There’s no shortage of Bluetooth speaker launches at the moment, including the revamped Beats Pill and the Ultimate Ears Everboom, but what sets the Bose SoundLink Max apart is that it’s not only a little chunkier while still being portable, it’s at the most expensive end of the market with a price tag of £399.
Surely a speaker should do a lot to earn such a premium price? Well, you’re going to be disappointed if you want wifi connectivity, speakerphone functions, and the ability to link up two speakers for stereo pairing (although you can use Bose SimpleSync for a bigger sound). This is a sibling to the little SoundLink Flex, but oddly it doesn’t offer all the same features as that versatile model.
But it’s certainly not lacking in appeal – it has a hefty and durable design with an IP67 rating, a tough metal front grille, a 20-hour battery life, a programmable custom button, Bluetooth multipoint connectivity, an optional shoulder strap, auxiliary connections and some of the best sound quality I’ve ever heard from a model in the portable speaker category.
Bose SoundLink Max: At a glance
Pros
- Sensational sound quality
- Solid battery life
- Useful custom button
- Bluetooth multipoint
Cons
- Highly expensive
- No wifi connectivity
- Quite heavy and impractical
Key specifications
| Dimensions | 10.49 x 26.44 x 16.21cm |
|---|---|
| Weight | 2.2kg |
| IP rating | IP67 |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth |
| Battery life | Up to 20 hours |
Bose SoundLink Max review
Is it worth the £399 cost? Given how much competition there is in the world of portable speakers and how much value you can get with numerous models that go for under £150 and even under £100, it would be hard to call this anything other than overpriced.
It’s a lot to spend on a product with one function, but if you want the best possible sound from a premium speaker, you’ll struggle to find much better than this right now.
Bose SoundLink Max: Connectivity and features
Unlike the Bose SoundLink Flex, which connects to an older Bose app, the Max connects to the same Bose app that you’d use to control the brand’s soundbars or its noise-cancelling headphones like the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds Ultra, QuietComfort Headphones and QuietComfort Ultra Headphones.
In use, I find this much more practical to have everything in one place, and the app experience is simple and easy to understand.
It also supports multipoint connectivity — this is surprisingly rare for speakers and an extra perk that allowed me to pair it with both my phone and my partner’s phone simultaneously, enabling us to switch between both playback devices when picking the music to play.
I also love the programmable shortcut button on the top, I set this to jump right back to my Spotify listening, and since that’s what I listen to most, this is super convenient and means I don’t have to dig out my phone. There’s also a versatile 3.5mm auxiliary port to enable playback from non-Bluetooth devices like record players and CD players.
However, at launch, a few convenient features are missing. You can’t pair multiple Max speakers together for a bigger sound or stereo playback and it doesn’t work as a speakerphone for calls. And, one big omission is that it’s just a Bluetooth speaker. Rival wireless speakers from Sonos pack in wifi connectivity for AirPlay support, multi-room compatibility and voice control. There’s none of that here.
Bose SoundLink Max: Sound quality
Sound is where the Bose SoundLink Max is a smash hit. It’s equipped with three transducers at the front of the speaker to deliver its spacious soundstage, and it has two custom passive radiators for seriously thumping bass impact. Bose says it’s a setup that “defies the speaker size” and it couldn’t be more right. I’m shocked you can get such a dynamic and booming audio performance from this design.
It’s a winner for deep and powerful bass, handily delivering the best low-end notes I’ve heard from any portable speaker. But this isn’t a simple rumble, it’s controlled, textured and accurate. After weeks of testing, I found this speaker capable of reaching far higher volumes than I expected and that it can do so without distortion.
The SoundLink Max also adapts well to various genres, sounding excellent whether I play bass-heavy tracks like electronic dance music or more genres like pop, jazz acoustic or soundtracks.
It’s also capable of a great sound for simple spoken word content like podcasts and audiobooks, and I’ve got no reason to doubt that it would be fantastic for enhancing movies and TV shows when paired to a portable projector too.
Bose SoundLink Max: Durability
With a weight of 2.2kg, I’d call the Bose SoundLink Max a little more substantial than most of the speakers that we tend to call “portable” which can often weigh less than a kilo. However, this is still a reasonable weight, the black or blue colours are great, the materials look smart (although it does pick up dust easily), and the included neat carry handle will help you bring it safely from room to room and outdoors.
