The Anker Soundcore Motion Boom is a popular portable Bluetooth speaker known for its affordability and functionality. Designed for outdoor adventures, this speaker boasts a robust build, impressive battery life, and features that cater to various audio needs. In this review, we delve into its design, sound quality, active features, and connectivity to provide a comprehensive understanding of what this speaker has to offer.
Design and Build Quality
The Anker Soundcore Motion Boom is built with durability in mind. Its rugged design includes a robust plastic casing and a metal grille protecting the drivers. It is rated IPX7 for water resistance, meaning it can withstand immersion in water up to a meter deep for 30 minutes. This makes it an ideal companion for outdoor activities, ensuring it can survive accidental drops into water and dusty environments.
The speaker features a built-in carrying handle, enhancing its portability. Weighing just 3.4 pounds (1.5 kg) and with dimensions that make it easy to carry with one hand, the Motion Boom is perfect for on-the-go use. The passive radiators on either side add to the bass performance, and all ports are protected by a thick rubber flap, ensuring no water or dust gets inside.
Sound Quality
Frequency Response Accuracy
The Anker Soundcore Motion Boom delivers a balanced sound profile suitable for various music genres. Its mid-range is particularly well-tuned, ensuring vocals and lead instruments are clear and present. However, the speaker does have some limitations. It struggles to reproduce low bass frequencies, which means that bass-heavy music like hip-hop and EDM lacks the deep thump and rumble. The treble range also suffers from an underemphasis, making higher-pitched sounds appear dull and veiled.
Fortunately, the Soundcore companion app offers a graphic EQ and several presets, allowing users to customize the sound to their liking. This feature is beneficial for tweaking the audio performance to better suit personal preferences or specific types of music.
Soundstage and Dynamics
The Motion Boom provides a decent soundstage, allowing for stereo playback without downmixing to mono. This separation enhances the listening experience, giving a more immersive feel to the audio. However, like many portable speakers, its directivity is limited, meaning the audio quality can vary depending on the listener’s position relative to the speaker.
In terms of dynamics, the Motion Boom performs admirably. It can achieve a maximum volume of 93.1 dB SPL, which is loud enough for most outdoor settings and small parties. However, at maximum volume, some compression artifacts are noticeable, slightly affecting the clarity of the sound.
Active Features
Battery Life
One of the standout features of the Anker Soundcore Motion Boom is its impressive battery life. With the BassUp feature turned on, the speaker can last up to 22 hours on a single charge. If you choose to disable BassUp, the battery life extends to nearly 40 hours. This makes the Motion Boom an excellent choice for extended outdoor trips where charging options may be limited. Charging is done via a USB-C port, and the speaker also includes a USB-A port for charging other devices, adding to its utility.
Controls and Voice Assistant
The controls on the Motion Boom are user-friendly and responsive. The speaker features physical buttons for play/pause, volume control, track navigation, and activating voice assistants. The Bass button allows users to toggle the BassUp feature, enhancing the bass output when needed.
While the speaker supports voice assistants through your smartphone, its performance in this area is mediocre. It struggles to pick up voice commands in noisy environments and from a distance, limiting its usefulness as a voice-activated device.
Connectivity
The Anker Soundcore Motion Boom offers solid connectivity options for a Bluetooth speaker in its price range. It uses Bluetooth 5.0, providing a reliable connection with a range of up to 193.6 feet (59 meters). This range is excellent for maintaining a connection even when the paired device is far from the speaker. However, the speaker does have high latency with both iOS and Android devices, which can lead to AV synchronization issues when watching videos.
Unfortunately, the Motion Boom lacks support for multi-device pairing and Wi-Fi connectivity. It does not have an AUX input or USB audio support, which limits its versatility for wired connections.
Comparison to Other Speakers
JBL Charge 5
When compared to the JBL Charge 5, the Anker Soundcore Motion Boom holds its own in several areas. The Charge 5 has a more neutral sound profile and is more portable due to its smaller size. It also supports Bluetooth multi-device pairing. However, the Motion Boom can achieve higher volumes with less compression, making it a better choice for louder environments. The Anker speaker also has a longer battery life, especially with BassUp turned off.
JBL Xtreme 3
The JBL Xtreme 3 and the Anker Soundcore Motion Boom are similar in many respects, but the Xtreme 3 offers better directivity and a more premium build quality. The Xtreme 3 also charges faster, although its battery performance can vary. The Motion Boom, on the other hand, provides louder output with less distortion at high volumes and includes additional EQ presets for sound customization.
JBL Flip 6
The JBL Flip 6 is another strong competitor, offering better build quality, more intuitive controls, and Bluetooth multi-device pairing. However, the Motion Boom excels in battery life and loudness, making it a better option for extended outdoor use and louder settings. The voice assistant support on the Flip 6 is more reliable, though the Anker speaker’s performance in this area is still adequate for basic needs.
Recommendations
The Anker Soundcore Motion Boom is a versatile and affordable Bluetooth speaker that excels in several key areas. Its robust design, impressive battery life, and customizable sound profile make it an excellent choice for outdoor enthusiasts and casual users alike. However, there are some limitations to consider:
- Bass Performance: If deep bass is a priority, this speaker may not fully satisfy due to its limited low-frequency reproduction.
- Voice Assistant: The voice assistant functionality is subpar, particularly in noisy environments.
- Connectivity Options: The lack of multi-device pairing and AUX input may be a drawback for some users.
For those seeking a reliable and durable speaker with great battery life and customizable sound, the Anker Soundcore Motion Boom is highly recommended. However, users who prioritize premium build quality, deeper bass, and advanced connectivity features might consider exploring alternatives like the JBL Charge 5 or JBL Xtreme 3.
In conclusion, the Anker Soundcore Motion Boom stands out in its price range for offering a well-rounded package of features, making it a strong contender in the portable Bluetooth speaker market.