For the sound quality/price, Boom 2 easily. Xtreme 4 is not an invalid competitor but it loses ALL of its bass at 70% or higher volume which the Bose managed to keep. Bass is even a little too much at times I prefer to put it on -3 in the EQ. It's extremely "Beachable" and extremely easy to carry around. The rubber is also not that rubber that wears off and becomes "sticky". I've seen people call it a purse but I don't have low self-esteem so I guess it never bothered me.

Simply put, if you're even remotely on the fence, I would not get it. You have to be 100% certain that you ABSOLUTELY ONLY want this form factor to power ratio. I'll try my best to answer this because it is a bit of a tricky thing. After 4 more days of listening to it, overall for sound quality as I am at the most recent firmware (4.3.30 as of now) and **I don't hear the issues of distortion** that others talk about or that I have even heard in videos at all. However, after listening to it more, I can "sort of hear" very rarely some compression at the 90% to 100% volume to prevent that distortion. It is substantially less than prior firmwares. Both Xtreme 4 and Boom 2 have their own way to manage distortion. Xtreme 4 drops the bass completely after 70% or higher. Boom 2 just lets it distort. The bass is very overbearing on the Soundlink max so-much-so sometimes that I'm permanently -3'ing it in the EQ. That being said, the Bose Soundlink Max is SUBSTANTIALLY louder than both the Boom 2 and the Xtreme 4. 90% volume across the 3 (so when I can sort of hear artifacts) is NOT equivalent AT ALL. The Bose is INCREDIBLY loud. If I had to try to equate them volumes, 85% Volume Bose SoundLink Max == 95% Xtreme 4 >= 100% Boom 2. Which bring me to my next question, how often do you need something so loud from something so small? Dunno. Honestly 80% is way fine for me. 60% max indoors. So to summarize, the *very rare* compressions only can happen at volumes that I do not regularly use the Max at. I'd just like to note that I did have 2 more issues that everyone "Certified me as normal" (probably because shilling). There is SUBSTANTIAL parasitic drain. Think 20%-25% battery in 2 weeks. The battery also gets MURKED at 80% volume. It's normal that it drains more, but the drainage was insane. The drain wasn't anywhere near that intense on the JBL Xtreme 4 at high volumes. So to repeat myself, unless you REALLY WANT THE FORM FACTOR (and this was huge for me), I'd upgrade to the JBL Boombox 3 for bigger sound or stick to the Xtreme 4 and Boom 2 if you want to keep the form factor. Favoring Boom 2 imo. It's important to note that we probably don't have the same use case. I listen to a lot of genres of music that are often instrumentally heavy but not vocally-heavy and not necessarily always bass-heavy. Xtreme 4 sounds better for vocals because of how much focus it puts on the mids if you don't care about anything else. Boom 2 is just a bass machine. Bose Max for "All-Rounder".

The bose isnt bad at all. There plenty out there that actually sound bad. Also its the only thing i've no latency issues or connection issues. Every jbl i've had has had Bluetooth issues, latency, and broken on me. With bose i've never had a single peice of equipment fail on me since my first acoustimass back in the day

I agree as well. I dont experience any distortion at max volumes. Can vary on audio sample quality as well.

I went with bose soundlink max for compactness and loudness. Might be on sal still for 299$ some places

Sounds fine to me at lower volumes actually one of the reasons i held on to it when i bought it

I did to. I would go bigger but you cant just walk around with stuff like that ya know

Got the bose soundlink max for 299$ recently. Its the bees knees

Just got the soundlink max for 299 and its amaze balls

I have a max. Its portability is quite nice

I am happy with it because its the loudest thing i cod find that fits in the mesh sleeve of my hiking bag. I would say go with your. Hoice of onyx. The o ly reasons i got a max instead of the onyx is because the max is 20hrs playtime with ip67 and 15w type c charging. My max is much more portable friendly on every front.

I find the Bose to be most pleasing of anything available in the market and did not hear any distortion when testing it thoroughly - waiting for some discount on this side of the world before I buy it !

I think you want Bose Max - flex is too small for serious listening

Beautiful sound, tested against multiple speakers and my whole family agreed that this is the best speaker (tested against Sonos, Kilburn, Soundcore, H&K, JBL charge etc.) We ended up buying Kilburn as it was 50 pct cheaper :) They do not have loud bass if that is something that you care for.

I'm genuinely impressed by my Bose SoundLink Max, but it's expensive.

If you only want a single portable speaker,go with Bose SoundLink Max. Yesterday I saw a reboxed one on blue, for 245$, amazing deal.

SoundLink Max just sounds very nice,but high price. You also have eq HK go play 3,a great speaker x2 motion 300,what i mostly use. Custom eq in ap, custom dolby atmos eq and playing generally from Tidal. If you test the speakers from the box vs how mine sound. You would 100% say the brand new ones are fake lmao :)). But that's the nice thing about them, you can make them sound amazing,got em for ~ 60$/piece Sonos Move 2. Got it for I think 300$ reboxed. Very nice speaker. Onyx studio 7&8. The 7 was like 150$ on a deal recently. Not a big difference between them in sound. Modern look,good solid sound. Beosound a1 gen 2. Only if you get a nice deal for 150$ or less. Quality build and detailed sound quality. For low volume listening only,max 50% I would say. Devialet Mania. Amazing speaker,very overpriced. I saw the grey one, reboxed for 600$,maybe your lucky and get it for 500$,a more "acceptable" price. Beosound A5. Just amazing, very expensive.

Stanmore 3 is a good speaker,just buy it and return if you don't like it. Other speakers I would recommend are Sonos Move 2 or SoundLink Max from Bose if you want something more portable. HK go 3 is also a really good speaker,and you can find it really cheap on some reboxed units.

