Bose SoundLink Wireless Mobile Speaker – Nylon - Best mp3 speakers site, right here

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M. Erb (Syracuse, NY) –

  

  

  

Customer Video Review Length:: 7:58 Mins

I own several bluetooth wireless speaker systems, the most recent of which is this Bose Soundlink. But I also own the Altec Lansing iMW725 inMotion Air Universal Wireless Speaker and considering its sound quality and price, its an extremely worthy consideration.

The Bose Soundlink speaker system is a well-made, except for the aux input on the back panel which looks unfinished, otherwise It is substantial in construction. It’s a bit hefty for a truly portable speaker, depending on what your definition of portable is. I’ve compared the sound of the Bose Soundlink to quite a few other speakers, including the aforementioned Altec-Lansing iMW725 and it’s got good sound, but it’s certainly not the golden standard by which all speakers should be judged.

The integrated cover/stand protects the speaker when its not in use but also serves as the speaker base/stand when the speaker is in use. The magnetic closure works really well and an added feature is that if the speaker is operating, simply closing the cover automatically turns off the speaker. That’s a thoughtful touch.

The speaker just exudes quality. I really don’t understand how Bose could leave the aux input looking so unfinished though. It’s really odd since it’s so obvious. Maybe it’s not a big deal, but for a relatively expensive piece of gear, I expect more. If feels good, it looks good and the sound is decent although I would not say it was spectacular.

It does have the ability to play very loud and produces a substantial amount of bass for a speaker so small. Bose is known for doing amazing things in the way their speakers produce bass and this speaker is no exception. However good the bass is, I did find this speaker lacking clarity and definition in the mid and high range. When this speaker is compared side by side to the Altec Lansing iMW725, the difference is profound. I can’t tell you it’s “better” than the Bose because that is a subjective judgement. For me, I do like the clarity of sound the Altec Lansing provides over the Bose Soundlink. However the Bose does produce more bottom end sound so if that’s what you like, you may prefer the Bose for that reason.

The Bose Soundlink has the ability to remember up to 6 different bluetooth devices which is great. If you attempt to add a 7th device, it will simply “forget” one of the previously paired devices to make room for the new device. No worries though, you can always add the “forgotten” device back at a later time.

There is no remote control provided and that’s not really a big deal because if you’re using an iPhone, for instance, you can control the loudness of the output of the iPhone on the phone itself, as well as stopping, pausing or changing song selections. But I can see where having a remote could be an advantage in some situations.

The volume control lacks any indication of where you are on the scale of loudness although the Bose has a volume indicator that will blink twice when the minimum or maximum level has been reached. But you don’t really have any idea where you are on that scale visually.

There is no tone adjustment on the speaker, all adjustments of that nature would have to be made on the device from which the Soundlink is paired to.

The ability to hook up an auxillary device via the provided mini-plug cable is very handy particularly if you want to hook up an mp3 player or other device that does not have any bluetooth capability. I’ve successfully paired a laptop, iPhone and desktop computer, all with bluetooth to the Soundlink with no difficulty whatsoever.

Overall I like the Bose Soundlink although I don’t feel as strongly about the quality of the sound. It is quite compact in size yet is solid. I can’t really believe that it gets as loud as it does with little distortion (always remember the “garbage in garbage out” maxim though. It will not magically make low bit-rate mp3′s sound good.) It “feels” good, has excellent build quality (except for the funky looking aux input,) it looks good and the batteries last a good long time. You can expect anywhere from 3-6 hours depending on how loud you have the system playing.

I would really recommend you listen to it before purchase if possible. As I’ve said, the Altec-Lansing iMW725 is 30-40% less in cost and to my ears provides an excellent sound, better balanced with no heaviness or boominess in the low-end, with much better stereo separation than the Bose and it has a remote control! But the form factor is different and in that regard I prefer the Bose.

It’s worth mentioning that there are a variety of different colored covers available for the Soundlink. They’re a bit pricey but do allow you to make yours stand out from the…

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 Comments (38)

I am writing this about five hours after having received the Bose SoundLink Wireless Speaker. I opened the box, took the speaker out and in 2 minutes paired it with my Toshiba Thrive Tablet. I then played some classical music and said to myself, “Oh my goodness!” The sound of these speakers is amazing. The violins sound clear and distinct. Horns sound undistorted and smooth. The piano sounds like you are in the first row of the concert hall. The bass is at just the right mix with the mid-level and higher sounding instruments. The clarity of the sound is what stands out.

I then paired up an IPOD touch and played “Never My Love” by the Association. The vocals were clear and distinct and the instrumentation blended in very nicely. I am no audiophile but I am pretty discriminating. At several volume levels, these speakers sound great. They are among the best I have ever listened to.

With all of this, these speakers are portable because of the built-in battery. You can take these anywhere and have this quality of music. Amazing!

I have not seen any indication of some issues a few critics have mentioned. There was virtually no distortion and the sound did not seem to me to be compressed and equalized as some have observed.

Yes, you are paying a premium for a Bose product, but if you want quality, then this product is worth it.

I look forward to many hours of immersion in my favorite music, sounding very clear and true.

Bose hit a home run with this. I want to make it clear that this is an honest review and I have no connection with Bose whatsoever. Buy this and enjoy. I would give it six stars if I could.

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By 

Joshua Easters –

  

I recently purchased a Jambox because I was looking for a small wireless speaker that I could just throw in a bag and take wherever. While the size of the Jambox was nice, I always felt that it lacked in sound quality and felt the max volume was much too quiet. Thankfully Bose introduced this product while I was still in the return period with the Jambox, so I returned the Jambox and payed the extra in order to get the Soundlink. I was not completely sure what to expect from the Soundlink. I have one of the Sounddock speakers, and the sound from that device is amazing, so I was not expecting it to sound as good due to the smaller size, but just wanted something that surpassed the Jambox in volume and sound quality.

When I got the Soundlink home and tried it out, I was completely surprised. This little thing sounds amazing! As some other reviewers said, this really does make the Jambox sound like a toy in comparison. It really is quite amazing that something this small and portable produces audio that sounds this good. It is significantly larger than the Jambox, but its size still makes it very easy to take around in a bag. If you are looking for a portable, wireless, battery-powered speaker, you will not find a better one than the Soundlink Mobile speaker from Bose.

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