Soundcore Boom 2 Plus review: The perfect boombox speaker for the price
The Soundcore Boom 2 Plus has a lot to live up to. I am a new Soundcore convert, as I fell utterly in love with the Space One Pro headphones when I tested them a month or so ago. I’ve been doing my fair share of boombox speaker testing, too, so I was eager to see if the Boom 2 Plus lives up to the hype.
The Boom 2 Plus is the newest iteration of the Boom lineup, succeeding the Boom 2. While the Boom 2 Plus actually sees a loss of battery life (20 hours down from 24), the booming bass and bombastic sound quality work hard enough to make up for it.
So, is the Boom 2 Plus one of the best bluetooth speakers you can get? Well, it’s pretty pricey at $249, but I think that’s for good reason. The bass will shake the floor, and the light show is pretty enrapturing, even though it’s not particularly rhythmic. I’ll discuss everything from design, to battery life, to sound quality in this Soundcore Boom 2 Plus review.
Soundcore Boom 2 Plus review: Cheat sheet
- What is it? A speaker for those boom boom boom songs
- Who is it for? Campers who love annoying everyone else at the campsite, or house parties intended to irritate neighbors — in the best way possible
- What does it cost? $249 / £199
- What do we like? Bass x100, balanced sound, plus the included carry strap and handle
- What don’t we like? Its design is plasticky, it isn’t dustproof and the battery life is unimpressive
Soundcore Boom 2 Plus review: Specs
Soundcore Boom 2 Plus review: Price & availability
The Soundcore Boom 2 Plus speaker is $249 from Amazon U.S. and £199 from Amazon U.K., which is a pretty reasonable price for an outdoor Bluetooth speaker, as some can go for upwards of $300.
Although not technically a boombox speaker, the JBL Xtreme 4 comes in as one of the priciest Bluetooth speakers I’ve reviewed at a massive $379. But oh boy, it’s so darn good, that I almost think that’s a reasonable asking price.
However, if you’re looking for a great speaker and $379 is a little too much, then the $299 Tribit StormBox Blast 2 could be on the table. This is the speaker I use at home, and its bass is everlastingly impressive. For just an extra $50, you’ll get a much feistier, complex bass than the Soundcore Boom 2 Plus. The Tribit would always be my go-to recommendation.
If you’re on a serious budget, then the $189 EarFun UBOOM X might be a better choice than all of the above. No, its audio prowess isn’t that impressive, but it’s very cheap (all things considered), and it still sounds good. For me, though, I’d save up longer and get the Tribit.
Soundcore Boom 2 Plus review: Design
- 2x 50W woofers
- Customizable LED light show
- Plasticky body
The Soundcore Boom 2 Plus’s design will delight some and disappoint others. The body is made from a hollow-sounding plastic that looks dull and cheap. It looks similar to that of the Tribit Stormbox Blast 2, but feels rougher than the former.
Again, this is to be expected of a budget speaker, and is likely a necessity for its impressive IPX7 rating. The front of the speaker is stamped with a huge ‘soundcore’ logo and zig-zag wide mesh. Personally, I much prefer the looks of the JBL Xtreme 4, but that’s $130 more expensive than the Boom 2 Plus.
On either side of the speaker are two vertical, oblong LED lights that are supposed to dance to the beat of music. Well, they have about as much rhythm as a drunk uncle at your distant cousin’s wedding. I found myself staring into their depths to figure out if they were on time or not. I felt like a seer trying to glean meaning from an oracular orb; let me tell you, the future was not bright.
These LED lights simply cannot find the beat. They were always a millisecond off. Yeah, they look nice, and there’s a huge range of color options (I did like the default ‘rainbow’ the best), but they definitely are not “beat-driven”, to quote Soundcore’s marketing.
There are some great design features, though, like the carry strap, the carry handle (complete with finger ridges), the aux port, and the USB-C port for both in-and-out charging. This would be a great choice for pool parties or day trips, when your phone might need a little extra juice.
It’s also not as heavy as other outdoor speakers I’ve tested — it’s 8.4 pounds as opposed to the EarFun UBOOM X’s 9.1 pounds, and the absolutely monstrous Tribit StormBox Blast 2’s 19 pounds. However, the JBL Xtreme 4 is just 4.3 pounds, and packs a major bass punch in that relatively compact size.
Soundcore Boom 2 Plus review: Features & connectivity
- Custom 9-band EQ
- PartyCast with other Soundcore speakers
- Aux input as well as Bluetooth 5.3
The Soundcore Boom 2 Plus speaker, like the Tribit StormBox Blast 2, can charge phones using the USB-C charging output. This is a really nice touch for those super long day trips where you don’t have access to a power outlet.
The Boom 2 Plus runs via Bluetooth 5.3, which means the range can go up to 800 feet. In testing, I was able to go outside onto the street while my phone was still connected — I could also hear the music from my apartment’s window, which was pretty cool. When’s the Street Party?
There’s also 3.5mm aux playback for house parties, which is as easy to use as every other aux audio gadget. Unfortunately, you can’t control the speaker via the mobile app if you’re using aux, but you can still activate BassUp mode for that booming bass.
