Bose Soundlink Flex vs Minirig MK3 and Marshall Emberton - best bluetooth speaker?

Bose Soundlink Flex takes on two high end speakers in the Minirig MK3 and the Marshall Emberton. All roughly in the same price bracket this is a test of the best small travel speakers on the market today. Is the Bose Soundlink Flex the best for its price and size? The Minirig has 40 watts compared to the 20 watts of the Bose, who will win?

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Chapters
0:00 intro
5:45 65% sound comparison
8:49 65% frequency analysis
13:31 100% loudness test
15:39 100% spectrum analysis
16:33 summary
18:24 specs
21:23 conclusion

Alan Ross Social:

tracks:
Mike Leite - Enloquecer
Massie - Monsters under my bed

end track: Baby C - Perfect Life

Alan Ross Reviews Top Picks:
Pound for pound world champion:
Amazingly deep bass to 40hz for its size and price.
For a leaner more agile sound with similar deep bass for the same price try the Mifa Wildbox
Still worth a look:
My former world champ the Soundcore Motion Plus can still offer great clarity.
£50 champion:
Bass Heavy Speakers:
Hi End Picks
Best Micro Options:
Worth a Look:
The T9 is a reasonably loud and balanced party speaker with a big bright detailed sound.
Budget Loud Boombox: no clear winner but my pick for fun outside listen would be:
Travel Speakers:
offers a decent immersive sound with full and tight bass. Beware though it does not go very loud
Only mono but has a very clear and dynamic sound at low volumes and can go reasonably loud but will become a little screechy over 80%.
Denon 250bt, no longer made but sets the standard for size/quality ratio for travel (battery drain issues)

Alan Ross Reviews, probably the best reviews in the universe :)
Bose Soundlink Flex for the Best Travel speaker?

[alanrossreviews]

Chapters
0:00 intro
5:45 65% sound comparison
8:49 65% frequency analysis
13:31 100% loudness test
15:39 100% spectrum analysis
16:33 summary
18:24 specs
21:23 conclusion

[bluetooth_speaker_junkie]

This is maybe the first time I approve an overpriced portable speaker. Because I can't help myself from loving the sound signature of the Soundlink Flex. I like the warmth and reasonance of the bass it gives even at higher volumes. Sound quality too is not bad at higher volumes where many budget speakers starts sounding brittle. Though yes it doesn't have many strengths in particular but there's surprisingly lot of warmth in the tonality of the overall sound at high volumes which I really like.

[alanrossreviews]

tracks:
5:45 Mike Leite - Enloquecer
13:31 Massie - Monsters under my bed

[myotherchannel]

Soundcore Motion Plus is my small travel speaker of choice. I was surprised not to see that one in this video

[harisshaukat]

Got bose flex today to compare with my minirig 3. Initially the warm sounding bose does appeal to the ears more, I quickly realized a lot of the detail is missing. Especially when I listen to ambient music, the “air” is missing in bose even if there’s plenty of rumble. To me detail is more important than overpowering bass so I prefer minirig 3. Will get the minirig sub next month

[Simsonlover]

Hey Alan, i got my Minirig MK3 as a stereo setup a few days ago, got a pair of motion + a feew weeks ago (send them back)... at first i didnt know if i like the minirigs or not, but after playing around with location i figured out they are really good and have such high dynamics that the speaker disappears and you are just in a sound bubble of high quality music. i went to an electronics store and compared it to marshall speakers (also really expensive ones) and my minirigs put them to shame. they are exceptional, not just because of their music quality, but also because of their size and usability. and because of the stereo

i use them with 3.5 cables on my xbox without latency, listen to it with bluetooth, take them to friends...
the price is more then fair, i would say they are maybe a bit underpriced but maybe the competition is just overpriced (especially marshall)

what i also really really like is that they sound very good on low volumes. and whats crazy: you can hear them loud like in a cinema but when going out of the room they dont sound loud, they dont disturb anyone even if you cank it up (i think its because they are directly pointed to the ear). playing games like battlefield is just crazy :D

what i also really like is "analog music" like big bands or jazz... makes you feel like a private concert for yourself...

they are really amazing. they make you to stop everything you doing and just listen to them :D

i will build some stands for them to arrange them in a perfect stereo triangle, get the subs too.

[philjoysavio]

bose is flexing this time around...& i love it!

[MD-kydt]

yes yes yes. this is great comparison the world was waiting for :) thx, Alan Ross for Your work !

[_-Z-]

The Emberton was a no for me but I did finally purchase the Stockwell 2 and I've been enjoying it so far. The Bose Flex may be the best most convenient option in this size for a single speaker. The Minirigs are more of a hassle but probably a better investment with a sub. I'm interested to see your Denon Envaya comparison as well. Thank you for another awesome comparison, Alan! 😁👍👏

[udim]

The Ross Soundlink Flex seems to best deal out of the 3 💯😎

[rwynne]

Great video Alan! Was wondering how the flex would compare tot the minirigs.

[Vegito_Blue]

Thanks for this video. I totally loved watching the entire video and it made sense to choose Flex over Emberton!

[CarlosAlbb]

Hey there im from México 👊🏻 in 2023 would u choose the minirig 3 after the new updates? The price un Amazon was 250 usd and the soundlink flex 170 usd…

[pacoherte]

MINIRIG MK3 SOUNDS VERY AWESOME STANDING UP ON THE CORNER WALLS

[kaby]

Please upload a perfect Alan Ross signature EQ setting for Bose flex gen 2

[truesight]

What are your thoughts on Creative speakers and JBL charge 5. Creative are usually desktop computer speakers but I find have exceptional quality sound for the price.

[jf]

The Marshall has a very noticeable stereo sound. Sounded great in my opinion. Ive got a flex and like the sound signature but the mono setup does sound flat.

[budfox]

Well in the real world the bass of Bose Flex sounds better than Minirig´s and even overall Flex has the best sound picture. I guess the speaker is most balanced and suits our ears. Great DSP. AND Minirig is the smallest speaker volumewise but it feels huge due to its design.

[Yt_ShadowBannedme]

Hey Alan had posted a comment on your last video, don't know if you've seen it or not because I know Youtube notifications can be trash sometimes.



2 questions for you.

1. What is the difference between Bass Boost and Dynamic Bass Adjustment?

2. Soundcore got a update for the Motion boom, version 0.39 (don’t know if you seen/got this update yet) have not updated mines, because idk would it be worth it or not. Was wondering would it safe to update?

[RaquelFoster]

Aren't the Motion+ / Charge 4 / Charge 5 all better than these for less? I guess this is the "best < 800g travel speaker" category. These could all fit in a carry-on more easily than my Charge 4. But I want to be able to get a noise complaint from the hotel. And I think the Charge 4 wins the "best music in the shower" category when you stand it on its side. So I can make room for it in my carry-on.