Soundcore Motion+ Bluetooth Speaker with Hi-Res 30W Audio

I had a UE Megaboom in my car for a good 6 years, but it finally died on me a few weeks ago. I don't have a working stereo in my car and my speakers are busted, so using a Bluetooth speaker is my best option. The Megaboom worked great, especially for the driver and passenger, though not so much for those in the back seat. Because of that, I decided to research other speakers, and after hundreds of reviews on dozens of speakers, I decided on the Soundcore Motion. I am so glad I did! This speaker is leagues above the Megaboom. It has rubber feet that keep it in place no matter how fast I drive or take a turn. It sits on my dashboard, right behind my phone holder, and I'm able to keep it permanently charging so it never dies on me. The sound this thing puts out is tremendous. The bass booms, but the lyrics also come through clearly and richly. I pair it with my Spotify and honestly don't even care that I don't have actual car speakers or radio. This thing fills the car with sound, driver, passenger, and back seats. When I park and get out to run into a store, I can still hear it playing through closed windows until I enter the store. Speaking of distance, the Bluetooth remains connected when I leave it on and run into Wawa or a bodega. This thing is fire. I highly recommend picking one up if you're looking for a Bluetooth speaker. Hell, even if you have a Bluetooth speaker already, think about upgrading to this monster, especially given the price point.

TL version:great sound with the companion app to balance the speakers EQ and take advantage of its balanced drivers.$100 is an absolute steal for the size (just short of the keys section of your keyboard) and sound with great dispersion, sound stage and bass impact [with the EQ tweeked]Excellent for a cheap sound bar solution as the voice clarity rivals my center channel speaker, absolutely shocking me tbh.First let me say i own an absurd amount of bluetooth speakers, everything from $20 pharmacy brands to the mega-sounding Aiwa Exos9. So when I saw anker get into the speaker game a few years back i figured it wouldn't be great - but not bad either. For the most part the soundcore line has been that, but has made considerable improvements over the years. some, like the soundcore 2 to 3 jump was not. the motion boom to motion boom +: Very much. I held off on the motion+ (this model) for a while and ended up getting it on prime day super cheap. While my wife wasn't happy to see another speaker sitting around... i sure am.Without seeming too full of myself, lets just say at 40 my hearing is well above that of a normal teenager let alone anyone my age. Because of this I've wedged my way into testing groups and other audio testing, my electrical engineering degree doesn't hurt either.. now on to the motion plus:its a unique size to be honest, its larger than what the price range would indicate, bigger than a bosemini for instance, smaller than an aiwa exos 3 but carries a price tag of $100-$120 USD which puts it into a questionable scenario based on suspicion alone. it has a weight that makes it feel well built, and a coating that to me says it doesnt. The coating is this rubberish coating that over time does wear out and become smooth (ala the soundcore 2 has), but its not a turn off. i don't expect an aluminum finish for these acoustics or price. The buttons are standard it seems on all soundcore speakers, up/down, bluetooth/tws, multi B button. this speaker also sports a Bass-UP button that i suggest you never use. it resets the EQ sound profiled to Bass-up and pressing the button again resets it to original. as features go, would be nice to see a scrolling EQ when this is pressed even if there is no visual aide to indicate where youre at. nitpicking folks, at its finest! Sound wise this thing shines. its frequency range is top to bottom for anyone to hear, and the soundstage disperses sound in leveled sweet spots from about 3 feet on a desk, about 12 feet out you start to loose the distinction but not the sound. this is above average for this sided speaker and i found myself using it more in situations where a smaller speaker wouldn't work. During my tests battery life was on par to what is listed as 12 hours, although like with all speakers the type and level of listening matters. I'm tempted to buy another and line them up next to my mid-sized go to pick, Aiwa's Exos 3... even though that device is larger slightly theres considerable comparisons. what might set the motion+ apart is its forward firing sub driver and open air port in the back, which puzzles me as to how it has a reflex port in the rear AND an ipx7 rating. you can bet im going to take this apart soon to find out... just as soon as i take a break from enjoying the sound of this thing during work. final conclusion is pretty straight forward, the negatives are few with the battery life being maybe, maybe a stretch the only down fall of this speaker. simply put, you will not find a speaker at one hundred dollars to replicate this sound. period. probably ever.

