Bose SoundTouch 30 Series III Wireless Music System

Product Information

Switch to Corinne Bailey Rae’s cover of “Munich” and the Bose identifies the fragility and detail in her voice. In addition to the Wi-fi option, the sound system also features a Bluetooth function and USB audio inputs. What began as two tabletop speakers and a portable has become an entire suite of wireless multiroom speakers. Helpfully, you don’t have to press any buttons to kick-start discovery – just plug it in, run the app and enter your Wi-Fi password.

This hi-res display is sharp, and with three lines of text at its disposal there’s enough room to fit long song titles without scrolling. x Ecosystem release, Bose® have added a numerical clock to all systems with displays (SoundTouch® 20 and 30) that once updated needs to be turned on from within the app as it is defaulted to off.

It's also worth noting that the previous version of the SoundTouch 30 supported AirPlay, but this one does not. The second-gen SoundTouch 30 didn’t address this, but in this third generation, WAVs and FLACs are supported, leaving hi-res support to top the wish list for any potential fourth-generation model. Throw on something more chin-scratching such as “So Real Surreal” by Carl Hudson and the spacey jazz-funk groove is deftly handled – the synths and keys have warmth and body, while the live drums and bassline are handled with pleasing agility.

Serial number location Serial numbers contain important information about your product, including model number and DOM (Date of Manufacture). The app scrolls through huge music libraries without much hesitation – I whizzed down a list of more than 900 albums on my NAS drive and it needed only a brief pause when it reached “M”.

When we reviewed the first-gen SoundTouch 20 in 2014, we balked at the lack of WAV and FLAC support.

There is considerable yet considered bass weight, which carries some insight rather than the warbling hum that can often be mistaken for low-end authority. This bass preponderance had a negative effect on performance at higher volumes--just over the 60 percent mark-- with our test bass track, "Life," by the Beta Band.Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia curae; Nam placerat vitae mauris ac condimentum. With its big chunky enclosure and black styling, SoundTouch 30 could hardly be described as elegant or compact, but it still cuts a fine figure.