Home » Bose SoundTouch 30 Quick Review

Bose SoundTouch 30 Quick Review

Written By Kevin Bruce Francisco
Published • February 23rd, 2015
Gadget ReviewsGadgets
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We’ve already given you our thoughts regarding the company’s SoundTouch 20, and now we have in our hands its bigger sibling — the Bose SoundTouch 30. It basically has the same functionalities and features as the smaller model but what would make you want to buy it? Read on this quick review and find out.

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The SoundTouch 30 is basically a bigger ST20 in terms of looks. Its got the same minimalistic approach all around with an outward-curving body, flat surface, and an OLED panel up front which displays song titles, artists, and serves as a connectivity indicator.

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Just like its smaller version, the ST30’s flat surface is where the only buttons are found: Power, AUX, Volume up and down, and a 6-button preset where you can assign radio stations and specific playlists for faster navigation.

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There’s also an included remote but using your smartphone, tablet, or PC with the SoundTouch app already grants you access to tasks you need to perform like change sources, adjust volume, and select playlists.

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It has a built-in diaphragm at its back that promises to provide lows that are not only powerful, but also solid. We’ll get to sound quality in just a bit.

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Connectivity-wise, it’s been established before that the SoundTouch series doesn’t rely heavily on wired connections since they’re all about Wi-Fi connection here. With that in mind, it’s still thoughtful for Bose to include a 3.5mm audio jack for times that Internet is unavailable.

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After the easy setup that requires you to connect the speaker to a Wi-Fi, the SoundTouch 30 is ready to go. We had it playing continuously just to stretch its drivers and we were ready to test its sound performance.

So far it’s all been very familiar when it comes to the physique of the SoundTouch 20 and 30. Although as for the sound quality, the two has a distinct difference between each other that should factor in altogether. During our time with the SoundTouch 20 we noticed that the highs were a bit overdone which proved to be too bright for us, but as for this bigger model everything was balanced.

SoundTouch 20 – literally just a smaller version of the SoudTouch 30

Treble was crisp without going overboard. That, plus its bass levels that could go deep without getting muddy, was a really enjoyable combination. To top it off, mids or vocals was authoritative but not overpowering. Distortion even at maximum volume was not an issue at all and since we’re on topic, volume level was impressive — it could go all the way up, filling a large room without breaking a sweat.

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Just like before, this speaker is compatible with Bose’s SoundTouch app that’s free to download for both Android and iOS users. Apart from selecting songs and adjusting volume you can also use it to play songs from your PC’s music library. The SoundTouch 30 also comes with a free 15-day trial of Deezer Premium+ as part of their partnership — it gives users unlimited access to their music library with no ads and also throws in a special offer for a full-year subscription with half the price after the trial ends.

Regardless of what music-streaming app you prefer, you will always have the capability to output all your songs to the SoundTouch 30.

The Bose SoundTouch 30, although the top of the line model in the series, has a lot of similarity with the SoundTouch 20 in terms of functionality. If you have both set up in your house you can set them to play the same music in each room or you can opt to play different songs for each speaker.

It still heavily relies on how fast your Internet is, so performance and connectivity might be affected if you placed the speaker in a spot where Wi-Fi signal is weak (or if your Internet connection is generally crappy). As for sound performance, we’re glad to report that the downside we previously saw is no longer present in this bigger SoundTouch — what you get is a powerful and life-like sound that the company is known for.

Bose SoundTouch 30 specs and features:
Aux input
Ethernet port
USB ports
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
OLED display
9.7 x 17.1 x 7.1 inches (dimensions)
8.39 kg (weight)
Price: Php49,500

The Bose SoundTouch 30 as well as the SoundTouch 20 are both available for purchase at Bose stores.

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Kevin Bruce Francisco

Kevin Bruce Francisco is the Senior Editor and Video Producer for YugaTech. He's a Digital Filmmaking graduate who's always either daydreaming of traveling or actually going places on his bike. Follow him on Twitter for more tech updates @kevincofrancis.