Get Them Here:

Bose Soundlink Flex: https://amzn.to/3LrDH3z

Bose Soundlink Max: https://amzn.to/4d2Mdl8

So this is the Bose Soundlink Max, its a very premium feeling speaker, I really appreciate that it has an audio jack and I like that you can use its USB C port to charge your own devices. However, I do find it hard to justify this speaker cause of its price to performance ratio. But nonetheless, today we’re going to see how the Bose Soundlink Flex compares to the Max, cause I have always liked and enjoyed the Bose Soundlink Flex.

Regarding pricing, the Bose Soundlink Max retails for $400, very up there if you ask me. And if you want a shoulder strap, that is sold separately for $45… where as the Bose Soundlink Flex retails for $150 but it can be found on sale for like $130, still a little pricey, but the bose tax isn’t as bad on the flex as it is on the Max. Nonetheless, if you want to pick either of these two speakers up they’ll be linked down below, or you can always press on the YouTube shopping button.

So first theres the design of these speakers, now both of these speakers are small and they are very easy to take on the go with you. The Flex easily fits in your backpack’s water bottle holder and it also has a loop so you can attach it to things. I just wish that this loop was larger and I wished that it stretched. Where as with the Max, this one is a little bigger but its still easy to take on the go with you, and it also has a built in carrying handle. But if you want a shoulder strap, thats sold separately which I feel is a mistake cause there are plenty of great speakers out there that come with a shoulder strap. But regardless, both of these speakers are very durable cause they both has a mostly silicon wrapped body and a powered coated metal face plate, and in general these speakers feel very premium thanks to these material choices. But both of these speakers are going to have no problem standing up to constant abuse and they are both water proof and they both float in water.

Now when it comes to tech specs, the Flex has an advertised battery life of 12 hours, which is common for a speaker of this size, but this advertised battery life of 12 hours is with this speaker playing 50% volume. Real world use with this speaker playing at 80% volume, its good for about 8 hours of playback time. Not bad.

Where as with the Bose Soundlink Max, this speaker has an advertised battery life of 20 hours, but this advertised battery life of 20 hours is with this speaker playing at 65% volume. However, the max is a little quite for its size and price. But real world use with this speaker playing at 85% its good for about 10 hours of playback time.

But when it comes to chargning this speakers, they both charge via a USB C port as they should. However, with the USB C port on the max, you can also use it to charge your own devices, which I feel is super useful especially if you plan on taking this speaker to the beach with you. Where as with the Flex, you can’t. But also, this is the only port that you’ll find on the flex, whereas on the max, it also has an audio jack so you can use it with a wired connection. And its still a big deal that this speaker has an audio jack cause speakers of this size are starting to remove the audio jack.

But when it comes to Bluetooth connectivity, both of these speakers can be connected to two devices at the same time so you and a friend can both be DJ. Latency is not an issue for either of these two speakers so you can use them to watch videos with on your phone. And when it comes to audio codecs, the Flex has support for SBC and AAC whereas the Max has support for SBC, AAC, and APTX adaptive. But if you want to take advantage of APTX Adaptive, you do have to be an android user cause iPhones top out at AAC.

But now lets talk about sound, regarding speaker set up the the flex is pretty basic. It has a single frontward firing woofer and dual passive radiators that shoot out the front and back. And this speaker will adjust it sounding depending if its standing up or laying down. Where as with the Max, this speaker has dual frontward firing woofers which are angled out a little bit, it has a single frontward firing tweeter and dual passive radiators that shoot out the sides. Now iwht both of these if you were to use them while they are plugged in, they are not going to get you a performance boost… and the only the max allows you to adjust its EQ to your liking. And with the Max, I feel that you have to adjust its EQ. I like to use this speaker with its bass raised by for clicks and with the treble raised by 5 clicks. But in this soundtest, we’re going to use both of these speakers with their stock EQ’s , the max is playing at 75% volume and the Flex is playing at max volume.

Sound test

So sound quality wise, I actually enjoy how the Flex sounds and performs. For a speaker of this size and its basic speaker set up, the Flex sounds balanced, it sounds open and it has a lot of bass for its size. As a result, the Flex offers a dynamic and pleasant listening experience. Where as with the Max… this speaker also has a decent amount of bass to it… however in real life, I cant help but feel that it sounds hollow. I feel like Bose’s algorithm is reallying amplifying the bass on this speaker so that you can feel your music, which is what I like… but I also feel that its artificially amplifying the vocals. So as a result the instrumentals are difficult to hear, cause in this soundtest I feel that the instrumentals were much better on the Flex than they were on the max. And then theres the max volume on these speakers. Now I feel the Flex decently loud for its size and price and its good for like a 5 person party. But as you’d expect, the Max gets louder and has more bass than the flex… however I feel the flex doesn’t get as loud as you’d expect for its size and especially its price. And I general I feel the Max is good for like an 8 person party. Overall im a little unimpressed by how the Max sounds… but I think the Flex sounds a performs well and this is why im giving the Max a hard time here cause I know that bose can do better.

But finally lets talk about pairing these speakers up with other speakers… and sadly pairing on the Bose Soundlink Max is very week. All you can really do is just use your other Bose products and use simple sync and you can get them to play in sync. But your other bose product is doing all the work here and simple sync works with any bluetooth product. So you can also connect your Bose Flex like this and if you really want to be crazy you can connect your JBL Xtreme  4.

But more importantly, you can not connect your bose soundlink max to your bose soundlink flex… where as you can connect you bose soundlink flex to some of Bose’s older soundlink speakers… or you can get two bose soundlink flex and pair them up and get them to play in left and right stereo mode.

Overall, if you’re planning on growing your collection of speakers, I wouldn’t go with Bose in general, the Bose dropped the ball with the Max, and the Flex can only connect to Bose’s older speakers. And its a shame cause paring speakers is a great feature cause lets say you go to the beach, you can cover a large area with music without having to crank your volume super loud and drain your battery life super fast.

So with all of that being said, I like the Bose Soundlink Flex, its portable, it feel very premium and I like its bass heavy sound signature and it performs decently well for its size and price. Whereas with the Bose Soundlink Max… or me it is very hard to justify this speaker due to its price to performance ratio. Its doesn’t get as loud as you’d expect, and it sounds hollow. Now you can adjust its EQ to make it sound better… but for me it is very hard to justify the Bose Soundlink Max.