Bose SoundTouch 10 Review

The Bose SoundTouch 10 Is the quite melodious, and the most user friendly small speaker that we tested. For those that want just a standalone, small, and relatively inexpensive speaker, this is a great option.

Performance Comparison

The Bose Soundtouch 10 Performed in the middle of the pack in our testing, as you can see in the table above. We used a number of different tests to determine those scores, and you can read more about those testes below.

Sound Quality

We would describe the Bose SoundTouch 10's sound quality as good, bordering on great, but short of exceptional. It is able to belt out a decent amount of bass and good clarity, resulting in a full-bodied sound that belies its size. However, the similarly sized Sonos PLAY:1 has slightly better bass and slightly better clarity. If you're only going to get a single speaker we don't think this small bump up in quality is worth sacrificing a Bluetooth connection, but it does sound better. The SoundTouch 10 did outperform the Harman Kardon Onyx Studio 4 in our sound quality testing, making it a better low-budget option if you don't need a battery powered speaker that can move from room to room.

User Friendliness

If you use the SoundTouch 10 with a Bluetooth connection, it is a pleasure. The connection is solid, and the controls both on the speaker itself and on its remote control make it easy to switch between devices on the fly.

The slight difficulties come if you want to stream music directly over WiFi, or want to link multiple speakers together. Doing either of these things requires using the Bose app, which is quite well designed and intuitive (our one big complaint is that you can't skip around within tracks from third-party streaming services). However, we did have some periodic issues with this app crashing on us. The frequency of crashes wasn't so much that it was unusable, but it certainly did get annoying at points. If you're looking to build a multi-speaker system, we found the Sonos app and ecosystem to be much more reliable.

Smart Home Compatibility

Bose offers an Alexa skill, making it work seamlessly with that platform. Bose claims similar software compatibility is in the works for Google Home, but no specific date has been thrown down. The Soundtouch 10 has a 3.5mm audio jack, so most smart home devices can be plugged directly into the speaker. You'll just have to make sure the speaker is on when using said devices.

Volume

The SoundTouch 10 was one of the quietest speakers we tested, on par with the volume of the similarly sized Sonos PLAY:1, and just slightly less boisterous than the Harman Kardon Onyx Studio 4. That's not to say this speaker can't belt out some tunes, however. In our testing it easily filled our 600 square foot testing room with an impressive amount of sound. If you pile a bunch of people into that room, a lot of that sound would likely be absorbed, whereas larger speakers like the SoundTouch 20 would be able to power through. Still, we think the soundTouch 10 is plenty loud for a group of friends hanging out and dancing.

Connectivity

The Bose SoundTouch 10 offers a Bluetooth connection, a 3.5mm audio jack, and the ability to stream directly over WiFi and link speakers together through the use of the Bose app.

Value

With a list price of $200 the SoundTouch 10 costs the same as the Sonos PLAY:1 and a bit more than what the Harman Kardon Onyx Studio 4 usually sells for. If you're looking for a single speaker for a single room in your home, we think the SoundTouch 10 is the best value out there. The versatility of its Bluetooth connection makes it much more usable than a single PLAY:1, and it sounds noticeably better than the Onyx Studio 4. If you want a speaker that can easily be moved around your home, that tips the scales in favor of the Onyx Studio 4 and the portability afforded by its internal battery.

Conclusion