Bose SoundLink Mini Quick Review

Portability and sound quality are the two imperative factors when it comes to compact, Bluetooth speakers. Some speakers are light and can be easily carried in a small bag, but then sound quality suffers due to weak drivers. Some are equipped with full-sized drivers that give off high quality music, but are too bulky to be moved around. Let’s see which category does the Bose SoundLink Mini fall under.

The SoundLink Mini is not one to catch your attention right away. It has a dull, metallic color all around that blends well and disappears when placed beside other appliances in the living room. Though it doesn’t look as fancy as other portable speakers, its build quality is top-notch as it is reinforced with a strip of anodized aluminium as its main housing. This puts a hefty 680 grams on the speaker that makes it undeniably solid and adds a premium feel to it. In addition, the grilles on the front and back are both made of metal.

The buttons up top are lined up neatly and are very straightforward – you have the Power, Mute, Volume, Bluetooth, and Auxiliary buttons that are protected with rubber. On the right side is a charging port and a 3.5mm audio jack to connect the speaker to a music player using a cable (not included).

Lastly, you can find a mini USB port under the device for firmware upgrades and some metal conductors that connect to the base dock for wireless charging. The idea is to have the option of just placing the SoundLink Mini on the charging dock and removing it anytime to bring with you.

Now that we’re familiar with the hardware of this portable speaker, let’s dive in to the sound quality. We started playing music on normal volume and the SoundLink Mini gave out clear and crisp sound. We weren’t really surprised since we have high expectations on Bose when it comes to sound reproduction.

We then cranked up the volume to see how long it could hold before the sound gets distorted. Surprisingly, only little to no distortion was heard after reaching the maximum volume. It managed to deliver sound with impressive clarity and power. Sound quality is sufficiently balanced, but we think the bass could do a little bit better. Still, considering its minimal size, the SoundLink Mini was able to give off quite a big sound.

Away from its charging dock, the SoundLink Mini packs a decent battery. We used it at an in-house symposium to provide background music while people were talking and it lasted us almost 6 hours before it gets completely juiced out.

To sum it up, the SoundLink Mini is a Bluetooth speaker that can deliver. It falls on the category of speakers having that portable build while delivering impressive sound quality. It’s not made to look pretty, but to perform – and that’s what it does best. Of course if you want a speaker as capable as this, you should be prepared to shell out more than what average speakers are asking for.

The Bose SoundLink Mini is priced locally at Php13,000USD 222INR 18,780EUR 211CNY 1,613 and is available at all Bose stores and select authorized dealers.

Bose SoundLink Mini specs:
Speakers: 2 x 1.5-inch custom-designed Bose transducers with dual bass radiators
Sound engine: Bose Digital Signal Processor
Connectivity: Bluetooth A2DP, 3.5mm audio cable
Dimensions: 2.0”H x 7.1”W x 2.3”D
Weight: 680 grams
Price: Php13,000USD 222INR 18,780EUR 211CNY 1,613

What we liked about it:
* Great solid build
* Compact and portable
* Buttons are simple and straightforward
* Top-notch sound quality
* Decent battery life

What we didn’t like:
* No NFC
* No microphone
* Above 10K price