Bass for the outdoors: Soundcore Boom 2 Review

The Soundcore Boom 2 is here, and since having the chance to test it, it didn't take long to realise just how appropriately it’s been named. Soundcore, a subsidiary of Anker, seem to have produced a heck of a sequel to the original Motion Boom Outdoor Speaker. The best speakers play to their strengths and typically suit a particular setting or listening post, and then there're the speakers that just exceed all expectations. The Soundcore Boom 2 puts in a real graft to prove that it falls under the latter.

This outdoor Bluetooth speaker is the ultimate travel companion, and not just for those open-air listening sessions. It packs quite the punch, delivering overwhelming bass and musical power at the top end, but it can also do modesty rather nicely too. This is a thrilling portable speaker that leads authoritatively with its bass, and so it should. Audio clarity is by no means neglected either, this overachiever has no issue with you genre switching between harder house-y tunes and softer, melodic numbers.

Heavily produced rap and hip-hop tracks with an abundance of bass were an absolute joy through the sub-woofer and dual tweeters. I ended up running through most of Drake’s discography while testing this speaker and could hardly fault it. His latest rap/hip-hop album “For All The Dogs” features some his most audibly produced work. The Soundcore Boom 2 made light work of translating this for my ears, notable tracks included “Virginia Beach”, and “First Person Shooter”.

Other genres that really impressed me included pop, deep house, and drum & bass. The latter two were a given based on the already established bass capabilities of this speaker, but contemporary pop was delivered with an audible vibrancy fitting with the genre. I found myself revelling in a guilty pleasure for current pop artists like Tate McRae.

Outdoor Bluetooth speakers come with the expectation of being able to get across quality sound in the open-air, in spite of any ambient or background noise. The Boom 2 is wholly capable of meeting these demands, which means it’s more than qualified for indoor use too.

Verdict: Soundcore makes a daring statement with the Boom 2: that it’s entirely capable of making what could be considered the complete portable speaker. Formidable power meets idealistic convenience in a lightweight speaker that’s brimming with delightfully modern features and tech.

What's great?

It’s called a Boom for a very fitting reason. You don’t quite expect it from such a light, clearly handheld speaker, but I quickly got to grips with how this humble unit packed such a wallop. BassUp 2.0 is essentially the Boom 2’s bass mode. It ups the output from 60W to 80W, and the difference in experience is remarkable. So much so that I never disabled BassUp 2.0, I attempted to listen without, but it just didn’t compete. Once you go BassUp 2.0, you never go back. Listening indoors, half volume on the right song was often enough to engulf my surroundings with the deepest bass. Yes, with outdoor use I did have to adjust volume to ensure a similar bass delivery, but this is to be expected in an open, outdoor environment. This is quite easily one of the best bass speakers I've had the pleasure of using.

Speaking of outdoor listening, the Boom 2 can facilitate joyous outdoor listening sessions. The listening range is fantastic, from accommodating lowkey back garden vibes, to bringing the heart of an electric all-day outdoor party.

Ultimate sound? Check. Ultimate features, where to begin? A show stealer of the Boom 2 is the beat-sync LED light feature. On each end of the speaker, there’s a plastic panel with grooved etchings. These panels light up, with seven preset light shows to accompany your listening sessions. Beat-sync means exactly what you think it does, the lights are paired to the rhythm and the beat of whatever tune you’re playing, it's rather cool to say the least. Not only do the sides of the Boom 2 light up, but they also act as a cover for where the bass is emitted. This means that you can visibly see the bass pounding out from the Boom 2, the side panels vibrate, shake, and often appear as if they’re leaping out from the speaker.

The Boom 2’s practicality is a big highlight too. The handle alone tells you how portable this speaker can be, it only weighs 1.66kg, and it’s incredibly robust. You get an IPX7 waterproof rating, which theoretically states that it can be fully submerged in water for up to 30 minutes. While I wasn’t able to test this exact of scenario, I can still vouch for the Boom 2’s waterproof guarantee. I listened to the Boom 2 with the speaker in direct rain for 30 minutes, and it still operates at full ability. Submerging this thing for up to 30 minutes in water would be quite the task anyway, considering that the speaker is designed to float, which might I add it does so as described.

For what you get with the Soundcore Boom 2, the price tag comes as a real surprise. At £119.99, you’d expect a mid-range outdoor speaker with next to none of the additional trimmings that this comes with. You’re getting truly superb sound fit for all situations, up to 24 hours playtime, customisable light up features, full waterproofing, and it can even double as a power bank. Calling anything the full package is always bold, but the Boom 2 might have just earned it.

What's okay?

The Soundcore Boom 2 suffers from a very minor drawback, but it’s something that’s quite common among wireless Bluetooth speakers, so it’s worth bringing up. This speaker advertises a listening time of up to 24 hours. Unfortunately, like many a speaker of its kind, this listening time is dependent on the settings and additional features that you use.

You can only achieve the full 24 hours of listening time if you listen to the Boom 2 at 50% volume, with BassUp 2.0 disabled, the lights off, and obviously without charging anything through the power bank. Of course, it’s only logical that using these additional features will use up more power than using just the bare minimum that the speaker offers. However, it would still be nice to be able to use a speaker and enjoy the extras without having to inevitably sacrifice too much listening time.

With that being said, I listened to the Boom 2 at around 50% volume if not less, with the light show, and BassUp 2.0 enabled, and I was only a couple hours shy of the projected 24.

Any let downs?

Yes, the Soundcore Boom 2 can provide up to an impressive 24 hours of listening time. While it doesn’t take that long to charge it up, it does still take 5.5 hours. A listening time that’s nearly five times that of the charging time is still something to commend, but we live in an age where we’re becoming accustomed to super-fast lightning charging. For some users (I’m not saying all), waiting 5.5 hours the Boom 2 to reach full charge just won’t meet modern expectations.

More items to consider:

How the product was tested

I trialled the soundcore Boom 2 over the course of two weeks. I tested it in both indoor and outdoor settings, running all the features in order to get a proper understanding of the Bluetooth speakers performance capabilities. I listened to a variety of genres through the Boom 2 at different volumes in order to more firmly grasp its audible strengths.

Jack Barrell is a Tech and Fitness Writer for What’s the Best. He is invested in all things entertainment and keeps well up to date with the latest sports and exercise trends too. On his off days Jack can usually be found doing one of two things; lifting heavy weights – or watching his favourite Star Wars for the thousandth time.