Bose SoundLink Flex review: small size, but also good sound quality

After returning home every day, Xiao Lei always connects his mobile phone to the sound system in the living room, and then relaxes himself while listening to music, creating a relaxing and comfortable atmosphere.

However, when relaxing in the living room, Xiao Lei prefers to lie on the bed and "play it", but unfortunately the sound system in the living room must be plugged in before it can be used, and it is not practical to move it to the bedroom, so wireless Bluetooth Speakers have become Xiaolei's new "darling". As an old user of SONY SRS-XE200, Xiao Lei enjoys the feeling of being immersed in the world of music as long as he turns on his phone and connects the speakers without any complicated operations.

But after a long period of use, it has already developed a bunch of minor problems, and its surface has already turned yellow. It’s time to “replace” it.

As an old friend of Bose, Lei Technology also received the new Bose SoundLink Flex as soon as possible. The SoundLink series is the most classic series among Bose's product lines. Strictly speaking, it is not a new product. It just has a new color scheme that is more suitable for 2024, but it is still a good product with extremely high product quality.

(Photo source: Photographed by Lei Technology)

What’s more, the update rhythm of Bluetooth speakers is not what everyone imagined. It's so fast. On the one hand, audio products don't need to be updated as frequently as smartphones. The product life is longer than ordinary consumer electronics. On the other hand, Bose's product strategy has always been to focus on creating high-quality products.

OK, without further ado, let us now experience Bose SoundLink Flex and see if it can still be at the forefront of the Bluetooth speaker market in 2024?

First impression out of the box: compact and good-looking

Compared with the rough engineering design of SONY SRS-XE200, the design of Bose SoundLink Flex is obviously much more elegant, with its rounded shape It can be regarded as a continuation of Bose’s long-standing design style.

However, in terms of size, Bose SoundLink Flex is obviously a whole circle larger than most Bluetooth speakers on the market. This may be related to its larger internal sound components. But the overall weight is only 587g, and the rounded shape still makes it very portable, and can be easily put into a backpack or storage bag.

(Photo source: Photographed by Lei Technology)

The small hanging ring on the right side of Bose SoundLink Flex also hints that Bose hopes Users can carry it out more often, and the IP67 dust-proof and waterproof capability directly indicates that it can be used in outdoor scenes with complex conditions, making it very suitable for users who like to go out for cycling or camping/picnics.

(Photo source: Photographed by Lei Technology)

Bose officials even stated that it accidentally fell into a bathtub or swimming pool. It can float independently in water, rivers and sea water, and the sealed acoustic components can also prevent dust and sediment from entering the fuselage.

There are five independent buttons on the top of the fuselage, which is something Xiao Lei likes very much. After all, some Bluetooth speakers on the market replace the physical buttons with touch buttons in order to make the appearance look more integrated and high-end. But the recognition rate of the touch buttons is not only low, but also may cause touch failure when the hands are wet or dirty, which is a typical example of sacrificing practicality for appearance.

(Photo source: Photographed by Lei Technology)

Xiao Lei also explains about the button operation: double-click the middle The multi-function button can jump to the next song, press three times to return to the previous music, and press and hold to call out the voice assistant in the phone. As for the volume up and down, power on and off buttons and Bluetooth buttons, I won’t explain them one by one here.

In terms of materials, the entire body of Bose SoundLink Flex uses a combination of metal grille and silica gel. The surface of the metal grille is powder-coated, and the texture of the silica gel is also very soft and comfortable, which makes the body sturdy. The durability is guaranteed, and the fuselage can be protected from damage whether it is scratched, bumped or dropped, and it is also corrosion-resistant and anti-aging.

(Picture source: Photographed by Lei Technology)

As mentioned in the previous article, Xiao Lei got this time It is a new color scheme, officially named cold lilac. This is also one of the most popular colors in 2024. Its tone is between cold and warm tones. It is a color that is both energetic and suitable for multiple age groups. Color matching. Several colleagues gave very high evaluations after seeing this new color matching, which not only highlights the personality, but also does not look so out of the ordinary.

The interior of Bose SoundLink Flex is composed of a full-frequency sound unit and a double-layer passive resonance membrane. A sufficiently stacked sound unit can also create a wider and better sound field environment than a traditional circular sound unit. The addition of passive resonance dual modes can also bring about quite good low-frequency performance, and can also increase the lateral thickness of the sound field.

But readers who are familiar with the audio field should also understand that the full-band sound unit can indeed make the overall sound clearer, but the disadvantage is that the high and low frequencies will be constrained, and the ductility will be limited when facing some highly dynamic audio. Poor.

(Photo source: Photographed by Lei Technology)

But what’s interesting is that Bose SoundLink Flex is equipped with PositionIQ technology , can automatically detect the placement of speakers to automatically optimize the sound. In other words, whether you place it vertically, horizontally, or hang it up, it can adjust its sound field in real time to output an audio sound field without blind spots.

In addition, don’t be fooled by the mini size of Bose SoundLink Flex. It has a strong presence whether indoors or outdoors. It was actually tested in a 60-square-meter office when the volume was turned up to 40% is enough for all colleagues to hear its sound effects, and it can still show a very powerful sound field even in an open outdoor environment.

By the way, Bose SoundLink Flex also has an unexpected configuration. It actually has a built-in Mic microphone receiver, which means that when the user’s mobile phone is connected to the speaker, even if a call is suddenly received, the user can directly Voice communication through the speaker avoids the embarrassing situation of having to cut off the connection with the Bluetooth speaker before it can be used normally when a call comes from the mobile phone.

