Bose Soundlink Max: The ULTIMATE Portable Speaker? (vs Move 2, Xtreme 4, Middleton & Epicboom)

In this video we take a closer look at the Bose Soundlink Max. But is the latest edition to the Bose portable speaker lineup really worth it's hefty price tag? And how does it compare to the Sonos Move 2, JBL Xtreme 4, Marshall Middleton and the Ultimate Ears Epicboom? Let's find out...

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:15 Design
07:07 Sound Test
10:33 Comparisons
12:45 Verdict

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[mytonjantalosig]

i tested them Bose soundlink max and JBL extreme 4 yesterday and i ended up buying the Soundlink max. way too good to listen compared to the extreme. dont care about the price difference, im just after which one sounds better

[Njabuloseh]

"While not a huge difference", what?? The Bose lost 60% battery while its competitors lost 30%, 20% & 18% respectively...that's a massive difference!

[ElonDust]

I went with Bose soundlink max. Although it is missing a lot of basic features like a microphone and on iOS it doesn’t display battery in the battery widget like all my bluetooth devices do. I was gonna get the Sonos Move 2 since it was on sale at $336 but after spending 2 hours at best buy and auditioning 30+ speakers, I had to go with the soundlink max. The sound is so chocolaty and smooth.

[BEHZADONIS]

The Bose sounds perfect and has a timeless design👌

[doublepauld]

Soundlink max is the best sounding speaker I have ever heard. PS: maybe I should add that that it is the best sounding speaker that in its category (small and portable)

[christianurban]

One recommendation for the battery test. Put them to a similar db-level instead of a relative value of the device. That would make it more comparable.

[OfficialRayGonzalez]

I'm always blown away at the volume and low-end performance of my Move 2. It's soo good. And the battery life it crazy. And apparently when the battery gets old, you can exchange it for another one, rather than being forced to buy another speaker entirely. Well worth the price in my opinion. Hopefully they fix the app though lol

[nickfromseattle]

I was able to buy the sound link max from Bose website with 10% off and waiting for it to arrive. Was considering Sonas Move 2 but Bose won on being more portable and about $90 less.

[indiatelescopeshop]

Hello There..love your style and reviews, decent effort to lay bare pros n cons of speakers..after countless you tube reviews (yours including) n several visits at retail outlets, I chose Bose soundlink Max..I am a fan of JBL..i had charge 4, gifted to my son, who is overseas, then bought charge 5 (recently)- camouflage, a beauty n equally good on sound, but again ended up gifting to my nephew, was yearning for finally one for myself..I almost ordered camouflage Jbl extreme 4 basis youtubers, but chose to cancel n visit retail stores for that first hand experience. I couldn't find extreme 4 but listened to extreme 3 n it was a let down.

I also listened to Marshalls too first hand. Acton 3 was great but wired only, stanmore, woburn, tufton were good, but hefty n not portable.. it was a close call between, Middleton n bose Max..

Middleton matches bose a lot upto 50 %volume in terms of bass plus that cool retro look n those easy knobs, to control bass, treble ..but..at more than 50 % volume, Max blows Middleton in terms of depth in bass while still retaining clarity..What finally, swayed my decision for bose(a first) was everything best /decent at so compact a package..Smaller things get used most

..n max is like omnipotent toy..to entertain you, be at beach, , party, in a room or a open terrace..its difficult to ignore, if you can pay its premium.

The dusky blue colour has killer looks..i have a stationary lg boombox 220 watts n bose tries to challenge its hegemony, that is its USP, being second to none..but frankly, Yes LG scores more being big on RMS n girth.

At end...keep on doing the good work.. With Love, from India..

[TemujinScott]

Been waiting for this one! Love mine!
Also notable mention: there are TWO bass passive radiators that are in the soundlink max as well as 3 drivers (two drivers and one tweeter) I own a move 2. The soundstage is more linear than the Bose in my opinion. The soundstage on the Bose is wider and robust

[irardo]

Story Time: I have the Sonos Move 2 but it got scratched on one trip and now it doesn’t leave the house. So I bought an Xtreme 4 to not have to worry about dings and scratches.. THEN FLOSSY CARTER hyped the Bose Soundlink Max so much I returned the Xtreme 4 and bought the Soundlink Max instead.. The Bose was a CLEANER sound but NOT LOUDER like these reviews claim. I returned the Bose for the JBL Xtreme 4 again and couldn’t be happier BUT the Bose is more compact but at the expense of battery life. But ultimately the BEST DEAL is the Sonos Move 2 when it goes on sale on Amazon for $379

[Spinks]

Thank you for the great video. I think this is a good example of the non-linear cost reality in luxury manufacturing, where to get better quality once you have surpassed a certain threshold your dollar per value cost skyrockets. Simply put, the proposition is for you to pay much more for one product which is only slightly better than the others.

Whether it is in fact better - that’s the question.

[jedolivier]

If you’re looking for a speaker for mainly indoor use, it might be a good choice. For outdoor use, I’d go with the JBL.😊

[MrPhinn]

In this video, the Bose and the Sonos sound superior. Eventually Bose will allow Stereo Pairing for the Max, but I'm not sure if I want to pay for 2. I have 2 Bose Flexes and they sound excellent in Stereo Pairing Mode. Together, they were $260, vs $800 for 2 maxes. That is a big chunk of money. As always, these videos at Smart Home are thorough and insightful. Thanks for the info.

[dwdrum]

Just bought a soundlink max, it’s really good. Got loads of hifi at home and for a portable offering it’s superb. Has aux port so took it away last week and plugged into headphone Jack on a tv in holiday cottage, watched a music dvd and it was as good if not more bass than many soundbars

[jspekeg]

Indoors, Harman kardon Onyx studio or Harman kardon go+play 3.
For outdoors, soundcore boom 2 or JBL Partybox encore

[pranavdhingra]

You should definitely compare Klipsch bluetooth speakers with the ones that you have spoken about in this video. I had the pleasure of experiencing the entire product line up. I was truly amazed 🌟

[donexhynsonjr.]

Can you compare Soundlink Max to the Brane X?

[IAmKAZMO]

I've owned mine for 9 days. The first 6 was me desperately trying to get it not to distort. So I started breaking it in at different volumes. If it didn't, I was going to send it back and write a SCATHING review After I called them to "Let THEM HAVE IT" This past Friday, I sat it outside and said, "Hmm, you sound different. I bought it inside to its spot(s) and the bass wasn't distorting .... shit you not! I had been relaxing those radiators and flexxing those transducers by playing bass heavy Drake, Meg, Cardi, prepping it for a life of Deep House and VOILA! It made every other BT speaker (except my S1 pro+ which can't be touched at a BOSE level 160watts) seem like a wasteof money. Nevertheless, this is Sunday night and we have a Sony Minidisc plugged into it and DAAAAYUM on the floor or Top shelf in a corner You can't ask for much more and
If you do ? =S1pro+.!
The End.

[LOW_Quality_ASMR]

always waiting for this kind of comparison in this channel, more interesting and I like it