Bose SoundLink max, especially if you can find it at a good price

At that price the best can be anything, do you care about size? Bose flex max if not Sony ult 7 Or a big jbl with wheels up to you

for me its was the best small portable speaker loud and nice

I went from a boom 2 plus to the bose max, i feel it sounds better and has better bass

bought it used for 200, nice sound and loud, just hated the rubber that attracts dust and hair

I would suggest the Bose Soundlink Max, but only when it's on sale for $300 or if you can find a Best Buy open box. I walked out paying $230 for mine. I bring it to work with me every day in my backpack, has excellent sound quality, and it highly durable. It pretty much checks all your boxes. You won't find another blue tooth speaker at it's size that has the stereo imaging and quality of sound it has. the sweet spot is VERY wide on it compared to the cheaper alternatives (soundcore, tribit, wking) etc. Again though, it's the price that makes it hard to swallow.

i second the bose soundlink max for your requirements. you can adjust the lows/mid/highs via the Bose app. For an inside, low to moderate volume, this device delivers!

I've always loved the Bose sound but didn't want to pay the $400 price. Fortunately for me, today they went back on sale for $300 and my local Best Buy has an Open Box in Excellent condition, so I walked out paying **Total:**$229.48 for one. I'm happy to say the least!

The Bose Soundlink Max has very good stereo separation for an all in one if you can spend the $400 on it.

I have both. I got the Flex for $109 and the much larger Max for $380. Sure the Max is louder, has more bass, better Bluetooth and an AUX input. But the Flex has it's own features and less annoyances that it's hard to accept the much higher price of the Max. Here is why the Flex is better: 1. **The Soundlink Flex has a microphone**. The Soundlink Max does not. 2. **The Soundlink Flex can be turned on from your phone!** When I'm in bed, I can turn on the speaker from a distance using just my phone. For the Flex, I go to the *Bose Connect app* and slide down the icon to turn the speaker on. However the regular *Bose app* of the Soundlink Max does not allow this. I must manually press the power button on the Soundlink Max to turn it on. 3. **The Soundlink Flex has no white noise.** On the Flex, there is white noise after pausing music but it disappears after 5 seconds and the speaker is completely silent. But for the Soundlink Max, after you pause music, white noise remains indefinitely, and it is noticeably loud when your room is super quiet and your ears are near the speaker. For those who don't know, white noise is the background noise the speaker makes when the speaker is on but not playing sound. It can be annoying for some people. 4. **The Soundlink Flex has accurate battery readings.** The Flex has an accurate battery update at all times. But for some reason, the Soundlink Max has a delayed battery reading. I can play music for hours and the battery level on the Max remains at 100% from day to night, giving me a false impression that the battery is that good. But the next day, when I turn the Soundlink Max back on, that is when the battery reading adjusts itself and the 100% battery from the previous night suddenly drops down to like 60% in the morning. Why aren't people who own both speakers pointing these things out?

The battery and especially sound quality is beyond amazing. But it’s just the little things and annoyances about it that make it hard to justify over the flex. I only want to keep one speaker and I think I’m leaning towards returning the max and keeping the flex. I purchased from Bose so I have 90 days to decide.

At the time of this posting, the Bose Soundlink Max costed $400 so the huge price doesn't justify the little hassles. But now on Black Friday, you can get the Soundlink Max for $300 and if you buy refurbished on Best Buy, you can get one for $250 and that is a really good deal that I would just go for it.

Keep the max. You can always turn the max volume down to flex levels but you can’t raise the flex volume to the “max” levels

I upgraded from the soundlink III to the new soundlink max and I’m pretty happy with it so far.

I bought the Bose soundlink max a couple months ago and kept it for 6 days then returned it. I have the original soundlink revolve and the soundlink mini ll special edition and the soundlink revolve plus and I like them very much but for $400 plus tax and not be able to play it at max volume for the distortion is a shame. I played every kind of music you can think of through it and at about 70% volume it sounds amazing but any thing past 70% sounded like shit ! I will say it has good stereo separation and has a wide soundstage. The sound seems alot bigger than it actually is and it has good bass, better bass than anything Bose has out there as far as portable bluetooth speakers goes. With all that said it's not worth it IMO ! It's a joke compared to JBLs boombox 3 ! JBL's boombox 3 is cheaper than the Max and sounds so much better, my friends think so too ! But the baddest bluetooth speaker in the world right now is the Sony ULT FIELD !!! JBLs boombox wifi can't hold a candle to it ! My friend has one ( which he got for the same price as the boombox 3 wifi ) and it shakes his house, vibrates his windows ! He puts it in the back seat of his car and and it punches so hard you can feel it to the bones! It sounds like he got like a real experience stereo mounted in it. Please everyone there's a new kid in town and the news is spreading fast man I'm telling you Sony has really did it right on the Ult field 7. Please read customers reviews, comments from the audiophiles and the initial impressions test ! It's a freaking monster!!! Crazy bass, makes the JBL bb3 sound like a toy in comparison ! It's crazy loud, scary ass loud ! I can't find out yet how many decibels it does at max volume but it's louder than the JBL boombox 2 !!! I'm saving money up for it. It charges your phone or you plug a guitar up to it. Its even got a gain knob so you can adjust your guitar sound ! It does all kinds of things but the sound is truly amazing crisp clean audio. It is too loud for playing inside your house perfect for outside parties and at max volume it sounds crystal clear and doesn't loose any of it's bass the louder you turn it up the more punch and thump it has to it . NO DISTORTION at all. Itsthe baddest loud bluetooth speaker out there ! This is facts not my opinion. You got to check in out !!!

I own both speakers. I’m only on my 2nd day with the Max and the bass is really good as the 2 side-firing radiators emphasize bass. I have to say, though, that unless you want insane amounts of bass, the Home Speaker 500 has pretty amazing sound. It really surprised me. I think I’ll end up thinking that some recordings sound better on the Max and others will be better on the Home Speaker 500. I’m leaning towards the Home Speaker 500, but it’s really too early for me to be definitive about it; not enough time with the Max yet. A few things I’m not liking about the Max: When using the auxiliary input, the speaker cannot be controlled from the Bose app (unless I’m missing something). I really wish it had Airplay. I’m not a fan of Bluetooth and since I’m in the Apple ecosystem, my devices can’t take advantage of some of the better codecs available for some Bluetooth devices. Home Speaker 500 has Airplay. As I’ve been typing this, I’ve been listening to a bunch of stuff off of my iPad Pro, connected to a simple DAC for Hi-Res music, fed into the auxiliary input on the Max and it’s sounding GREAT!

