Audio review
Soundcore Boom 2 Review: 27 Hours, and It Floats
SoundGuys measured three hours beyond the claim. It is IPX7 with no dust rating at all, which is the compromise hiding behind the letter X.
By Paulo GerchonPublished 2 min read
Illustration, not a photo — we don’t have a licensed image of this product yet.
Anker
Soundcore Boom 2
Good · researched from 3 sources
A genuinely loud, genuinely long-lasting party speaker that floats, for well under many rivals. Keep it below about 80 percent volume and keep it out of the sand, because the rating covers water and nothing else.
- Buy if
- Pools, showers and anywhere it might end up in the water · Outdoor gatherings, on Pocket-lint's basketball court finding · Long weekends, on a measured 27 hours
- Skip if
- Beaches and dusty sites, given no dust rating · Listening above about 85 percent volume · Small bags, at nearly 12 inches long
We don’t list prices, because Amazon’s change hourly.
Twenty-seven hours
Anker claims 24, at half volume with BassUp and the lighting switched off. SoundGuys measured 27 hours 8 minutes under exactly those conditions.
Beating a claim is uncommon in this category. Most of the portable speakers in this catalogue fall short of theirs, some by a wide margin.
How-To Geek's version is about three full work shifts of continuous use. Pocket-lint got most of a weekend.
The cost is at the other end: about five and a half hours to recharge, which is slow enough to be a planning problem rather than an inconvenience.
And the letter that matters
IPX7. Not IP67.
The X means dust resistance was never tested. SoundGuys flags it and How-To Geek suggests anyone who cares about dust look at an IP67 speaker instead.
For a pool, a shower or a rainy campsite, this is fine, and SoundGuys confirms it is designed to float, which is the specific thing you want when a speaker goes into water.
For a beach, sand has an untested path into the housing.
Eighty percent is the ceiling
How-To Geek found the sound consistent and enjoyable across genres up to about 80 to 85 percent volume, with mid and treble clarity degrading beyond that.
Pocket-lint did not need more than half volume outdoors on a basketball court.
That is a useful pair of findings: the speaker is loud enough that the region where it stops sounding good is one you rarely need to visit.
How-To Geek's own decibel figures came from phone applications and ranged from 80 to 104 dB, and they are careful to say those are not professional measurements, so no maximum is claimed here.
BassUp actually works
SoundGuys gives the mechanism: pressing the button lifts the subwoofer from 40 to 50 watts and each tweeter from 10 to 15, for 80 watts total.
How-To Geek calls it their favourite feature, taking bass-heavy tracks from mediocre to nearly excellent.
Notably, nobody here reports it misbehaving. On the Soundcore Motion 300 elsewhere in this catalogue, two reviewers found the equivalent feature inconsistent and artificial. On a speaker with a real subwoofer, it works.
The rest of it
A nine-band equaliser reaching down to 48 Hz, four presets, and seven lighting modes with dimming.
SBC only, so no higher-bitrate codec from an Android phone. No 3.5 mm input.
And How-To Geek's most practical complaint: the handle is clunky and feels awkward carrying it, on a speaker that is nearly twelve inches long and which Pocket-lint says will not fit a smaller backpack.
How it scored
The overall 8.4 is the weighted average of these five criteria — we never adjust it by hand.
Sound quality
How-To Geek says it sounded fantastic across genres while noting mid and treble clarity degrade above 80 to 85 percent volume. Pocket-lint describes booming bass audible outdoors.
Value
How-To Geek scored it 9 out of 10 and Pocket-lint 4.5 out of 5. SoundGuys scored 7.7 and calls it the life of the party at around $130.
Build quality
IPX7 and it floats, but SoundGuys notes there is no dust rating at all. How-To Geek reports water spotting on the matte finish needing a wipe.
Ease of use
A nine-band equaliser reaching down to 48 Hz, four presets and seven lighting modes. SoundGuys notes the volume and playback buttons are not backlit.
Battery
SoundGuys measured 27 hours 8 minutes against a 24 hour claim, at half volume with BassUp and lighting off. Charging takes about five and a half hours.
Pros and cons
What we liked
- SoundGuys measured 27 hours 8 minutes against a 24 hour claim
- IPX7, and SoundGuys confirms it is designed to float
- 80 W total with BassUp engaged, driving a subwoofer and two tweeters
- A nine-band equaliser reaching as low as 48 Hz
- How-To Geek calls BassUp their favourite feature
- Pocket-lint found half volume enough for an outdoor basketball court
What we didn’t
- SoundGuys notes there is no dust rating, only IPX7
- How-To Geek found mid and treble clarity degrading above 80 to 85 percent volume
- SBC is the only codec supported
- There is no 3.5 mm input
- How-To Geek calls the handle clunky and awkward in transport
- Charging takes about five and a half hours
Specifications
| Power | 80 W total with BassUp engaged per SoundGuys |
|---|---|
| Battery | 24 hours claimed; 27 h 8 m measured by SoundGuys at half volume |
| Charging | About five and a half hours |
| Water resistance | IPX7, and it floats; no dust rating |
| Weight | 3.65 lb per Pocket-lint; 3.76 lb per How-To Geek |
| Dimensions | 11.65 x 7.28 x 3.98 in per Pocket-lint |
| Bluetooth | 5.3, SBC only |
| App | Four presets, a nine-band equaliser from 48 Hz, and seven lighting modes |
| Missing | No 3.5 mm input and no dust rating |
How we researched this
We have not had this unit on the bench. This review synthesises the manufacturer’s published specifications, independent measurements and owner reports listed below. Every figure on this page comes from one of those sources rather than our own measurement.
3
sources reviewed
SoundGuys supplies the measured battery figure under stated conditions, the power output breakdown with and without BassUp, the codec and Bluetooth specification, the equaliser range and the criticisms about the missing dust rating and aux input, scoring 7.7 out of 10. How-To Geek supplies the volume ceiling finding, the water spotting observation, the handle criticism and a second weight figure, scoring 9 out of 10. Pocket-lint supplies the dimensions, the outdoor volume observation and a third weight figure, scoring 4.5 out of 5. How-To Geek's volume measurements were taken with phone applications and are not treated as measured data here.
What we read
Common questions
How long does the Soundcore Boom 2 battery last?
Does it float?
What does the X in IPX7 mean here?
How loud does it go before it sounds bad?
Is BassUp worth using?
The bottom line on the Soundcore Boom 2
A genuinely loud, genuinely long-lasting party speaker that floats, for well under many rivals. Keep it below about 80 percent volume and keep it out of the sand, because the rating covers water and nothing else.
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