One of the things I’ve been trying to do over the last six months is branch out and broaden my horizons on the types of things that I review. In this endeavor I have reviewed quite a few pairs of different earphones and headphones recently, but this is the first time I’ve ever reviewed a Bluetooth speaker, so you’re in for a treat. This item is the SoundCore 2, by Anker. I’ve reviewed a couple of Anker’s earphones and I was impressed with the varying levels of power and clarity that they offer in such an inexpensive package. Logically, I decided to go back to the Anker well once again and give their SoundCore 2 speaker a chance, and I’m glad that I did.
Sound Quality: The overall sound quality that this baby cranks out is solid, and well-balanced. This is the kind of speaker that you can use just about anywhere. Not only does it produce easy listening tunes while you’re at the office, but you can take it home and fire it up for the after-work party as well – and do it all one the same charge! The power range and balance are good at low volume as well as at full-blast, which is an exceptional trait in audio accessories. Usually you get great high-level volume, or you get quality sound at the lower-end/normal listening volume. From other speakers that I’ve tried out before or owned, it always seemed like they couldn’t shift gears and take things up or down a notch when you need to, but the SoundCore 2 pulls this off really well. I made sure to put the speaker through my gambit of different types of music that I like to listen to, and I was happy with pretty much all of it. The most notable areas of performance on this speaker are vocals, bass, and balance. The bass drum sounds clear and has a good sound, not just a beat. The bass doesn’t carry or have as much boom as some other products that I’ve used before that cater to bass enthusiasts, but the SoundCore 2 still performs well in this area, I think the best sound that I got out of this speaker was listening to some 80’s tunes. If you’re a Billy Idol, or Van Halen fan, then you’ll really enjoy the eclectic sound reproduction that comes out of these drivers. The voice and guitar blends of some classic 80’s hair band music really pops, and sounds great. If you really want to get a feel for what the SoundCore 2 has to offer then fire up some AC/DC and listen to the hi-hats in the beginning and you’ll be hooked, especially once the guitar and vocals kick in.
Functionality: The speaker is crazy easy to use. At first, I thought the big buttons on top were a little silly looking, but then I started using them and appreciated the simplicity that they offer. Really, there are 5 buttons on the whole speaker: Volume Up, Volume Down, Power, Play (doubles as Pause), and Bluetooth Pairing. The only other thing you have to worry about is the rubberized cover on the side that you move out of the way to charge this baby, which you don’t have to do often. The “Power” in PowerCore, stands for more than just volume. The battery life on this speaker is fantastic, like many of Anker’s other products. Their accessories are all well-balanced when it comes to power consumption and performance, giving you the best of both worlds. The product has an advertised play-life of 24hrs – holy smokes! It’s also water-resistant, which is a plus if you want to listen to music while you’re laying out by the pool. Of course, it isn’t waterproof, but it will withstand getting splashed periodically. In addition to being an awesome speaker, you can even use it for phone calls. The SoundCore 2 has a built-in mic that allows you to answer phone calls in the middle of listening to your music without having to worry about tracking down your phone. It’s a really nice feature that I enjoyed a lot. Last but not least, Anker was nice enough to throw in 3.5mm auxiliary port as well, in case you find yourself in a position where you need to go the old-fashioned wired route.
Additional Features and Specs:
- Rated at “up to” 24 hours of playtime (wowsers!), which is based on volume level.
- Fully charges in 3 hours.
- 33ft connectivity range
- Built-in microphone for phone calls – seriously, this is cool
- Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity with a 66ft listening range
- Comes with a tiny charging cable and no base.
Conclusion: The Anker SoundCore 2 Bluetooth speaker is a great piece of audio tech. The multi-function capability of the speaker combined with ease-of-use, and all-around sound performance give this little guy lots of check marks in my book. It sounds great and goes for hours on end without skipping a beat. One hang-up with Bluetooth accessories is that they die too often, or at the most inconvenient time; not this speaker. The only reason it will likely ever die is because it lasts for so long that you forgot to charge it the day before. I give it two thumbs up!
