PRODUCT REVIEW: Soundcore Flare 2 Bluetooth Speaker

(Expensive Ice Cuts Deluxe - Ronald Jenkees)

One of the great things about living in this day and age is the vast quantity of options that there are to choose from when it comes to buying gadgets of a certain type.  Among the toys in said category is the bluetooth speaker, a staple in the homes and lives of many.  There are speakers in every size, shape, configuration, and price range that a person could possibly want.  That said, there does come a point when choice starts to become more of a hindrance than a blessing.  Fortunately, there are a few brands that have emerged as leaders in both high quality and low price.  Those brands can generally be relied upon to produce a product that you won't regret, and you can usually make such a purchase sight unseen because of that confidence.

When it comes to bluetooth speakers that are in the $100-ish category, two brands spring immediately to mind: Ultimate Ears and Bose.  Over the years, Bose has developed a reputation as being a purveyor of generally excellent hardware at the cost of...well, cost.  Recently, they've done an excellent job of bringing their price point down without sacrificing quality, and they're now officially a contender in many lower-cost segments.  As for Ultimate Ears, you really don't have to look any farther than their parent company:  Logi, formerly Logitech.  It is generally accepted that if Logi makes it, it's going to be pretty good, at a pretty good price.

There are exceptions with both brands, but for the most part they're a sure thing.

To this list of dependable hardware, I'm now willing to suggest that a third name be added:  Soundcore.

For anyone following the blog, you'll have recently seen another review for Soundcore's excellent Liberty 2 Pro earbuds, and their equally excellent Liberty Neo earbuds before that.  At this point, you could call me an Anker fanboy and I'd be hard-pressed to deny it.  True fact:  While I was online doing research on my very recent purchase of said Liberty 2 Pro earbuds, I stumbled onto the fact that Soundcore also makes bluetooth speakers.  'Eureka!', I thought to myself.  I also happened to be in the market for a bluetooth speaker!

So I bought one.  Specifically, I bought this one, the Soundcore Flare 2:

(Image Credit: Amazon.com)

Has my faith purchased something excellent, or has Anker's Soundcore brand finally let me down?


THE SHORT VERSION:

Call it a Hat Trick!  This is a GREAT speaker!


THE LONG VERSION:

I love Logitech.  I hated it when they rebranded to Logi, primarily because I've grown up with the Logitech brand.  I know that brand, I trust it, and I've spent lots of money on it.  I also sort of hated the rebrand because 'Logi' just sort of sounds stupid, but what do I know?

Anyway, part of the money I've spent on Logitech in the past involved sound systems.  I've had a Logitech sound system hooked up to I don't know how many computers over the years.  Their systems are robust, powerful, high quality, and extremely affordable.  Naturally, when I heard they made bluetooth speakers, I bought one.  I got super lucky and found one of their second generation Megaboom speakers on sale and nabbed it without batting an eye.

Now, I LOVED that Megaboom speaker, but it was honestly way, WAY more speaker than I actually needed.  It could get loud.  Like...really, irresponsibly loud.  Like, you could easily replace a home stereo with it if you lived in an apartment, and you'd be perfectly content to do so.  That didn't stop me from hauling that speaker all over town, and eventually the time came to part with it.  It wasn't because it was a bad speaker, or that it had broken.  Far from it, it was still working perfectly fine three years after its initial purchase.  No, someone needed it more than I did, so I gave it to them.  I was at a point in my life when I didn't really need it that badly, and they did.

Fast forward six months, and that's changed.  I found myself missing the convenience of having a good speaker with me when I was grilling outside or away from the house for a few days, so one afternoon I hopped online and started doing research again.  I knew that I didn't need another Megaboom, as much as I wanted one.  'No problem', I told myself.  I'll just go buy another Megaboom.  UE just came out with their Megaboom 3, and it's substantially less expensive than the previous model, so...

Then, a few days ago, I stumbled onto that stinkin' Flare 2 from Soundcore, and I couldn't help it.  I started doing comparison research.  My great results from the Liberty Neo and Liberty 2 Pro compelled it of me.

My findings stunned me. 

