Bose - SoundLink Plus Portable Bluetooth Speaker

The Bose SL Plus will likely be a solid fit for you as Bose has a pretty balanced sound, out of the box. Not sure if you’re looking for indoor v outdoor but you might look into getting two SL Flex and setting them up in stereo mode. They sound incredible.

Just got my pair of Soundlink Plus today, the Yellow colour is pretty wild, but fits the summer vibe in my part of the world. I ordered it with the Black one - funny how it looks smaller than the Yellow when hung off a hook on a black coat stand. Wow the sound is really good as a stereo pair, although I am using them in small room (about 10 square metres) with a tiled floor. I find the EQ surprisingly effective too, you can really dial down the bass and make a noticeable change to the mids and highs. They were quite expensive to buy, as I could have bought the Max for the same price, but I'm very happy with them and the smaller form factor is just perfect.

I bought a pair of SL Plus for stereo mode and with stock EQ they do sound rather boomy, but to my surprise the mids and highs didn't sound muffled which was the impression I got from listening to many reviews of the SL Max. I am using mine in a small room with not much soft furnishings so that doesn't help with the low end. I found the EQ pretty good though for taming the bass. The Charge 6 looks a very decent speaker for the price and is probably a better buy for most until Bose drop the price of the SL Plus.

Garbage is a ridiculous thing to say, sure they are not audiophile speakers for serious listening, but they sound great when the EQ is tuned. HEAD Acoustics have an MQDAS score for different aspects of audio quality and the SL Plus score 3.3 (considered high for a bluetooth speaker) vs 2.7 for JBL Charge 6. [https://www.soundguys.com/bose-soundlink-plus-review-better-than-the-jbl-charge-6-139985/](https://www.soundguys.com/bose-soundlink-plus-review-better-than-the-jbl-charge-6-139985/)

You don't like the speaker, I get it! Yes, the app has a 3-band EQ and it makes a huge difference.

Speaking of flaws, my Soundlink Plus will not connect to the Bose app, I'm desperate to reduce the bass on the equalizer. No problem with the flex just the plus? The app doesnt even feature the Plus? Confused?

maybe they werent muffled because 3-10khz responsw is boosted like 6db. This speaker sounds like a total garbage

what eq? you mean this 3 band eq? it doesnt fix the sound, this speaker sounds like bose soundlink mini

The soundlink plus is a bit disappointing, and is more expensive than the rest. The charge 6 and ULT 3 are great, i'd give the edge to the jbl. The sony has a larger cabinet with a smaller driver, it doesn't produce as much low bass, and it distorts if you try getting some deep bass out of it.

Interesting... that's what i was expecting. I really like the design of the bose, the fact that everything is hidden. But yea the charge 6 is just a beast for way less money. It provides pretty crisp and detailed sound while having a surprising bass response, Especially with some eq. The bose is solid but the bass is too boomy, there's not much you can do with the eq as well. But maybe i'll get it sometime.

I couldn't help it, i already got it on ebay A blue one😆 I think i'm a bit infected by the bose syndrome. Something about the design and signature of the recent bose speakers that really drags me into buying it

So iv'e been using the bose for more than a week now, and i'm ready to share my experience next to the year and a half old soundlink max. As far as the max, it's not the most loved speaker but it's the best speaker from bose yet, Offering it's unique soft sound signature and heavy upperbass. Lot's of people consider it being better than the new middleton 2 (future comparison will happen). The new soundlink plus, the smaller brother of the max, brings certain things to the table, but degrades others: ■Good upgrades over the max: -Better battery life -more clarity at higher volumes and treble detail -slightly smaller and lighter ■Downgrades from the max: -lacking in the mids -peaky 8khz area of treble -mono audio So those pretty much are my main factors when it comes to how both compare, but let's be more specific. Some of those can be fixed on the plus with a firmware, including the peak on the treble that increases especially when adding treble and mids using the bose eq. Also boost the mids a bit, to get more body to the sound and vocals. There is some lowend rumble that isn't very noticeable (depends on placement), but i prefer to have more mids and upper bass like on the max than having that useless rumble that just shakes the speaker without much being heard. When it comes to drivers, i believe that the soundlink plus uses one of the woofers of the max, and a tweeter from the max, but in this case they're crossovered, unlike the max which got the woofers playing full range, which is also why it has the clarity advantage over the max. My overall conclusion is, that the plus is not a bad speaker at all, i just think it could be better. Especially for the price. If the max goes on sale for 300$, it's a no brainer to get the max. The size difference between both is not huge, but you are losing a lot in the sound department if getting the plus instead. I believe that if bose balances out the plus in terms of treble and mids and maybe reduces that useless low end at low volumes and adds more upperbass instead, it would have a better status than it currently has even against the charge 6. Anyway thanks guys!

yup, i second this take. the JBL is probably the best of the bunch. i do think the bose puts out a touch more bass by default, but if you're after balanced sound the JBL is the way to go.

