Bose SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen) Review

Our Bose SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen) Experience

Pairing the device was a simple two-step process that took us under 5 seconds to complete. After that, we never had any connectivity issues. We also liked that we could name our speaker during setup, which made the product feel much more personal.

When we played this speaker at our local gym, the sound filled the entire room and sounded loud and clear enough for the entire yoga class. It didn't distort the music at higher volumes and maintained a fun, colorful sound mix in large spaces.

We loved using this at the lake, where its ability to float came in handy when we accidentally knocked it off our paddleboard. Unfortunately, when listening on the beach, the grill collected a lot of sand that wouldn't shake out; setting it up on our cooler helped limit this problem.

The Flex is a tough little speaker. We dropped it several feet onto the hard floor, and it still looked and worked the same as it did right out of the box.

We love the smaller loop as opposed to the usual long lanyard we found on other portable speakers. The loop is a much better, more stable design for hooking onto our backpack, as we didn't feel it swinging around or flopping against the bag as much. That said, it doesn't come with a clip, but luckily, we had a spare carabiner.

It's a super fun color and very eye-catching, but if lemon-lime isn't your jam, there are plenty of other fun colors to choose from. We also love the exterior's soft silicone feel.

Downloading the app was quick and painless. The app has adjustable audio equalization (EQ) that lets us easily fine-tune our sound preferences with drag-and-drop controls. We liked being able to boost the bass and treble when listening to dance music and increase the mids for audiobook listening, which made the narrator's voice sound clearer and more resonant.

We're also able to pair two Bose speakers to play music simultaneously, which took a little bit of trial and error to connect, but took less than 5 minutes. Once connected, the speakers produced a surround-sound effect that felt twice as immersive and never lagged. This feature was awesome when listening to an audiobook while cleaning the house. We were able to put the speaker in the laundry room and the bedroom, so we never missed a beat when walking from one to the other.

The appreciated the convenient control button for answering and declining phone calls.   Credit: Matt Lighthart

While we wish this speaker had tactile feedback, the controls were still very responsive.   Credit: Matt Lighthart

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The SoundLink Flex has an onboard microphone, so we were able to take hands-free phone calls while cooking. But it did pick up on the background noise of clanking pots and pans, so we still prefer to use our earbuds for hands-free calls.

Our Analysis and Test Results

Sound Quality

The SoundLink Flex 2 delivers a cohesive, controlled mix that sounds deep and rich. Vocals come through clearly, making it the perfect little speaker for most music and great for listening to your favorite books and podcasts.

While it doesn't produce true bass, it still sounds much fuller than similarly sized speakers. It sounds pleasant and harmonious across the lows, mids, and highs.

There is a nice natural quality to the mids that sounds rich and present. The vocals in “Tomorrow” by Shakey Graves from 0:10 to 1:20 sound astonishingly real and clear, as though the artist is singing at the desk in front of us.

It doesn't get lost behind the bass or the treble, even on busy tracks like “Doug Fir” by Goth Babe, which features many layered instruments and low vocals. It sounds rich and intimate, with lifelike vocals and a good reproduction of the ukulele and other instruments.

The trebles sound light and airy, giving the music a cheerful, energetic tone and making bright songs like “The Air That I Breathe” by The Hollies sound even livelier.

We appreciate the extra grille plate on the rear, which allows sound to travel through the back for a fuller sound experience. While the sound is not quite as full as the front of the speaker, and the speaker itself doesn't deliver true 360-degree sound, it still feels immersive and gives the unit a more powerful, richer sound than other speakers of its size. Because the Flex 2 is a mono speaker with one driver, the sound is processed through the same channel and tends to pick up on vocals well, so if you want an immersive audiobook, podcast, or even movie experience, this is a great option.

Portability

The SoundLink Flex 2 feels incredibly light, weighing only 1.3 pounds. Most speakers that sound as good as the Flex 2 are often heavier, as they have to fit several woofers, tweeters, or subwoofers, but the Flex 2 uses a single 54 millimeter driver and lightweight passive radiators instead, giving it the best sound-quality-to-weight ratio of any speaker we tested. And, it's only a little larger than a can of soda (8.0" x 1.6" x 3.8"). While it's not technically a mini speaker, we can still effortlessly pack it up and take it with us wherever we go.

We appreciate the small loop for simple carrying.   Credit: Matt Lighthart

It's easy to clip the SoundLink Flex 2 onto anything, though you'll need to purchase a separate clip.   Credit: Matt Lighthart

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The small thread loop on the right end is actually more useful than the long lanyards on other models, as we can clip it to a carabiner on our backpack, and it doesn't thrash around like other speakers. We could also comfortably loop it around our finger for easy carrying.

This speaker is pretty rugged, with an IP67 protection rating, meaning we can chuck it into the water and it will still play your favorite podcasts and music with high fidelity. That said, we wouldn't necessarily call it dust-tight, as the holes in the plate are big enough for grit and sand to get in, which was apparent after bringing it to the beach.

Volume

The SoundLink Flex 2 is a quieter speaker with a narrower volume range than larger options. That said, it maintains a clean output up to 88.4 decibels, which is roughly the same noise level you'd find at a popular cafe during lunchtime. It gets loud enough for indoor and outdoor use with a small party of friends.

This is one of the top few portable speakers we tested that sounds crisp and defined at the loudest volumes, skillfully handling built-in dynamic shifts like Hozier's layered, ethereal outcry/crescendo at the outro of “Francesca”.

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Drop Test

The exterior is constructed with a silicon, two steel grille plates, and four small silicon feet on the bottom, so it's rugged enough to take a fall. We tested this several times, and it only came away with a few barely noticeable scuff marks, with no other damage.

Battery

We measured the SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen) battery life to be 10 hours and 46 seconds, which is plenty to get us through an entire day of listening. But if you only use it casually for a few hours a day, it only needs to be charged every few days.