Customer Ratings & Reviews

If I could, I would give this speaker a rating of 4.5 out of 5 but I rounded up. I purchased the orange speaker for my wife last year and picked up the blue version for myself a couple of months ago. I wanted something that I could stereo pair with hers and I already knew what I was getting into. First off, I will go over the positives that Bose did with this speaker. It is extremely portable and I like the rubber strap on the back. I use it all the time to mount the speaker under umbrellas at the beach, on chairs by the pool, and even in the bathroom on stands so I can listen to music while showering. The speaker fits in my hand and is small enough to throw in any bag or backpack for trips. The rubber strap is durable and Bose added a rubber-like coating/cover over the speaker making it drop resistant and waterproof (up to about 3.5ft). I have dropped our orange speaker in the pool, at the beach on sand, and in the ocean. It has survived and I usually wash it off once a month using tap water under a low flowing tap. I don't have any hesitations taking the speaker with me everywhere. Due to the speaker's size, you would expect the sound quality to be awful. I'm not sure what Bose has done but the audio quality from this speaker is great, especially for its size. There is a fair amount of lows and highs being pumped out by this speaker. The mids are recessed, as usual, but this speaker has a fun (and typical of Bose) sound signature. Other, larger speakers are going to get louder and have more bass output, they may also cost less. With this speaker, you are paying Bose for a small, rugged design that has higher sound quality than any other speaker in this size. Competing speakers from Sony and JBL don't remotely close to the same sound quality as what Bose has done here. It really is a remarkable speaker for its size and pairing two together makes it even more immersive. The front controls are easy to operate and I use Siri a lot with this speaker. Hold the middle button for a few seconds, you'll hear the Siri chime sound, and give your commands. If my phone is near my I'll just use the "Hey Siri" command. Either way, Siri always understands me with the microphone in the SoundLink Micro and doesn't have any issues dictating a text or understanding music playback commands. There are a couple of things Bose could have done to improve the overall experience with this speaker. First, they could have went with USB-C for charging instead of micro USB. It's a small complaint but I have a Lightning cable for my phone, USB-C cable for my iPad, the same USB-C cable for my headphones, and now micro USB for the speaker. It's one more cable I have to worry about carrying when I could have just used the same cable and charger for my iPad and headphones. Second, it's the battery life. 6 hours is abysmal. Other speakers in this price category are rated for 10+ hours of use, even speakers in the same size range are rated for 9-10 hours of use. I get that Bose is using larger, higher quality drivers that consume more energy but it would have been nice had they been able to get at least 8 hours of use on a single charge. I always have a charging pack on me so it's not the end of the world but it still isn't ideal. Lastly, Bose's app is pretty lacking. It makes things easy for pairing two speakers together but I would like more functionality such as being able to customize an EQ. I think the drawbacks are small compared to what this speaker does well. That's why I would have really given it a score of 4.5 out of 5 but I rounded up. The sound quality, ruggedness, and extreme portability outweigh the use of micro USB and the short battery life. Seriously, the bass level for a speaker this size is extremely surprising. I highly recommend this speaker for anyone who wants the best audio quality they can get in a small speaker that they can take anywhere.

Max Volume is really high for its size and don’t expect sound clarity as Dolby.

Good little speaker for the value...will probably down the road purchase a better speaker but has good sound

Great performance for the size... can use anywhere - including the shower.

Pretty Big Sound from a small speaker. The clasp is good but could be better.

This small speaker has good balanced sound but lacks the full richness of slightly larger models.

The clear sound is quite good for a speaker on the smaller side!

Great sound device I wish it would get just a little bit louder.

This Bose SoundLink Max is absolutely fantastic! Taking it out of the box, very sturdy and easy to grab rope-like strap across the top. Easy and comfortable to carry this study speaker that has some heft, but not too too heavy. Very easy to set up. I first connected it to my iPhone 13 Pro and after making the Bluetooth connection, it prompted me to download the Bose app (which I did right away). The app is not necessary to start playing music, but it has a plethora of settings and adjustments. I played around with the app for a while setting the bass, mid, and treble to my liking at various volumes and multiple songs and song types. Cranking up the tunes, this speaker is LOUD and sounds super rich to me. Much more booming bass than I was even expecting. Played it outdoors on the patio (probably annoying my neighbors) and indoors for at least 5-6 hours in total. And like I said with that handle, very easy to grab and go. I also connected it via Bluetooth to my Mac with no issue and it produced about the same sound as from my iPhone (I had to play with my Music app settings a little, similar to the iPhone). With Bose you can’t go wrong. This will be my go-to portable speaker this coming summer for sure!

The sound is good. I used to listen to music and news during shower as well

Very nice product. It has met all of my expectations. I hope to eventually get more of the Boise wireless equipment. Also the gentleman that helped me make a decision was very helpful.

Speaker works great with my Alexa and sounds like a Bose speaker. Happy with this purchase.

Has a good sound. Works great with echo dot. Could use more base, but overall good quality sound.

Excellent acoustics for a $100 speaker connects easily and fast but missing bass overall decent buy

Return this speaker because was not charging I know Bose is a very good speaker but no this one

I'm quite disappointed with this speaker. While it's a very nice size, it skips while playing...don't know why. It's like a record a skipping...annoying! At first we thought it may be a wifi issue, or the distance from the modem/router....not so; it still skips planted right beside it. Tried a different speaker to test, didn't have a problem with that one...it's the Bose. :/

Great modest sound for an office. When I turned it to the loudest the sound became muddied.

The sound quality is good. Sound is clear. The charge duration of 6 hours is a disappointment especially on long drives. I was also disappointed by the lack of voice control. I specifically asked the sales person for that feature since I was using it in an older car without Bluetooth. There are better options for a lower price.

small buy efficient good quality good sound. Small but dradly

I bought this primarily to use as a shower speaker; works well, decent sound quality.