Two enquiry I often pose to anyone who involve me which Bluetooth speaker they should buy are ( 1 ) what do you want to use it for , and ( 2 ) do you like a little bass or a luck ? If the answers to those questions are “ I want a speaker I can take with me to parties , encampment , or to the pool ” and “ bass , bass , basso , ” then I have a $ 130 testimonial for you .
As publicize in its name , theSoundcore Boom 2 — a relative of the Anker - owned company ’s popularMotion Boomspeaker — does indeedboom . And it has a potent , well - fill out sound signature tune worthy for all kinds of euphony .
Summer company people , weekend campers , and road - excursionist will like the Boom 2 for its lightweight portability , rugged build , and boombox - style handle , as well as its fun run light - show feature and various fellow app . It ’s alsoIPX7 weewee immune , it blow , and can even charge your headphone .
All that fun stuff is cool , but after drop several twenty-four hours with the Soundcore Boom 2 , it was all that big , beautiful low - end that allow for an picture on me ( and a sonority in my capitulum ) , all from a sensibly compact and low-cost talker . have ’s dig deeply .
Soundcore Boom 2: design and features
The Soundcore Boom 2 ’s 11.7 by 7.3 by 4 - inch ( WxHxD ) , 3.6 - pound boombox - style dead body might fill up your back pack quicker than the more petiteMarshall Emberton II($170 ) orKlipsch Nashville($149 ) , but neither of those speakers will have near the same wallop on your company than the Boom 2 .
labour the Boom 2 is a 4- to 4.5 - inch racetrack woofer and a pair of 1 - inch tweeter on either side . Soundcore did n’t provide those measurements ( that ’s according to my ruler ) , but what it does stipulate is that the 50 - W woofer combine with the two 15 - watt tweeters for a total turnout of 80 watts of stereo strait , with 20 of those watts coming by way of the speaker ’s main selling point — its BassUp 2.0 feature article .
When activate , the bass voice rise is substantial and sound beautiful ( more on this afterward ) . Additionally , there are two side - firing inactive bass radiator that help make an even more immersive soundstage while also providing a fun party atmosphere with their construct - in LED ignition effect that are see with the accompanyingSoundcore app .
The Boom 2 ’s eubstance is a hard lustrelessness plastic in three color : black , blue , and green . It ’s a exclusive solid composition that extends to its rugged , grippy handgrip , which cause it easy to take . You could believably pluck a karabiner to it for advert it on a inflexible beach umbrella or tree ramification .
The metal front grillwork is equally sturdy and does a good Book of Job of protecting the speakers behind it . And while the back instrument panel does n’t feature any rear - firing speakers , it ’s turtleneck - shield strong and simple , with nothing to determine there save for the USB - C charging larboard ( cable television included ) and USB - A port wine used for charging other gimmick ( cable not include ) . Rubber feet on the bottom are grippy and will prevent the talker from slipping about , even in wet conditions .
speak of sozzled conditions , the Boom 2 has a evaluation of IPX7 , meaning that it can hold up being submerged in a m of water for up to half an hour with the rear hatch seal . But to do this , you ’d have to hold it down because , as I mentioned earlier , the Boom 2 floats .
After tossing the Boom 2 in my hot tub , I can confirm its airiness . The music kept on acting , although smother by the water as it bobbed up and down . When I took it out , the medicine clear up immediately , liken toother waterproof speakers I ’ve triedwhere remaining water in the speakers can cause aberration until it dries up . Even after rinsing it off in the sump , water does n’t seem to bother the Boom 2 at all . One thing to keep in mind , though , is that the X in IPX7 means that it is n’t place for junk protection . So , if you ’re beach - bound , you might require to keep it off the sand .
On top of the speaker ’s main body are seven physical controls lined up across the top of the speaker . They let in : power , Bluetooth , book up , book down , a period of play / pause push button , the TWS “ PartyCast ” pairing push button for connecting up to 100 additional talker for bigger sound , and the all - important BassUp button . And while I ’d gotten used to not run across late / next track physical buttons on compendious Bluetooth speakers , upon reading the Boom 2 ’s booklet ( read the instructions , folk ) I was pleased to discover that by double- or triple - penetrate the romp / pause button , you’re able to cut back or forth , respectively . It ’s a little affair , but if you ’ve ever left your phone across the way and wanted to change the song , you ’ll appreciate this voguish design decision .
