Bose SoundTouch 10 Review: Power-packed, but only with a power cable

Bose took its own sweet time to add Bluetooth functionality to its SoundTouch range of speakers and soundbars. It’s odd considering that Bluetooth has been an integral part of their SoundLink series, and given the staggering number of songs that are streamed across the world every single minute. We had our first brush with the SoundTouch 10 back in October as Bose showcased its entire new range of speakers. This was the smallest member of the new family but made a big impression. First impressions can sometimes be deceptive, so we decided to give the SoundTouch 10 a serious spin and see if it’s ready enough to move into your den or office.

The SoundTouch 10 is designed to blend into your most personal spaces. We love its minimalist design language – it comes in black and white. There’s a set of controls (including volume and channel pre-sets) that merge seamlessly into the top of the speaker while four tiny LED indicators are housed on the top half of the speaker. The speaker is slightly above eight inches tall and weighs under 2kg making it easy to move within and outside your house. Sadly, the device is not portable in the true sense of the word – it requires a power source. The flip side is you don’t have to worry about the middling battery life that most portable Bluetooth speakers seem to struggle with. A portable speaker with the same form factor could be a winner. There are at least four power cables in the box, so you’re covered in almost any corner of the world. There’s also a slinky remote control unit that duplicates the controls that sit on top of the speaker. 

Also read: 10 best Bluetooth speakers across price bands

Pairing the device via Bluetooth – we tried it with three different devices, is a breeze. You can also hook up using the Bose SoundTouch app. The app allows you to sync up to your home or office WiFi network. The set up process was slightly faster on iOS than on the Android version. The app also allows you to control the volume of the speaker, making the remote control unit slightly redundant. The WiFi functionality allows you to effortlessly tune into Internet Radio stations across the world. You will be spoilt for choice with the sheer range of stations; we wish they were categorised according to genre rather than by region and country. The streaming option also allows you to tap into your Pandora or Spotify subscription, services that are unfortunately not available in India. You can use the six pre-sets on the speaker to add your favourite radio channels. I found the app quite intuitive; when I added a second device on the same Wi-Fi network it automatically signed into the account. The convergence of Bluetooth and WiFi allows you to stream any song (from your device playlist), or even YouTube, and then use the WiFi to broadcast it to multiple SoundTouch speakers, allowing you to take your music around the house. 



Ultimately, it all boils down to sound quality, and the Bose SoundTouch 10 comes out on top almost in all scenarios. Bose is mighty proud of its 2.5-inch Unidome transducer (with Bose’s own trademark digital signal processing), claiming that it is one of the most powerful it has ever created. We tried different genres of music and varying volume levels and we can vouch for that – this device clearly punches way above its size or form. At low to medium volumes the speaker manages to capture amazing details and, if there’s a minor crib, it’s the slight distortion at very high volumes. It’s not something you will need to worry about if you live in an apartment with pesky neighbours. We found this speaker produces much better sound than some of Bose’s portable SoundLink devices. 

At Rs 19,013, the SoundTouch 10 is certainly pricey (it’s also slightly higher than its $199 US sticker price) and you can’t use it during a power shutdown or on the beach. However, the speaker’s superior sound quality and blend of WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity make it a worthy investment.