So I like the new Bose Sondlink plus, it sounds really good and it gives me very high hopes for the Bose Soundlink Max 2. However for a mid sized speaker, I do find it a little hard to justify cause the Bose Soundlink Plus is priced by a large sized speaker… so today we’re going to see how the Bose Soundlink Plus compares to both the Sony ULT field 5 and JBL Xtreme 4.
So first theres pricing, and this is one of my biggest issues with the Bose Soundlink Plus. The Bose Soundlink Plus has a retail price of $270… which is a lot if you ask me. And since this is a bose product, I dont expect it to go on sale all that often. Where as the JBL Xtreme 4 has a retail price of $380 and the Sony ULT field 5 has a retail price of $330… and they both likes to go on sale on a regular basis. So if you want to pick any of these 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 watched the related videos in the description below.
So first theres the design of these speakers. Now both the JBL Xtreme 4 and Sony ULT field 5 are large portable bluetooth speakers that are meant to be durable and easy to take on the go with you. Now they are bigger and heavier than the Bose Soundlink Plus… however both of these speakers are super easy to take on the go with you cause they come included with full on shoulder straps. Where as with the Bose Plus, this speaker is smaller cause its supposed to be a mid sized speaker… but it is relatively bigger and denser than other mid speakers like either the JBL Charge 6 and Sony ULT field 3. And with the Bose, it has a loop instead of a shoulder strap… and since this speaker is just so dense, hanging it from your backpack feels very uncomfortable and unnatural. And unfortunately, you can not remove the loop the on the Bose Plus like you can with the handle on the Max and replace replace it with a shoulder strap. So if you’re looking for a portable Bluetooth speaker, even though both the JBL Xtreme 4 and Sony ULT Field 5 are larger than the Bose Soundlink Plus… they’re more comfortable to travel with thanks to their included shoulder straps.
But also, both the Sony and JBL have at least one major feature over the bose. With the Sony, it has a built in light feature, and I personally like this light feature cause I do feel that it has been improved and it has a good splash effect. So if you want something with a light feature, the Sony has you covered. However if you decide to use this light feature that is going to take its toll on the battery life.
Now when it comes to battery life, The Bose soundlink plus has an advertised battery life of 20 hours, where as both the JBL and Sony (with the light feature turned off) have an advertised battery life of 24 hours. And real world use with all of these speakers playing at 80% volume, the Bose is good for around 10 hours of playback time, the Sony is good for like 12 hours and the JBL is good for like 14 hours. And 80% volume on both the Sony and JBL is going to be louder than 80% volume on the Bose.
But the major feature the JBL Xtreme 4 has over both the Bose and Sony here is that you can actually remove the battery on this speaker. So if you want you can get multiple batteries and keep the party going, or if you get to the point where your speaker can no longer hold a charge, instead of buying a new speaker, you just need to get a new battery.
However, removing the battery on the Xtreme 4 isn’t as easy as removing the battery on the Partybox 320 or 120. With the Xtreme 4 you’re going to need Alan keys, and the Xtreme 4 has this set up so that it can keep its IP68 rating. So swapping out the battery on the Xtreme 4 is doable, but its not super convenient. But it can be done. And if you want you can swap batteries between your Xtreme 4 and JBL Partybox 320 cause they use the same battery.
And to charge these speakers, they all charge via a USB C port as they should. But with the JBL Xtreme 4 and Sony ULT field 5, if you use these speakers while they are plugged in you are going to get a perofmeance boost out of them, where as with the bose, you dont. But also with all of these speakers you can use their USB C port to charge your own devices, which is super usful if you’re looking for something portable.
However, you cant use the USB C port on any of these speakers as a wired connection… but both the JBL and Sony have an audio jack so you can use them with a wired connection if you want. But when it comes to Bluetooth connectivity, all of these speakers can be connected to two devices at the same time so you and a friend can both be DJ, and latency is not an issue for any of these speakers so you can use them to watch videos with on your phone. But when it comes to audio codecs, the Xtreme 4 only has support for SBC, where as these other two speakers have support for SBC and AAC… and the Sony has support for LDAC where as the Bose has support for Snap Dragon Sound which are higher quality audio codecs, but you do have to be android users to actually use that…
But with all of that being said, lets talk about sound. When it comes to speaker set ups, all of these speakers are different. The bose has a single frontward firing driver with a single frontward firing tweeter and dual passive radiators that shoot out the front and back. Where as the Xtreme 4 has dual frontward firing woofers, dual frontward firing tweeters and dual passive radiators that shoot out the sides. And then theres the Sony ULT Fold 5 which has a single frontward firing woofer, dual frontward firing tweeters and dual passive radiators that shoot out the sides. But now we’re going to jump into the soundtest. All of these speakers are playing at 75% Volume while unplugged with their stock EQ’s.
Soundtest
So like I have mentioned in past videos, I am actually very impressed but the sound that comes out of the Bose soundlink plus. Its sounds very full and it has really good detail in the mids, and I actually prefer the sound that comes out of the Bose Soundlink Plus over the Bose Soundlink Max, except it doesn’t get as loud. However both the JBL Xtreme 4 and Sony ULT Field 5 sound more open than the Bose, which is to be expected… but I do think the Sony ULT field 5 is the most balanced sounding speaker here cause the JBL Does like to lean towards a brighter sound signature… but both the JBL and Sony actually have more of a kick in their bass versus the Bose who’s bass is mostly on the higerend and more audible side. And then theres the max volume performance of these speakers… I think the Bose is going to be better suited for an 8 person get together where as both the JBL Xtreme 4 and Sony ULT Field 5 are good for like 10 to 12 person get together. Now the JBL does seem to get a little louder than the Sony cause it leans towards a brighter sound signature… but the Sony sounds fuller at those higher volumes. So overall, the Bose Soundlink Plus sounds very impressive for its size… but for the price, I would rather go with the Sony ULT Field 5 cause its going to sound more open, fuller and its going to have a higher max volume.
But with all of that being said, I think the Bose Soundlink Plus sounds great and it gives me high hopes for the Bose Soundlink Max 2… however for me it is hard to justify the Bose Soundlink Plus cause of its very premium price when compared to the JBL Charge 6 and Sony ULT field 3 which sound and perform just as great. But lets say that money isn’t an issue… for me its still hard to justify the Bose Soundlink Plus if you’re looking for a portable mid sized speaker cause this speaker is super big and heavy when compared to both the JBL Charge 6 and Sony ULT Field 3. For the budget, I would prefer to spring for either the JBL Xtreme 4 or Sony ULT field 5 cause both of these speakers sound better and they get louder than the bose… and even though they are a little bigger, therye easier to travel with cause of their included shoulder straps.