The Bold Bose SoundLink Max Is Our New Favorite Outdoor Speaker

In 1968, simply 4 years after he based his eponymous firm, Amar Bose revealed a paper titled “On the Design, Measurement and Evaluation of Loudspeakers.” It argued that the listener’s subjective notion, somewhat than any technical measurement, is the best method to assess sound copy. It may need been the primary time Bose (as an audio firm) had overtly flown within the face of common opinion, but it surely wouldn’t be the final.

The new SoundLink Max is perhaps the most recent manifestation of this type of angle, albeit in a barely much less confrontational method. The vary of merchandise bearing the SoundLink identify has served Bose properly over time, and it is sensible that the biggest and most costly of the lot needs to be known as Max. But in its personal method, SoundLink Max defies common opinion and present market tendencies.

The SoundLink Max is a $399 Bluetooth speaker. That’s it, that’s all. No good performance, no Wi-Fi connectivity, not one of the stuff you would possibly fairly have begun to anticipate from a conveyable, battery-powered speaker costing important cash. Admittedly it consists of SimpleSync, a Bose tech that permits it to pair with different, appropriately specified, Bose audio system or soundbars to change into a part of a rudimentary multiroom system. But actually: common opinion? You know what you are able to do with common opinion.

And in addition to, you desire a transportable speaker for listening to, don’t you, somewhat than the flexibility to ask it questions concerning the climate? And the place this elementary requirement is worried, the Bose SoundLink Max wants no excuses made for it. And even earlier than it makes a sound, it seems and feels the half.

Looks the Part

At 4.9 kilos and 4.73 by 10.42 by 4.13 inches (HxWxD), it’s positively “max” by transportable audio system requirements. Its rope-and-silicone carry deal with takes a good quantity of the pressure, although, so it doesn’t really feel fairly as heavy within the hand as you would possibly suppose. The deal with may also be simply indifferent, should you fancy swapping it for the shoulder-strap different (and when you have the mandatory $45 to purchase one).

The speaker and the shoulder strap are each obtainable in both black or “blue dusk” finishes. For some purpose, the carry-handle may also be bought (for $25) in “carbon blue” (which is darker than “blue dusk”), “chilled lilac,” “hyper citron” (an acidic green-y yellow), or apricot should you fancy a somewhat extra sudden-looking look to your speaker.

Photograph: Bose