Soundcore Motion Boom Plus with 80 watts: THE price-performance winner

Packaging and scope of delivery

The Soudcore Motion Boom Plus comes in a typical Soundcore cardboard box. Printed with photos of the product and colored predominantly in blue tones to match the logo. Our model, which comes directly from China, survived the long transport route without any damage, even though it unfortunately arrived a good week after the official release thanks to shipping problems.

The accessories are quite clear. Soundcore provides a quick start guide, a USB-C to USB-C charging cable and an optional carrying strap.

Robust-looking outdoor design

The new Soundcore Motion Boom Plus has been given a slightly edgier facelift compared to the normal version. In the process, the carrying handle has been lengthened to provide a larger gripping surface. In addition, the new speaker now also has the option of attaching a carrying strap, just like the JBL Xtreme 3. So here you now have the choice between carrying handle or carrying strap, I like! Especially since this feedback was to be read more often with the normal Motion Boom, nice that Soundcore responds to the community. The JBL Xtreme 3, however, unfortunately offers no handle, but only a strap and looks so, depending on personal taste, a bit fancier, but also has disadvantages.

Measuring 389 x 140 x 195 mm and weighing 2.28 kg, the Soundcore Motion Boom Plus is not only larger than its predecessor, but also larger than a JBL Xtreme 3. Although Soundcore Motion Boom Plus is also slightly heavier than the Xtreme 3, the Soundcore Speaker seems lighter because it is easier to handle with the carrying handle. The JBL Speaker is hard to lift with one hand. You can argue about the design, but the handling of the Motion Boom Plus is definitely better.

As a true outdoor speaker, the Soundcore Motion Boom Plus is also equipped with IP67 certification. Thus, the Bluetooth speaker is protected against dust and water penetration during immersion. A visit to the beach should therefore not harm the Soundcore Motion Boom Plus.

Top processing! But also resistant?

The workmanship is as usual on top level. Soundcore has long since left nothing to be desired here thanks to production monitoring. In summary, the design of the Soundcore Motion Boom Plus is more functional than that of the JBL Xtreme 3 at first glance.

However, the JBL box is equipped with rubber bumpers and does not have any exposed hard plastic. This is different for the Soundcore Motion Boom Plus, where almost the entire casing is made of such plastic. It could well be that the JBL Xtreme 3 survives a fall from a great height better than the Motion Boom Plus. Hard plastic tends to break, while the JBL speaker can possibly cushion the fall better. I would have liked to test this for you, but since we also want to use the speaker for future comparison tests, I don’t want to take the risk of destroying the speaker. If you’re reasonably careful with your stuff, then both speaker cabinets should easily survive everyday use.

Soundcore Motion Boom Plus: Sound with dedicated tweeters!

Two 30 watt speakers with titanium membranes are used for bass and midrange. In addition, there are, as with the JBL Xtreme 3 now finally dedicated tweeters, these have 10 watts each. Compared to the normal Motion Boom, Soundcore has added a lot to the sound generation.

The first version of the Motion Boom “only” had two 15-watt speakers and no tweeters. Thus, the JBL Xtreme 3 speaker is sonically superior and resolves more precisely, especially in the high tones, even if the sound difference is not worth the hefty price premium in my opinion.

Soundcore Motion Boom vs. Soundcore Motion Boom Plus

In the comparison test with the Soundcore Motion Boom, you can immediately hear that the additional tweeters make the biggest sonic difference. While the smaller speaker sounds less defined in the upper midrange and treble and thus duller in a direct comparison, the Soundcore Motion Boom Plus offers a more detailed, high-resolution and overall noticeably larger stage. Especially drums, cymbals, hi-hats, but also violins, trumpets and other instruments, which partly serve a very high frequency range, sound much sharper – I like that very much!

But the Soundcore Motion Boom Plus also delivers an upgrade in the midrange and bass, thanks to larger and more powerful speakers paired with a larger speaker cabinet. The Bluetooth speaker sounds punchier and more voluminous. It also delivers a much higher volume before the sound image becomes too distorted.

So all in all, the Soundcore Motion Plus is an all-around improved and also slightly larger speaker, which makes me think the “Plus” name suffix is a very fitting product name.

Soundcore Motion Boom Plus vs. JBL Xtreme 3

Listening to the speakers in comparison, you immediately realize what the goal was here: the Soundcore Motion Boom Plus is supposed to be a 100% equal alternative to the JBL Xtreme 3 in terms of sound. Thus, the sound patterns of the two speakers are almost amazingly similar to my ear. I claim that it is not possible for a layman to guess which speaker is which in a blind test.

Nevertheless, there are small but subtle differences, but they are so minor that you can only hear them in a direct comparison. To my ears, the JBL Xtreme 3 sounds a bit more compact. This is probably because the speakers are closer together in the Xtreme 3’s more compact casing.

However, the tweeters of the Soundcore Motion Boom Plus are further apart, which makes the sound of Soundcore’s Bluetooth speaker sound a bit more spacious. Overall, the differences are so small that we can speak of a high equivalence. Thus, it is rather price and design that make the difference here.

Should I buy one Soundcore Motion Boom Plus or two Soundcore Motion Boom?

A good question, which of course depends on what you want. Therefore, I can only tell you about my personal decision and the reasoning behind it. Fact is that two Soundcore Motion Boom cost you, depending on the offer, more or less the same as one Soundcore Motion Boom Plus. In terms of price, the decision hardly makes a difference.

To make a long story short, I would (almost) always opt for two speakers. The exception here would be that we are talking about very small speakers, where a single larger speaker would bring a much better low frequency response. However, since the Soundcore Motion Boom already has a good low end, it is not the deciding factor for me in this scenario.

