Its bass is bigger but arguably boomier and more forward so the mids, where vocals live, can sound a little recessed. The Charge 5 is a bit bulkier and puts out a little more sound.
The one that it seems to get compared to the most is the JBL Charge 5, which costs $180 and is also fully waterproof with an IP67 rating.
#HOW TO REMOVE ALL BLUETOOTH DEVICES FROM BOSE SOUNDLINK PORTABLE#
I compared the SoundLink Flex with several other compact portable speakers. To avoid distortion, certain frequencies get ratcheted back, particularly at higher volumes. The soundstage only gets so wide and it can sound a little constrained with more complicated music tracks that have a lot of instruments playing at the same time. But it can't totally escape being a small speaker. You're going to be immediately impressed by how much sound it throws off, and decent sound at that. Also, it avoids distorting at higher volumes and delivers good clarity in the treble and midrange, with overall well-balanced sound that's only slightly bass forward. But the key is that it does manage to produce more bass than you think it can. From my tests, I'd say it would have to be a relatively small living room - it can only output so much sound - and to be clear, this is a mono speaker. The sound automatically is optimized for the orientation of the speaker.īose says the SoundLink Flex can fill a living room with sound. Read more: Best portable mini Bluetooth speakers for 2021 It's pretty good at picking up your voice and puts out a lot more sound than your phone's tiny speakers. I tended to keep it upright but it does have a built-in microphone, so you might lay it down flat if you're using it as a speakerphone with a few people sitting around it. The speaker's sound is automatically optimized according to the position you have it. But it's good that there is a loop and it does seem pretty sturdy. Bose shows it in pictures with a carabiner attached to the loop but no carabiner is included, you have to supply your own. The speaker is designed to be propped up horizontally, laid down flat or hung vertically by its integrated loop. It's basically got twice the battery life of the SoundLink Micro and charges via USB-C instead of Micro-USB. Battery life is rated at 12 hours at moderate volume levels, which is pretty good. I didn't have any problems with connectivity - it was generally rock-solid - but for those looking for extended wireless range, this is only listed as having the standard Bluetooth range of 30 feet or 10 meters. And given that limited benefit of upgrading to 5.1, the company made the decision to use a chip it had previously used in the SoundLink Micro that had been "thoroughly field-tested and updated over time for interoperability and reliability." Bose told us it didn't see a significant benefit for its customers to going from Bluetooth 4.2 to Bluetooth 5.1 because the enhancements had "no bearing on the A2DP performance of the Flex" (since there was no change in the spec for A2DP audio in 5.1). The Flex uses the older Bluetooth 4.2 instead of 5.1, which seems unusual given that most new Bluetooth speakers use Bluetooth 5.1. With the price for the Micro rising to $119, the Flex is clearly the better value at this point for only $30 more. The Flex does look and feel like it's in the same family but is basically twice as big, weighing 1.3 pounds or 0.59 kg - and it sounds significantly better than the Micro, with better battery life. This is strictly a Bluetooth speaker.īose's SoundLink Micro, released in late 2017 and due for an upgrade, also delivers impressive sound for its tiny size. One thing that's missing is an audio input, so you can't connect an audio device via an auxiliary cable. There are buttons on top for controlling playback, which is always good to have, although most people will just use their phone as a remote to play music. I liked the speaker in blue, but the white one was a close second. That silicone finish is indeed soft to the touch, but I'll note that it does attract a bit of dust and lint that shows more on the black version. Read more: Best Bluetooth speakers for 2021 I personally wouldn't want to drop it anywhere, but Bose says that thanks to its soft silicone back and powder-coated steel grille it "won't peel or flake and is resistant to corrosion and UV light." So it's designed to be durable and can survive small drops. It also floats, an important feature if you're in the habit of dropping your Bluetooth speakers in your pool or another body of water.