I have to say that, for as much as I love the Bose speakers I own, battery drain is far more noticeable than with other brands I own. My Bang & Olufsen speakers have the absolute least battery drain while idle; JBL is great for power retention, too.

I just received my Soundlink Max. I am wondering if it would be possible for Bose to add Airplay via a firmware update? I love that it's included on the Home Speaker 500, but not having it on the Max is a miss...especially considering how great the product sounds now. Airplay would take it to the next level!

I understand that. At the price they’re asking, it should offer WiFi.

Well, I have x2 revolve 2+, and they sound amazing, but bass drops off pretty quick. The max, is lower, and really does sound very nice, especially when a nice codec is being used. And ultra high sample rate when using Spotify or YT music etc. I'd love to see x2 Max's running but for now, it's my new grab and go. I also use it with a projector for movies and travel TV system and it's amazing for this. Vs the revolves, bass goes quite a bit lower, the SPL is greater, soundstage vs 2 revolves is not as good, but it's 2 speakers vs a single one, so to be expected. I will say tho, the max died an amazing job projecting a soundstage mider wider than your eyes think capable. The max is very nice to listen to, it's balanced and all types of music sound full and Ulta clear. I've been mainly leaving everything flat and bass up to 2-4+, this works for me and at very high volumes theres no distortion. I guess the reason for no party mode at this time is the Bose app, as Bose connect isn't compatible with the max, if Bose had have made the max compatible with both apps this would have been great, but connect app doesn't have EQ options, which is what Bose are pandering to and catering for now as listeners demands are changing, people want more EQ control, which is great but makes it harder to engineer a speaker that won't buckle when people set all EQ to 10 🤣🤣🤣🙈🙉 In an ideal world there would be a single Bose app for all the products, I have to use connect for revolves and S1 pros's, Bose app for headphones and max, sound touch for home cinema and garden and sleep for the sleep buds, so much apps 😅

Yes, I've noticed this on some Spotify tracks, I try to play lossless or high sample rate songs and with a nice phone with a good codec and decent internet connect, the max sounds very nice.

I hope party mode won't be to far away! I'm thinking of replacing my revolve 2+'s with two flex Max's for camping. They could be a nice sweet spot, more bass than revolve 2+ and easier to transport than my S1 pro's. 🙏🏻

I love mine! Play them every time I work. Paired, they sound phenomenal 

Wow. Thanks for posting this. I have 2 Bose portable smart speakers and love them paired, was wondering how the soundlink max compared to them. At $400 wish they made the soundlink max a smart speaker too! 

Hahaha. Thats insane the number of apps for the same brand! I really want AirPlay so when playing music from phone I can still use it for other stuff like make calls and Alexa mainly if I want to play a radio station or use Apple/amazon music without needing a phone.  The Bose portable smart speaker blows the Bose revolve plus out of the water in my opinion. I have the revolve plus and paired it with the portable smart speaker and it was too uneven/unbalanced so I got another portable smart speaker which when paired sound very very good.  If the soundlink max had airplay/wifi I would get it. Sonos move 2 is my best bet (don’t need super portability) but don’t want to use multiple apps and you cannot connect the 2 Bose portable smart speakers to the Sonos unless using a phone with AirPlay. Hoping for an updated portable smart speaker from Bose! 

Holy hell this sounds good. Wide soundstage, relatively clear stereo separation despite its size, crisp audio, and pronounced bass. Definitely sounds 2-3 sizes bigger than it actually is, and blows the flex away. At $400 it’s a luxury purchase, but in my opinion worth the money. While it obviously can’t compete with my home theater sound system, damn am I impressed. Only one complaint. It’s simplesync compatible, however when connected to my Bose Portable Home Speaker, the Max audibly crackles. Range doesn’t impact this, so I’m hoping it’s a software issue.

Just based on loudness, it’s pretty comparable to the Bose Portable Home Speaker. Though - clarity & bass are way more pronounced with the Max. It also doesn’t rely as much on reflecting sound.  I haven’t heard the newer Xtreme’s, but their waterproof speakers always sounded like they had a cloth over the drivers. While they played loud, the biggest difference I can see is at lower volumes. The Max sounds incredible detailed and clear for quiet listening.  Bass does drop off at higher volumes, but it can easily fill up a floor of your house with music. 

I mean, we’re talking about a portable speaker that’s smaller than a JBL xtreme so it’s not going to compare to a dedicated 2.1+ system. My 5.1.2 obviously blows it away. The Max tightens up at greater than 70%, but I do most of my listening at 30 to 50%. At that level I’ve been super impressed with the clarity and overall bass output. Placement also impacts bass and stereo separation.  Yes, $400 is expensive for what you get, but you’re also not going to touch a quality amp + sub + speaker(s) for 3x that amount. Different tools for different uses. 

Sounds like for your use a larger speaker is necessary. This one is still portable and surprisingly small - it would be fine for a downstairs house party, but not a large venue with people. 

I haven’t heard their larger PA option.  To be honest, the more I’ve listened to the Max the more I’m impressed with its output. You could always buy it & return if it doesn’t suit your needs. I really enjoy listening to it at 20-50% volume, but it can really get loud at 70+. Just loses bass definition & some clarity. 

Depth and clarity make a huge difference. I don’t have a pair to test & I haven’t heard the Soundlink in a little while, however, bass response was shallow from what I remember. Even with a pair, they wouldn’t get close to the Max. The closest I’ve seen is the Portable Home Speaker, however that’s dependent on placement and the Max hits much lower.  The max is able to, at lower volumes, hit notes that I haven’t heard from a portable speaker. The passive radiators help a lot. There are still limitations due to its small size, but it’s impressive. At higher volumes the bass falls off and prioritizes loudness. 

