Soundcore Motion Boom Plus review: Is it worth it? - TV HiFi Pro in English (2024)

There are many Bluetooth speakers on the market, but in this review we would like to introduce you to one speaker that we found very interesting and tested in detail. This is the Soundcore Motion Boom Plus, a speaker with a lot of power that you can use, for example, for outdoor parties or meetings with friends in the garden.

Soundcore is a brand of the Anker Group, which has made a name for itself in the field of Bluetooth speakers and headphones, thanks to a generally very good sound quality at very affordable prices.

One of the company’s new products is the Motion Boom Plus Bluetooth speaker, that arrives as a more powerful option than the Motion Boom version. It delivers up to 80W of power and has a long battery life, making it suitable for a party anytime, anywhere.

Although its size does not make it so easy to carry, it is not excessively heavy and includes a strap and handle so you can carry it more comfortably.

Next, let’s go over all the features of the Soundcore Motion Boom Plus speaker and what opinion we have about it.

Measuring 384 x 130 x 196 mm (W x D x H), the Motion Boom Plus is not a Bluetooth speaker you can just slip into your pocket. Weighing 2.4 kg, it is less heavy than it seems at first glance.

For such a powerful speaker, the Soundcore Motion Boom Plus is very light, as you can see. One of its direct competitors, the similarly shaped Tronsmart Bang, weighs 25 percent more (3 kg), whereas the JBL Boombox 2, weighs more than twice (5.9 kg).

JBL’s build quality is better, but the Motion Boom Plus is much easier to transport. Given its size and weight, the brand has decided to add a handle to make it easier and more comfortable to carry.

Handle for carrying the Motion Boom Plus more comfortably.

It also includes a removable strap that allows you to HANG the speaker over your shoulder and listen to music on the go. These are two great options that reduce the overall weight of the device, as portability would otherwise be severely limited.

This speaker doesn’t stand out for having a very flashy design. It’s only available in black and without any glittery lighting effects or materials. There’s a relatively small Soundcore logo on the front grille, but there are no design elements that make the Motion Boom Plus stand out from the crowd.

Its design and IP67 certification for water and dust resistance make it perfect for use anywhere, including pools and beaches without worrying about getting it wet or filled with sand. Therefore, the Plus model surpasses the IPX7 water resistance of the standard Motion Boom.

The water resistance rating, means the speaker can survive up to 30 minutes in water up to 1 meter deep. Soundcore has designed the speaker so that it can float if dropped in the pool. This resistance we tell you is not intended for salt water.

Under the handle of the speaker, there are six control buttons that allow you to perform basic actions such as playing and pausing audio, adjusting the volume, and activating the bass boost mode. With the exception of the volume up and volume down buttons, all buttons are illuminated, which is very useful in the dark.

Motion Boom Plus speaker control buttons.

Let’s take a look at the speaker’s built-in ports. which are basically a USB-C port for charging the speaker itself, a USB-A port for charging other devices and a 3.5 mm auxiliary jack.

Soundcore Motion Boom Plus Connections

If your player doesn’t have Bluetooth connectivity, you can connect your iPod or other MP3 player via the 3.5mm port. This is a welcome feature, as many current speakers have removed this option. It also avoids the delay between picture and sound and the lack of synchronization that occurs when watching a YouTube video, for example.

Thanks to the powerbank function offered by the USB-A port, the speaker is perfect for outdoor events, beach trips, and – if you’re willing to sacrifice space in your suitcase – vacations abroad.

The connections are located under a rubber cover on the back of the speaker to protect the connections in case the speaker gets wet so they won’t get damaged.

Bluetooth connectivity is the primary way to connect to the speaker and the version is 5.3. The range is wide and we haven’t had any problems with the connection between the phone and the speaker. The speaker uses as we say the latest Bluetooth 5.3 standard, but it is only compatible with the SBC codec (i.e. it is not compatible with aptX or AAC).

With Soundcore PartyCast 2.0 technology, you can sync multiple Soundcore speakers for even more power. Up to 100 speakers compatible with this feature (Flare 2, Rave PartyCast, Soundcore 3, and others) can be paired to play music on all of them and amplify the experience. To achieve stereo sound and have one playing the left channel and the other the right channel, it is only possible by connecting another Motion Boom Plus speaker.

An internal microphone allows the Motion Boom Plus to be used as a hands-free device for making calls and calling the voice assistant, although no intelligent assistant is integrated, so the Boom Plus merely relays commands to to your smartphone’s default assistant.

The free Soundcore app, available on Android and iOS, allows you to get more out of it and thanks to it, users can customize the sound with the adjustable equalizer or with the default modes. We will discuss this in more detail in the sound quality section. Also from here you can update the firmware to receive improvements that the manufacturer will be launching.

With its 13,400mAh internal battery this new speaker is capable of providing up to 20 hours of continuous music playback, offering partygoers uninterrupted entertainment for a long time. Just keep in mind that as always, this figure depends on the volume at which you use it, at maximum volume continuously and with the bass boost mode, this figure drops to about 8 hours, which is still a very good value.

Soundcore Motion Boom Plus with up to 20 hours of battery life.

In fact, at moderate volume, this 20 hours is more than enough for most outdoor activities, so the extra power is enough to recharge devices like your smartphone via the USB-A port or simply for later use without recharging.

When the battery is low, the power button turns flashing red and when fully charged, it stays solid white. It takes longer than usual to fully charge the battery, about 5.5 hours.