Lastly , the Soundcore Boom 2 brook only the SBCBluetooth codec , which is a disgrace because it sound so upright , and it would have been prissy to try it with a better codec , such as AAC . That suppose , the less battery - hungry SBC codec in all probability has something to do with the Boom 2 ’s remarkable 24 - hr playday .
Soundcore Boom 2: lights and app
The free Soundcore app serves two main purposes — expand and complement the Boom 2 ’s audio features ( which I will dive into more below ) and control the lighting effects on the speaker ’s sides . Under “ Audio , ” the app lets you line up volume , dramatic play / pause , and actuate / inactivate the BassUp encouragement . It ’s also the point in time of control for four decent preset EQ setting and , more impressively , a “ customs ” division with a moreprecise 9 - band equalizerthat lets you fix and set peak between 80Hz and 13kHz and redeem them as presets .
select the “ Light ” segment opens up the presets for the lighting features , which I could n’t try fully because I was ineffectual to update the Boom 2 ’s microcode through the app for some understanding . What did employment , however , looked bright , was intense and colorful , and prompt with the music in some instances , similar to some of the big company verbaliser I ’ve reviewed , like theJBL PartyBox Ultimate .
Users can pick out from seven presets : Flash , Flame , Energy , Wave , Lightning , Fireworks , and Rainbow . Selecting one lend a coloring material cycle from which you could choose the colors you ’d like the preset to display and cycle through . In the Light department you may also check the luminance of each or turn the LED off altogether .
last , the Soundcore app can also be used to turn on and off apprisal sounds from your connected equipment , adjust the luminousness of the speaker ’s forcible button lighting ( splendid if you sleep with music ) , prepare the motorcar power off timekeeper , update firmware ( presumably ) , and more .
Soundcore Boom 2: sound and performance
To set a baseline for testing the Boom 2 ’s sound , I started with everything set to a compressed EQ in both the Soundcore app andSpotify , the principal medicine service I used for the testing .
Tom Petty’sYou Do n’t Know How It Feelswas the first song I played , and out of the logic gate , you may tell that this speaker has some excellent tuning . With the volume at around 30 % to 35 % , the song ’s clump kick drum was , indeed , thumping , patronize by a balanced and tight bass guitar . The song ’s signature harmonica skin through in the midrange , as did Petty ’s bendy , chirpy guitar solo , all without harshness on the ear . I even pushed the speaker to the 75 % volume range , which is louder than you ’d really even need it to go , and it held thing together .
The next path on my playlist was Fleetwood Mac’sDreams , and again , everything sound sweet , specially with its fluent , back - and - forth F and G basso melodic phrase . I cerebrate this would be the perfect time to activate the Boom 2 ’s BassUp feature , and when I did , things proceed from big to Brobdingnagian . With impressive clarity , depth , and warmth , the relatively minuscule verbaliser just sounds gorgeous , even in a side - to - side equivalence with the likewise - sized Marshall Middleton , which I get laid .
I continued my low - end examination with beautifully saturated freshwater bass running from one of my go - tos , Billie Eilish , as well as Kendrick Lamar and Thundercat ’s mad bass - fest Uh Uh . In my smaller function infinite , the way fill with sound . I could go on , but all you need to make love is that this affair pumps , and its portability will step up whatever indoor or outside setting you contribute it to .
The Boom 2 has some EQ presets that I also tried , and I was impressed with most of them . The “ Soundcore Signature ” was my favorite , as it just anneal some of the highs and mids , and “ Balanced ” just take the bass and mids down . “ Voice ” and “ threefold ” were my least front-runner as they seemed to remove some of the profoundness and dynamics from much of the guitar - base tracks I mind to , and even poppier , electronic stuff like The Weeknd’sWasted Timesounded a bit thinner . And since add the BassUp feature film , I just did n’t want to take heed to anything without it — it ’s that good .
Soundcore Boom 2: bottom line
If $ 130 is in your Leontyne Price sweet position for a portable summer boombox , and big , beautiful bass tops your list of priorities , just buy the Soundcore Boom 2 already . It sounds that good . Alternatively , you could make up more and get theMarshall Middletonor even the Boom 2 ’s first cousin , the $ 200Soundcore Motion X600that features an up - kindling speaker for “ spacial phone , ” which are also two very good options , to be certain .
But I palpate like with its rugged , waterproof body , you ’d be less apprehensive about dropping or dunk the Boom 2 , and with its excellent sound , infinitely tweakable EQ for dialling in your perfect sound , and sport leave inflammation feature of speech , it ( ahem ) outshines much of the competition , at this price chain .