I also have the Big Jambox that I loved but didn't really use it anymore because the battery was worn. I ended up purchasing a replacement battery a few weeks ago on Amazon for about $30 and its super easy to replace. The Soundlink Max is definitely worth every penny. The clarity & bass on it is amazing definitely worth the $400 I spent on it.

The Max is far better than Revolve and Sonus. Amazing sound. Would highly recommend. Bought with 100 off on BF. Do it guys, no regrets

I have both the Soundlink Max and the Smart Speaker 500 and there great. I have family members that prefer JBL but for me those are basically garbage since there only loud but once there heard my two Bose speakers they were shocked at how clear it sound and the amount of bass that came out of the speaker.

I have the Max and I’m not impressed. The JBL charge 5 I have is less than half the price and has tighter bass with more pronounced mids. The bass on the max is muddy. I’ve tried EQ’ing it but it doesn’t improve. I also have the Boombox 3 which absolutely spanks the max. Also when you join the max with the flex in party mode there is a noticeable delay between each speaker which you don’t get with the JBL.  I’m very disappointed with this offering from Bose. 

Got mine in the mail today. I am coming from a Soundlink Mini for comparison. While it has some bass, it’s lacking. Anything over 60% volume, it loses its sound quality - likely a Bluetooth limitation. The stereo sound side to side isn’t that impressive or immersive. I’d say the speaker is worth $250 with the Bose name on it. For $400, I’m going to send it back. I was hoping for a richer bass and clearer mids and highs. This sounds like every other Bose where it’s sort of muddy throughout the whole range of frequencies. It’s great for an outdoor speaker that’s portable but indoor, it’s missing some of the range and clarity that I was expecting based on early reviews. I might switch to a dedicated amp, speakers, and sub. This just doesn’t feel special enough - especially for $400+.

Do not buy the Bose SoundLink max ! It distorts bad any volume past 70% and the EQ can't stop the bass from hardening up no matter what you do. It's not a good choice for a Bluetooth speaker IMO ! I owned one for awhile and I've always been a big fan of Bose but they let me down with the max. Believe me there are a lot better sounding Bluetooth speakers out there. I traded my Bose SoundLink max for a JBL Boombox 3 and it was the best trade I ever made. The bb3 was the same price as the Bose and I can't believe this JBL Boombox 3, it's crazy loud and has crystal clear sound at max volume and when I say volume it reaches 97 decibels at max volume. The bass on it is insane, knocks pictures off the wall ! Bose sounds like trash in comparison to the JBL ! My friends think so too !!!

The bass on the Bose SoundLink max is a joke !!! It sounds fake ! It's absolutely to expensive considering there are so many Bluetooth speakers that the sound quality is way better for way less.

The Bose SoundLink max is a joke ! Don't buy one, it's fake sound ! The sound core motion+ sounds better !

I bought me a bose soundlink max and kept it about 6 days and returned it. I've always been a big fan of Bose's bt speakers, I own a soundlink mini ll SE, a soundlink revolve and the soundlink revolve + and I guess I had my expectations set too high cause it was a big let down ! I know new speakers need to broke in but it distorted so bad at max volume , it barely gets louder than my revolve + ! It does have a wider sound stage and does pretty good with stero even though the speakers aren't very far apart and it does have more bass than any bose bt speaker so far but I didn't think it was worth it at all ! As I was there to get my money back I saw a JBL boombox 3 for the same price so I traded for it and it's the best money I've ever spent, I'm serious it's no joke and I think it sounds way better than any bose I have . And my friends do also.

I bought the Max and kept it for 6 days and returned it ! I've always been a bose fan, I own the Mini ll SE , the original revolver and a revolve + and I guess I had my expectations set to high. I tried it with about every kind of music there is and it sounds great until you get past 80% volume and then it distorts pretty bad. For me I figure it ought to still sound good at max volume for $399.00 ! It gets louder than my revolve + but not by much. It does have a big soundstage and good stereo separation considering the speakers aren't that far apart but IMO it's not worth money.

With the v4.3 firmware update the bass in the Max no longer distorts

Aw man…I loved my Riva Turbo X! I’m sure others will have good recommendations. I’m mostly WiFi on my boat, but think if you spring for $100 more (or find used), the Bose SoundLink Max fits your bill, mostly. I decided that paired Flex 2s and Beats Pills made more sense for me as travel speakers.

Nope…still likely working but in storage. As for the Bose…technically you can run from mains, but battery life will eventually be impacted. Might not be an issue for years, though.

The absolute best option mantaining a fairly decent portable size is the Bose Soundlink Max, and it has great soundstage because the drivers are angled to the sides, but it's hella expensive. The Soundcore motion x600 is also a good option, cheaper and directly focused on spatial audio with dedicated modes. And the smallest option is the Soundcore motion+, also has a good soundstage and it is the cheapest.

I have both and the motion+ is not even close to the Soundlink Max, why do you say that?

If you want to keep some of the portability, the Bose soundlink Max is for sure your best option. I know that it is overpriced but is totally worth paying for, after hearing it for the first time and putting the bass at +10 on the equalizer. I have one and it is the best speaker i've ever had (compared to a Sony XG300, XG500, a JBL Xtreme 3, and a pair of JBL Charge 5's). For the options you mentioned, i've only heard the boombox 3 and Ult Field 7 in person and the Sony is crazy, it sounds hella loud and the bass hits incredibly hard, for the price and size i'm pretty sure it is the best.

