The Bose SoundLink Mini Bluetooth Speaker II is a powerhouse of sound packaged in a beautiful, matte carbon finish that fits in with any decor and literally any space. We tested this one for over six months and the biggest takeaway we found is this:

You literally will never find a reason to turn the volume on your phone, computer or music player all the way up to achieve best possible returns. 

Design

Matte, ergonomic, easily transported and resilient, this speaker made trips with us in the car (where we played it and yes, it’s literally like having all four or six speakers in your car going, as well as in areas with ambient noise (parties and the beach) as well as at home. It transports well, looks good and fits everywhere. The surface appears to be easily scratched due to the matte finish but we didn’t dare, and the power button is easily found on top alongside two volume buttons and the bluetooth pairing button. All are soft and require just a little bit more than a soft press to be responsive. You can hold the power button to check the battery power percentage which delivers a nice sounding voice feedback, the volume does what they suggest they do but the middle button was a bit baffling with its three dots. Its really to switch the music inputs and control the speakerphone. We usually switched with the bluetooth button just out of habit, but the multi-function really worked better.

Speakerphone

The multifunction allows you to activate Siri with a hold to make a call, you can receive a call, mute it, reject it as well. The microphone works well and the speaker is clear.

Base and Charging

Three tiny pins connect under the main speaker body to the base for charging. We found it required a little niggling to get it to sit comfortably on the base. But once it was there, charging was effortless. It seems you can also charge directly to the speaker so we did and that works too.

Connectivity

We had some issues here. Wavering between a bunch of voice prompts like “Connected to XXX” and then “Connected to YYY”, then “Device not Found” which was periodically frustrating. But you can clear the speaker list by holding the BT button down for ten seconds. That’s up next. But once connected, it’s clear.

Sound

Above all else, the sound is the clearest we have ever tested on a bluetooth speaker of this size. It knocks Anker and all other brands out of the park. Highs are clear and bass is deep, groovy and leaves you wondering how a speaker of this size could crank out that kind of depth.

 Up Your Game

If you really want a powerhouse, we suggest you purchase an Amazon Echo Dot, skip the Echo itself whose speaker cannot compare and get the best of both worlds. While the Echo is relaunching at US$99 and this speaker goes for twice that, it’s really worth the difference.

You can find the full manual here.