Speaking of booming bass, the Soundcore app has a 9-band customizable EQ, where I was able to pump up the bass even louder. While the bass never quite reached the Everest heights of the StormBox Blast 2, it would still be enough to attract the ire of my neighbours.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have any other Soundcore speakers on hand, so I couldn’t check out the PartyCast feature. This is basically the same as AuraCast, where you can link up multiple speakers for a stereo sound experience.
Soundcore Boom 2 Plus review: Sound quality
- Pumping bass with BassUp and customized EQ
- Slick, sonorous vocals even with hefty bass
- Not the right type of speaker for detail listeners
To test out the Soundcore Boom 2, I listened to music on one of the best music streaming services for hi-res playback, Qobuz.
To test out the bass, I put on my classic bass-testing track, ‘flight fm’ by Joy Orbison. I enabled ‘BassUp’ and put the bass on max on the Soundcore app (which I’ll go into in full detail later).
Oh man oh man, the bass shook the floor — at just volume 2 on my iPhone 16 Pro. I upped the volume once, and my eardrums started vibrating. This would be excellent for grimy DnB parties, or heavy rock music. However, detail is lost at the expense of bass — but this is to be expected with these types of speakers.
No boombox speakers will be able to play music with supreme details, as that’s quite literally the nature of them. These speakers are designed to be floor-filling, wall-shaking, party machines. As they’re outdoor speakers, the sound needs to travel through the air adeptly.
Next, I played ‘Taste’ by Sabrina Carpenter on Qobuz. Sabrina’s vocals were a little muffled, but, again, that’s the nature of these types of speakers. Again, when listening to ‘Starburster’ by Fontaines D.C., the vocals were a little muffled, but the bass was utterly thumping. My desk was trembling.
I played ‘Kill V Maim’ by Grimes, which has a really unique bassline and cacophonous percussion. The drums were extremely loud and almost threatened to overpower Grimes’ vocals, but it actually made the song sound better for some bizarre reason. I wanted to get up and dance to the bass.
In the same vein of synth-heavy bass-heavy alt-pop, I played ‘Image’ by Magdalena Bay, which is a bassy pop track with high, airy vocals. Again, the vocals were a little quiet in the bass-heavy speaker, but that’s exactly what you want if you’re playing outside, which is less forgiving than at home, or if you’re having a house party.
To test high-frequency sound effects, I played ‘Money’ by Pink Floyd, which obviously starts with the eponymous money clinking and tinkling. Yes, these delicate sound effects were a little lost in the melee, but I was too busy grooving to the bassline to care.
To round off my testing, I played ‘Backstreet Freestyle’ by Kendrick Lamar, which is built over a pulsing baritone bass and percussion that sounds like (cool and trendy) Alpine cows. I could hear the bass and the percussion easily, and Kendrick’s ad-libs were not lost in the depth of the bass.
I was really impressed with the sound quality here. I think this speaker excels at hip hop, DnB, and bassy synth pop like Magdalena Bay and Grimes, but it doesn’t do so well with pop and indie.
Again: this is not a high-fidelity, detail-oriented speaker. It’s a loud, unapologetic, bass speaker. If you’re into detail listening, I’d recommend something like the JBL Authentics range.
Soundcore Boom 2 Plus review: App
- Easy-to-use app with a range of customization tools
- Adjust EQ or choose from Soundcore’s presets
- Change color show
I was a little disappointed not to see HearID on the Soundcore app, which was my favorite aspect of the Soundcore Space One Pro headphones ($199) I tested recently. However, this is a speaker, not a set of headphones, so what sounds good to me might not sound good to my fellow listeners, and I forgave the app pretty quickly.
As you can see, you can adjust things like EQ, sort out firmware upgrades, and select from pre-determined light shows. As I said above, these light shows are kind of like toddlers playing soccer, in that they have no idea what they’re doing, but it’s good that the option to play around with the effects is there.
I really like that the speaker image in the app has color-changing LEDs that match what is playing in real life — it’s a super considerate touch.
However, you don’t need the app to use the speaker. I was able to change the color show using the sun icon on the actual speaker, and turn on the BassUp feature with the ‘Bass’ icon.
Soundcore Boom 2 Plus review: Battery life
- Just 20 hours
- Pretty middling battery life
- Tribit StormBox Blast 2 is 30 hours
Considering this speaker is just $50 cheaper than the Tribit StormBox Blast 2, I was expecting around a 25-hour battery life. However, it’s just 20 hours. This is pretty disappointing in 2025, as many Bluetooth speakers can reach 30 hours.
The $379 JBL Xtreme 4 plays for 24 hours, which is pretty disappointing given its premium price tag. However, the Ultimate Ears Everboom ($249) plays for just 20 hours, too, so the Boom 2 Plus isn’t completely alone.
Soundcore Boom 2 Plus review: Verdict
Despite the semi-ugly design and the out-of-sync LED lights, I can’t help but like this speaker. It sounds majorly impressive without custom EQ, and then with BassUp and bass EQ, it’s enough to shake the floor.
I would recommend this speaker for outdoor listening, given the fantastic bass will travel across campsites. It will also perform well inside, and could even be the ideal party speaker under $250.
While it’s not quite as good as the JBL Xtreme 4 and the Tribit StormBox Blast 2, it’s really trying to get there, and for that, I commend it. With a longer battery life and a less muffled midrange, this could truly knock some of the best speakers off their podiums.
Considering the price is just $249 (but often on sale), the Boom 2 Plus’s awesome bass should definitely not be forgotten.
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