Interesting, as my wife and I just did our own sound test with the Charge 6 and the SoundLink Plus and found the results totally opposite of the linked review above: almost every song we played, or instrumental, sounded much better on the Plus than the Charge 6. My wife initially like the 6 better but once we did some serious listening she went for the Plus. Vocals sounded much clearer, more lifelike, on it. Also, at lower listening levels the speaker excelled. We also tested the SoundLink Flex and the JBL Xtreme 4. The Flex sounded quite nice, but the Xtreme offered nothing better than the Charge 6 for the money.

I bought it and kind of regret it since it is BARELY better than the regular Flex. It is definitely a mids and highs forward speaker with nearly the same amount of bass as the standard Flex. I'll keep it for now, but will most likely sell it to get the Max instead. The standard Flex has a much warmer sound. The Flex Plus is too bright and the mids smash you in the face over everything else. I think they did this to give the appearance of being louder and clearer.

We have one of those still going that is older than 2017. Not sure when we bought it, but have had it forever. Only travel speaker we take on our adventures.

Same here! My 2 soundlinks are still going strong and I even still have my sounddock from when I was young.

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 !

Diggin my Bose Soundlink. Thin for portability. The bass isn't mind blowing but I was surprised for the size. Sounds great.

I do. for me. so I'm the guy who rarely listens to music around others. I don't like listening to others music especially out side, at a park or beach for example. so I don't listen to my music loud out of consideration. this little bose unit sounds great to just chill with on the back porch, not loud enough for the neighbors to hear but it's able to reproduce great sound at moderate levels. I like this flatter form over the round speakers, it will pack better. if it packs better the chance is higher it will go more places with me.

Yes. I can hear the bass at low volumes. All frequencies are well produced.

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

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 a Bose soundlink and a soundlink mini and I think they’re both pushing 15 years. The mini has been drug all over golf courses and gotten wet countless times. The soundlink has been outdoors on patios or back porches everywhere I’ve lived that entire time

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.

The woofer just blew on my 10 year old soundlink. I'm crushed.

I have both the JBL clip and Bose sound link. Both amazing, depending on need. If it’s staying around the house, sound link. On the move, beach, etc… JBL

Ah, when you said black and orange I immediately thought jbl. I have a jbl charge and the battery is amazing. My OG Bose soundlink? Still cranking after over 12 years.

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 have a black and orange. They can be paired to make a super speaker. Easy to travel with and waterproof. Havent bought another speaker after this one! So good

Bose Soundlink hands down

I rocked a BOSE Soundlink for a decade as my portable speaker of choice. I totally bought BOSE sales pitch in the brochure that said the speaker would not produce needlessly exaggerated bass & was built for space filling clarity. Wonderful!  Then I got a first generation MOVE & couldn’t believe what a measly sound experience I had been enduring. The BOSE soundlink series are NOT stereo speakers. They do not move enough air to produce any significant low-end tones. YES, you can crank it to full volume without distortion. But it still a mono, compressed Bluetooth signal. Have you ever sat a MOVE on a piece of wooden furniture outdoors? FORGETABOUTIT!!! The move sitting on my wooden stairs or patio ROCKS THE WHOLE FUCKING YARD.  And the way it can hold on to my crappy over-crowded 2.4GHz wifi signal at ASTOUNDING distances from my house is downright mystical. My kids can be in the neighbours yard, outside, 200 feet from my router & still bark song requests at Alexa and IT WORKS!!  Our Move has had the shit kicked out of it. It’s dented & scratched & has paint flaking off of it. It’s been left out overnight in the rain multiple times. Gets chlorinated pool water all over its control surfaces, weekly.  But it still sounds AMAZING. And the battery life is still delightfully robust despite years of faithful service. 

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 :)

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.

Oh bose is no competition to the charge 5, crossover on the soundlink series is horrible and it made the speaker sound muddy. Your gonna get better speakers cheaper than the bose, their just really greedy with their shit. It just looks more premium, thats all.

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

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.