The speaker and the system it sits within is controlled via the SoundTouch app, which also features the same six shortcuts seen on the speaker and remote. As far as multiroom apps go, it's one of the better ones and places all the key functions front and center. As noted, the app started out a little rough around the edges, but has steadily improved -- and continues to get better. This product is compatible with Alexa-enabled devices, letting you command the speaker just by speaking to it. Without moving a muscle, you can adjust the volume, skip songs, and turn the speaker on and off with this feature. Compared to the more neutral Yamaha NX-N500 monitor speakers, the bass of the Bose SoundTouch 30 sounded overemphasized -- which was apparent when listening to King Crimson's "Walking on Air" via Radio Paradise -- the bass notes tended to overhang or sit a little too long.

What’s more, the mids and treble could do with a little more refinement – certain instruments and vocals flirt with hardness, a far cry from the silky top-end and gorgeous layering of the B&W Zeppelin Wireless and Naim Mu-So, or to a lesser extent the Denon Heos 7. On the whole, however, there are many more positives than negatives in the SoundTouch 30’s performance.

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The speaker’s sturdy aluminum grille shields the speaker and keeps the sound intact. The construction is top-notch all over, feeling solid and long-lasting in use. With the Bose SoundTouch app and Alexa voice control, users can use hands-free operation by managing their speaker from their mobile device. While browsing music libraries, the lists are logically structured and lightning-fast. The app scrolls through huge music libraries without much hesitation – I whizzed down a list of more than 900 albums on my NAS drive and it needed only a brief pause when it reached “M”. The SoundTouch 30 has а sleek, simple appearance that will complement any room’s aesthetic. Its circular design is aesthetically pleasing and practical, as it provides sound in every direction. The Waveguide’s sound path is optimized and amplified in conjunction with the drivers and subwoofer, delivering an audio profile that plays richer and louder than the size of the system would normally allow.

That would be the review in a nutshell, but there's a whole lot more to chew on, particularly if you're looking to build out a multiroom system for your home and are trying to decide between Bose's and Sonos' ecosystems. Bose's expanded offeringsThe Bose SoundTouch 30 is, in short, аn excellent wireless speaker that excels in several key areas: sound quality, design, and functionality. It has a 360-degree soundstage for fully immersive sound, and its built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Apple AirPlay 2 make it extremely flexible and simple to use. The speaker's upper-mids emphasis helps if you're using this as a speaker for your TV (yes you can do that using the audio input). Vocals (dialogue) are crisply delivered and easy to decipher. There's a definite "notchiness" to the speaker's response that emphasizes the sibilants in speech or the breathiness in a sax player's noodlings. That breathiness combined with the speaker's onboard processing gives the Bose an openness that the the Sonos Play:5 doesn't have. Speaker overall, this has excellent sound quality, producing a loud and detailed sound that will please even the most critical listener. This speaker has excellent sound quality and will improve your entertainment experience in any medium. Connectivity and Features One of the most welcome changes Bose has made is in the setup of the speaker. When the SoundTouch range was first introduced you needed to connect each speaker to your PC via a USB cable, and this was light years behind Sonos' wireless system. While the improved routine is still not as elegant as Sonos' -- you need to press the "2" and "Vol-" together to put the speaker in setup mode -- it's still preferable to what preceded it. In terms of audio features, the SoundTouch 30 uses a ported box design with two custom-made mid-range/high-frequency drivers with exclusive waveguide technology and a subwoofer to give bass frequencies a boost. Bose doesn’t quote power figures for the unit. Bose SoundTouch 30 – Setup and Operation