Hello everyone, I hope everybody is having a great week and keeping warm during this unusually cold April in Ontario.  This week,  I will be reviewing the Anker SoundCore 2 Bluetooth speaker.  Anker is a company that  has been around since 2011. They started out as a manufacturer of portable phone chargers. They were started by a group of friends who met each other while working for Google.  My first experience with an Anker product was back in 2016 when I had to replace my lost portable charger just before a trip. That replacement Anker charger proved invaluable during my trip.  It ensured that my phone was always charged up at all times.  Now 2 years later, that charger is still as good as new.   Having said that, I thought I would try out their other products like the SoundCore 2 Bluetooth speaker.

Price: $ 65.00 at Bushkin Travel Tech

SPECIFICATIONS

 Look and Build:

The SoundCore 2 looks like one solid piece all in one colour. It has nice rounded edges.  The Anker brand name is tastefully embossed in white on the grill.   The whole unit is very well sealed.  Anker engineers improved the SoundCore line from its predecessor by making it waterproof with an IPX5 rating.  That means, it could stand being splashed but it cannot be submerged in water. All the input ports are tightly sealed by a cover, so I am confident that it will stand up to being used around the pool, the beach or even in the rain and not having to worry about it getting damaged.

 The device itself is made of durable plastic with a matt finish.  It comes in black, blue or red. I opted for the blue one. The control buttons on top of the unit are raised which makes it easy to find in the dark.

As for the weight of this device.  It is very light at 354 gms which is half of the weight of the Bose Mini SounLlink at 677 gms.  So if you want to travel light, the SoundCore 2 would be the one to take with you without sacrificing much of the sound quality.

The controls on top of the SoundCore 2 speaker are the On/Off, Volume (-/+), Play and the Bluetooth button for pairing to your digital devices.  The left LED button beside the power button is the On/Off indicator, and to the right of Pairing button is the LED Bluetooth indicator. When pairing to a device, the LED light will flash blue.  When the speaker is paired, then the LED would be solid blue.

There are no micro SD card slots, but I really never found a need for having to use that feature in any of the Bluetooth speakers that I have used.

Set Up

The set up on the SoundCore 2 is pretty easy. Simply press the Pairing button.  The LED button to the right will flash blue.  Go to the Bluetooth setting on your smart phone or tablet and look for SoundCore 2 and select it.  Now the speaker is paired and you are ready to listen to your music.

Day to Day Use

Sound:   I have to say for this price point, the SoundCore 2  sound is very clear and wellbalanced.  The base and treble are good at both high and low volume.   It is loud enough to fill a room. As the same time, I really like the fact that at low volume, you can listen to this speaker and it still sounds full.  I found myself, thinking that the speaker was too loud, but if I step away a short distance, I could hardly hear it. This is great if you want to listen to the speaker without having to bother anybody nearby.   At high volume, the base and the clarity of the sound is not lost to distortion.   Having said that, I would prefer more base.

Connectivity:  When I first started to use the SoundCore 2, I noticed that the Bluetooth connectivity kept dropping off.  I tried re-booting my tablet, the speaker itself, and the router, the issue persisted.  However,  the next day the Bluetooth worked fine.  I am not sure if there was  something wrong with the unit that I have or it  just had to go through a breaking in period.  When I tried connecting to my Echo Dot, it did the same thing.  So just to be safe, I am returning the first unit for an exchange.

Other than the connectivity issue initially, I really like the Anker SoundCore 2 speaker.   It is well built and the sound quality is great. I would recommend it as a must have travel gadget.

Pros:

• Great clear sound at high and low volume
• 24 Hours playing time!
• Bluetooth range of 24 meters or 66 feet
• Great Value
• Very light and durable
• Waterproof with IPX5 rating
• Easy to find controls
• Warranty of 18 months for parts and labour

Cons:

• Connectivity at the beginning dropped of a few times but somehow corrected itself.

Update On This Product After 2 Years

December 30, 2019

Most reviews only focus on when the product is new, not how long it last, or how it performs over time. I would like to update my review on the Anker SoundCore 2.  I have to say that over the two years that I have used this speaker everyday.  I am absolutely amazed that it is still working like new.  The sound is amazing, the colour is as vibrant as is was, the day I bought it. More importantly, the battery still holds it’s charge.  I definitely recommend any new version of this product.

 Reviewed By: Alf Crespo
www.bushkin.ca