SoundLink Max Portable Speaker, Large Waterproof Bluetooth Portable Sound Speaker, Up to 20 Hours of Battery Life, USB-C, Built-In 3.5 mm AUX Input, Black

So small but such a big power! The bass os incredible! Super easy to connect, with a little bit of EQ tweak the sound is more tuned. Im really blown away about the performance of this speaker. It is expensive but in my opinion it is a good investment! The build quality is premium, the sound channels are clear. Above 85% volume the bass is decreased and on max volume there can be some distortion, but even on 75% its sooo loud! Update after 2 week! Sent it back as seems like these models of speaker have a manufacture issue, the battery drains even when the speaker is off. I checked online and saw a lot of people got the same isse and battery replacement or replacement did not fix ghe issue. In a week from 100% went down to 60% without turning it on. Really disappointed as the product itself is amazing! Let me know if you had the same issue? I wonder if anybody got one that works fine

The Bose SL Max is absolutely outstanding. The packaging is very nice and worth keeping, the feel of the unit with its silicone rubber outer and metal front is very luxurious, with it being water and dust proof it really is a robust piece of kit. The sound is where this speaker really comes into its own, the clarity is simply perfect with crystal clear mid and treble tones and a rich deep bass thanks to the aptX Adaptive codec and an integrated amplifier. The battery lasts for 20hrs off a full charge and I believe this to be accurate at around 50% volume. I love this speaker so much I am tempted to buy another to enjoy party mode and stereo connectivity.

Beautifully made. Nice simple quality design rather other speakers which look like a tacky disco box. Sound is epic. Huge base. You’ll need to turn it down with the eq in the companion app. App is ok, limited but that’s all you need. Option of being able to pair 2 for even bigger sound but I don’t think you’ll need too. I had a SoundLink mini before which epic but this is 3 times louder. Battery is great and you can even charge your phone from it. Is it worth £400 at release last year? No. But you’ll find them for £300 here on Amazon on prime days and that is a good price for what you’re getting. I also love the fact that it’s waterproof dust proof and impact proof and you link it to your Bose home system if you have one.

after watching many reviews and videos, i finally took the plunge on the bose vs its rivals. unable to compare it to other speakers like the youtube reviewers do, i cant compare. but i can say im very happy with it. connection was easy with the downloadable app. it quickly and easily connects to my phone when i turn it on. i dont use any of the functions on it really, i just control it with my phone and it all works perfectly. the volume is loud. and clear. if you actually like quality sound at decent volume, you will be happy. i havent felt the need to mess with the eq. i play a mix of genres, from country to pop to heavy rock to techno. it all sounds great. its not cheap, but you get what you pay for. its also very solidly built and has a nice weight to it, not too heavy but gives a confidence in it taking a few knocks.

Compact yet surprisingly powerful, exceptionally great sound & built quality, it is what you expect from Bose !

