Soundcore Bluetooth Speakers

Soundcore Boom 2 Plus

Firmware 03.08
Released in May 2024 with the usual Soundcore hype the Soundcore Boom 2 fails to live up to the promises. You will find various places claiming this has a subwoofer or even two subwoofers but it doesn’t. It has two woofers, two tweeters and two passive radiators. Priced to compete with the likes of the Tribit Stormbox Blast and claiming to out boom the JBL Boombox 3. In the real world this speaker is totally dominated by its heavily boosted mid bass. With no adjustments elsewhere to take account of this boost it means the mids and highs are totally lost. Its worst at lower volumes where we have even more boosted bass but not quite as bad at higher volumes as relative bass drops off. The woofers roll off at 70hz and there is no sense of the 50hz that the passives are playing. It seems the design of the passives with its stuck on LED lights is hampering its ability to radiate bass to the front of the speaker. So you do not get the deep bass you will hear on the Stormbox Blast. it does go loud however, 110.5 dB(C) @1m for my test track is louder than the Boombox 3 goes on battery. But it’s all mid bass and not very listenable. note this review relates to the tested firmware of 03.08 and this may change in later firmwares with different tuning.

Watch my Soundcore Motion Boom video review

Soundcore Motion Boom

*NOTE* I have had multiple reports of less bass and worse sound on the latest Motion Boom. Having now tested the latest models on firmware 0.44 I can say the new version is inferior to the original version with elss bass, more pushed highs and overall more distorted sound when pushed. Therefore my opinions below are ONLY for the original version and my originals run firmware 0.43.

When the Soundcore Motion Boom came along in November 2020 it shook the sub £100/$100 bluetooth speaker market. We had not previously got bass this deep from a speaker this size and price before. Soundcore were on a roll after the Soundcore Motion Plus.For as long as the price holds around £75 mark the Motion remains the speaker of choice for deep bass lovers at this price and size. The Mifa Wildbox comes close but there is no app and you are in the hands of the current firmware as to what it will sound like. My former pound for pound champion and still one of my go-to speakers. Add a second, pair them once and they are locked as left and right stereo pair each time you turn them both on. The immersion of two Booms is really a whole level up again. Maybe one of the last true value for money speakers we will get from Soundcore who seem to have changed their company strategy to a marketing lead one rather than value lead.

Watch my Soundcore Motion Boom video review

Soundcore Motion Plus

Released all the way back in 2019 the Soundcore Motion Plus was quite a classic. Given its size and price and the fact that it has something quite rare these days, not just SBC but aptX as well for a little bit of improved bluetooth quality tracks permitting. It also has Hi-Res audio certification but this was mostly marketing since it only relates to the wired mode with the use of the auxiliary input. Even then the benefit of 40khz certification is total nonsense since you won’t hear anything over 15khz in most tracks and your hearing tops out at 20khz. Note it does not have wireless Hi-Res certification. What it does have are two wide angled tweeters which give a nice sense of detail and widish soundstage. It also features neodymium magnets. Quite the opposite the Soundcore Motion Boom in terms of sound being a little deep bass light but giving a nice open detailed sound. Like the Motion Boom the Motion+ benefits greatly from a 9 band grab equaliser in the Soundcore app. The Motion+ was my original pound for pound champ.

Watch my Soundcore Motion Plus video review

Soundcore Boost upgraded

Its a sign of the times and the lack of innovation in the bluetooth speaker market that this £50 speaker for me is still the speaker of choice for this size and price. It is bass heavy so keep that in mind but the bass it produces belies its compact size. Not without issues, it can pump in specific bass heavy tracks mostly at low volumes. But for me it is so rare as to be a non-issue given what else it brings to the table. Enough headroom using the eq in the app that you can still tailor the sound even further with a custom eq.

Watch my Soundcore Boost video review

Soundcore Glow

Thought by many to be a replacement for the Soundcore Flare but this is actually noticeably taller and heavier than the Flare 2. It does sound better than the Flare 2 but for me the Tribit Stormbox Pro offers better value for something size in a 360 degree form factor. However the Stormbox pro does not have the fancy starburst type LEDs found on the Glow. The Glow does offer a very safe and pleasant sound if a unexciting with no real wow factor to the sound. Read More about the Glow.

Watch my Soundcore Glow video review

Soundcore Mini 3

Much like the Soundcore 3 in default mode the Soundcore Mini 3 has a bass light and bright sound signature. And just like the Soundcore 3 there is enough headroom via EQ in the Soundcore app to balance out the sound quite nicely by pushing the 80hz and 150hz sliders and reducing a tad the 2.5khz slider. This will balance the sound till 80% where bass limits. I compared the Mini 3 with the Sony xb12 and xb13 and up to 80% i prefered the Mini 3 when in its custom mode to the Sony pair. I also like that the upward firing driver lends itself to also playing nicely on its side firing directly at you even though it is meant to be used firing upwards for a 360 sound.

