The Soundcore range really does have a speaker for everyone. From the Spatial Audio enabled Motion X600, which packs in excellent sound and gorgeous design, to this, the Boom 2 Plus which brings the noise and the light show for a proper party speaker.
It follows on from the very solid SoundCore Motion Boom Plus, another excellent speaker perfect for parties. I actually took a trip across the UK to a music festival with that same older model, pumping out nothing but the heaviest tunes for almost a week straight, and it put nary a foot wrong. Judging from the more rugged design and chunkier build of this new version, I can see the same from the Boom 2 Plus — my new go-to festival companion, it would appear.
Price
The Soundcore Boom 2 Plus costs more than the outgoing Motion Boom Plus by around $50/£30, with a full price tag of $249/£199. You can pick it up from either the SoundCore website or from Amazon, so it’s super easy to get hold of as well. That old speaker has a spot on our Best Bluetooth Speakers list, so you can guarantee that this one is well on its way over there.
That price does bring it out of the realm of the outright affordable, although compared to other similarly specced light-up party speakers it’s still very well placed price-wise.
Design and build
This is an attractive speaker, if you like brutalism and LED RGB flashing lights. It’s about as subtle as a brick to the face — the polar opposite of the X-series from Soundcore. It’s a center of attention speaker this one, and it oozes ‘I’m loud as hell, watch that volume dial’.
It also feels like it could survive a charge through a brick wall, while being used as a mallet. It’s a weighty thing, although not enough to make carting it around with the included shoulder strap for long periods of time uncomfortable. The plastic is chunky and solid feeling, and the whole thing gives you the confidence that it could make it through many a social gathering without any issues.
Features
Most of the speaker's features come through the continuously excellent SoundCore app. From here, you can control the colors and pattern of the lights, and the EQ, turn the speaker off, and you can even get a cool, spinning 3D model of the speaker. Pointless, for sure, but fun.
Those RGB lights on the side are both the most attention-grabbing part of the whole package and also the first thing I turn off. This isn’t something I can hold against the speaker personally, of course — for some, they are going to be the reason that they choose this speaker over something else. For me, they are too bright and distracting for use indoors, and for the times I use the speaker outside, not really all that visible. As RGB lights they are perfectly fine, with smooth transitions and solid beat-response to your ‘banging tunes’, but for me, they are a bit much.
There are loads of options, however, for those that do like the RGB lights. There are seven different lighting patterns, and you can change the lights’ brightness; and, of course, you can turn them off.
The EQ changer in the app is solid too, and gives you some good preset options to choose from. You can also manipulate the sound through the frequency range, and dial in a sound that suits you pretty well. You can also boost the bass with what SoundCore calls ‘BassUp 2.0’, accessible through the app and a button on the speaker itself. That pumps out all of the bass for that quintessential party speaker ‘boom’.
Sound quality
The Boom 2 Plus sounds about as you would expect — it’s big, powerful, and forgoes many of the higher frequencies so that the lower ones can really shine. It’s loads of fun, although, for any normal listening periods, you’ll likely want to leave that BassUp 2.0 button turned off. Outside, or when you’re at a party though? Turn that baby on, whack the volume up, and you’ve got a mighty loud, and impressively clear music experience.
Crucially, the bass isn’t muddy, so it never completely destroys what you’re listening to. Pupil Slicer’s Momentary Actuality brings the heavy, and the bassy speaker pummels you around the side of the head with some properly weighty bass. Sub Focus’s Go Back is thick and pulsating, the bass swelling and booming like you’re sitting in front of a speaker at the Boiler Rooms. Is it delicate? Refined? No, but it doesn’t need or, crucially, want to be.
Here’s the thing — if you’re going for a speaker like this, then you’re not looking for audiophile-balanced sound signatures, you’re after big sound that can fill a campsite or a large room, like your college dorm. The Boom 2 Plus delivers exactly what you need, and stamps the envelope with confidence.
Competition
At this price, there’s naught that is as loud, obnoxious, or fun. There’s the Motion X600 that’s perhaps more listenable on a daily basis, but that’s also nowhere near as loud or as bassy. There’s the Boom 2, the cheaper option, and that will be perfect if you don’t need the ear-shattering volume of the Plus.
Other light-up speakers are more expensive and less portable — if that’s what you’re after, then the Boom 2 Plus is about as good as they get.
Verdict
The Boom 2 Plus is many things. Big, slightly silly, chunky, and loads and loads of fun — but also a really good Bluetooth speaker that knows exactly what it's supposed to be. No one could ever hold its few shortcomings against it, given that they’re part and parcel of the job description of being a party speaker.
If you want something deafeningly loud and fun for this summer, then look no further than the Boom 2 Plus.
The bottom line
The Boom 2 Plus brings the volume and bass — and while the lights might be obnoxious, they’re just another element that help this speaker make you smile. Well worth the premium over the premium option, although buyers on a budget should look at the cheaper and smaller Boom 2.
