So like I have said multiple time already, I am very impressed by the Bose Soundlink Plus, and I actually think that this speaker sounds better than the Bose Soundlink Max, expect it doesn’t get as loud. And I am optimistic about Bose’s future products thanks to the Soundlink Plus. But today we’re going to compare the Bose Soundlink Plus to the Bose Soundlink Flex 2, cause personally I was fairly disappointed with this speaker.
Regarding pricing, the Bose Soundlink Flex 2 has a retail price $150, the same as its direct competitors the JBL Flip 7 and Sony ULT field 1. But then theres the Bose Soundlink Plus which has a retail price of $270 which is a lot if you were to compare it to its direct competitor the JBL Charge 6 and Sony ULT field 3. 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, and if you want to further support the channel then you can always watch the related videos in the description down below.
So first theres the design, both of these speakers feel very luxurious and very durable thanks to their silicone wrapped bodies and powered coated front grill. Both of these speakers are also dust and water proof and they both easily float in water. But size wise, these speakers are very different. The Bose Soundlink Flex 2 is decent thin and light weight and it has a built in loop. So taking this speaker on the go with you is relatively easy and attaching it to your back pack makes sense. Where as with the Bose Soundlink Plus… this speaker is notcibly larger and denser than the Flex 2… but it also also larger and denser than its direct competitors the JBL Charge 6 and Sony ULT field 3. So travling with this speaker isn’t as convenient just cause its so big for a mid sized speaker, and attaching this speaker to your back pack doesn’t make sense like with the Flex 2 cause its just so heavy. And unlike the Bose Soundlink Max, you cant remove the loop found on the plus. So if you’re looking for something portable, you’d much rather go with the Flex 2.
Now when it comes to battery life, the flex 2 has an advertised battery life of 12 hours which is decent for small sized speaker, where as the Bose Soundlink Plus has an advertised battery life of 20 hours. Now Battery life on the Plus is also good, but given this speaker’s size and weight, I would have like to have seen a longer lasting battery relative to the size and weight of this speaker.
But to charge these speakers they all charge via a USB C port as they should… but more importantly with the Plus you can also use its USB C port to charge your own devices which is super useful on a portable speaker… where as with the Flex 2, you cant. However you cant use this USB C port as a wired connection and you can only use these speakers wirelessly cause they dont have an audio jack.
But when it comes to bluetooth connecvity, both of these speaker can be connected to two devices at the same time so you and a friend can both be DJ. Latency is not issue for these speakers so you can use them to watch video with on your phone. And when it comes to audio codecs, both of these speakers have support for SBC and AAC but the Plus also has support for Snapdragon sound, but in order to use that you do have to be an android user.
But with all of that being said lets talk about sound. When it comes to speaker set up these tow speakers are very different. The Bose soundlink Flex 2 has a frontward firing driver and dual passive radiators that shoot out the front and back of this speaker. Where as the Plus has a fonrtward firing driver, a frontward firing tweeter and dual passive radiators that shoot out the front and back of this speaker. And the fact that the plus has a driver and tweeter is a big deal cause this is going to help with your instrument seperation, like this.
Tweeter demo
So like you may have just seen, the driver handles the mids and the tweeter handles the highs so this is going to help with your instrument separation and its going to help your speaker sound more open. Now given the Plus’s size and price I do expect this speaker to have this set up… and I also except the Flex 2 to have this set up cause of its price… but it doesn’t. But now we’re going to jump into the soundtest. Both of these speakers are playing at 75% volume while unplugged.
Sound test
So when it comes to sound quality, with the Flex 2, this speaker leans towards a warmer sound signature and it doesn’t sound as open as the Plus cause it doesn’t have a tweeter. Where as with the Plus, this speaker sounds a lot more open and balanced thanks to that tweeter… but also I prefer the sound quality that comes out of the plus over the sound quality that comes out of the Max cause I cant help but feel that the max sound hollow in the mids. So the bose soundlink Plus obviously just doesn’t sound better than the Flex 2 cause it has that tweeter, I think its currently Bose’s best sounding portable speaker cause I feel it sounds better than the Max. And when it comes to max volume performance, I think the Bose Soundlink flex 2 is good for like a 5 person get together where as the Plus is going to be good for like an 8 person get together.
But finally lets talk about pairing these speakers up with other speakers. Now with both of these speakers, if you have two of the exact same speakers then you can wirelessly pair them up and get them to play in left and right stereo mode, but they have to be two of the exact same speakers.
Or if you want you can pair either a Bose Soundlink Max, Bose Soundlink Plus, or Bose Soundlink flex 2 together and get them to play in sync, but you can only have a total of two speakers paired together… which is super limited. So if you plan on growing your collection of speakers, then bose wouldn’t be my first pick.
So with all of that being said, if you’re trying to choose between the Bose Soundlink Plus and Bose Soudlink Flex 2, the Flex 2 is going to be the better option if you’re looking for something portable cause its smaller and lighter. Im really impressed but the sound of the Bose Soundlink Plus, but for a mid sized speaker, this isn’t the most portable or the most conviente speaker out there. But if you’re looking for the best sound, then the Bose Soindlink Plus sounds better than both the Bose Soundlink Flex 2 and Bose Soundlink Max.