You're a musically savvy chap or chappette, right? Why confine your music taste to your own ears when the world could benefit from your sonic wisdom? Bust out the Bose SoundLink Wireless Mobile speaker and fill your friends' faces with tunes, all via the magic of Bluetooth.
This diminutive speaker will set you back around £260, or £300 if you want the version with the fancy leather front. That's a lot of cash to splash, so is the SoundLink worth it?
Design
The SoundLink makes a good first impression. Its natty design is classier than that of most portable speakers. There's brushed metal around the sides, chrome around the edges and a row of buttons finished in matte black along the top. The front plays host to a wide, silver grille. The protective flap that covers the grille folds beneath the speaker and acts as a stand.
For a laugh, try out the SoundLink in a public place and see how long it takes for someone to cave your face in.
The SoundLink is fairly small. Measuring 244 by 130 by 48mm, it's slender enough to fit in a bag and carry around. Its weight might stymie your adventures, however -- at 1.3kg, you'll definitely feel the heft of this unit if you're lugging it about.
All things considered, this speaker cuts a fine figure, although, at this price, we'd expect nothing less.
Build quality
You'd be forgiven for thinking something that looked so at home on your mantelpiece would prove too fragile to survive life out and about, but, happily, the SoundLink's build quality is quite solid.
The frame feels well glued together, and we'd hazard that it would survive a knock or two. We wouldn't smack it with a sledgehammer, but we think it'll handle a picnic just fine, and the protective flap that folds over the grille may protect the speaker from light spills.
Nevertheless, dropping the SoundLink could prove an expensive mistake. Unless you've got disposable cash coming out of your ears, we'd think long and hard about what kind of punishment you put this little speaker through.
Bluetooth
The SoundLink connects to your gadgets via Bluetooth. While there's a 3.5mm socket around the back too, Bluetooth connections are definitely what Bose has in mind for this speaker.
Connection to your smart phone or laptop of choice will likely prove simple enough, although there are few issues. For example, if you turn the volume up to maximum on your mobile, it won't be maxed out on the speaker -- you'll have to keep pressing the mechanical buttons on the SoundLink itself. The same goes for turning the volume down.
Bose reckons the wireless range is about 10m, although we managed much further than that. It's safe to say that the SoundLink will probably keep playing from as far as you're likely to need to roam.
Apple fans will be sorry to see there's no AirPlay support. We've been impressed by other devices that use Apple's wireless playback tech, so it's a shame Bose hasn't seen fit to stuff it inside the SoundLink.
There's a lithium-ion battery inside the SoundLink that Bose thinks will manage about 8 hours of playback before conking out. We think that's a respectable amount of time away from the mains. The battery takes about 2 to 3 hours to charge fully from empty.
Sound quality
Sadly, sound quality is the weakest aspect of the SoundLink. We funnelled an array of tunes through its miniature carapace, but we weren't especially impressed by the clarity of the noise it produced, with everything sounding quite muddled.
Behold the pull-down protective flap.
The opening squeaky guitar riff in No Doubt's Just a Girl didn't sound as sharp as we'd like, and all the mid and high tones sounded quite flat, with little precision. The SoundLink delivers decent low-end smack for its size, but there's not much definition to the bass, and pounding tracks like Pendulum's Propane Nightmares don't sound as riotous as they should, instead sounding slightly muddy.
At high volumes, you'll be impressed by the amount of noise this tiny box spits out, but the audio quality will quickly degrade. The sound on offer isn't bad per se, but it's not what we'd expect from a speaker that costs this much.
Conclusion
The Bose SoundLink Wireless Mobile offers a classy design and it's simple enough to operate, but it's let down by a high price tag, distinctly average sound quality and its weight. We think you'd be better off shopping around for a cheaper, more portable speaker.
Edited by Charles Kloet
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User reviews11
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rge 13 May 2013
Bad: Bluetooth Connection
Comment: Having been a big fan of Bose equipment I was slightly taken aback by this unit. Purchased mainly for use on holiday I took it for granted it would be top notch. Especially at £250. The build quality is good. Its hefty but that would be expected if quality sound is to achieved. The sound was average, which for Bose is well short of their norm. The main let down is the Bluetooth connection. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. It would drop connection and stutter back again. I tried different sources and tried the same sources on other equipment and the common problem was the Bose unit. I was very disappointed. I think it would have been just as bad if it were £99 as there is nothing worse than listening to music which keeps cutting off.
This doesn't do the Bose reputation any good in my eyes.
Justin Oh 24 June 2012
Good: Sound
Bad: Weight
Comment: The Bose Soundlink is most definatly one of the most highest end speakers. Costing £249/£299 depending which cover you get. It weighs in at a hefty 1.5kg and the dimenions are: 130 x 245 x 50 mm wich makes it pretty big. The battery will take only 2-3 hours to charge and can run on morate volumes for 8 hours. The design of the speaker looks very professional and sleek. There is also a cover fixed on to the speaker which turns off the speaker when closed.The speakers are bluetooth enabled, but there is an AUX port if you do not habe any bluetooth enabled devices, the AUX cable is also supplied.
There are 4 very powerful speakers and dual passive radiators to boost up the bass and keep the speaker where it is. The sound quality is what how would expect from Bose, simply amazing. The trebles are perfect as well as the clear deep bass. The bluetooth works well paring with devices, and the speaker can go very loud. The speaker is also excellent for gaming and watching movies.
These speaker are perfect for any music lover, but you must be a serious music lover to splash £249 on a speaker but it'll be worth the money as there is no speaker as good as this.
DannyC 11 May 2012
Good: Sound
Bad: Connection
Comment: For me it sounds great, remember it is dealing with mp3s over bluetooth so there are limits to it's quality. but for what it is, it's fantastic. My only issue is that when i change the device connected it can get confused sometimes. Lasts for 6-8 hours on battery.
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