Anker’s Soundcore Rave Neo review: This under-$100 portable party speaker sounds surprisingly good

Anker has been making some shockingly great transportable Bluetooth speakers for $one hundred. Not much too lengthy ago I reviewed the Soundcore Motion Moreover ($one hundred), which is a very little bigger than your typical compact wireless speaker, but provides bold seem for its sizing with plump bass. The Rave Neo is a distinctive beast — it really is referred to as a “bash speaker” and has a built-in manage and LEDs — but it, much too, costs $one hundred and packs some great punch.

Anker describes the seem as “colossal.” I wouldn’t go really that much, but it can play fairly loud — it really is rated at 50 watts, for what ever that spec is value — and pushes out a great encouraging of bass (it sounds best with the BassUp bass raise method always activated). The seem just isn’t particularly refined, but the seem profile performs perfectly outside or in a bigger house since the bass gets dispersed and loses a lot of its bloat. In other words and phrases, it really is a speaker that sounds greater if you happen to be not standing suitable future to it. A little bit of distance is greater. That stated, Anker does have an Indoor listening method in the speaker’s companion application along with other EQ options, so you can play close to a little bit with the seem.

This is a mono speaker with a 4-inch woofer, two-inch tweeter and a passive bass port. It weighs 7.7 lbs and is effortless to lug close to, thanks to its integrated manage. With a IPX7 h2o-resistance rating, it really is water-resistant and can be thoroughly submerged for a quick time in shallow h2o (in situation you transpire to fall it in the pool). Battery lifestyle is rated at up to 18 hrs at reasonable volume concentrations. That variety will fall significantly should you crank matters up.

If you happen to be so inclined, you can hyperlink with up to one hundred other Rave Neo or Soundcore Flare ($45) speakers and sync the audio as perfectly as the lights to create a clubby environment. The LEDs can be programmed from a companion application for iOS and Android and there’s also a button on the speaker itself for tweaking the lights. An audio input and USB demand-out are hidden below a gasket and the speaker charges by way of USB-C. It is equipped with Bluetooth 5., and I experienced no problems pairing and re-pairing with the speaker.

Anker has unveiled other lighted transportable bash speakers, including the Soundcore Trance ($150). There was meant to be a model of this speaker with no lights (not everybody likes or wants them) termed the Trance Go, but that model appears to be shelved and possibly will not likely appear out. You can flip the lights Rave Neo’s lights off if you do discover them annoying.

Other firms make “bash” speakers with LEDs, and I’ve tested some from JBL and Sony. They are likely to be additional highly-priced than this model and really don’t seem any greater. I haven’t tested Sony’s new SRS-XB43, which is an Further Bass model that retails for $250, but the thought just isn’t so distinctive from this: huge seem in a comparatively compact deal with an emphasis on bass and the inclusion of flashy lights. The Sony may well be built greater — and possibly keep up greater in excess of time — but it really is certainly a lot additional highly-priced.

The lengthy and quick of it is that the Soundcore Rave Neo is an excellent worth if you happen to be wanting for an very affordable speaker that you can use on the patio, get to the seashore or tailgate with. It also performs just high-quality inside of, but, as I stated, its seem profile is a very little additional geared to outdoor use.