Bose SoundLink Max Bluetooth Speaker Review: Big Sound, Big Price

The SoundLink Max delivers excellent sound for its size in a premium mini boombox design, rope handle and all. But is it worth $399? CNET Editor David Carnoy helps you figure that out in his full review.

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Read the full CNET article here:

00:00 Intro
00:28 An Upgrade on The SoundLink Flex?
01:33 Design
02:44 Connectivity & Accessories
03:24 Lack of Features
04:05 Sound Quality
05:39 Versus the Competition
06:26 Sound Test
09:40 Final Thoughts

#bose #bluetooth #speaker

[jerijordan]

Bought it (pre sale, got it today) It sounds amazing...I love it!!

[GTR]

I would buy this at $250 or $299. $399 is too much. This coming from a Bose fan. I'll stick to my 2x SoundLink flexs for now until this goes on sale

[jalva]

I bought their older $399 speaker and it is still amazing. Just bought the Max and its even better It is hard to find to compare this speaker to others because you also pay for the smaller form factor. Fitting this kind of sound in such a small package is not easy. I have damn near every decent speaker in this size category, JBL, Sony, Sonos, UE, SoundCore, Marshall etc.. None come close to this

[skate]

The thing the Flex has going for it is they can be paired creating a larger sound field. Since the Max is being pushed as a party speaker, that suggests it needs to play very loud and cover a good sized area. The Max sounds very good until you play it very loud and distortion becomes very noticeable. It's a no brainer that stereo pairing is needed. The length of time Bose products are in development often makes me shake my head un disbelief how they miss so many things customers want, especially in a crowded market like Bluetooth speakers.

[shoerice]

The thing that makes me wanna buy this speaker is mostly the form factor. Nothing to be afraid of when putting it in a backpack or something..smoot material like the flex also.. gotta look into it

[GoldMineArcade]

I’m in at $250 max. I’ll be keeping an eye at Costco for it

[basslife]

Great review David! Very informative and love your style.

[jedimaster]

I love Bose products, I’ve been using daily, my home surround system since 2013 . It’s a beast, at that time it was $330.00 . My sound link is perfect size, I hope I get the max soon

[rg]

We just bought this one. We’ve owned several Bose speakers and headphones and always have been satisfied. We have a Jacuzzi hot tub on our deck and we ordered it with a sound system built in against the sales person’s hesitation. 3 years later and replacing the speakers once and the latest lasting 6 months we decided to go with this. The cost is a lot cheaper than what we were spending and although the sound isn’t as intense as the built in we’ll save a lot!

[Yikes]

I bought this yesterday to use as a keyboard practice amp via the AUX input. Unfortunately the software has some latency, and the sound lags slightly after I hit a key. Not a problem for listening to music, but it won’t work for making music. Returning it tomorrow, even though the sound is great.

[rickyhaag]

This is a great review! I wish all reviews were like this. Thank you.

[papayspeanut]

$299 is the sweet spot $249 on sale price would hit just right

[nickc]

I have 7 Sonos speakers and I bought this due to size and sound. The Sonos Move 2 is just to big and my Roam is not loud enough at the resident pool. Bose is back at it again finally!

[iu]

Great review David - as usual.
Thorough and comprehensive, just like most of the time.
I really appreciated the blind test though. That was an important contributor to the review and their responses to the pricing was predictable and relatable.

I like the idea of this speaker and All the things that Bose is trying to do with it.
However ... and of course there would be a however... haha.
I have the Bose Sound link Revolve+ and I have e two of them.
I also have the SoundLink Portable Speaker of old which I think this one is replacing. (That speaker still sounds fantastic)

The Soundlink Revolve+ speakers in stereo pair are utterly subline and have been for years.
Together they sound better and louder then the soundlink portable speaker.
That is really saying something.
They are amazing.
When I use them outside - their fill a garden with absolutely no problem.
They are also truly omnidirectional speakers so the sound really is everywhere.
Having them as a stereo pair means each speaker is doing just one channel's work and that makes that single speaker sound better than if it was doing both channels.
This means as a stereo pair you get a more detailed sound than when you listen to just one on its own.
You get more of the music.

I say this because not having the stereo sound is a real problem for Bose here.
Tye did this with the Portable Home Speaker and I think that hurt it's chances.
It is a great speaker but does not have stereo pairing capability.

I have heard the Flex and I think it would be great in stereo pair and would even possibly be able to deliver lower registers of bass.
I liked that speaker but did not find that it went low enough so I was missing some of my music - could not abide that.

The Bang and Olufsen Beoplay A1 was a better deliverer of that sound and goers a little lower. In stereo they are just another thing altogether.

I am glad Bose have made this speaker sound like a stereo speaker but as you mentioned true stereo is only achieve d with actual distance between drivers.
Having stereo pairing allows you to implement that distance when they finally do it - they might have a world beater on their hands but till then - it will be a, no doubt, good attempt but I suspect they don't get the cigar yet.

What do you think.
Do you think that stereo pairing is as important as I am making out and are you happy to have the mono speaker setup? (Most people are not even bothered at all by it - it drives me crazy haha)
Am I alone ins having this desire for the stereo capability of Bluetooth speakers?

[Phrosti_]

Appreciate this video with the reactions.

[ivanpostnikov]

Decent review! Amazing speaker! Thanks!

[AlexAnder-zjrr]

Can you also comment for your review whether you would prefer 1 max or 2 flexes? Because if you prefer 2 flexes for the benefit of flexible speaker placement, I don't see many choosing the max over 2 flexes that cost less and take up less space.

[benjaminwallace]

I’m going to wait for them to make it available to pair in stereo pairing to buy, i want to buy 2 soundlink max

[blusterroasters]

Listening through my bose sound-link flex💕

[oLrereion]

Looking forward to comparisons to the Revolve+. I don't mind paying $400 more if it sounds much better.