I've had one of these speakers now for 2 weeks and I do really like it
for a whole bunch of reasons.
I did own one of the original Soundlink Mini series of speakers and got
rid of it not so long ago with the arrival of the B&W T7.
The original Soundlink Mini isn't a bad speaker but when compared to the
B&W T7 it did sound rather dull.
That was 6 months ago and times have changed with my setup here, I now
have Amazon Echo and Google devices, a USB Power Hub etc.so time to look
around for another Bluetooth device to pair with the Echo Dot.
The new Bluetooth device had to be small and - preferably - powered by
USB power which the original Bose Soundlink Mini was not and neither is
the B&W T7.
I went to a local shop for a demonstration of the Bose Soundlink Mini II
and - as I related to the list at the time - was surprised at the
difference in sound quality between the original Soundlink Mini and its
new brother.
I ordered my Soundlink Mini II a fortnight ago and here's a roundup of
what I've found though I'm repeating some of what I've written in notes
to the list I'm sure.
The Soundlink Mini II is the same sort of build as the original model,
that tough alaminium frame is a trademark signature of Bose for its
Soundlink Mini speaker and I hope Bose conteinues sticking with it,
looks and feels very nice.
The button line-up has changed given the extra functionality the Bose
Soundlink Mini II has over its older Brother.
The volume up/down and function buttons are raised whereas the power and
Bluetooth buttons are lowered.
Each button performs a different function when held down, hold down the
Power button and the status of the internal battery is spoken.
Press the Bluetooth button to find out which devices are already
connected to your Soundlink Mini or hold down to initiate pairing with
another device, the Soundlink Mini II talks you through the pairing process.
When the Soundlink Mini is paired to a phone, hold down the Function
button to issue voice commands to your Phone etc.
So the Bose Soundlink Mini now has a full TTS - text to speech - system
added which is quite easy to understand though its not the best quality
voice I've heard, Bose deserves heaps of praise for going to the trouble
to include a full TTS function instead of just relying on recorded Voice
tags as so many other products do.
For a speaker designed for personal use the Bose Soundlink Mini
certainly pumps out the sound and goes incredibly loud before the DSP
kicks in to lower any distortion but I can assure you that your ears
will object strongly before getting to this level.
As I've already noted the sound of this model is quite different from
that of the original, the original had powerful bass with the result
that the mids and highs were rather difficult to hear.
That powerful bass - a little too powerful in my view - is still there
however the mids and highs certainly have more presence than they did
with the older model so - if for any reason you have the older model and
you're considering an upgrade to the new -then the better sound alone is
a most compelling reason.
The sound stage of the newer model is better too but nowhere near as
good as the B&W T7 and I wwasn't expecting it to be but very good
considering the size of the Soundlink Mini.
Bose have also added transport controls for those times when you're
playing Music from your Phone or whatever, press the function button
once to pause, twice to skip to the next track and 3 times to go to the
previous track, glad to see more Bluetooth units adding this type of
functionality as standard.
I tested the Speakerphone and came away satisfied with its sound.
Those I spoke to on the other end of my calls reported a little echo and
that's to be expected from a hands free speakerphone.
In summary a great valume for money product at $250 Australian.
--
**********
"Live each day as if you were goiing to die tomorrow, learn each day as
if you were going to live forever"
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