Yes, i have owned JBL speakers, more specifically, 2 JBL Partybox Encore Essential and 2 JBL Charge 5's. The partyboxes were one of the best speakers i've ever had and the Charge 5's were some really nice speakers, though for me, the Soundcore motion+ mentioned in my post has better overall sound and soundstage. The only problem i had with JBL is that the Charge 5's had connectivity issues when paired in stereo. The best speaker that i own right now is my Bose soundlink Max. It has amazing soundstage, impressive bass, and unpaired instrument separation, though is a bit overpriced because you can get something bigger and better for the price, but for the size is the best without a doubt. If you're looking to switch brands i think that Soundcore is your best option, because Sony speakers are still mediocre unless you buy the Big ones, and Bose is overpriced and has no variety. Though i have to say that maybe your experience was simply bad luck, because for the majority of people here, JBL is the brand that is leading in terms of portable speakers. It has speakers for every size and use, it is relatively affordable and has great sound on all of their speakers. Still, to make my recommendations, for something cheap and nice, you can look for the Soundcore motion+ and Soundcore motion 300 (i have both). For bigger options, Soundcore boom 2, earfun uboom X, or tribit stormbox blast.

I had 2 JBL Charge 5's and tbh i never really liked them that much. For sure the sound quality was on point, but the fact that they were mono speakers was always a bit of a deal breaker for me, because it is very noticeable, not because of the stereo separation (like hearing something on the left and something on the right) but because of the overall soundstage. It also had other problems like not being able to equalize the speakers when they are paired in stereo, that was a problem for me because i'm a basshead and i don't like how bright is the stock signature EQ of the Charge 5's, also, the fact that they didn't even have a small strap made it so that i ended up using more my other speakers instead of the charge 5's even if the charge 5's sounded better, because having to carry it with your entire hand and grabbing the entire body of the speaker wasn't particularly of my liking for carrying it around with music outside, and putting them inside a bag was always a problem because of how "fragile" and easy to tear off the feet of the speakers are, and the logo on the front is extremely easy to scratch, just look at any used JBL speaker, the logo is almost always the thing that reveals that they're used speakers. Right now all of my speakers are stereo and i am very happy with that. Now i have a Bose soundlink Max and even though it is bigger and heavier i ended up using it more than the JBL Charge 5 because it solves all of those problems while also sounding better and louder.

Good choice, currently my best speaker is a Bose Soundlink Max, pretty unbeatable. Do you use the equalizer though? How much can you increment the bass practically? Because i was looking for a Soundlink Flex 1st gen but the equalizer just calls my atention on the 2nd gen because i love heavy bass, and that's exactly what the Soundlink Max delivers with the equalizer. Though it distorts a lot past 70% volume, does that happen with the Flex?

Not at all, i don't know why that would happen to you

I've only used the AUX once so i'm not sure but there was no latency

Yeah the Bose max is 100 times better and the EQ does work well because it only affects the low and mid bass so you cannot make it sound muddy in any way. If you need a recommendation for the size, it might sound surprising but the Earfun Uboom L is the absolute best small speaker i've ever heard/seen. I'm a EQ nerd so the 10 band equalizer along with the outdoor button that expands the soundstage a lot (wich is something i care a lot on speakers) is a W. I have like 15 custom eq's saved, and to make the comparison, i've had 2 JBL Charge 5's and a JBL flip 6, and the Earfun sounds as bassy and loud as the Charge 5 while being exactly the same size of the ULT Field 1, none of the three can compare.

The Motion 300 is a decent shout, but it's only IPX7, so you're not going to get that the dustproofing. And the grille design makes it a bit hard to clean dust out from. The Clip series is decent back lacks quality compared to the slightly larger speakers. I'd personally recommend the Bose SoundLink Flex or the new SoundLink Max. Those SoundLinks have some of the more durable speakers I've handled.

*I used a MiniDSP UMIK-2 measurement mic, and copied the EQ of the Bose Soundlink Flex 2 into a used Bose Soundlink III that I got on ebay.* *Now, the 10 year old Soundlink III, sounds as good as the Flex 2, except it is even better, because it is stereo, and has four drivers instead of one.* *The Max has two woofers and one tweeter, so it still sounds less good than Soundlink III if you EQ the Soundlink III.*

I own a Bose Home Speaker 500 and tried the Bose Soundlink Max for a few weeks. The max has a battery and is portable, but the 500 has much better, cleaner, detailed sound quality. Also, the Max has a stupid design: 1 tweeter at the center, and 2 woofers left and right. The woofers offer poor directivity, so stereo imaging is very poor. For that price, I could get a Bose 500 which has proper stereo, or a JBL Authentics 300, which has 2 tweeters left and right where they belong, and a woofer in the middle. I returned the Max and have kept the Bose 500. I may also try the JBL 300.

I got the Bose Max but I ended up returning it. I kept 2 Bose Soundlink Flex 2. They sounded more balanced. I also kept a JBL Authentics 300. It has a 7 band EW and I tuned it to match the Bose Flex 2 sound profile. It sounds sublime with this EQ It's on sale right now for $300, cheaper than the Soundlink Max. It's large but has a 6.5" driver. It's my 2nd favorite speaker (the 1st being JBL 305 MKII). Betweeb the Marshall and the Bose Max, I would go for the Bose. It sounds better. Just not $400 better.

Cap I own the sound link max and it’s a amazing speaker

I'd stay with the max trust me. Haven't even received any software updates to my knowledge which will fix any quirks or issues most people have. I brought this speaker to the beach and man.. Amazing

He actually says it sounds very good - even better than the similar prices UE Epicboom and much better than the soundocre boom 2. It may be the best sounding speaker so far in its size class. But its also very expensive and lacks features - no speakerphone, no lights, and so far not even stereo pairing (supposed to be added later wth a firmware update)

There no such thing as a best brand, as they have different strength. Bose has some of the best size to sound ratio speakers with the flex and the max, but they are expensive and lacking features. JBL is always good and the leading brand and they are very consistent in their products , while e.g Sony is very inconsistent but innovative and sometimes they have better features for a cheaper price, plus they have the best pairing system. And then there are those chinese brands like soundcore and tribit who deliver a lot sound for price with newest hardware also.

I have the spent the day listening and comparing a old school Bose Sounddock 10, Jbl xtreme 2, charge 5, flip 6 and the Bose Soundlink Max… the Max is by far the better sounding of all except for the SoundDock. the imaging and definition coupled with the tight lucious bass makes puts it in a league of its own.

