Bose SoundLink Revolve+ II Review

The Bose Soudlink Revolve+ II is a high end portable speaker in nearly every way. While not the lightest or the most durable, what it lacks in portability, it makes up for in sound quality and a useful features set. You can control your digital assistant directly from the speaker with its intuitive multifunction button, and pair it with other Bose Soundlink speakers with the aptly named “party mode”. This speaker charges with a micro USB, and it can continuously charge at home while it sits in its specific charging dock (not included). It has excellent connectivity with Bluetooth 4.1, and it even has a 3.5 mm aux input if you want to play music from a non-Bluetooth-enabled device, or you just want to conserve battery.

Performance Comparison

Sound Quality

These speakers have the best sound quality of any Bluetooth speaker we tested. This comes as no surprise, as Bose has been engineering top-notch audio quality into smaller-sized speakers for decades. The Soundlink Revolve+ II is jam-packed with Bose technology, including an omnidirectional acoustic deflector for uniform 360° sound, and dual-passive radiators to convert vibrations into acoustic output.

The resulting sounds will bring a smile to the face of even the most discerning audiophiles, especially when they consider the speaker's portable size. This speaker, as with other Bose models, produces powerful bass sounds without losing any clarity in the highs or mids, even at higher volumes. Many small, portable speakers produce mushy, rattly bass that overwhelms the other frequencies, while the Soundlink Revolve+ II sounds crystal clear, even when you're pushing the speaker a little bit. This speaker sounds excellent when playing mid-heavy acoustic music, but can still handle repeating beats and thumping bass with ease for the impromptu dance party. It outperformed much larger soundbars and significantly raises our expectations for how good a portable speaker can sound.

Portability

Portability is not this speaker's strong point, but it only underperforms in a relative sense, and the more portable competition doesn't come close to matching the Soundlink Revolve+ II's sound quality. This speaker weighs 32 ounces, cylindrically shaped, measuring 4.13" x 4.13" x 7.25". It doesn't exactly disappear into a backpack, but it still goes just about anywhere you do.

The Revolve+ II has an IP55 dust and water-resistant rating. A few models we tested have higher ratings, and can even survive brief submersions. This expensive speaker is likely toast if it falls in the water, but it can handle splashes or brief rain showers. This is not the speaker you want to strap to your paddleboard and float down the river, but it's tough enough to handle beach picnics and poolside parties with ease. We gave it an extra point for its useful handle that allows you to carry or hang the speaker, and inconspicuously folds out of the way.

Volume

This puppy is delightfully loud, one of the loudest portable speakers we've tested, and as we mentioned, we're particularly impressed at how it maintains a balanced sound at the higher volumes. We measured an 88-decibel max volume from a meter away. That's loud enough to keep 30 of your friends moving and grooving, and the whole campground will be able to hear the detailed, lush sounds coming from your campsite (whether they want to or not). Our distance testing showed a loss of only one decibel over 30 feet, confirming that this speaker can powerfully project sound in all directions.

Battery Life

The Soundlink Revolve+ II boasts an impressive 17 hours of continuous battery life. More impressively, we were able to milk a whopping 34 hours of continuous play at 75% of max volume from this speaker during our testing. This is plenty of power for a weekend camping trip or a day out on the boat. When the battery finally does run out, 4 hours plugged into AC power via a micro-USB will provide a full charge. There is also a charging cradle available (sold separately), giving the speaker a place to sit at home and be at the ready to crank out the jams at a moment's notice.

Value

This high-quality speaker comes at a high price, but considering the tech crammed into this little unit, its superior sound quality, and marathon battery life, we're actually surprised that it's not more expensive. Folks who consider themselves audiophiles no doubt have spent more cash on audio equipment that doesn't deliver the sonic satisfaction of this portable speaker.

Conclusion