Bose Sound Link
Discussion
A mate of mine had one of these when we were out on a job for a few days. It sounded good and I liked the fact that anyone with bluetooth and music on their phone could have a go at streaming to the Bose device.
I fancy getting one and might pop into the shop in Regents street but before I blow £260, are there alternatives that I should consider?
Ta.
I fancy getting one and might pop into the shop in Regents street but before I blow £260, are there alternatives that I should consider?
Ta.
Not much I can directly help with but I am interested in this too.
A friend has one that he takes everywhere with him and it works really well.
However, I can't help feeling that there are better alternatives every time a BOSE product is on the shopping list, so I'd be keen to hear other suggestions too.
At home I have Monitor Audio bookshelf speakers which are fantastic; I see they make a bluetooth speaker as well but it doesn't look very portable given its shape.
I also had a look at the Sonos wireless streamers but I wasn't that impressed with the sound quality, given the cost. The caveat there is that the background noise was probably not helping.
A friend has one that he takes everywhere with him and it works really well.
However, I can't help feeling that there are better alternatives every time a BOSE product is on the shopping list, so I'd be keen to hear other suggestions too.
At home I have Monitor Audio bookshelf speakers which are fantastic; I see they make a bluetooth speaker as well but it doesn't look very portable given its shape.
I also had a look at the Sonos wireless streamers but I wasn't that impressed with the sound quality, given the cost. The caveat there is that the background noise was probably not helping.
I am also considering one. I have not yet listened to the mark 2 version.
I must admit to being a little underwhelmed by the sound quality of the mark 1 when I have listened to it in several shops, but I think that this is because they make the mistake of displaying it next to the original Bose SoundDock.
The SoundDock sound much better than the SoundLink in my opinion which is obviously disappointing given that the SoundDock is cheaper, but it is a mains powered product that is physically much bigger.
Assuming the quality is slightly improved. I am going to plump for the mark 2 (and sell my existing SoundDock) as I will get much more use out of it.
I have not seen any viable alternative products and the only way of getting a discount appears to be to buy from Amazon/Tax Free or in the States where they are MUCH cheaper.
I must admit to being a little underwhelmed by the sound quality of the mark 1 when I have listened to it in several shops, but I think that this is because they make the mistake of displaying it next to the original Bose SoundDock.
The SoundDock sound much better than the SoundLink in my opinion which is obviously disappointing given that the SoundDock is cheaper, but it is a mains powered product that is physically much bigger.
Assuming the quality is slightly improved. I am going to plump for the mark 2 (and sell my existing SoundDock) as I will get much more use out of it.
I have not seen any viable alternative products and the only way of getting a discount appears to be to buy from Amazon/Tax Free or in the States where they are MUCH cheaper.
Gravy said:
I also had a look at the Sonos wireless streamers but I wasn't that impressed with the sound quality, given the cost. The caveat there is that the background noise was probably not helping.
If you weren't impressed with the Sonos units, I'd give the SoundLink a miss.The Bose unit is a fair way behind the 'Play 3' unit in my opinion and the 'Play 5' is better still. The beauty of Sonos is the ability to use them as a stereo pair, which sounds great but is obviously not very good value.
For me, the SoundLink will purely be for travel use. If you are looking for something to ue primarily around the house, a Bose SoundDock or the B&W or MA equivalents will be a better bet.
I think the OP wants something completely portable, so needing to be able to run off battery rules out things like Sonos.
I think the only real alternative is the Arcam rCube (which now comes with the phone dongle) - it's £349 but on a different level from the Bose in sound quality. However, also quite a bit bigger
http://www.trustedreviews.com/Arcam-rCube_Portable...
I think the only real alternative is the Arcam rCube (which now comes with the phone dongle) - it's £349 but on a different level from the Bose in sound quality. However, also quite a bit bigger
http://www.trustedreviews.com/Arcam-rCube_Portable...
kingston12 said:
Gravy said:
I also had a look at the Sonos wireless streamers but I wasn't that impressed with the sound quality, given the cost. The caveat there is that the background noise was probably not helping.
If you weren't impressed with the Sonos units, I'd give the SoundLink a miss.The Bose unit is a fair way behind the 'Play 3' unit in my opinion and the 'Play 5' is better still. The beauty of Sonos is the ability to use them as a stereo pair, which sounds great but is obviously not very good value.
For me, the SoundLink will purely be for travel use. If you are looking for something to ue primarily around the house, a Bose SoundDock or the B&W or MA equivalents will be a better bet.
I looked at the Arcam Cube too but it is large!
Is the Bose SoundLink the only product to suit the portable, bluetooth criteria then?
Well there are cheaper options like the Jawbone Jambox. Yo can pick these up for circa £150.
https://jawbone.com/speakers/jambox/overview
https://jawbone.com/speakers/jambox/overview
Not much of a review but I got the Bose Sound Link a few days ago as a birthday present from the wife. We'd had a play with one in a store and I was really impressed. I'm not an audiophile - and I am sure they could pick holes in it - but it has a good enough sound for me (great bass, plenty of volume,etc), a very premium feel and look to it, and so ticks all the boxes for me. I love music and so it has unlocked all the digital music we have on our various bluetooth enabled devices in the house (phones, tablet, etc). The range on it is pretty good too. And the battery life seems great for listening to tunes in the garden / beach / etc.
