Hey friends – hope you’re well!
The Soundcore’s new Motion X600 speaker is making a big splash in the spatial audio space without destroying your wallet. It’s gotten me excited about the world of spatial audio at a lower cost!
I’ll discuss how I’ve used the X600 over the last few weeks, what makes this speaker unique, the result of sound tests, and why I believe this is not only a speaker to keep an eye on but also a brand to watch.
For transparency, Soundcore is sponsoring today’s video, but my opinions are always my own.
Why Spatial Audio?
As you are probably aware, spatial audio is rapidly expanding.
It’s a new immersive audio format that mimics a 360-degree surround sound setup.
And, for better or worse, spatial audio is now widely acknowledged as the likely successor to stereo audio and the music industry’s future.
Just look at Apple Music’s press release from earlier this year, which stated that monthly spatial audio listeners tripled in a year. Yes, it has tripled!
But that doesn’t mean that all tracks are suddenly spatial audio capable because spatial audio works by having sound engineers record and produce audio in a spatial format. Spotify does not even support spatial audio at the moment.
However, as the library of spatial music grows, you’ll see all kinds of brands jump on board and offer spatial audio speakers, but they’re not exactly cheap.
Yet, Soundcore has reduced the price of the X600, a “spatially enhanced portable speaker,” to $200.
Soundcore
For those unfamiliar with Soundcore, it is a brand that is part of Anker, a well-known electronics powerhouse.
Surprisingly, Soundcore has made waves for its innovative, high-quality audio gear in the low to mid-price range.
This is the first Soundcore speaker I’ve had the opportunity to test, so it’s been quite interesting from the start.
Design
It certainly looks and feels premium right out of the box.
Most of the build is made of stainless steel, including the entire front grille, and the handle is made of aluminum with a tastefully integrated Soundcore logo. It all has a really nice smooth anodized finish, similar to the latest MacBooks. It’s quite lovely.
What surprised me was that, based on all of the product photos, I expected this traditional boom box design to be chunky. It is, however, relatively thin at only 3.25 inches, making it portable.
The rubber feet add to its portability, which is important considering this is a portable speaker and helps it grip in place on most surfaces when out and about.
The IPX7 water resistance makes it look and feel solid. I dipped it in sink water and left it to play music, and it held up perfectly.
To add to its ruggedness, a rubber membrane protects all of the nicely tactile buttons, and the ports, of course, are protected by a rubber cover. There’s a USB-C charging port and a 3.5mm input jack here – pretty basic stuff.
Oh, and the buttons are backlit for late-night enjoyment.
Overall, superb work on the design. I think it looks great almost anywhere and is futuristically chic and well-designed.
Sound
Here comes the interesting part: the sound.
I had spatial and bass boost modes turned on for the first play around, and it surprised me – the sound coming from this portable form factor and price range made me double-take.
Considering I was sitting directly in front of the speaker, spatial capable tracks on Apple Music had a surprising level of oomph and pop to their bass, treble, and highs.
It all makes sense when I look at the specifications, which show that the Soundcore X600 has a powerful 50-watt amp, two woofers, two tweeters, and what Soundcore calls a Sky Driver, which is essentially their upward-firing speaker. For the size of this speaker, this is impressive.
All of this, combined with Soundcore’s extensive EQ tweaking, results in what has been rated as the best spatial audio speaker under $200. It even supports Sony’s LDAC codec for high-resolution streaming, which is a big plus for Android users.
When spatial mode is enabled, audio fills the entire room rather than sounding like it’s only coming from one speaker. This is ideal if you want to host parties, a barbeque, or simply enjoy the music played throughout the room.
And because it is so small, it makes a great portable boombox for outdoor use, such as camping or sports – but mileage varies with its spatial audio capability out in the open, but it still sounds great enough to be on the go with.
The powerful EQ in Soundcore’s visually appealing app is largely responsible for its above-price performance.
Sound elements appear to be coming from various directions, and you can hear the variations when experimenting with the app.
However, getting the EQ right on the X600 is critical if you want to get the most out of the speaker. Having spatial and bass boost modes enabled, along with minor equalizer tweaks, worked wonders for me. If you want to avoid fiddling with EQ, Soundcore Signature’s EQ mode is ideal for everyday listening.
It also has a high volume ceiling; anything above 70% becomes far too loud unless used in a home party setting. To say the least, it packs a punch.
Battery
The speaker’s 6400 mAh battery provides up to 12 hours of playtime at 50% volume. Not bad, but after a full day of playing music, you’ll want to charge it daily, especially if you’re cranking up the volume at a house party.
It’s also not a smart speaker, so voice-assistant capabilities aren’t available, but since this is a portable speaker, the lack of voice control is understandable.
And, to be honest, that’s the end of my complaints about the X600. Given the price, there isn’t much I can complain about. Sure, I’d like to be able to connect multiple speakers and have a slightly lighter package, but for under $200, it’s one of the best Bluetooth speakers I’ve used so far.
Conclusion
Overall, this speaker is a strong contender if you’re looking for new portable speakers with spatial audio capabilities. It’s a genuinely excellent speaker.
It looks stunning, the build quality is excellent, the soundstage is expansive with spatial capability, and it’s portable.
It doesn’t have a lot of features, but it does one thing well: it delivers spatial music in a portable speaker on a budget.
It’s also fantastic to see a lower entry barrier into the world of spatial audio on speakers – it’s a really enjoyable experience I enjoy every day.