Soundcore Movement 300
MSRP $80.00
“Soundcore’s Movement 300 provides nice sound and options for much lower than the value of different audio system.”
Execs
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Underneath $100
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Full stereo sound
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Completely waterproof
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Speakerphone built-in
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Helpful carry strap
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Illuminated controls
Cons
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No battery degree indicator
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Greater, heavier than options
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Hello-res audio is underwhelming
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Sound will get tough at greater volumes
Anker’s Soundcore division has turn into a thorn within the aspect of the main audio manufacturers like Sony, JBL, Jabra, and Apple because of merchandise that persistently ship unbelievable options and efficiency at a lot decrease costs. Its newest try at repeating that components is the Movement 300, a Bluetooth speaker that comes packing hi-res audio, a completely waterproof design, stereo pairing, speakerphone performance, and 13 hours of battery life — all for beneath $100.
Right here’s why the Movement 300 deserves some severe consideration before you purchase your subsequent Bluetooth speaker.
Soundcore Movement 300: design
The Soundcore Movement 300 is the second Soundcore speaker to make use of the model’s distinct steel and rubber design. (The primary was the boombox-shaped Soundcore Movement X600.) Our evaluation mannequin got here in black, however you’ll quickly be capable to choose between blue and inexperienced variations, too.
Its slab-like form is uncommon for a transportable speaker. These merchandise are likely to function cylindrical or boxy profiles to assist with stability and 360-degree sound dispersion. However that is by design — the Movement 300 is supposed to face up, lie down, or hold suspended from its built-in (however detachable) carry strap. As such, there are rubber toes on the underside and rear panels, and Soundcore has put in a tiny gyroscope that may sense the speaker’s orientation. If you would like, it might probably use that data to robotically optimize the sound — I’ll cowl that extra in a second.
Its thinner profile may make it simpler to hold round, however the $80 Movement 300 is a bit larger than the $150 Marshall Emberton, $170 Emberton II, and $130 JBL Flip 6. It’s additionally the heaviest of the 4 audio system: 1.8 kilos for the Movement 300, 1.5 kilos for the Embertons, and 1.2 kilos for the Flip 6.
Like these rivals, the Movement 300 is rated IPX7, giving it wonderful safety in opposition to water so long as the rubber charging port cowl stays securely in place. It may be absolutely submerged for brief intervals of time, however you’ll nonetheless want to concentrate if it finally ends up getting tossed within the pool — it doesn’t float. (Neither do the Embertons, nor the Flip 6.)
I didn’t experiment with dropping the Movement 300, but it surely doesn’t take lab measurements to know that the speaker will fare higher if it makes contact on one in every of its 4 rubberized corners than on its steel grille — that factor will dent for certain.
An auxiliary enter for connecting different music sources would have been a pleasant contact, however I believe it’s honest to say most of our gadgets are Bluetooth-capable today.
Soundcore Movement 300: controls and connections
The entire Movement 300’s controls are situated on the highest floor. Nicely, it’s the highest floor when the speaker is standing — at different occasions, they’ll be accessible from the aspect. You get buttons for energy, Bluetooth pairing, one-touch entry to the additional bass EQ mode, and quantity up/down, plus a multifunction playback button that may play/pause and monitor skip. Because of backlighting — a really uncommon function on Bluetooth audio system — they’re simple to find even in a darkened room, and so they’ve received good tactile suggestions even beneath their protecting rubber pores and skin. You may even modify the button brightness (or flip it off) within the Soundcore app.
Surprisingly, regardless of going to the hassle of backlighting the controls, Soundcore hasn’t included an in depth visible indicator of remaining battery life, one thing that is quite common on different portables. The ability button will glow white when absolutely charged, however then stays that approach till it hits “low battery” standing, at which level it begins to blink crimson. How a lot is left when this occurs? Laborious to say. Soundcore’s documentation isn’t forthcoming. You may nonetheless determine it out by checking your telephone’s settings or the Soundcore app, however an additional reminder would have been useful.
With Bluetooth 5.3, the Movement 300 has an distinctive wi-fi vary. It’s not fairly as succesful as Soundcore’s claimed 328 toes, however I received about 180 toes line of sight, and there wasn’t a single spot in our home that didn’t get wonderful connectivity. That’s significantly better efficiency than both the Emberton II or Flip 6.
With Bluetooth Multipoint you’ll be able to concurrently join two gadgets, and I discovered it was easy to maneuver seamlessly from one to the opposite. Soundcore additionally helps stereo pairing over Bluetooth so long as you might have a second Movement 300, however I wasn’t in a position to take a look at this function out.
Soundcore Movement 300: sound high quality
The Movement 300 may be a bit beefier than its principal rivals, but it surely places that additional dimension to good use in terms of audio by delivering fuller and extra expansive sound than the competitors. For its worth, it has no equals.
