The Bose SoundLink Plus gives stunning sound in a small bundle.

I’ve been testing the $269 Bose SoundLink Plus, which is the corporate’s newest moveable Bluetooth speaker. It’s sturdy, enticing, and designed to hitch you wherever you go, due to stable development and an IP67 score. You possibly can toss it in a small backpack or clip it to the skin of 1 for straightforward transport to the seaside or round city.

Nonetheless, at $269, the Plus falls right into a no man’s land of Bluetooth audio system. It’s dearer than equally sized rivals, together with the JBL Cost 6, Sony ULT Area 3, and Sonos Roam 2, which all value $200 or much less. The Plus can be about $100 cheaper than barely bigger choices with extra expansive options, like stereo audio system, Wi-Fi, or sensible assistant integration. What it does, it does very nicely, however there’s little that makes it stand out from the pack.

The SoundLink Plus is a mono speaker with a tweeter, 4 passive radiators, and a rear-facing subwoofer, which is anticipated for its value. It may be linked with one other Plus to create a stereo pair or linked with different current-gen Bose Bluetooth audio system for Occasion Mode, the place all audio system play the identical sign. Solely a single Plus was despatched for testing, so I didn’t get an opportunity to check Occasion Mode (or Stereo Mode, for that matter).

The SoundLink Plus is roughly the identical dimension as a 20-oz water bottle and falls between the SoundLink Max and SoundLink Flex (second-generation). However the dimension belies how impressively loud it might probably get.

It gives a superb quantity of low-end thump, and the general tuning delivers clear vocals with a crisp excessive finish. The bass line through the verse and refrain of Billie Eilish’s “dangerous man” has good tone and definition, though the Plus will get challenged a bit within the bridge, and as a substitute of the bass hits feeling greater, they’re somewhat compressed. All through, although, the finger snaps and synth are clear and experience on high of the cruising bass.

At mid-to-high quantity ranges indoors, the higher frequencies can get fatiguing, which I discover is usually the case with Bose merchandise. That is notably true with excessive hats or metallic-sounding results, as will be present in “Tremendous Bon Bon” by Soul Coughing. These frequencies will be tamed a bit by the EQ if wanted. And when the Plus will get actually loud — round 80 p.c and up — some distortion creeps in.

The Plus is wrapped in a silicone coating and has a powder-coated metal grille that matches the accessible Black, Blue Nightfall, or Citrus Yellow finishes. The silicone is sturdy, easy, and proof against getting marked up if dropped, however I used to be continually wiping off the lint, mud, and pet hair that it attracted as I moved it round my residence and out of doors. Fortunately, it’s straightforward to scrub.

The buttons alongside the highest present a satisfying click on when pressed. There are gentle indicators subsequent to the ability, Bluetooth, and shortcut buttons. The shortcut button will be assigned to both hyperlink two Bose Bluetooth audio system collectively or open Spotify.

Other than turning the speaker on, nonetheless, I not often used the contact controls. The speaker doesn’t present a approach to advance tracks — only a play / pause button — and the Bose app is comparatively naked bones. You possibly can choose a supply, change the three-band EQ (or choose one in all 4 presets), assign the shortcut button, and alter the quantity. It was simpler to remain in my music streaming app and management the quantity with my iPhone.

The speaker has an IP67 score, which suggests it might probably stand up to submersion as much as three ft for half-hour, making it protected to make use of across the pool or on the seaside. I stuffed up the bathtub and tossed it in. The Plus floats, though face down, so you’ll be able to’t hear it whereas it’s floating. After being submerged, the ability button gentle will blink white and orange, indicating that the speaker’s USB-C port can’t be used till it’s dry.

It lacks linked audio choices that many rivals embody, such because the Beats Tablet and even different Bose moveable audio system just like the SoundLink House (each of that are inexpensive). It helps multipoint connection, permitting two Bluetooth gadgets to be linked concurrently, nevertheless it lacks Wi-Fi, Spotify Join, and AirPlay help. It’s Bluetooth or bust.

The SoundLink Plus is rated for as much as 20 hours of playback time, which appears to be correct primarily based on my time with the speaker at reasonable volumes thus far.

The Plus may also be used as a 15W energy financial institution, through its USB-C port, for telephones and different gadgets, which can clearly cut back the playback time. I used to be capable of cost my iPhone 15 Professional by 10 p.c in somewhat below an hour. That’s sluggish, so I assume it’s solely helpful in a pinch. It additionally takes 5 hours to cost the speaker, so that you’ll need to plug it within the night time earlier than a seaside day.

The SoundLink Plus is a stable, sturdy, and great-sounding Bluetooth speaker that fills the hole between the Max and the Flex in Bose’s lineup. Nonetheless, when contemplating its options in relation to its value, which is greater than that of comparable moveable audio system, it turns into a much less compelling prospect. When you’re a fan of the Bose sound and are in search of a seaside or pool companion for the summer time, the Plus is for you. And even in case you’re not a Bose fan, the Plus is price contemplating, however it’s best to in all probability watch for a sale.