Customer Ratings & Reviews

I love this speaker. The only thing i dont love is how heavy it is. Otherwise the sound is great. Not always the best at super loud volumes, but i dont think anyone needs to go as loud as thisnspeaker goes. Otherwise the battery is great, the sound is good, even at very low volumes. I use this daily and have no reason to switch to another speaker ever again. I hope this lasts me many many years.

I'm old enough to remember when Bose was new to the mainstream commercial market and a home that had their Wave system was 'high-falutin'. I cut my teeth on Bose products when I finally had money of my own and was stepping into the audiophile world. I quickly moved past Bose into the ethereal realms of speakers and headphones, but always had a soft spot for Bose, even though it seemed like they were consistently getting beat at their own game. Well, I was pleasantly surprised to see and hear Bose come out swinging with the SoundLink Max. TL:DR - It deserves to be on the shortlist for anyone looking for an outstanding portable bluetooth speaker. It's the first portable BT speaker to even come close to acing my audiophile test playlist. Here is what I like about the SoundLink Max: Sound Quality: I kinda feel like this has taken a back seat for a lot of portable BT speakers as of late. Many people prioritize the portability or battery life of a system over pure sound quality. Understandable since if you can't take it with you, or if it doesn't play long enough, the quality really doesn't matter. You don't have to compromise on sound with the SoundLink Max. Even though I stopped chasing the holy grail of audiophile sound (it got WAY too expensive), I do still utilize my test playlist with all my new sound gear, and the Max is the first portable bluetooth speaker I've owned that could even come close to nailing each test. Everything from depth, impact, focus, transients, and resonance were spectacular. Of course it can't get proper separation due to the closeness of the speakers (but a paired set might just do it), but no single point system can do that. The only test that it even tripped over was part of the bass response, and I'm having trouble isolating whether that is an actual issue with the speaker or if it is something else. On some dance/R&B tracks with certain bass segments, there is a 'stutter' in one frequency set. It's weird, and it only pops up in certain songs. It could very well be an artifact from processing or the original production. Other than that, the SoundLink Max has an impressively controlled bass response which has usually been a weak point for BT speakers and Bose in particular. Looks: My wife loves the Blue Dusk color and the SoundLink Max design itself is simple and clean. I don't need disco lights nor do I need it to look like some alien spaceship. I also dig the rope handle, which I guess can be swapped out for a longer shoulder rope strap but that's not for me. Battery Life: Bose says you get 20 hours at moderate volume, but I spent six hours with the audiophile test and just regular music yesterday and a good three hours so far this morning just working in my office and the speaker is still reporting 100%! Now I hope that's not an error with the software but the weight of this speaker makes me think that it has some solid battery capacity built into it. Charge Capability: Unlike a few portable speakers I've utilized lately, the SoundLink Max will charge your phone if you plug it into the USB-C port. Always a nice feature. Durability/IP Rating: The Bose SoundLink Max feels solid and sturdy, plus the rubberized coating all lead you to feel that it can take some abuse and still keep rocking. That, and the fact that you can replace the handle if needed, all give me a good feeling that I'll be using this speaker for years to come. The solid IP67 (and weirdly secondary IP64) rating also mean that this is a great speaker to take out and about, whether it is to the pool, beach, desert, or wherever you may roam. Phone App: Simple and clean. Always appreciate that. What I don't like as much (but none are very big issues): Weight: Despite being a relatively compact speaker, you could probably do some serious damage to someone if you were to swing this at them. Perhaps Bose should consider marketing it as a self-defense item or perhaps a stylish exercise weight. It's nothing egregious, but it has some heft to it. Equalizer: While I appreciate that the app is clean and simple, and that the equalizer is easy to adjust, I would appreciate some better presets, or better yet, the ability to save my own. Hopefully this will come out in a future app update. I am VERY happy with the Soundlink Max and I look forward to years of great sounding music no matter where I may be.

Let me just say wow, I’m blown away by the sound of this speaker. No matter what genre of music I played it sounded great. There’s two small speakers on the sides & one large across the front. It’s small enough to fit on a countertop & it rumbled the countertop & cabinets. Setup was very easy, it synced with my iPhone immediately. I still have an iPod but I wasn’t able to sync it with that. Volume controls, Bluetooth & play/pause buttons are on the top of the speaker but can also be controlled using the app. I already have the Bose app so finding the Soundlink Max was easy. There’s an equalizer in the app for bass, treble, bass boost, etc. but it sounded great right out of the box. I added a little extra bass & treble & it sounds amazing. The range is good too, I walked through my house while using Bluetooth & there was no cutting out or lost connection, you can also use it while it’s charging. So far battery life is good & I used it for a few hours today. This is very sturdy & well made, even has a rope holding the handle on. I got the Blue dusk & it’s a beautiful color. My only complaint would be that it’s very heavy! I weighed it & it’s almost 5 lbs., not sure I’d want to carry it for a long time! Other than the weight it’s an awesome speaker for parties, picnics. Highly recommend!