You’re in all probability going to wish to preserve the additional bass mode turned on. With that mode in use, the Movement 300 has a really respectable quantity of low-end. It doesn’t thump or increase or pound, but it surely offers sufficient bass response that issues sound pure, not tinny. When it’s turned off, issues really feel a bit hole.
The midrange is surprisingly detailed and the highs are very clear. The automated tuning for the three orientations works. It’s not magical, but I positively most well-liked the sound when it was turned on versus when it was turned off. Of the three positions, you’ll get the perfect bass response by mendacity the speaker flat. You’ll get the perfect stereo separation when it’s sitting upright. And whereas I can’t actually say the vertical place provided any enchancment over the opposite two, it’s a handy choice to have.
It seems that the Movement 300’s sound high quality is most delicate to quantity degree. The speaker hits its candy spot at 50% to 60%. There’s sufficient quantity to simply fill a small house like a kitchen, and every little thing feels balanced tonally. When you begin pushing into the highest 25% of the speaker’s vary, the midrange begins to get misplaced between the lows and highs. Vocals turn into a bit extra harsh, with a bent towards sibilance (that “s” sound that cymbals and “s”-word vocals can produce).
You may partially mitigate these results by tweaking the EQ utilizing the Soundcore app’s impressively granular equalizer, however this might take some effort in your half — the tiny number of EQ presets simply gained’t reduce it. In equity, that is true of the JBL Flip 6 as nicely. In truth, as a result of the Flip 6 can get considerably louder than the Movement 300, you begin to discover the deterioration of sound high quality at round 65% of its vary.
As a lot as I wish to give Soundcore props for together with hi-res audio compatibility by way of Sony’s LDAC Bluetooth codec, I discovered it unimaginable to inform the distinction when evaluating the identical tracks streamed from an iPhone 14 utilizing AAC and a Motorola ThinkPhone utilizing LDAC. And I’m not in in the least shocked. It may be difficult to listen to the distinction between these codecs even when listening to wi-fi headphones or earbuds, which give a way more intimate expertise. A conveyable speaker just like the Movement 300 by no means had an opportunity. Furthermore, LDAC is way extra power-hungry than AAC, and I simply don’t suppose it’s definitely worth the hit you’ll take to battery life.
What does this all imply for each day use? As a journey speaker, it’s going to be a enjoyable lodge room social gathering starter, with a fuller, extra immersive sound than you’ll get from the rivals I’ve talked about above. It’s the identical factor for small poolside gatherings and it’ll give your outside dinners the right soundtrack. However don’t count on to entertain a whole yard’s value of revelers. It’d get loud sufficient to take action, however the outcomes gained’t be satisfying.
Soundcore Movement 300: speakerphone high quality
For some cause, Soundcore doesn’t point out the truth that the Movement 300 may also act as a speakerphone. It’s not referred to as out on the corporate’s personal product web page, and also you gained’t see it listed on Amazon’s web page. I didn’t even know the function existed till I learn via Soundcore’s FAQ. That’s really baffling to me since we’ve been critiquing a number of current Bluetooth audio system for failing to incorporate speakerphone performance. The Sonos Roam, JBL Flip 6, Marshall Emberton, and UE Megaboom 3 — none of them allow you to take calls.
The Movement 300’s mic is within the top-left nook of the speaker (when standing upright). Whereas it’s not notably delicate (your voice gained’t get picked up in the event you’re on the opposite aspect of the room), in the event you keep inside 2 to three toes of the speaker your callers will hear you very clearly. It’s finest used indoors — there’s little capacity to cancel out different sounds — but it surely’s a greater out-loud calling expertise than you’ll get on most telephones.
Soundcore Movement 300: battery life
At a claimed 13 hours, the Movement 300’s battery life is actually sufficient to get you thru most, if not all, of a day’s value of listening. Remember that that is based mostly on working the speaker at 50% quantity, with the LDAC codec choice disabled — one more reason to skip hi-res audio.
This sort of stamina is what you’ll be able to count on from most Bluetooth audio system at this dimension and worth — the Flip 6, Sonos Roam, and UE Growth 3 all present between 10 and 15 hours. If you would like extra, two of the few choices is the Marshall Emberton (20 hours) or the Emberton II (as much as 30 hours).
Soundcore frequently demonstrates that it is aware of the right way to construct nice audio merchandise for much less cash than the massive manufacturers, and the Movement 300 retains that custom alive. It might not have the traditional beauty of a Marshall speaker, the unbelievable loudness of a JBL speaker, or the smarts of a Sonos speaker, however with a rugged and waterproof building, nice sound high quality, speakerphone functionality, and a worth that undercuts each competitor in its class, the Soundcore Movement 300 needs to be on everybody’s Bluetooth speaker brief listing when it comes time to purchase.
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