This strap can also be replaced with a longer rope version to sling over your shoulder, but it isn’t included in the £399 you need to spend, instead costing an extra £44.95. If you ask me, that should’ve been bundled with the pricey speaker.
For outdoor use, this lives up to my expectations with a rugged construction and a robust IP67 rating. This means it’s both waterproof and dustproof, able to withstand submersion in a metre of water for 30 minutes, as well as being able to float in water (although it’s not designed for use while floating, especially with the main grille under the water).
Bose says the USB-C charging port and 3.5mm port, as well as all the speaker units, are built with waterproof materials and tightly dust and water-sealed. Overall, it’s an ideal unit for outdoor use, if you don’t find it too heavy to bring wherever you’re going!
Bose SoundLink Max: Battery life
Many of the top-rated speakers, including the Bose SoundLink Flex, offer a battery life of up to 12 hours. That’s decent, and probably more than most of us need, but we’re happy to see that the bigger Max is capable of more while blasting out much improved sound quality.
This is rated to last for up to 20 hours of playback on a single charge, and I like how it announces its remaining battery percentage each time you turn it on. It’s helpful, and in use I’ve found that this extended playtime is accurate, keeping it going for a long time between charges.
When it’s time to recharge, you just need to connect it up via the USB-C port, and Bose says it’ll get back to full battery in around five hours when using the supplied cable. And, if your phone starts to run out of juice, it also works as a power bank – plug your handset into the speaker and it’ll conveniently refuel itself so you’re able to keep the music going.
Good Housekeeping’s verdict on the Bose SoundLink Max speaker
After weeks of testing, do I think the Bose SoundLink Max speaker is worth its £399 price tag? I think, for the majority of us, a competitive and great-sounding option will be available at a far lower price so if you’re conscious of your budget there are almost certainly much better value options like the Ultimate Ears Everboom, Beats Pill, JBL Flip 6 or Bose’s own SoundLink Flex.
But, those options aren’t going to be capable of the same levels of clarity, richness, bass response and undistorted volume that you can hear from the SoundLink Max. This speaker delivers a controlled and impactful thump to its audio signature for much better bass performance than any similar rival in size and weight.
While I think it’s a shame that such an expensive speaker lacks useful wifi, voice control and speakerphone features, you might need to step up to something like the over £400 Sonos Move 2 to get that kind of full package, and even then the Bose is lighter, more weatherproof and may still beat the Sonos on low-frequency performance. It’s a premium Bluetooth-only speaker with tremendous bass, and while the price is high, it’s worth it if the low end is your top priority.
Simon Cocks is Good Housekeeping UK’s Technology Editor, overseeing tech shopping content and strategy for the title. He previously also worked across other titles including Esquire UK, Digital Spy, Men’s Health UK and Women’s Health UK.
Simon specialises in testing the latest smart gadgets, home entertainment gear, headphones, speakers, portable chargers, radios, e-book readers and smartphones. He's reviewed top tech products from brands including Google, Apple, Amazon, JBL and Bose.
A magazine journalism graduate from Kingston University in 2014, Simon also worked on the Discovery and Silkroad inflight magazines. He then gained experience writing about entertainment at SFX and Total Film. He also contributed reviews and interviews to TwitchFilm (later ScreenAnarchy), CultBox and Frame Rated.
He joined Good Housekeeping UK as the Editorial Assistant for Special Projects and was part of Good Housekeeping’s Consumer Affairs Team between 2014 and 2019. In this role, he conducted price comparison research, wrote detailed household and money-saving advice guides and edited thousands of in-depth reviews for the Good Housekeeping Institute.
He has focused on technology and gadgets since 2020, where he started by testing out power banks and instant cameras. He writes reviews, roundups, news articles and deals updates, and also covers top tech deals during sales like Amazon Prime Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
When not testing out the latest gizmos, you’ll find Simon either catching up with the newest releases at his local cinema or out shooting with his beloved compact camera.
You can follow Simon on Instagram, on Bluesky, on LinkedIn and on Threads.
