I had a lot of positive things to say about Bose’s SoundLink Max when I tested the portable Bluetooth earlier speaker this year, and that praise was universal from other reviewers as well. But there was one main hangup: the price.
At its usual retail cost of $399, Bose’s flagship Bluetooth speaker gets lumped into a very competitive crowd and isn’t far off from more advanced products like the Sonos Move 2 and much larger party speakers. Even if you put those alternatives aside, it’s a lot of money to spend on a Bluetooth speaker that doesn’t offer any smarts, lacks audio playback over Wi-Fi, and has no AirPlay / Chromecast compatibility to speak of.
But as is often the case, when you slash the price by $100, it’s much easier to make an argument for buying something. The SoundLink Max has dropped to $299 for Cyber Monday. That’s still by no means cheap, but the Max’s powerful stereo audio will blow away any other Bluetooth speaker in the $300 tier.
The SoundLink Max outputs surprisingly expansive and room-filling sound considering the speaker’s portable size; never underestimate Bose’s magic sauce audio processing. It even bests the Sonos Move 2 at producing a wide soundstage. Remember that there’s also a 3.5-millimeter aux input, so that’s your best bet for lossless listening. The speaker’s battery lasts for up to 20 hours on a charge at normal volumes, and the Max is rated IP67 for dust and water resistance, so you can confidently use it in nearly all conditions.
This is a classic situation where the sale price is probably what Bose should’ve charged in the first place. The SoundLink Max is a steep investment at $399. But for $299, it’s worth serious consideration if you’ve been searching for the ideal take-anywhere speaker. December 2nd usually isn’t a time when people have these things top of mind, but you’ll be glad you treated yourself come the summertime.
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