This fairly little speaker puts out awesome sound, especially bass. Not at all surprising from Bose. The speaker isn’t tiny like the Bose Soundlink Mini II, and the sound is actually slightly better. Being probably three times the size of the Mini II, it is still very portable. Extremely portable in fact with the very comfortable built-in (but interchangeable) handle. It is heavier than I anticipated, but my guess is that is why it delivers bass that is deep and rich, comparable to many speakers way bigger than this one is. It doesn’t end with the bass. The speaker has incredible midrange and treble also. Turned all the way up there is no sound distortion that I detected. It has the ordinary Bluetooth control buttons (see picture) with an extra shortcut button (more later on that). It utilizes the Bose Music App which is a huge benefit as I can control it from the same place I do other Bose speakers. With the app, you can change the input source and customize the equalizer (or use four preprogrammed equalizer presets). The shortcut button is disappointing. You can turn it on and off or program it from the app. But there are ONLY TWO options for it. Those are to use the auxiliary (3mm) jack or Spotify. The shortcut button is pretty much worthless for those of us who don’t use Spotify. Not sure why Bose didn’t make other services such as iHeart, Apple Music, etc. available with the shortcut bar. It charges with a standard USB C to USB C cable and comes with its own power brick. So far battery life has been amazing. I haven’t actually timed the battery life but have played it all day long without draining the battery. The tips in the app suggest it is water resistant, as they show how to remove moister and dry the speaker. I didn’t read anything elsewhere about it being water resistant. I don’t plan on testing this out. However, it will be going to the beach a lot. I have several Bose speakers and just like the others, this one definitely delivers. Again, the sound is amazing for a smaller portable speaker. I very highly recommend this speaker for anyone looking for a quality, higher end, portable Bluetooth speaker.

I bought this to replace an old Bose portable soundlink that wasn't connecting to my phone well. This speaker is mighty! Loud enough for when I teach my outdoor fitness class. Easy bluetooth connection and handy that it also can be used as a phone charger! Great bass, defo would be fantastic for an outdoor party. The one con is that it's a little heavier than expected, but sturdy

Bose did it again. It’s heavy but sound and bass is amazing. Battery life is good

nice compact loud little heavy but easy to cary super sound quality

Awesome speaker. What's not to like - it's Bose. Only complaint (not really a complaint - more observation) is it's a little heavy for portable but I guess that makes it sturdy. Love the sound

A little heavy but excellent sound. Very heavy duty feeling

This this is build like a tank, My first impression is WOW...this thing is heavy and that's not an exaggeration, Its super heavy and not like any other speaker I have tried. Its relatively compact for a big speaker the length and height are just right in my opinion but it is thick or deep but my god this thing weighs a ton. Its feels solid and well made, all surfaces are a soft touch silicone shell that feels nice. Despite the weight it is comfortable to carry due to its excellent handle, its a soft silicone grip that conforms to your hand, has good grip and makes carrying it quite pleasant. Everything about the look and feel is top quality and the buttons have good tactile feel. Its totally waterproof so taking it outrdoors is not a problem and if it does gert wet or dirty the silicone shell is easy to clean up and it doesn't really show wear. The silicone also does a good job of keeping vibrations and buzzing at bay. Initial setup was easy to pair with my iphone, and the app is easy to use, but unfortunately the new app doesn't work with my older Bose soundtouch speaker. You can check the speaker battery level in the app but it doesn't show up in the iphone bluetooth battery meter which is a bit disappointing. It has s shortcut button to automatically connect to a streaming service but only one is available (I think spotify?), and I don't use that one, they need to add pandora please. My speaker came at 70% batter level and it took 3 hours to get a full charge which is super slow, but on the plus side it did come with a wall wart USB-C charger which is nice since now days manufactures usually don't include one. Now finally onto the sound, WOW...super big and full sound, best I have heard from a portable bluetooth speaker. Its clear and gets loud with a deep full bass that is quite surprising when you look at its size. I guess that extra heft really makes a difference. The sound on axis when you're directly in front of it is superb. But if you're off axis and onto the side it doesn't sound as crisp with something lacking. I haven't tested the 20 hours runtime, but it has lasted me all day (8 hours) at a moderate level, so running out of juice should not be a problem. The build quality and sound are top notch, the only negative thing I can say is the weight, it just weighs so much that carrying it around will be a chore for sure.