GYMCADDY

View Original

Bose SoundLink Revolve Plus Review

See this content in the original post

Sony SRS-XB40 Review

JBL Flip 4 Review

Beats X Vs Powerbeats 3

See this content in the original post

I’m very particular when it comes to design and haptic feed from products. But Bose consistently releases well designed head phones and wireless speakers. But when i saw that Bose was retailing their new Soundlink Revolve+ for $299.95 I was a little skeptical. The Bose Soundlink Revolve Plus retails for Large speaker prices, but is tiny compared to the competition. So, can the Bose Soundlink Revolve Plus compare to the larger speakers in its price bracket, or is it over priced? Lets find out. 

Bose recently released their new Soundlink Revolve, and Soundlink Revolve Plus. although they look very similar some key differences between the Revolve and Revolve Plus is the over all size, loudness, battery life, and the Soundlink Revolve Plus has a carrying handle. They both have a metal outer casing and they come in either Triple black, or Lux Gray. Like I mentioned earlier, The Bose Soundlink Revolve Plus retails for $299 over at amazon and the smaller Sound Link Revolve Retails for $199. I’ll have links in the description below if you want to pick either one of these up. And I’ll keep them updated the best i can so you can get the best deal possible. You never know when amazon will put these guys on sale. And comment below telling me which color way you like best and should i do a versus video for this speaker.

Concerning what comes inside the box, you get the speaker, a micro USB cable, an AC adapter, and a whole bunch of documentation. Like i said earlier, the speaker itself is very compact compared to other speakers in its price bracket. But it’s also very well built and designed. The outer casing is made out of metal with milled holes in it, the top is soft touch rubber with concave buttons that all have great tactile feed back, and the bottom has a very grippy rubber which helps keep the speaker in place.  The back of the device also has a micro usb port for charging and you can play music though it as well. Theres also an AUX jack too. The bottom of the device also has a threaded universal mount if you want to attach it to a tripod and theres a contacting port for Bose’s Optional charging cradle. over all the Bose soundlink revolve plus is a piece of beautiful craftsmanship that will look great in any room in your house. 

Design aside, lets get into the tech. Lets start off with the buttons. on the top of the device you’ll find a power button, bluetooth button, a source button so you can choose where your music is playing from (either bluetooth or AUX), a volume up button and a volume down button. Theres also a multi function button that can do a few things. One press pauses you music, two presses skips a track, and 3 presses goes back a track. A long press will also activate siri or google now. Not sure about bixby though, but honestly who really uses bixby? Theres also a built in micro phone so you can take calls from the Soundlink Revolve Plus, and range and clarity is pretty good as well. When you power on the device it'll first tell you the current battery percentage, and it'll tell you which device its currently paired to. But if you're not a fan of the voice prompts you can easily turn them off from Bose’s app or by pressing the Plus and Minus button together. And before I forget, the Bose Logo on top also serves as an NFC contact point.

The Bose Sound Link Revolve Plus also has a built in rechargeable battery with an advertised battery life of 16 hours. But sadly, I haven't been able to get that long of a battery life even at moderate volumes. Realistically we’re looking at a battery life of 8 to 10 hours at moderate volume and with bluetooth streaming on. The Soundlink Revolve Plus is also IPX4 certified, which means its splash resistant. But just to be safe I’d keep it away from water when ever you can and don't submerge it. The Bose Soundlink Plus is also using bluetooth 4.2 and you can connect it up to 2 devices. Range is advertised at 30 feet, and to be honest its a little short compared to other devices on the market and it'll start losing connection if there are a few walls between you. 

Concerning sound quality Bose is known for having a balanced sound signature on all of its devices. And the Bose Soundlink Revolve Plus is no different. As with most speakers, you're going to get the best sound quality at moderate volumes. This speaker has a decent sound stage, a clear bass, great vocals, and the highs are clean. But I feel that the instrument separation could be better and over all bass is laking. But I was caught off guard at how loud this actual speaker can get. But at those louder volumes the highs do tend to crash, and vocal separation does suffer. But as the name implies, the Soundlink Revolve Plus does shoot sound in all 360 degrees. And it has no problem filling a room if its place in the center of said room.  But when using the Soundlink Revolve Plus with an AUX connection, i do want to point out the sound quality did improve, but the speaker wouldn't play music as loud.

This speaker also take advantage of Bose’s Connect app. My favorite feature is being able to turn on the speaker from your phone if you're in range. So you don't have to actually power on the speaker and then connect your phone. And unlike other apps out there, heres looking at you Sony… Bose’s app actually works. You can do things like manage connected devices, set the auto off timer, turn voice prompts on or off and see the speaker’s current battery percentage. You can also connect other Soundlink Speakers together so you can have them play music simultaneously or in stereo mode. But if you want to pair other sound link speakers together without the need of an app you can do so by pressing and holding the bluetooth button and plus button at the same time on your speaker. And then on your other sound link speaker press and hold the blue tooth button and minus button together. And after some voice prompts the speakers should be paired. But sadly the app doesn't allow you to adjust the EQ. 

But in general, the Bose Soundlink Revolve Plus is a piece of beautiful hardware that will look great in any room in your house. It offers a very balanced sound signature and it'll have no problem filling a room. But this isn't a speaker I would pick up if you're looking for something to take with you on the go, to cook outs, camping, as an outdoor speaker or if you want to get a party really going. And it being only IPX4 certified and having a real world battery life of around 10 hours make its a little hard to do so. Instead, the Bose Soundlink Revolve Plus is best if you're just going to leave it in your house or apartment and occasionally take it out.  And I think Bose did that intentionally. Concerning that $300 price tag, the craftsman ship and quality does justify it but I would like to see the Bose Soundlink Revolve Plus priced at around $250 or $220. And i wouldn't be surprised if amazon put it on sale at that price from time to time. 

See this content in the original post