Scosche has introduced another new version of its rugged boomBOTTLE speaker, boomBOTTLE+ ($180). This is the third straight year of a boomBOTTLE release from the company, following 2013’s original boomBottle and last year’s smaller boomBOTTLE H20. As one might imagine, the new “+” in the speaker’s name denotes Scosche’s move in the opposite direction — this is the tallest boomBOTTLE yet. The new boomBOTTLE+ comes with dual 50mm drivers and a passive subwoofer. The Bluetooth speaker comes with a micro-USB cable, small strap, carabiner clip, and a 2.4A wall charger. boomBOTTLE+ comes in three different colors.
boomBOTTLE+ is 8.58” tall, but retains the same 2.8” diameter as past editions.
The speaker weighs a bit less than 1.5 pounds, making it portable enough. Most of the speaker is coated in soft-touch rubber, including the rubberized volume and power/Bluetooth/playback buttons. A sealed waterproof cover can be removed to reveal charging and audio input ports, a charging output 2.1A port — boomBOTTLE+ can recharge an iOS device from its 6000 mAh battery — an indoor/outdoor equalizer switch, and a speaker channel switch. The speaker can be paired with another boomBOTTLE+ unit and set to be a left or right channel. Otherwise, the switch should remain in the “S” stereo position. A .25” thread is included on the bottom of the speaker for mounting purposes.
The design offers 360 sound, so boomBOTTLE+ is meant to be listened to upright.
Unfortunately, when compared to top-rate speakers in the $200 range (like UE Boom 2) or the $150 range (Braven’s BRV-PRO), boomBOTTLE+ is a step down in performance. It does well with some songs, while others sound muddled. Vocals sometimes sounded a bit buried, especially to the more consistent clarity heard in competing Bluetooth speakers in the same price range.
Switching the equalizer to “outdoor” (even while listening inside) isn’t a perfect solution, but it helps in a number of cases, as the “indoor” setting really pushes those vocals to the back. We definitely prefer the outdoor setting, though at peak volume things can get muddy — boomBOTTLE+ does get plenty loud. Bass isn’t noteworthy.
boomBOTTLE+ is IP67 waterproof — it can be submersed to three feet deep, if you like dunking your speakers for some reason — and it can float for easy retrieval. The speaker feels every bit as rugged as it looks.
