Bose SoundLink Revolve (Series II) Portable Bluetooth Speaker – Wireless Water-Resistant Speaker with 360° Sound, Silver

I just picked this up to replace a Klipsch BT speaker I’ve used for over 10 years.Why do I own a BT speaker and how do I use it? I’m a photographer and knowing the model’s music preferences, and having a service like Apple Music or Spotify, allows me to play music during the shoot to help put them at ease and bring out a bit of rhythm to help with posing, especially flow posing. Carefully adjusting the playlist can help bring about desired body language and facial expressions.The sound isn’t great but it’s very, very good, with a prominent midrange and inoffensive treble with sufficient baritone and bass notes. It’s been tuned well for its size and should work well with most any genre of music. Despite being designed and advertised as “360 degree sound,” the tweeter is clearly front-biased while either a port or passive radiator is rear-biased.Listening to Duffy “Rockferry” and Caro Emerald “Deleted Scenes From the Cutting Room Floor” both sound great. I’m not ashamed to break this out for a studio portrait or conceptual art shoot.The buttons could be better labeled with the industry standard rather than proprietary choices, but once you figure it out, it’s fine. I don’t need the water resistance but it’s nice knowing it’s durable. The exterior of my Triple Black unit is delightfully understated. Battery life is serviceable… I’d expect a unit of this size to have at least double the advertised runtime, so a charging base is already in the shopping cart. The lack of USB-C quick charging, especially in this latest, version II release is a huge letdown.The inclusion of a 1/4”-20 thread in the base, the standard thread for photography, is a huge boon, especially for photographers and using while outdoors as it can easily be mounted on a tripod or light stand for better sound performance.Ultimately, it all comes back to sound. It’s far better balanced than the Beats Pill and is able to be played at full volume, unlike the Beats, of which the bass heavy tuning causes the full range drivers to rattle and flutter at full blast. While the Revolve II is clearly directionally biased, it’s not as bad as unidirectional speakers like the Beats Pill. I’m able to set this up on a tripod in the studio, connect Apple Music, set volume to half and never have to touch it again as the sound is delivered in all directions.For the price, it’s one of the better portable BT speakers available. If you need more volume and higher fidelity, I’d recommend the Plus version, as it is large enough to accept Bose’s signature tuning and does sound better overall. However, for my purposes, the non-Plus version fits perfectly in my camera bag, alongside my lenses, making it perfect for studio and on-location use.It’s the best collection of compromises for the price point and sounds almost as good as it looks. The sound is actually so mid-focused and clean, I’m considering buying a second one to use in stereo with my iMac, just plucking one off it’s charging base whenever I head out to the studio or location.If you want a $200 portable BT speaker, you’d be crazy to buy anything besides this, unless you’re an uncompromising bass head. If that’s the case, buy a Sony and avoid the Beats Pill.

I purchased this Bose Soundlink Revolve series II to replace an older UE Megaboom that was no longer holding a battery charge.First of alI, I was impressed by how easy it was to pair the bluetooth with our Android phones and our Samsung tablet.The controls are easily accessible on the top, and fairly intuitive. I also purchased the companion charging base, which certainly is not a necessity, but is convenient, and not outrageously priced.I was a little surprised at the diminutive size; this unit is much smaller than the Megaboom, with far less pronounced bass, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The Megaboom was just that - "boomy". The Bose is much tighter in the low end and due to its size and weight, is easily portable.To my ears, the sound is pretty much omnidirectional as advertised. I walked in circles around it with music playing and did not notice any real hotspots or dead zones. Fairly even spread.Now let me state what this is NOT: Loud. If you are looking for a party speaker that will make your local DJ envious, this is not the product you are looking for.My wife and I are musicians, and we own professional sound equipment that will shake the walls and rattle the windows. I did not buy this Bose unit to do that. I wanted something that would allow us to have background music playing at a small gathering, while not overpowering normal conversation, or for when my wife and I are sitting on the patio by the firepit listening to oldies. For this use, it is perfect! Enough volume to clearly hear the tunes, but not so loud as to bother the neighbors.Battery life is advertised as "up to" 13 hours (and the Browns may win the Super Bowl). That's far longer than we will likely ever need, and I haven't tested its limits yet. In fact, we leave it on the charging base most of the time. Personally, I'll be happy if it gives us four hours of battery play time.In summary, it's Bose...legendary quality and distinctive "Bose" sound. If you're not a confirmed, Bose-hating audiophile, or expecting a PA system, this little thing could be exactly what you're looking for!My verdict: Recommended.

Splendid sound! Hey, it’s Bose. 🏆

Worked right out of the box