I have the new soundlink max and I got to say it sounds good for its size. It does have a wider sound stage and the base is pretty good for its size. The only cons is the bass distortion and the price. I had the JBL bb 3 and I have the Tribit Stormbox blast and they sound great for there size and have great bass. If you’re looking for a small boombox with decent bass and wide stereo separation then the Bose is a great speaker

So I've got the soundlink Max and yes I love it. But what the hell is going on with charging it. So far I've had it on charge all day and it's still only at 60%. Keeps informing me the cable charge is too slow. So what cable should I be using. No help from Bose itself. Help please. By the way it was purchased in Australia with the caveat that only USA supply a charge chord.

Fuck man I saw this for 325 a week or two ago and waited too long now that I’m ready to buy and got my bills paid 😭😭

Thanks .. purchased mine!🤙

I recently purchased the Soundlink max and i am very satisfied with the performance. Only problem is that in one specific song i can hear a crackling sound. I have heard the same song on my headphones and other speakers i own but no crackling sound. So far the crackling is only coming from that one song, i have played around with the EQ, lowering the treble and bass but nothing. Should i be worried ?

I’ll probably still exchange it for another one. Too expensive to take the risk. If the new one does the same then it could be the recording quality.

Probably your best bet if you dont need to max your budget is something between the bose flex and the soundcore x600. I’ve Read a lot good about the ultimate ears boom but never saw one. Today I’ve actually bought one Sony xb-100: it’s good enough. For indoor is enough powerful for when I’m alone (main use) and for a room with 4/6 people. Only “issue” I had was the sound too thin when i first turned it on. Really too thin. i went on spotify settings and i noticed it had reduced bass EQ, after i put boosted bass it’s great. I like to have a smaller speaker than the JBL flip since most of the times i wouldnt need that and it’s half the size and weight. But it’s a 25€ speaker. I could easily buy another orange one in the future to just swap em when one is low battery or to pair em for stereo. But if I didnt wanted a small speaker to just trash around I would went straight to the x600 imo. Anyway, the best one for 300 is probably the bose max.

It sounds good at higher volume and over 10' away. Close up and quiet, it is rather unimpressive. The soundcore X600 is much better for that use case. At $400 after the widely popular Soundlink Flex, I expected a bit more. The voice response for actions like Bluetooth pairing is embarrassingly bad, loud, and uncustomizable. There is no microphone or WiFi connectivity for voice calls, smart home integration, or music streaming services like Spotify connect. It's a good speaker for next to the pool if you stay within Bluetooth range but it's lackluster in use cases that are important (to me at least) and surprisingly lacking features that one would expect in a speaker of this caliber.

Solid example of the bandwagon logical fallacy, not sure how to contest what you think most people say, but it's good for people to hear multiple opinions I guess. I suppose it's possible we have different ideas of what low volume means and are talking around each other. I don't really know what else to tell you, other than that the Bose Soundlink Max has an unimpressive cost to performance ratio in my mind.

Man I have one and have been unimpressed. The default (and only) voice narration is *terrible*, the increments in volume when using services like Spotify are way too large, the equalizer with the app only has three dials, and the connections to the handle seem super flimsy. Also it’s $300 and two Soundlink Flexes in stereo or something else would sound as good or better.

In the end i got a Soundlink Max. There is no second best

I've found that bang for buck if you don't need portability comes from soundbars with bluetooth subwoofers. You don't get portability, but they connect pretty easily and they're getting pretty cheap. You'll need to plug in to an outlet for the main unit and another outlet to power the sub. If you need portability, I've found the Bose soundlink sounds great at low volumes. I like the jbl xtreme 3 for big volume and outdoor activities, but it's not great at low volumes. Waterproof speakers lose some clarity at low volumes.

Picked one up for my dad on Amazon day, $100 off. It's clear at low and regular volumes and cranks louder than I was able to test in the medium sized room I was testing in. The sound felt very balanced across the volumes I played. The eq is pretty simple and effective. Overall not a bad choice if the size works for you.

I’ve tried a few Bluetooth speakers, but the Bose SoundLink Max is a standout for me. The sound quality is incredible with deep bass and clear highs, plus it’s waterproof and durable, so I can take it to the pool or beach without worry. The 20-hour battery life is a game-changer for long trips or parties, and I love the USB-C port for charging my phone in a pinch. If you want something reliable and premium, you can’t go wrong with this one.

https://preview.redd.it/sbc25bfwkjvd1.jpeg?width=5712&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3a7df002fb58f06de4de891c3f4dc1f56ff75e49 Easy to pair and they sound great

it works , i bought a second one after hearing of the update. blown away by the sound these 2 make in stereo mode!

Just got my second one and Dayum... the sound is HUGE

Prime Day was amazing, for me... Where have these Max speakers been all my life.

Thank you. I tried your eq settings and it sounded perfect at low volumes but at high volumes it was loosing balance so I lowered the settings to bass -1, middle +3 and treble +5. This is sounding much more balanced to my ears

+6 Bass , +4 Mid, +6 Treble is the sweet spot. Turn it up and enjoy! ☺️

Hey all. Just got the SoundLink max. Impressive bass, but mid/treb is definitely lacking compared to Sonos move 2 for example. I've played around with EQ and so far having a bit better clarity with bass +4 mid +2 treb +4 Anyone else played with the EQ settings on the same speakers and maybe had better results on the sound clarity? Trying to calibrate to get the max out of this bad boy. Thanks! Edit: typos.

Nice, I'll give it a go. I settled so far on +4 bass, +1 mid and +5 treb and it sounds very good. A little bass heavy, but I like it. I agree, move 2 has more natural sound but absolutely lacks the depth of the bass.

Bass +2, Mid +2 and Treble +3. I asked AI to create EQ settings to make it sound as good as my AirPods Pro 2, and it gave me exactly what I was looking for lol

I slipped these digits in and it sounds Top of the Pops...Bass +1, Mid +4, Treble +6. Nice clarity. Mainly listening to rock, acoustic, indie and a splash of hip-hop numbers these days. Onto?