Watch my Soundcore Mini video review

Soundcore Motion 300

The Soundcore Motion 300 is one of the newer series of so called lifestyle like speakers that tend to attract a higher price margin. The speakers share the same looking grill whis Soundcore weirdly call 3D 🤷‍♀️. It also features a few other notable features. First off it has adaptive EQ (customisable) where the EQ changes depending on whether itis standing face on, or turned around into portrait (hanging) mode or just laid down on its read end. It also features a decent codec beside SBC, LDAC. However note this will not work on Apple devices, has to be enabled in the Soundcore App and will decrease battery life. You will need a higher end subscription to online music services to receive tracks in LDAC. Ultimately at the price is does offer reasonable value but my unit suffers bass distortion with bass mode turned on at higher volumes. The sound is not earth shattering and is best at moderate volumes because this is a brightly tuned speaker and bass limits as you push volumes. However I do think a lot of people will like the firm factor which is on the chunky compact size and the sound is safe and bright if you dont push bass and volume too much.

Watch my Soundcore Motion 300 video review

Soundcore Motion Boom Plus

This one marked the start of a new era in terms of Soundcore speakers for me. The Soundcore Motion Boom Plus arrived with a more upper bass bright style tuning, not particularly balanced and seemingly tuned as an outdoor party style speaker. Though carrying the Motion Boom name it sounds nothing like the original Motion Boom. The best thing it has going for it is the size/weight/loudness/ratio. With a decent size battery this thing goes pretty loud for its light weight making it a decent travel option for outdoor party. Just don’t expect any deep bass. For about the same money you can get two Motion Booms which are different level in immersion and give a sense of deep bass missing on the Motiion Boom Plus.

Watch my Soundcore Motion Boom Plus video review

Soundcore Motion X500

One of the new (since 2023) lifestyle speakers range from Soundcore. Based on marketing hype of “spatial audio” and the promise of a home theatre experience. This is silly to claim. All stereo speakers are technically spatial audio as they create a 3d image. However soundcore will have you believe spatial audio in terms of the x500/x600 is due to the simple additional upward firing driver and this is untrue, they are correctly called spatial audio because they are stereo speakers. The speaker only plays stereo tracks (no dolby atmos here) which is then upmixed to the third upward firing driver and thus breaks the original stereo mix. It adds some sense of height which you may or may not like but its important to understand what is actually happening. It does not replace a soundbar not least because it decodes no surround formats and of course does not have any hdmi or optical inputs. In terms of the sound only the dynamic eq works for me but it does fall away as volumes get pushed which seems common to these newer lifestyle speakers Soundcore are coming out with. Of course this is my personal opinion and others will disagree. The so called spatial audio on this speaker does little for me to add a sense of larger soundstage due to all three drivers being so close together there audio is all being mixed together anyway by the time it hits your ears. Its another case of two Motion Booms will offer way more value and a wider more immersive soundstage.

Watch my Soundcore Motion X500 video review

Soundcore Rave Neo 2

Update to the much loved Soundcore Rave Neo. However the overall tuning is more inline with the modern Soundcore tuning which is more upper bass focussed with an overall brighter, leaner more upfront sound signature. The original Soundcore Rave Neo has a more relaxed feel with a warmer deeper bass sound. Whether you will like the newer Rave Neo will depend on your taste but at the current price it is a great value option for a small party speaker. The new Rave New also features two tweeters instead of the single on the old Rave Neo. Again this be welcome by some who want more of a stereo type sound but not so well received by purists not wanting two tweeters so close together with potential interference issues and off axis phase issues between drivers. This speaker gets a thumbs up as a cheap excellent value conmpact party speaker.

Watch my Soundcore Rave Neo 2 video review

Soundcore Rave Party 2

The Soundcore Rave Party 2 can be thought of as the Soundcore Rave Neo 2 but with an extra woofer and a more powerful amp. However while the Rave Party 2 is indeed a more powerful sound than the Neo 2 with very simialr tuning there are some differences. The Neo 2 actually goes a little deeper than the Rave Party 2 and so comes over as a little warmer. The rave Party 2 is actually a leaner more upfront sound although the differences in reality are small. At the current price it offers excellent value but keep in mind it has a very impactful upper bass slam that may overwhelm some when played indoors if not used for party type sound. Also note the battery is the same size as the Rave Neo 2 so dont expect as much playtime due to the increased power needs.

Soundcore Boom 2

Said to be the replacement for the classic Soundcore Motion Boom, the speaker that was groundbreaking for its combination of deep bass, small size and low price when it came out in 2020. The Boom 2 however is quite a different beast and offers great value but in a different way. It doesn’t have the warm smooth character of the original boom but instead adopts the modern Soundcore sound of leaner, more upfront and more upper bass sounding. Not quite as bassey as the larger Motion Boom Plus but smaller and with similar overall maximum volume levels. The Boom 2 has one woofer and two tweeters and offers good value for an outdoor party speaker that can go quite loud in a small package. Not so great for critical listening with a very prominent slappy type bass.

Soundcore 3

Sitting below the Soundcore Boost in the Soundcore line-up is the Soundcore 3. Another good value speaker in common with the older generation of Soundcore speakers. Unlike the bass heavy Soundcore Boost the Soundcore 3 is more laid-back and balanced. It is bass light with a bass cut from 300hz down giving it a bright signature at lower volumes with balanced mids and highs past 50%, albeit bass light. However using the Soundcore app to push the 80hz and 150hz sliders you can achieve a very balanced sound till 60% volume at which point the bass will limit and you get a bass light sound again.
A decent option for podcasts and low level listening. The 24.1 Wh battery is excellent for a speaker of this size. Note that the Soundcore 3 bluetooth speaker has partycast 1.0 which means you cannot do TWS, just party mode (mono) with other partycast 1 and partycast 2 speakers.