I have one and personally think it is brilliant.
Take it anywhere, decent 9+ hours battery playtime, and fairly quick to recharge/top up. The sound quality really is very good, ok, the Bass isn't incredibly deep, but it is a smallish package, and it seems to do well and picking out a wide range of notes.
The fact that it is truly portable is really important to me with travelling etc. But even around the house, kitchen, in the garden, at a BBQ etc (not likely this time of year i guess!)
On the whole i'd say well worth the cash, and as far as i'm concerned very good sound quality for what it is.
Take it anywhere, decent 9+ hours battery playtime, and fairly quick to recharge/top up. The sound quality really is very good, ok, the Bass isn't incredibly deep, but it is a smallish package, and it seems to do well and picking out a wide range of notes.
The fact that it is truly portable is really important to me with travelling etc. But even around the house, kitchen, in the garden, at a BBQ etc (not likely this time of year i guess!)
On the whole i'd say well worth the cash, and as far as i'm concerned very good sound quality for what it is.
jinkster said:
I'd got for a Beolit 12 by Bang and Olufsen - also sold in Apple Shop.
The sound quality may well be better, but you are comparing a £250 speaker to a £600 speaker... somewhat of a difference. But as Jinkster said, the apple store does have a large selection, so go and have a play around with whats in store and see what works best for you, thats what I did!
El Capitano said:
The sound quality may well be better, but you are comparing a £250 speaker to a £600 speaker... somewhat of a difference.
But as Jinkster said, the apple store does have a large selection, so go and have a play around with whats in store and see what works best for you, thats what I did!
The sound quality is much better, but not only is there that massive price difference, there is the size difference as well. The Beolit 12 is hardly going to slip into a suitcase easily!But as Jinkster said, the apple store does have a large selection, so go and have a play around with whats in store and see what works best for you, thats what I did!
I still can't find anything that has a better combination of quality and size than the Bose, even though it is easy to better it on sound quality alone for much cheaper.
It looks as though it is a lot cheaper in the states at about £185 on Amazon.com compared to £220 on Amazon.co.uk and that is the cheapest UK price I have found.
Edited by kingston12 on Friday 16th November 09:45
I went to the Apple store where they had the Sound link next to the big Jam Box and the little Jam Box so I spent awhile doing a sound comparison.
The little Jam Box is half the price but the sound is terrible. Worse than my old £15, from Currys, iPod dock with 2 inbuilt speakers and a radio.
I have to say that both the big Jam Box and the Bose sounded good to me but the display Jam Box was already marked all over it's rubberized plastic body and just looked a bit too play school plus it was £10 more than the Bose.
The Bose looks nice and classical in a Roberts Radio kind of style so it got my vote. I have been listening to it in my kitchen and it deals with heavy rock through to dance and pop nicely for a small, yet reassuringly heavy, package.
I did notice one thing however, this being music from Spotify, during a quiet start to a 2 Door Cinema song, the lead vocals sounded crystal clear and full of warmth yet when the high notes of the guitar and the drums started the voice level suddenly went down in volume. I'm unsure of whether its the production or something the Bose does to deal with everything coming through it's speaker set up.
I shall report back.
ETA it was just my imagination. Sounds fine
The little Jam Box is half the price but the sound is terrible. Worse than my old £15, from Currys, iPod dock with 2 inbuilt speakers and a radio.
I have to say that both the big Jam Box and the Bose sounded good to me but the display Jam Box was already marked all over it's rubberized plastic body and just looked a bit too play school plus it was £10 more than the Bose.
The Bose looks nice and classical in a Roberts Radio kind of style so it got my vote. I have been listening to it in my kitchen and it deals with heavy rock through to dance and pop nicely for a small, yet reassuringly heavy, package.
I did notice one thing however, this being music from Spotify, during a quiet start to a 2 Door Cinema song, the lead vocals sounded crystal clear and full of warmth yet when the high notes of the guitar and the drums started the voice level suddenly went down in volume. I'm unsure of whether its the production or something the Bose does to deal with everything coming through it's speaker set up.
I shall report back.
ETA it was just my imagination. Sounds fine
Edited by croyde on Friday 16th November 14:56
jinkster said:
My parents also have a Harmon Kardon Soundsticks for £100 and that sounds much better too. I personally don't think bluetooth cuts the biscuit in regards to sound quality. The HK soundsticks are not very portable.
There were Bose stereo speakers for only £99 which sounded good but as you say, they also were not too easy to lug about. Although my phone is bluetooth, I completely forgot that my 1st gen iPod Touch isn't so I have had to connect it by cable
BTW I had to watch a video on YouTube done by a kid that looked and sounded like my 6 year old son in order to learn how to Jailbreak and then install various programs so my 'old' iPod could use Spotify
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