Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I'm torn writing this review of the Bose SoundLink Micro Bluetooth speaker. On its own, and with nothing to compare, the sound is clear, undistorted, and loud enough for outdoors. It's IP7 waterproof (you can literally dunk it in 1 meter of water for 30 min) and dust-proof, so it's rugged for true outdoor use, biking, or a day at the beach. At 10 ounces, it's not going to break your carry-on or backpack with weight. The built-in mounting band is brilliant - you can attach this to your belt, a strap on your backpack, even a thin bicycle handle and it locks securely. You get about 6 hours of playback on a single charge. This is a single (mono) speaker, but Bose provides an app (Bose Connect) that lets you pair multiple SoundLink speakers together for stereo, and it largely works well (as long as you're using the latest generation Bose bluetooth devices). I tested this with both iOS 10 and iOS 11 from two different devices (Apple iPhone 7 Plus and iPad Pro) and pairing was fast, and easy to change devices. Each time you connect your device, the SoundLink Micro announces that it is paired ("connected!"). I wish there was an option to disable the spoken prompt (maybe in a future firmware release). The Bose Connect app also lets you set language, name the device, and apply firmware updates. The first firmware update took 90 minutes (!) on a fast connection - perhaps Bose servers were overloaded. All this is good. And - compared to other single-speaker offerings in this size - the sound is clear, balanced, and doesn't distort at higher volumes. The problem comes when you compare this to Bose's other offerings - namely the trusty SoundLink Mini that has been my travel workhorse for years. Yes, the SoundLink Mini is larger and heavier (1 pound, 8 oz vs 10 oz) and it's not waterproof. But there is absolutely *no comparison* in sound quality. First of all, as a mono speaker, you're giving up sound separation and presence for portability and size and that is to be expected. But the real issue is that the Micro has a "thin" quality lacking not only in bass and but mid-range too. Yes, the sound is clear and balanced, but when you compare the sound of the SoundLink Micro to the Bose SoundLink Mini, the Micro sounds like a "Bose with a cold". I tried to upload a video that clearly demonstrates the sound difference but couldn't figure out how to attach it to this review. My recommendation? Go for the SoundLink Mini unless you absolutely need the size and waterproof form factor that the SoundLink Micro offers.