I have play with the eq on my bose max and I mostly listen to Latin Music, Hip Hop, Reggae, Rock N’ Roll, 80’s Music, Rock. And my eq is set Bass 0, Mid 5, Treble 4, and at loud volume it sounds good.

Flip 6 and Bose SoundLink are both excellent options, but for me personally, after owning both, I’ll go for the Bose. Deeper bass and clarity.

Before getting the Flex Gen 2, I didn’t even think about Bose. But wow, the sound quality is incredible! My old Flip 6 was great, but the Flex 2 is on a whole new level. It’s now my go-to speaker, and for louder outdoor use, I got a Soundlink Max. I’ve always been a JBL fan when it comes to Bluetooth speakers, but now I’m officially team Bose. They’re a bit pricey, but they’re definitely worth it when they go on sale.

Enabled stereo AND party modes

Love it, super loud and balanced for its size

But light color tend to turn yellow through time. So no color is perfect.

I think thr battery drain has sth to do with the Snapdragon sound platform chip. S3 chip I believe.

The single tweeter definitely sound weird. You are right. I've tried to get the weird sound effect right adjusting EQ but then I found it's the tweeter.

The battery drains 25% per week while turned OFF! I had one but returned it for this reason. Sounds incredible tho.

Yeah but it’s a single teeeter placed in between two mid bass drivers.. it sounds kinda weird bc only the mid-bass ranges have any stereo separation while the poor tweeter in between tries to get out sound lol

Can confirm! 4.3.30 firmware enabled stereo pairing

Dude the bose severely clips at higher volumes which immediately handicaps it for outdoor usage😮‍💨

I just bought the bose soundlink max and I love it

Bose Soundlink Max has good bass. Or look for Sony Ultfield 7 on discounts. Or go for Sony XG-500 or its XG-300. They are good with bass and these speakers sound more open and detailed. JBL signature sound is too much narrow and doesn’t have details like other brands tho it has bass. And JBL equaliser is a hassle to use.

I was surprised that Bose SoundLink Max can't do that, while old UE Boom 3 can.

Through some sort of pricing glitch on the HP website I was able to snag a Bose Max for $208, blue, new, and got it this week. I’m a huge fan of the Flex for travel and portability, and got the Max mostly because of this deal being too good to pass up. And let me say, this thing is absolutely premium. I love the Bose sound in general. On the YouTube tests I prefer Bose pretty much every time— and this thing is loud and clear with thumping bass and clear vocals. I think I’d pay $300 for it without much concern, but over that amount I’d really pause. Now’s a great time to get one at the $300 mark with plenty of ways to get a few bucks off that number as well. The aux jack on it is great and the battery isn’t bad either.

I personally love it. While I know that’s subjective, most reviewers tend to say the same thing. I did the update through the app and honestly, I’m not sure what else I could want in a portable unit of this size. It easily fits into a bag and also can be the musical centerpiece of most any situation I find myself in. It’s just… *powerful*, clear, alive, thumping etc. And while I knew I’d like it, it still impressed me. If I was going to buy another Bluetooth speaker I wanted to be able to justify it, saying it’s premium and better. And it is. I even tried it in my car as a sound system driving around and I could see doing that too. It’s way better than what I have in my car.

I have the Max and I really like it. But I haven’t compared in person with the Marshall. I will say I get everything I want out of the Max and it’s far more powerful and deeper than I’d expected.

Had mine for four years and the battery shit the bed. Just upgraded to the sound link max

Performance wise I would put the Max on par with entries like Extreme 4 and Epicboom. while the outgoing Revolve+ is more on par with midsize speakers like Charge 5.

First, the disclaimer. I receive products through a program with a major retailer to provide honest and unbiased reviews. I was given the opportunity to receive a Soundlink Max and test it out. I have a Revolve+ (gen 1), the Flex, and now the Max, to use as comparisons. Quick initial impressions while I keep testing it out - the sound is much more full than either of the other speakers, which is expected. It is a stereo speaker and the sound stage, especially about 3-4 feet away, is huge. It sounds much wider than it is. Nice to not have to link two speakers to get stereo. Build quality is solid, although I still find it odd that Bose doesn’t cover the ports on a device designed for beach and splash. The analog input port in particular seems like a sand magnet. I have covers for both and will probably pop them in when outside. Audio is still where I’m testing and evaluating. It sounds better than both of the others by a pretty good margin, with a very full sound and more well rounded bass. In my initial listens I seem to hear an odd drop off in the mids probably around the crossover point between the tweeter and woofers. It sounds kind of like the tweeter can’t get that low and the woofer hasn’t picked up yet. Maybe a software tweak will correct that, or maybe it’s the tracks I have tested with so far and their encoding or mixes. I need to do some listening on a non-Bose speaker to see how that compares. It’s also very bright out of the box; I found that an eq of bass +5 and a treble of -1 or -2 seems to be more balanced for rocking outside. All of that said, it blows away the flex and revolve and I’m being picky as it is a $400 speaker. I’ll post some more thoughts as I continue to test.

Yes, I have 2 maxes and can confirm it works. Sounds really good and way more open. Max shows up in both the bose app and bose connect.

Party mode and stereo mode. You set the shortcut button as a pairing button. Makes pairing way more easier like JBL speakers.

I have tried pairing my Max with my revolve + and flex 2. No luck. It’s so frustrating! out of my speakers the one I paid most for is incapable of this. However I can pair the flex 2 and soundlink +. Bose needs to learn how to create a working software for all their portable speakers. It’s shameful.

I actually have mine set at bass +1 and mid and treble -3. I listen to mostly EDM Trance and the factory sound was tight and reverbed. These are the best settings. May increase the bass at times at the pool but the move 2 which I also have is more natural but isn’t waterproof.

I personally find the move 2 to have a great sound and bass but I suppose it depends on what you want. I wish it was slightly smaller and IP67. The roam was because I wanted the Sonos ecosystem but it just doesn’t output enough of anything to take places that isn’t the size of a closet. I have found the soundlink max quality is very song dependent unlike the soundlink flex and Sonos systems. Unfortunately being an audiophile and use B&W PX8 for my NC headphones I will never get the quality I expect. Bose is not the best quality but it offers a product that is beach proof. Hope they can adjust some of the quality issues with a firmware update.