Sound quality test: small size, big power

Having said so much, it’s time to return to the main selling point of Bose SoundLink Flex – sound quality.

First of all, Bose SoundLink Flex has a very strong sense of mid- and high-frequency, which can be clearly heard when playing classical music such as "Solomon HWV 67: Act III. No. I. Arrival of the Queen of Sheba" Feeling the surround effect of the sound field, the depth of the sound effect is much higher than expected, and the most important reverb is also controlled perfectly, without giving people a messy feeling.

When playing "Ferry", an old friend, the sound quality performance of Bose SoundLink Flex was even more perfect. The vocals were restored to perfection, and Tsai Chin's delicate singing performance was perfectly presented. The midrange and treble parts were The performance is also very accurate. It is hard to imagine that this is the energy "released" by such a small Bluetooth speaker.

(Picture source: Photographed by Lei Technology)

Finally, there is the classic track "BOOM" that tests the low-frequency effect. It can be clearly heard that the low-frequency sensitivity of Bose SoundLink Flex is quite good, the drum beats are powerful and there are no aftershocks, and the diving depth is also within an acceptable range. The only nitpick may be that the sound field mapping is a bit average. It can be said that low frequency has always been one of Bose's shortcomings. If Bose can do better at low frequency, with this price and appearance coupled with Bose's professional tuning technology, it will definitely be invincible in the audio field.

By the way, if you want to set up Bose SoundLink Flex in the APP, you have to download an APP called "Bose Connect". Xiaolei doesn't really understand this, but he can obviously use it It’s integrated into the “Bose” APP, why make another one separately? Not to mention that the operation pages of the two are almost the same. This kind of experience that requires users to download an additional APP is not a good experience.

(Photo source: Photographed by Lei Technology)

But to be honest, in addition to early matching, you may need to use " Except for Bose Connect", if you don't use the APP for the rest of the time, the operation will not be affected at all. But if the user needs to pair Bose SoundLink Flex with another Bose Bluetooth speaker, they must open the APP to combine. After the two are combined, they can output left and right channel stereo sound, which is very suitable for use during picnics/camping.

But now that we are talking about APP, we still have to delve into the various details about APP. In this APP, we can first After seeing various illustrated operation tutorials, you can connect your phone to the Bluetooth speaker in four steps by following the prompts; after the connection is successful, the APP will also tell you the function corresponding to each button.

(Photo source: Photographed by Lei Technology)

Bose SoundLink Flex is also a product that supports instantaneous connection. The connection steps are very simple and the speed is very fast. At the same time, in order to reflect the "party" attribute, it also supports up to 8 device connections and can be quickly switched in the APP. It is more suitable for multiple Bose speaker devices at home or for brothers and sisters to use one at a party. The single-player gameplay is richer.

In actual testing, when using an iPhone to connect to Bose SoundLink Flex, you can use AirPlay to switch the playback source with one click. According to actual testing, its transfer speed is not slower than Apple’s own HomePod mini. It can be said to be one of the most suitable Bluetooth speakers for Apple users. .

(Picture source: Photographed by Lei Technology)

As for the delay, Xiao Lei actually measured that when playing music or When it comes to movies, there is almost no delay, and there will be no out-of-sync between audio and video. However, if it involves platforms such as Douyin that quickly switch content, out-of-sync problems will inevitably occur, but I believe there are not many readers. I'll watch Douyin through a Bluetooth speaker.

In terms of battery life, Xiaolei actually measured that after playing music for 4 hours when fully charged, the Bose SoundLink Flex still had about 70% of the battery remaining. It can be calculated that it can provide 11 Hours of battery life can basically meet the needs of a full day of music playback.

Almost forgot, the charging port of Bose SoundLink Flex uses a USB-C interface, which is much more sincere than a lot of speakers on the market that still use Micro USB interfaces.

Readers who are familiar with Bose should also feel that since the second half of last year, Bose has significantly accelerated the update and expansion of its product line. Although the Bose SoundLink Flex that Ray Technology got this time is already a product two years ago, the color update and its own good strength make it still attract many people. Xiaolei believes that Bose will bring us many sincere products this year.

Summary: The first choice for thousand-yuan Bluetooth speakers

Finally, let’s summarize the advantages of this Bose speaker Advantages and Disadvantages.

##Advantages:

1. The new color scheme is very eye-catching, and both male and female users will like it;

2. The sound quality is still nothing to say, above average in the same level;

3. The operation is simple and there is almost no threshold for getting started.

Disadvantages:

1. Two APPs can be combined into one;

2 , the volume is slightly larger.

As a Bluetooth speaker that focuses on outdoor scenes, Bose SoundLink Flex’s pretty good sound quality and sound combined with its drop-resistant and durable characteristics can be said to be the best in the same level market. A huge competitive advantage, just the fact that it can be used "out of the box" is enough to capture many young people who are afraid of trouble.

(Photo source: Photographed by Lei Technology)

Maybe it is In the eyes of some picky audiophiles, its sound quality is not perfect, and low-frequency performance is still a problem, but this does not prevent Bose SoundLink Flex from being a portable Bluetooth speaker with excellent overall quality.

It is precisely for this reason that Bose SoundLink Flex, which is compact in size, comprehensive in function, highly expandable, full of immersive sound experience, and of acceptable sound quality, will replace SONY as the My new "favorite".

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