The Bose SoundLink Color II has an on-the-nose address for this need with “Party Mode,” but is it good enough to make your gathering the talk of the town? Editor’s note: this Bose SoundLink Color II review was updated on November 17, 2020, to add deals. Users can alternate between source devices, access virtual assistants, and control playback functions from the six-button panel. If you don’t feel like doing the Bluetooth pairing song and dance, you can always connect via the 3.5mm headphone jack located at the speaker’s base. You can pair two devices to the speaker at a time, which is great if you want to keep an ear on incoming calls while streaming music. Bose tries to sneak around this shortcoming with the SoundLink Color II’s passive radiators, which is clever, but results in unclear audio when the volume exceeds 60% or so.
Despite how the inaccurate bass response affects the midrange notes, Halsey’s vocal fry is audible during her parts. The SoundLink Color II does a great job of reproducing audio across the spectrum, save for sub-bass notes.
Although this isn’t extremely accurate, it tricks our brain into thinking we’re perceiving all auditory detail: most harmonic resonances fall within the treble range. The ability to sync-up two speakers is great for small to medium gatherings and it gives hosts flexibility when it comes to sound placement. This little speaker has great functionality; plus, being able to update the firmware via the app, gives me hope that connection issues will be resolved. That’s right, this makes it easy to hear music during a pool party, or retrieve the speaker if it was accidentally dropped.
Another great option is the Bose SoundLink Micro: this speaker is about as compact as the Wonderboom series, but takes on a squared off design. Rather than a loop at the top of the speaker, the SoundLink Micro has a strong elastic strap that fits over bike handlebars or a shower bar.
SoundLink Color II – Water-resistant Bluetooth Speaker
Or switch to Stereo Mode for dedicated left and right playback giving you a full and dynamic surround sound experience.
Customer Reviews: Bose SoundLink Color Portable Bluetooth Speaker II Aquatic Blue 752195-0500
– 1x Soundlink Color Bluetooth Speaker II Aquatic Blue 5V – 1x USB to Micro USB Cable – 1x Instruction Manual – 1x Important Safety Information Manual – 1x Bose Support Contact Number(s) sheet Testing/Setup/Impressions: So the packaging itself is nothing to gloat about. When opening the plastic cover, you’ll notice the build quality of this little guy.
But… You may end up getting a lot of dust, lint, or random stuff on it; pretty easily I must say. Setup was a breeze and I was able to download the app off the store (depending on if you’re using an Apple or Android device).
The voice is clear when listening to music, the base has a great “oomph”, and the unit can go quite high in volume to bother your downstairs neighbor. The device is small, but it’s raw power as I’ve posted on the title of my review.
But, IPX4-Rated is supposed to mean that you can basically do things like take it into the shower (bathroom) and the steam and water splash here and there won’t damage it. So my wife has the Bose SoundLink Mini II Bluetooth Speaker at work, well her co-worker does. The battery on the Bose SoundLink Mini II Bluetooth Speaker supposedly lasts Monday-Friday with 3-4 hours of listening per day. Its great to carry around to family picnics, pool parties, hang outs, etc. Personally for me when buying ANY electronic device, I love to know what the technical specifications are. The material is really nice as I HATE FINGERPRINTS but it does attract dust and lint which I also don’t like.
Bose SoundLink Color II review
The Bose SoundLink Color II offers good sound quality and tons of features in a compact, splash-proof body. Thankfully, however, the Bose SoundLink Color II compromises very little for good sound and, while it’s not perfect, it’s still a great choice for those looking for a wireless speaker to use at the beach or on a hike. The SoundLink Color II continues is improvements upon the original by adding IPX4 water resistance, which makes it splash proof but not waterproof.
You’ll find all of the speaker’s buttons on top, which includes playback controls, volume adjustment, power, Bluetooth pairing and Aux-In.
The SoundLink Color II offers a good dynamic range for a speaker of its size, giving us nice bass extension and impact. But, on the debit side, its 8 hours of battery life is average compared to the competition and we’d like to see Bose make the SoundLink Color III last even longer.
Competitors like the $99 (about £79, AU$129) Fugoo Go offer better water resistance, a unique mounting strap and better battery life (10 hours), but lack features like an aux jack, speakerphone support and NFC. It’s not perfect but if portability, sound quality and features like NFC, multipoint bluetooth and speakerphone support are important to you, we think you’ll love the Bose SoundLink Color II too.
Bose SoundLink Color II review: A great speaker gets even better
The SoundLink Color II can remember up to eight devices paired to it, while its eight hours of battery life — at medium volume levels — is the same as the original’s. I had no trouble pairing and re-pairing the speaker with an iPhone 6S and Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge — there are voice prompts to guide you through the process. There’s also a companion app for iOS and Android — Bose Connect — that doesn’t do all that much but does allow you to rename the speaker to your liking, disable those aforementioned voice prompts, and check in on your remaining battery life. It had good tonal balance with U2’s “Running to Stand Still” and Eric Dolphy’s jazz track “Sketch of Melba.”
However, tracks where a lot of instruments are playing at once are more challenging for this little guy, and you’ll notice at times that the speaker ratchets back certain frequencies as well as the volume to keep from distorting.
Bose SoundLink Color Bluetooth Speaker II – Blue
From pool parties to quiet time with the fam, the Bose SoundLink Color Wireless Bluetooth Speaker II is perfect for it all.
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