I would recommend the Bose Soundlink Max, yes there are speakers in its price point or even cheaper that sound similar or even better. BUT none of those speakers are as compact and easily portable as the max, ie Boom 2, Boom 2 Plus, Blast or Onyx. They are all very much larger and not as portable. So if you’re looking for big sound in a very reasonable package, the Max is the way to go.

I have the Bose soundlink max and had the Middleton, the Bose sounds a lot cleaner and I think looks more modern and elegant. Don’t listen to those that say what about X speaker or X speaker sounds better than you find out that X speaker is better because it’s just gigantic (jbl boombox or Union X).

Sounds phenomenal but if it matters to you, it does have a pretty bad delay due to the DSP processing. The latency can be rough for any kind of instrument/dj type stuff for example. If this doesn’t matter to you then I think the sound is top tier for its size

Oh both bluetooth and aux in have a noticeable delay

Harmon Kardon will have a better quality than the Bose but the Bose is better built for outdoors while the Go+play is an around the house speaker. The go play has more speakers in it so you’ll get better instrument separation than the Bose which has less speakers. Bose is waterproof. Those are the strengths of the speakers. If you want pure audio quality Harmon Kardon hands down wins. If you want a speaker you can take anywhere the Bose is worry free.

Well OP asked about these two speakers specifically. In my opinion with these two the more drivers does make a difference. Especially indoor since the Harmon is tuned for indoor while the Bose is mostly tuned for outdoor. If I were going to get one it would depend on where I’m listening mostly indoor or outdoor. To be honest my outdoor speaker brand is JBL. My best friend is a Bose guy though and we both like each other’s speakers and think they sound really good. We just have personal preferences. Outside of my JBLs in my house I have Yamaha and Vizio soundbars that do good with music and entertainment and some Sony headphones. I use to own speakers and amps but I settle for convenience now and Bluetooth.

Bose soundlink max At the top of your budget probably above. But it is portable (more so than the storm box blast) yet able to fill any room in your house with sound, and sound quality is prioritized. It is IPV7 and will work for the shower and beach. I would look at this and other sub-boombox sized Bluetooth speakers. This is expensive but one of the best in its class - I think you will be happy with it and save your self weeks looking..

Yes, it arrived Saturday and it's really nice. Best thing I've gotten on Vine in a while. I'm in a really low tax bracket, so it cost me about $30 in taxes for a $400 speaker.

Thanks for the initial review! You seem to be pretty much the only person I can find who is reviewing this product early. I almost bought two of the flex’s for stereo mode but then saw this was dropping and decided it’s maybe best to wait for this. I don’t mind the price as I’ve had a Bose Micro for 3+ years and use it almost everyday. I’m expecting this to be a significant upgrade lmao… Please keep posting your thoughts / feelings / review findings regarding this speaker I’m extremely curious and will be following your content! Thanks.

I did just buy the Max- I figure it’s a lot better and I’d rather just deal with one than 2 speakers. Plus it’s like 3x flexs deep so it’s gotta be good

I bought mine in 2018 and it's still my favorite speaker. the Soundlink Max is admittedly better in direct comparison (sounds somehow clearer and more refined) however the Revolve is more convenient in daily life due to is size and shape. It's also superior in settings where you place the speaker somewhere and then move around a lot Weirdly Bose has kinda abandoned the Revolve line even though the Flex series cannot match it (I've compared them too)

I’d highly recommend the Bose because I have a Bose product I have two Bose products which I really love and it sounds beautiful to me it sounds beautiful I’d suggest the Bose micro the Bose mini or the Bose revolve or the Bose portable smart speaker or even the new Bose sound blink max Because I feel like they’re meant to be the best and also I would go with ultimate ears UE Because I have had a role for about seven years now and it was good it was awesome one of the best things I’ve ever had

I have been finding this to be troublesome while hunting for a new speaker I have an oootz speaker that’s cheap and does the job as well as a old Bose one but most speakers being sold don’t have aux ):

I love JBL, but BOSE sounds cleaner and better by a fairly large margin.

Bose SoundLink. I have a iPhone 11. Smooth Wi-Fi connect. Great for room and shower use on the daily. Ambient sound in like a group setting.

Idk if this is really the place for this question but I sorta like the JBL Bluetooth speakers. But I have a Bose portable one (surprisingly) that I really like too.

I compared Bose SoundLink, Jbl charge 5, Jbl flip 6, Soundcore Motion X600, Klipsch Nashville and HK luna. I chose Luna from all. The best balanced sound for this price range. I found JBL highs to harsh, bose pretty good but not so open , Klipsch missing any lows, and Soundcore...I liked it but when I listened side by side with Luna...well..I ended up with Luna :)

Bose soundlink is a good option. A little out of your price range, but worth checking out IMO.

Yeah, I have the old soundlink and I have no issues with it. I can only imagine the new version is the same if not better.

I have them. They’re cool to show off to your friends right up until the moment that you turn them on. They have zero depth, zero bass, and really aren’t that loud. My Bose SoundLink sounds 1000x better and is much louder. You’ll get better sound from just turning on your stereo and rolling down the windows. I was highly disappointed. I don’t have any connectivity issues like a lot of people. As soon as I drop the gate, it turns on and immediately starts playing music from my phone. I really wouldn’t spend the money unless you hear one in person and decide it’s worth it. Because it’s not.

Using an old Bose sound link Bluetooth speaker when I need more sound that the mini provides.

I’ve got a Bose Soundlink, worth every penny.

Bose Soundlink. I am notoriously bad about not taking care of things and them falling apart or breaking. These things are indestructible, provide bose sound and all three of mine link together despite the fact that my oldest one is 13 years old. I love them.

I tried several small speakers at Best Buy. The clarity of the Bose Flex is impressive. I have the UE Wonderboom. It has nice clarity too.