The advantages of two Soundcore Motion Boom compared to one Motion Boom Plus

• Stereo sound offers a much better music experience thanks to a bigger stage

If you use Spotify, go into the settings and turn on the “mono audio” feature there, and you’ll notice how much flatter the sound becomes as a result. By having two separate speakers that you can set as far apart as you want, the stage gets so much bigger, this difference is one of the most underrated points about Bluetooth speakers ever! For me, this offers more added value than the slightly better treble and slightly more voluminous bass of the Motion Boom Plus.

• Lower volume needed to fill an identically large area with sound.

Some people are considerate and take care not to disturb others with their music, others are not. Stereo sound not only improves the room sound, but you can also do something good for your neighbors – if you like.

With two speakers strategically placed, a much lower volume is needed to fill an area. With only one speaker, the volume must be much higher to ensure that the sound reaches the farthest point sufficiently. In the scenario with two speakers, the second sound source is located at this point, ergo the total volume does not need to be as high. Your neighbors, other park visitors etc. will thank you!

The advantages of one Soundcore Motion Boom Plus compared to two Soundcore Motion Boom

• One speaker is handier than two

Logically, if you want to use two speakers, you also have to carry two speakers around. One speaker is better for the luggage, as always it depends on what you want to do with the speaker.

• Jack connector

Yes, the jack was removed from the Motion Boom and has now been reintroduced in the Plus model. So if you don’t want to do without the jack, then two Motion Boom are not an option.

• Better treble and higher overall volume of a speaker

For me personally, as I said, the spatial sound through stereo is worth more than the better tweeter. If this is different for you, then a Motion Boom Plus is the better choice. In addition, the overall volume of the Motion Boom Plus is higher than that of the Motion Boom. With two speakers, a lower volume is again necessary to cover an equally large area, as mentioned.

Connectivity – with new Bluetooth 5.3 module

The Soundcore Motion Boom Plus features a new Bluetooth 5.3 module. In addition to the AAC and SBC codec, it will probably also support the new LC3 codec sooner or later, which is supposed to replace the SBC codec as the universal standard in the long run. Unfortunately, the aptX codec is not supported and is reserved for the Soundcore Motion+ among the Soundcore Bluetooth speakers.

In the test, the Bluetooth range is stable at a distance of about 20 meters, very decent! I did not have any problems with connection dropouts during the tests. Unfortunately, the Soundcore Motion Boom Plus cannot be paired with a Soundcore Motion Boom, as it does not support PartyCast 2.0. However, the Motion Boom Plus can be paired with other Soundcore speakers that do support PartyCast, such as the Soundcore Flare. The fact that the Motion Boom and the Motion Boom Plus cannot be connected to each other has annoyed some in the comments, and rightly so in my opinion.

As for the physical ports, there is probably a 3.5 mm jack connector here again at the request of consumers, which I think is good. Such a jack costs the manufacturer almost nothing, so I don’t understand why Soundcore left it off the regular Motion Boom, but now it’s back.

There’s also a USB-C charging port that has no other function, and a USB-A port that you can use to charge your phone in a pinch. Unfortunately, playback from USB sticks is not supported – a pity!

Operation

There are a total of seven control buttons on the top of the speaker. Some of them have multiple functions.

Functions of the buttons:

Soundcore App

The Souncore Motion Boom Plus is also integrated into the Soundcore App. However, the range of functions with app is small, here can only:

• adjust the equalizer
• change the volume
• set an automatic shutdown time
• and install software updates.

The latter is probably the most important function, in my opinion. Since we got the speaker here, an update for the speaker has already been played out. This should optimize the sound and the connection stability. However, I did not really notice the improvement in practice. Nevertheless, the app integration is very useful for updates alone, in my opinion.

Battery life

Inside the Soundcore Motion Boom Plus is a 13,400 mAh battery, slightly larger than in the Motion Boom. The manufacturer promises a battery life of up to 20 hours. It can be assumed that this value was determined at a volume of 50%. If you listen to louder music in the test, in our test at a mixed volume of 50%-70%, the battery runs out a bit faster with a runtime of around 16 hours.

Nevertheless, I am very satisfied with the result. You can listen to music for about 8 hours on two days in a row, which I find very decent. Thanks to the USB-C charging port, the speaker can also be charged on the go via a powerbank etc., which is very good!

Conclusion – a successful upgrade

While the Soundcore Motion Boom is slightly below the JBL Xtreme 3 in terms of sound, but offers a better price-performance ratio, the Motion Boom Plus is on par with the JBL Xtreme 3 in terms of sound. Soundcore scores with the better price-performance ratio, the OVP is 180€ vs. 330€ already a tough announcement from Soundcore.

However, at least one Soundcore Motion Boom Plus is not competition for the larger JBL Partybox 2. Two of them, on the other hand, are, and even then you can get away with two Soundcore Motion Boom Plus cheaper than with one JBL Partybox 2.

As for the design, the Soundcore speaker is of course a matter of taste. I can understand if you say that the JBL speakers are more visually appealing. Otherwise, the Boom Plus is a very well-rounded device with a good range of functions, clean workmanship and up-to-date hardware.

The fact that the Soundcore Motion Boom does not support PartyCast and cannot be paired with a Soundcore Motion Boom Plus as a stereo pair leaves a bad taste. I think Soundcore gives away some sympathy with Motion Boom buyers who would have liked to buy an additional Motion Boom Plus, if they had been usable together.

Buy the Soundcore Motion Boom Plus?
Yes, from me there is a clear buy recommendation! Unless you’re deciding between one Motion Boom Plus or two Motion Boom. Then take a look at the advantages I mentioned above. Otherwise, the Soundcore Motion Boom Plus is definitely the most powerful and best Bluetooth speaker from China, which I was allowed to test so far!