DISCLAIMER So this review is essentially coming from a HIFI perspective, given that HIFI standards are quite high and often involve expensive purchases to reach the dizzy heights of audio perfection please keep that in mind as you read on. PRICE In the world of bluetooth speakers this is definitely an expensive speaker at nearly £400 you are expecting something special as for this amount of money you could be buying a small HIFI setup which would provide significantly better sound quality albeit without the advantages of being mobile (20 hours of playtime on a single charge with the Bose Soundlink Max) and likely not bluetooth capable. SOUND QUALITY STEREO SOUND So unlike basic bluetooth speakers and lower end versions of the sound link range, this speaker is classed as stereo. I don’t think many would have issue with that as an upgrade to the regular mono alternatives. However, as anyone who has experimented with stereo speakers knows, the further the part the speakers generally the better the stereo effect. Obviously in this case the speakers are right next to each other in the enclosure. So the level of “Stereo” you really are getting is debatable. Unlike something like a soundbar for a TV which is usually at least a meter wide where speakers can be placed at each end on the Bose Max they are positioned adjacent to each other. It would have been interesting if they could have designed an enclosure which had detachable components so you could have detached and placed the left and right speaker further apart. One advantage of the stereo approach is that when using the speakers with devices like laptops you can achieve some level of stereo capabilities. With the Bose Soundlink Flex (gen2) speakers (which I also own) you can through the iOS app connect two for stereo but if you were using a laptop without access to the app you were stuck with mono. EQ The 3 way equaliser implemented into the Bose app accessible on both iOS and Android provides a low medium and high frequency adjustment. I will say at this point if you have come from HIFI and are looking for a flat frequency response it may take you some time to find an EQ which is suitable to your tastes. Everything feels very extended bass is massively so, looking online at the various EQ settings people have come up with present you with a wide variety of configurations. This leads me to one of the big issues that the Bose Max appears to have inconsistency / instability. While you can with a little bit of tweaking find an EQ which works well for one type of music, when you then switch to a slightly different kind you find the speakers quickly become muddy or overly bass heavy or perhaps overly treble focused and they quickly become quite fatiguing. If you then adjust to accommodate the new music type, you then find it doesn’t suit the previous type. This quickly becomes a bit of a circular process where you are constantly tweaking the EQ rather than just enjoying your music. Almost like you are fighting against the digital audio processing built into the Bose Max. If anyone is interested after listening to a lot of music and constantly tweaking the best settings I found were Bass -1 Mid 0 Treble 0 Although by the time you are reading this they will have probably been changed again… SUITABLE MUSIC TYPES I have listened to quite a few different genres of music so far Rock, EDM(Dance, House, Trance, D&B), Country, Choir Music, Pop. I would say that Rock sounds ok, not great but generally listenable as well as Country, Pop, Choir, vocals generally sound good. EDM however varies massively and requires constant tweaking to get right. With EDM If the music becomes quite busy you often (especially if the EQ is not set correctly) will experience a level of muddiness and in some scenarios distortion almost like the digital audio processing is becoming overwhelmed. SHOULD YOU BUY IT ? This is a difficult one to answer, if you are the type of person who doesn’t really care that much about sound quality and are just looking for a loud speaker for dumping outside when you have friends over then yes I think this could be ideal. You don’t have to change any of the settings, it is water resistant, easy to turn on and off and you can play generic music through it all day without a worry. If on the other hand you do care about getting the best quality sound from a £400 device and have plans to use it in other scenarios such as connected to your laptop to listen to music when you work etc. Then I would recommend caution, if you listen to just one type of music you maybe fine as you can set and forget the EQ. If you listen to a variety of different types of music and one of those types of music is EDM I would be especially cautious as you might find yourself spending more time tweaking the EQ than listening to music. I hope this helps people on their search for the right speaker.

I bought this to replace a Bose SoundTouch 30 speaker which was much too large for what I need it for nowadays - mostly as a desktop speaker when working from home. This is a solid, weighty and well made speaker, with a sound that very nearly matches the quality of the SoundTouch speaker - perhaps lacking a little of the warmth, but still very detailed. I mostly listen to "classical" music and BBC Radio 4, and very impressed with the virtual soundstage and clarity. I find the EQ perfect and not too bass heavy, but the EQ option via the app works well if you need it. My only criticism is: there's too much of a leap between the volume increments. They need to be more nuanced. It's often difficult to get it at just the right volume - it's sometimes either too quiet or too loud with no option to go in-between. Hope this is fixed in a future firmware update. UPDATE 08/09/2025 Seems that something is off with the battery!? Seems to drain very quickly - even when off. And I only have it on fairly quiet when in use (on my desk when I'm working). Might need to send it back or contact Bose. Disappointing.

I spent a while looking through reviews of comparable speakers and finally bit the bullet on this one. For audio I typically gravitate towards Sony, but was put of by the sheer size of the comparable speakers; for me, the priorities are sound quality (signature), portability (moving from room to room) and durability (something this expensive needs to last!). I am pleased to report this beauty ticks all boxes, and has exceeded expectations. Of most note is the sound signature; I tend to drive the speaker through a portable HIBY DAP player, and the pairing is excellent providing a wonderful layered sound. (Also have the option of driving a wired connection) Also worth noting the Bose app is brilliant - simple and effective This one is an investment, and the build suggests it will stand the test of time.