If you’re interested in picking up one of these sweet little speakers, you can check them out on Anker’s website: https://forums.imore.com/e?link=htt...cts%2Fvaria...eaker%2FA3105011&token=Z371OCN2 – they are currently priced at $39.99. They are also available for purchase through Amazon. The SoundCore 2 comes in one color: Black.
Sound Quality: The overall sound quality that this baby cranks out is solid, and well-balanced. This is the kind of speaker that you can use just about anywhere. Not only does it produce easy listening tunes while you’re at the office, but you can take it home and fire it up for the after-work party as well – and do it all one the same charge! The power range and balance are good at low volume as well as at full-blast, which is an exceptional trait in audio accessories. Usually you get great high-level volume, or you get quality sound at the lower-end/normal listening volume. From other speakers that I’ve tried out before or owned, it always seemed like they couldn’t shift gears and take things up or down a notch when you need to, but the SoundCore 2 pulls this off really well. I made sure to put the speaker through my gambit of different types of music that I like to listen to, and I was happy with pretty much all of it. The most notable areas of performance on this speaker are vocals, bass, and balance. The bass drum sounds clear and has a good sound, not just a beat. The bass doesn’t carry or have as much boom as some other products that I’ve used before that cater to bass enthusiasts, but the SoundCore 2 still performs well in this area, I think the best sound that I got out of this speaker was listening to some 80’s tunes. If you’re a Billy Idol, or Van Halen fan, then you’ll really enjoy the eclectic sound reproduction that comes out of these drivers. The voice and guitar blends of some classic 80’s hair band music really pops, and sounds great. If you really want to get a feel for what the SoundCore 2 has to offer then fire up some AC/DC and listen to the hi-hats in the beginning and you’ll be hooked, especially once the guitar and vocals kick in.
Functionality: The speaker is crazy easy to use. At first, I thought the big buttons on top were a little silly looking, but then I started using them and appreciated the simplicity that they offer. Really, there are 5 buttons on the whole speaker: Volume Up, Volume Down, Power, Play (doubles as Pause), and Bluetooth Pairing. The only other thing you have to worry about is the rubberized cover on the side that you move out of the way to charge this baby, which you don’t have to do often. The “Power” in PowerCore, stands for more than just volume. The battery life on this speaker is fantastic, like many of Anker’s other products. Their accessories are all well-balanced when it comes to power consumption and performance, giving you the best of both worlds. The product has an advertised play-life of 24hrs – holy smokes! It’s also water-resistant, which is a plus if you want to listen to music while you’re laying out by the pool. Of course, it isn’t waterproof, but it will withstand getting splashed periodically. In addition to being an awesome speaker, you can even use it for phone calls. The SoundCore 2 has a built-in mic that allows you to answer phone calls in the middle of listening to your music without having to worry about tracking down your phone. It’s a really nice feature that I enjoyed a lot. Last but not least, Anker was nice enough to throw in 3.5mm auxiliary port as well, in case you find yourself in a position where you need to go the old-fashioned wired route.
Additional Features and Specs:
- Rated at “up to” 24 hours of playtime (wowsers!), which is based on volume level.
- Fully charges in 3 hours.
- 33ft connectivity range
- Built-in microphone for phone calls – seriously, this is cool
- Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity with a 66ft listening range
- Comes with a tiny charging cable and no base.
Conclusion: The Anker SoundCore 2 Bluetooth speaker is a great piece of audio tech. The multi-function capability of the speaker combined with ease-of-use, and all-around sound performance give this little guy lots of check marks in my book. It sounds great and goes for hours on end without skipping a beat. One hang-up with Bluetooth accessories is that they die too often, or at the most inconvenient time; not this speaker. The only reason it will likely ever die is because it lasts for so long that you forgot to charge it the day before. I give it two thumbs up!
If you’re interested in picking up one of these sweet little speakers, you can check them out on Anker’s website: https://forums.imore.com/e?link=htt...cts%2Fvaria...eaker%2FA3105011&token=Z371OCN2 – they are currently priced at $39.99. They are also available for purchase through Amazon. The SoundCore 2 comes in one color: Black.