Soundcore’s Motion X600 Is A Premium Bluetooth Speaker With Great Looks

This aesthetically pleasing speaker is the Soundcore Motion X600 and it's an ideal speaker for ... [+] kitchen, bathroom or the garden. With a 12-hour battery life it has enough stamina for a day's worth of listening.

Soundcore is rapidly gaining a reputation for making excellent, true wireless earbuds and higher-end Bluetooth speakers. As a sub-brand of Anker, the company that makes all manner of computer accessories, Soundcore has done remarkably well to mold itself into a seriously competitive audio brand in so short a time.

To cement its position and to announce its arrival as a respected brand, Soundcore has just released its first premium Bluetooth speaker, designed to take on names like JBL and Marshall. The Motion X600 is a portable wireless speaker with high-end design and premium materials. The speaker has 360˚ sound for an immersive listening experience.

I’ve now had a chance to look at and use the Soundcore Motion X600. The company has done an excellent job and the use of aluminum and stainless steel gives this new speaker a touch of luxury. The top plate is slightly sloped with seven sculpted control buttons, punctuated with an upward-firing full-range driver in the center of the panel. A fixed handle of aluminum provides a convenient carrying handle for taking the speaker out to the garden, but it's a fixed handle and can't be folded back out of the way.

The Soundcore Motion X600 is available in three finishes: Polar Gray, Aurora Green and Lunar Blue.

At the rear of the Motion X600 there are vents to enable bass tones to escape. The rear is also where you’ll find a waterproof cover protecting a USB-C charging port and a 3.5mm stereo jack for connecting an analog input device. Meanwhile, at the front of the speaker, there's a stainless-steel grille covering four drivers, including two woofers and two tweeters. The speakers are driven by Soundcore's audio algorithm and custom DSP (digital signal processor) and create a broad and tall soundstage that Soundcore claims is ideal for listening to any music, whether at home or on the go.

The Motion X600 is Soundcore's first wireless speaker to support the LDAC codec many Android devices offer. By opting for a higher quality codec than the more usual SBC, Soundcore hopes the speakers can convey more refinement and detail and less distortion. And to give Soundcore its due, it's largely succeeded.

The Motion X600 produces a wonderfully detailed sound and the upward-firing full-range driving on the top plate disperses the sound well. There's plenty of audio muscle on offer with up to 50W of total amplification, enough for the average family pool party. Incidentally, the speaker is IPX7 rated for waterproofing so you could probably take it swimming.

The top plate of the Soundcore Motion X600 has an upward firing full range speaker.

On the top plate is a power switch, a Bluetooth pairing button, a spatial sound expanding switch, a bass booster, and controls for adjusting volume, pausing music and skipping tracks. It's all very intuitive to use and each button is illuminated. One annoying aspect is the LEDs can't be dimmed or turned off, which can be a bit of a nuisance for late-night listening when you’re trying to drift off to sleep.

As well as the manual buttons and controls, the Motion X600 can be controlled using the Soundcore smartphone app. Not only does this enable you to pause or stop the music, but you can also adjust the volume and set the tone with a nine-band graphic equalizer. Other settings can be tweaked to turn off voice prompts, change the auto-power-off setting and update the firmware.

Built into the Motion X600 is a 6,400mAh rechargeable battery. A full charge can provide up to 12 hours of playtime with the speaker set at 50% volume. That figure offers up to days’ worth of entertainment between charges without access to a power socket. If the Motion X600 isn't loud enough, you can sync two speakers together for an even wider soundstage and more output.

The new Soundcore Motion X600 is the brand's most premium speaker to date. It supports LDAC and has ... [+] an IPX7 waterproof rating.

Finally, the Motion X600 can also function as a handy speakerphone for making regular phone or video calls. However, one feature it doesn't offer is multipoint Bluetooth pairing, so if you want to play music and take phone calls with the X600, you’ll have to do it using the same device.

Verdict: The new Soundcore Motion X600 Bluetooth speaker is a handsome premium device showing how Soundcore has become an audio brand. The excellent sound quality and support for LDAC make it an attractive investment as a kitchen, bathroom or outdoor speaker for family get-togethers. The lack of a folding handle makes it a little less versatile for taking out and about, but as a portable home speaker, it's perfect and is sensibly priced. If you want a Bluetooth speaker with something extra and good looks thrown in for free, the Soundcore Motion X600 Bluetooth speaker is well recommended.

Pricing & Availability: The Soundcore Motion X600 Bluetooth speaker is available now from Amazon.com, soundcore.com and other retail partners. It can be ordered in Polar Gray, Aurora Green and Lunar Blue. The price is $149.99 / £149.99 / €149.99.

More info: www.soundcore.com

Tech Specs:

DC power input: 5V 3A.

Battery capacity: 6,400mAh / 7.2V.

Audio output power: 50W.

Charging time: 6 hours.

Playtime : Up to 12 hours.

Waterproof level: IPX7.

Bluetooth version: 5.3.

Bluetooth range: 100m / 328ft.

Codecs: SBC/LDAC.