This speaker debuts renewed titanium drivers with Soundcore’s BassUp technology, which provides precise acoustics with deep bass and detailed treble. To reproduce the full range of ear-perceivable frequencies and maintain the balance of Soundcore’s sonic signature, the Motion Boom Plus features two 3.5″ titanium woofers of 30W power each, combined with two 1-inch tweeters of 10W each. It also incorporates two passive radiators at the ends to accurately reproduce the bass of any musical genre.

The total output power is 80 W, which is significantly more than the 30 W of the standard version of the Motion Boom.

It projects sound with impressive power; if you’re in a large, open room and want everyone to hear what you’re hearing, you should get this speaker. In enclosed rooms, you probably don’t want to set the volume above 50%, unless you’re having a party: at this volume, it easily fills an average-sized room.

Soundcore Motion Boom Plus speaker with 80W of power

Additionally, the two new 1″ tweters, 10W each, strive to deliver delicate high and mid frequencies typically found in vocals, wind and string instruments or electronic music.

Soundcore Motion Boom Plus Speaker System

It’s not as loud as the UE Hyperboom, but considering it costs more than twice as much as the Soundcore speaker, it’s fair. Most importantly, it’s not just about volume: the Motion Boom Plus delivers impressive sound even at high volumes, where many competitors start to distort.

That’s due to the combination of Titanium drivers, which boost treble, and Soundcore’s BassUp technology, which boosts bass. Thanks to the optional Extra Bass mode and passive bass radiators located at both ends, the unit is capable of producing huge bass that gets louder as the volume increases, before tiring the ear.

The Plus model’s extra speakers provide a wider soundstage than the Motion Boom’s standard model, and while it’s still a lot of fun with heavier electronic, pop or hip-hop tracks, it can also sound more subtle on less energetic styles with more pronounced mids and highs.

That said, it should come as no surprise that the Soundcore Motion Boom Plus is a capable beast in the audio department, with powerful bass that doesn’t drown out the mids and highs, and the impressive volume means it sounds just as good outdoors as it does indoors.

Passive radiators for bass enhancement – Soundcore Motion Boom Plus review

If the setting doesn’t suit your taste, you always have the option of using one of the four custom presets in the Soundcore app or you can even play around with a custom EQ.

It is highly recommended to install the app as when we listened to it for the first time before installing the app, the treble, sounded a bit strident. This is something that the first users who used the speaker at launch commented on. Soundcore seems to have taken note and released an update to install through the app that largely corrected this issue.

When we installed the update, we noticed it as the sound was much better and the treble was not annoying

With the standard Soundcore Signature preset we think the sound is quite convincing, but the Voice, Treble Enhancement and Balanced presets may also be interesting for some people.

With the nine-band graphic equalizer you can create your own custom EQ. This is a much higher number than most custom EQs, which means you have an impressive level of control over the sound of the Motion Boom Plus.

With up to 8 dB of gain across the frequency spectrum, you can add plenty of bass to your sound profiles, although BassUp mode cannot be activated when using custom EQ settings.

You can create several custom EQs for yourself and switch between them as you listen to the music. There is only a brief pause when you switch from one to another. From here you can also control the bass boost mode to turn it on or off at your preference when using one of the preset modes.

Soundcore Motion Boom Plus review

Anker’s Soundcore audio division has updated its popular Motion Boom wireless Bluetooth speaker with the Motion Boom Plus. This is an impressive outdoor speaker with great battery life and excellent sound.

Soundcore Motion Boom Plus weighs 2.4 kg and has a large footprint, so it’s certainly no lightweight, but the built-in handle and included carrying strap make it easy to transport. It is water and dust resistant and floats, making it a great summer speaker for beach or poolside use.

It has discrete tweeters and woofers that produce very powerful sound, far beyond than you would expect from a speaker of this size and price. The 80W speaker system delivers impressive sound even at high volumes, and the 20-hour battery life, keeps the device running continuously.

The extra power in comparison with the standard version of the Motion Boom series, makes it more suitable for outdoor parties, and it’s hard to find a more powerful or dynamic device for playing music without having to connect it to a plug.

There are other advantages like the USB-A charging, the auxiliary input, and the presets and custom EQs via the Soundcore app.

So the Soundcore Motion Boom Plus is certainly isn’t as portable as other alternatives, but it makes up for it in terms of audio performance and battery life.

What we liked least, is its all-plastic design that has a look and feel that doesn’t live up to its quality. It’s understandable that at this price point, portability is prioritized over how it looks.

All in all, Soundcore has built its brand on the foundation of delivering high-quality sound at reasonable prices. The Motion Boom Plus continues this tradition, with an impressive amount of bass for a speaker of this size, and the tweeters give the treble much more definition than you’d expect.

Of course, you can buy even more powerful speakers, but they’re much bigger and heavier. There’s nothing in this price range that can compete with the Motion Boom Plus. Combine that with the impressive battery life and range that Soundcore speakers are known for, it’s an ideal party speaker that’s easy to transport and one of our favorites of 2022.

See Soundcore Motion Boom Plus price

Other alternatives

Although as we’ve seen the Motion Boom+ is hard to beat, specially in terms of value for price there are other alternatives in the competition that can also be interesting.

One of them is the JBL Xtreme 3, which is priced significantly higher, but offers a more compact size. The sound quaility outdoors is quite worse, but it provides a good performance indoors at lower volumes. It also provides water and dust resistance, and the battery life is quite similar.

The Motion Boom Plus provides a wider soundstage performance, powerfull bass and more definition in trebles, but the Xtreme 3 is still a good choice.

Very soon, you will be able to see the differences between the Motion Boom Plus and the Xtreme 3 as they are two devices that we love. Although we advance you that the Motion Boom Plus wins in most areas.

Another alternative is the JBL Boombox 2, that is more comparable in size and in power with the Motion Boom Plus, but its price is more than twice.