Anker Soundcore 2 Portable Bluetooth Speaker with 12W Stereo Sound, Bluetooth 5, Bassup, IPX7 Waterproof, 24-Hour Playtime, Wireless Stereo Pairing, Speaker for Home, Outdoors, Travel

When Anker’s SoundCore 2 went on sale, I immediately made the purchase so that I could compare an Anker Bluetooth speaker with those from other manufacturers. Anker is a well-known brand producing quality products. My expectations were high.PackagingThe SoundCore 2 came in a white and light blue box with black and light blue text on the outside. Inside the box, wrapped in velvety plastic, was the speaker secured by cardboard on all but the top parts. With the speaker were the user guide, “Happy/Not Happy” card and an Anker-branded charging cable inside its own smaller box. Packaging was professional.Pairing and ControlsPairing the SoundCore 2 with an iPhone 7 Plus was a breeze. Shortly after turning the speaker on, “SoundCore 2” appeared on my phone. A couple of seconds after I tapped the name, paring was successful, confirmed by tone.The controls are located at the top of the speaker. They include the power, – (minus), play, + (plus) and Bluetooth buttons. The + and – buttons are used for adjusting volume. The play button is a multi-function button that can be used to pause/resume playback, accept/reject/end calls as well as putting the current call on hold while accepting another call. Additionally, the play button can also be used to switch a call between speaker and mobile device.On one of the sides are the auxiliary and micro USB charging ports.PerformanceWhen it comes to speakers, the most important factor for me is sound quality reproduction. Anker’s SoundCore 2 didn’t disappoint. Vocals by a basso vocalist were smooth. Middle frequencies produced by a flute and a clarinet were clear and pleasant. High frequencies from an acoustic guitar were crisp and very satisfying.The sound of a bass drum was somewhere in between a “punch” and a “boom.” Applying an equalizer app got the bass drum closer to a boom but not quite there. This is an area where the speaker could use an improvement when it comes to sound quality reproduction.The SoundCore 2 is loud. At maximum volume, it easily filled my 20-feet x 20-feet garage with sound. Bluetooth range was amazing. Without any obstruction in between the speaker and my phone, sound didn’t cutoff until both were about 100 feet apart, producing the best Bluetooth range of all speakers I’ve tested to date.Phone calls were clear. The speaker has the ability to put an existing call on hold while answering another incoming call. I have yet to see this feature on other Bluetooth speakers. There is one feature that is common with most speakers I’ve tested but not present with the SoundCore 2 and that is the ability to call the last number dialed on the phone the speaker is paired with. This would normally be a double press of the play button but this action is assigned to skip to the next track. I found this to be surprising coming from an Anker product.In addition to call the last number dialed, I was also surprised by the inability to go to the previous track. Unless I missed this in the user guide, this functionality is not present.As already mentioned, the speaker has the ability to enable voice control software such as Siri on iOS devices. This is the second speaker I have tested to include this nice feature.Pros• Durable and rugged construction• Good sound reproduction• Loud• Comprehensive user guide in 9 languages• Amazing Bluetooth range• Advanced phone call answering features• Ability to enable voice activated software (Siri with iOS)• Anker-branded charging cableCons• Can’t go to previous track• Can’t call the last number dialed• No auxiliary cableConclusionDespite the minor quirks mentioned in my review, the pros far outweigh the cons making the SoundCore 2 an excellent choice for a Bluetooth speaker in the $46 (price at the time of review) range. Similar speakers I’ve tested are the Meidong 2110 and the Meidong QQChocolate Medium. While these two speakers are more accurate in terms of sound quality reproduction, they are not as loud as the SoundCore 2. If volume is more important, you can’t go wrong with the SoundCore 2. However, if sound quality reproduction is more important, take a look at the Meidong speakers. I had to switch between all three speakers while writing this review to make sure that my conclusions are as accurate as possible.

I am a teacher and I use this daily for multiple hours to play music for my students. I have had it connected to my phone and to my laptop pretty easily as it is very user friendly. I like the built in controls on the top of the speaker because it makes it easy to quickly pause or resume music. I still typically prefer to adjust the volume with my phone’s controls however because that feels more precise. My one complaint is that the built in controls only work with my phone and not my laptop, but that isn’t necessarily the speaker’s fault. The audio quality isn’t ground breaking, but it does sound very nice for the price.

I needed a set of small bluetooth speakers for my Sailboats cabin and tried a few other options prior to the Anker. These were by far my favorite in terms of sound, battery life, and build quality., Bluetooth connectivity is spot on / fast and no issues during use. One of the better sub $80 upgrades on my boat!

I bought this speaker to use while hanging out outdoors on my back patio and in my backyard. I wanted something that was waterproof and that had decent, good sound. Well, this little powerhouse DEFINITELY checks those boxes! While I haven’t immersed the speaker completely in water (like in a pool), it did survive, and continue to perform flawlessly, while directly under a constant stream (or gush) of water from my garden hose (when I was testing it’s water readiness right after I got it), and it’s survived more downpours of rain than I can count. And the sound on it is great! The sound is clear and [can be] loud (if you want it to be), even when playing bass heavy songs. The battery life on it is also great! I use/play it A LOT over the spring, summer, and fall seasons, including for long periods of time each time I use it, and I’ve only had to charge it a few times. I’ve never had problems connecting the speaker via Bluetooth to my cell phone [iPhone], nor either of my laptops [Windows & a Mac]. And while the Bluetooth range on this speaker states 66 ft., I’ve been able to successfully connect the speaker [via Bluetooth] to my iPhone at a range of 80 ft. with no issues at all whatsoever. After having this speaker for a few months and absolutely loving it, and wanting a similar speaker to keep in my garage for when I am doing stuff out in my garage and in my front yard, I didn’t even think twice about getting another Anker branded speaker. I decided to “live life on the edge (LOL),” and so I decided to get a different model of Anker speaker, a “fancier” speaker, with more features, etc., and so of course this Anker speaker was a little more expensive than this Soundcore 2 speaker, and whoa! Boy, how I regret that choice of mine [getting another model of Anker Bluetooth speaker, an Anker speaker OTHER THAN this one, other than this Soundcore 2]! That [other] Anker portable Bluetooth speaker, the Flare 2 model, is HORRIBLE! It’s absolute junk!Even though that model of speaker [Anker Flare 2] has more features than this speaker [Anker Soundcore], and thus costs more than this [more than this Soundcore], it can’t even perform the most basic of functions (doesn’t stay connected to Bluetooth source, no battery life, etc.), let alone perform the most basic of speaker functions (ie. has a decent quality sound) well! I even had the Flare 2 speaker replaced by Anker under it’s manufacturer’s warranty, and I still had the exact same issues (minus the Bluetooth connectivity issue) with the replacement speaker that I received as I did with the original Anker Flare 2 speaker that I purchased!So if you’re deciding between this Anker speaker, the Soundcore, and another similar Anker speaker (say the Anker Flare 2 speaker), I think that you’d be pleasantly surprised and pleased with the Anker Soundcore speaker, just like I was, and that you won’t regret your choice.

I use this in the house to stream music from a CD player (yes some people still listen to CDs). Bluetooth connection was easy and the sound is good. I probably won’t use it outside, but you can tell that the speaker is really solid and could obviously withstand a lot of movement and moisture. Although I hadn’t planned it, I discovered that the bluetooth connected to both this speaker and my echo device at the same time – so I have kind of a “surround sound” effect in the room where I use it.