"Alright, Steve," you say, "There's no way that you're going to sit here and compare the Megaboom to this Flare 2.  They don't even play in the same league."  You'd be right in saying that, of course.  The crazy thing is that you're not right by much.

The Megaboom is a monster.  It produces insane amounts of sound, insane amounts of bass, insane amounts of durability...it's just a bonkers speaker.  Can the Flare 2 match up to any of it?  Could it possibly?  No.  No, it couldn't. 

I didn't go into this thinking that the Flare 2 was going to be a replacement for the Megaboom.  In that one brief, shining moment of maturity that I had with myself, I was forced to admit that I didn't need the continent-shaking potency of that Megaboom.  I wanted volume, I wanted reliability, I wanted a certain level of fidelity, but I didn't need the sheer quantity of it that the Megaboom brought.

The question, then, is one of, "Is the Flare 2 good enough?"

The answer is a resounding 'Yes'.  It's actually shockingly good for its size.  Its performance can't match the Megaboom, but it gets more than close enough for my needs.  Like...startlingly close, actually.  It's got the same 360 degree audio, Plus, it's -really shiny!

Aside from all of those pretty colors, you do get a bevy of other features:

- USB-C charging.

- 360 degree sound.

- It's waterproof!

- Insane volume and audio quality for this product range, including a dedicated bass driver that supplies a startling amount of thump from something that's only slightly larger than a soda can.

- A really great app that allows you to customize the light displays on the top and bottom of the speaker and create custom EQ settings.

- 12 hours of playback, thanks to a monster 5,200mAh battery.

- The ability to pair multiple Flare 2 devices in sync so you can have stereo sound.  Or, you know, you can sync up to 100 of them if you get the opportunity, which...please send me a video if you pull that off.

Let's be real here:  Nothing that's this size is going to bring the kind of basso profundo that the UE Megaboom did.  I will repeat myself though:  This thing gets surprisingly close, given the difference in size.

There is one area where the Flare 2 is noticeably lacking, however, and I'd be remiss if I didn't point that out.  For those familiar with the UE brand, you'll notice one thing about this right away:  It doesn't appear to have that rugged exterior that the UE speakers have. That lack of physical durability is a mark off of the Flare 2 that you can't easily ignore, especially if you're the kind of person who has been hauling his UE Megaboom to all sorts of uncomfortable places.  That said, the Flare 2 does keep step with the UE speakers in one critical area where durability is concerned, and that's the  waterproofing I mentioned earlier.  Like the flagship UE devices, the Flare 2 is rated IPX7, and there are videos a-plenty on YouTube of people bobbing this little bad boy around in their sinks and bathtubs without incident.  And really, that's plenty for me.  It's not like I was planning on using this thing as a Throton anyway.

...What's a Throton?  Well, it's a sort of relic from '90s gym class:

I digress.

There is -one- other area that the Flare 2 lags behind the Megaboom in, and it ended up being the deal-breaker for me.

I am, of course, talking about price.

See, you can get a Soundcore Flare 2 online for $70.  A UE Megaboom 3 costs over twice that -- anywhere from $150 to $170, depending on what color you want.  And this is where we get back to that question I asked earlier:  Is the Flare 2 good enough?

Yeah.  Yeah, it is.  Maybe I should have been asking a different question though:  Is the UE Megaboom worth over twice as much?  That question has a very different answer.

"But Steve," you cry, "You're been comparing the Flare 2 to the UE Megaboom.  What about the Boom, the Megaboom's little brother?"

Good point, that.  In a nutshell, the Boom 3 is $100-$120.  It's $30 more than the Flare 2 in the cheapest color.  What are you getting for the money?  Physical durability and...well, that's about it.  Plus, the Boom 3 doesn't come with a light show, and I'm a giant child.  

In the end, it comes down to the noise, and I don't need the Megaboom's noise.  I certainly don't need it for an increase of $80.  For my needs, the Flare 2 is certainly a better buy.  Would the UE Boom or Megaboom have been a great speaker?  No question at all.  They're both AMAZING products, and if Logitech wants to send me a UE Boom 3 for comparison even though I made fun of their re-brand, I'd be glad and happy to give it a go.

For now, I'm delighted to report that Soundcore is officially a brand to be reckoned with, and that includes their excellent Flare 2.