The Soundcore Motion+ is an elegant design with excellent ergonomics that elevates this speaker above & beyond. It feels substantial in your hand and well built. The volume controls located on the top of the speaker are perfectly centered between the bass drivers on either side, and the front passive radiator which allows for easy navigation.Technically, the Motion+ excels with an AKM DSP featuring active crossovers for its four amps, each with its own dedicated power supply, silk dome tweeters (which I believe are Scan-Speak design), bass drivers with large neodymium magnets coupled to two passive radiators and USB-C charging. It’s a brilliant design that is supremely executed. Hats off to the sound engineers that collaborated on this speaker!Once you’ve unboxed and charged your Motion+ you’ll want to update the firmware and set up the custom EQ. To do that you’ll have to download the app. To use Ankers Soundcore App, you’ll have to accept giving up a huge amount of personal data analytics, so I chose to install the app on a tablet. Just beware. The Soundcore Motion+ will save your custom eq setting, however, you’ll want to delete the Soundcore app and re download it to verify that the settings are correct. The app will lower the sliders if they’re in between whole dB’s. Once it’s dialed in, you shouldn’t have to open the Soundcore app again. You'll want to refrain from pushing the bass up button on the top left of the speaker, since that bumps you off your Custom eq setting. The only way to get back to your saved eq preset is from the Soundcore app.I set the 9 bands of equalization all below flat to give the digital amplifiers extra headroom, keeping any audible distortion at bay. See attached photo. Since this speaker isn’t a three way and audible distortion is most prevalent at 1kHz, I set that band to -5 dB. Next is the lower and higher mid ranges at 700 Hz and 5kHz which I set to -4dB. 500Hz and 8kHz are at -3dB while 300Hz and 12kHz are at -2dB. Lastly, keeping the bass strong, I’ve set 80 & 150Hz at -1dB.So how does it sound? It’s airy and open projecting a surprisingly effective stereo image thanks to its silk dome tweeters mounted at the outside corners and tilted at a 15* angle. It’s balanced and capable with all genres of music from EDM to jazz, reggae to heavy metal. Horns, piano and vocals are beautifully rendered by the tweeters, juxtaposed by the bass capabilities of this speakers dual passive radiators. On Spotify, Amazon and Apple Music under shared playlists is my favorite titled:Epic House-Dance Music 4 The Soul.Some stand out tracks from Epic House-Dance Music 4 The Soul that sound fantastic on the Motion+ are:“Angels (Feat. Nora Jones) Thievery Corporation Remix” Wax Poetic- Norah’s voice floats around the room, amazing stereo separation. “Lips Like Sugar (Way Out West Remix Edit)-Echo & The Bunnymen- Punchy drums combined with some killer bass lines and melodic synth combined with sexy lyrics and a memorable rhythm guitar, this track sounds great blasted all the way! “Radiation Ruling the Nation(Protection)- Massive Attack. Even at max the on purpose distortion in this track sounds so authoritative! “I Want You (John Morales M+M Main Mix)-Marvin Gaye. This 9:36 long Masterpiece, highlighted by bongos, piano and saxophone are easily distinguished in the mix, throw in Marvin’s amazing tone, and man is this song better than the original? I think so.An analog 3.5mm jack is provided for those times when Bluetooth is not an option, however sound quality is best when left in the digital domain given the Motion+’s DSP. Speaker placement is important for the Soundcore Motion+ to sound it’s best. A solid surface such as a granite counter top, placed near a back wall, or corner placement can help accentuate the low end punch of the Motion+. A helpful hint is to hover the speaker in whatever area you’ve chosen and place the speaker when the bass moves your hand the most. Placing the speaker just inches one way or another can have a dramatic effect! This speaker excels indoors in moderate sized rooms, and can sometimes struggle in larger rooms or when played outside. The Motion+ puts out some serious SPL’s for such a small device. Have The Motion+’s USB-C plugged into power along with using the speakers volume control not the source device when you’re seeking the loudest output.The longer I live with this speaker the more I appreciate it. It’s an attractive design that’s understated yet compelling. For example, the power button glows white while powered on and changes to a blinking red when the speaker is running out of juice. In this state it automatically plays at a reduced volume until plugged in. Once plugged in to a charger via the USB-C port, the Motion+ increases in volume and continues to play while charging. Nice touch!I purchased a second Motion+ and my observations are that something magical happens with this speaker between the 3rd and 4th charging cycle. Keep that in mind when listening to yours. Critical listening should happen after the Motion+ is played for 30+ hours.In regards to Bluetooth connectivity, I highly recommend having a dedicated music source other than your phone. That awesome playlist playing from your phone while your phone is blowing up? It’ll be paused by the speaker from all the notifications.I modded mine, see photo, by super glueing a convex item over the bass up button, ensuring my speaker will always sound good! :-)The Soundcore Motion+ is a technical marvel of inspired engineering. I am consistently blown away by its performance. Highly recommended!