Bose SoundLink

Music. Whenever. Wherever.

Says Bose about its new portable speaker Bose SoundLink, and catches my attention immediately. I was considering to buy a wireless speaker system for a long time already, and after trying the new SoundLink in store, I bought it without thinking too much over it.

I am a big music lover and quite obsessed with sound quality - to the level that I'd rather not listen if I had to listen to my music with Apple's default white earphones. Hence I have high standards when it comes to music, sound quality is a pre-requisite, and SoundLink passes that test with a good grade. I can't say it's the dock with the best sound, but given the size of the thing, quality is mind blowing. First I tried it with some House tracks and if I hadn't heard it with my own ears in store, I'd never believe such a tiny box can produce so good bass. After trying with various rock / acoustic / country songs I can confidently say mids and highs are also surprisingly good. Don't expect bass as deep as Beatbox and highs and mids as clear as SoundDock 10, but keep in mind that SoundLink is 4 times smaller vs. those. Yes, the sound could be more detailed, but it's still pretty solid.  SoundLink can also go pretty loud sustaining its sound without major distortion, and that's also a big plus. 

As usual Bose did a very good job on design and materials used in the product, so it looks very sleek and stylish. Also I love the "smart cover" feature a la iPad, which serves both as a protection and a stand for the speaker. Also similar to iPad smart cover, SoundLink turns off itself when you close the cover. 

Wireless connection works brilliantly, and you can connect any smart device with Bluetooth. I used to connect my laptop to my home theatre via Apple TV before, but now I mostly use SoundLink because it's much faster to connect as the speaker keeps a memory up to 6 devices and connects to the latest one automatically when turned on. In addition, SoundLink serves me better as I can use Apple TV only with applications that has AirPlay feature but SoundLink will play any sound that's supposed to come out of my laptop speakers. SoundLink can be a good high quality replacement for your default laptop / iPad speakers.

With full charge you can listen to 8 hours of music, which will be more than adequate most of the time. I already took it to some parties and trips, even on the boat when I was sailing. It's a great addition to friend gatherings and parties.

Conclusion:

Bose SoundLink has good quality sound with solid design and material choice. Only if had more detailed sound, it would be my favorite speaker of all, but I guess this is as good as it gets for such a small device. It deserves a 4.5.

Reviewed by: Can Ceran

ceran@istanbul.com