Soul sent over their latest Bluetooth speaker, the S Storm Max. I like Soul, I use their earbuds a lot more than I thought, they just work, they fit perfectly and the sound is pretty good, so I’m hoping that level of quality is passed over to this speaker. Let’s take a look.
Out the box, the S Storm Max almost resembles my travel coffee cup, it’s cylindrical, it’s handheld, I can pick it up with one hand, it’s fairly lightweight and it looks fairly robust. The speaker comes in black and black only. It’s got a mesh outer layer, with rubber ends and back. There are two options for mounting the speaker, you can have it standing up which looks smart, although the logo is then the wrong way round. Or you can lay it down, so the logo is the right way up, both woofers at the end are open but then it can roll very easily on a flat surface.
It’s unclear how many drivers are in the speaker but from using it, there is a central driver to the middle of the speaker by the logo, then a bass woofer at either end, delivering a total of 20 watts. The buttons and connections are located to the rear and include power on/off, Bluetooth connection, plus and minus for volume/track control and a light button. Connections are located behind a rubber flap and include USB A and USB C ports, 3.5mm aux port and a microSD card slot for direct music playback. Back to that light button for a second, you’ll that at each end, you’ll see a white ring, which is actually an RGB light, with multiple effects. Press that light button and you can scroll through a number of solid colours, or an RGB scrolling effect, or turn the lighting off altogether.
As for features and spec, you’ve either for a wireless Bluetooth 5 connection or wired via 3.5mm aux. It’s IP66, so it can get splashes, dirty and survive, just don’t submerge it in water for a long period of time. Battery life is up to 15hours, it’s rechargeable of course. It’s got those fun RGB LEF lights and if you got a second speaker, there is a wireless stereo mode, so you could pair two together for a bit more of a party set-up. Lastly, there is a microphone built-in, so if you wanted to make calls with this, have a conference like a set-up, you could.
Set up was very easy, standard Bluetooth, just pair it with your smart device. As for charging, there is a USB C cable provided in the box, just plug it in and let it charge for a bit. Using the buttons was good, they are push buttons, so you’ve got that physical response when you do press down.
The audio performance was good, I really enjoyed using it. Volume-wise, it can get very loud, more than loud enough for background music, playing some tunes by the pool but at the very top volumes, the bass does lack, and the quality does seem to drop off a bit. Low to mid volumes offer the best experience, in my opinion, background music while I was working, the balance is better, the bass is a little more prominent and the highs are not as crisp. Mounting the speaker vertically was good and was probably the best position for the best performance. You can however lay it down, but it will roll and the speaker is at the front where the logo is, so if you don’t get the right angle, you can instantly hear the speaker is being covered by the surface it’s on.
At 89 dollars or circa 75 pounds, I think that’s a pretty fair price tag for what you’re getting. It’s portable, you can move it around, it’s fairly robust, the RGB is fun and then the audio performance is more than fit for purpose. I’m hoping to get away this year and this will definitely be in my suitcase. Would I pair this up for a stereo set-up, probably not, I wouldn’t want to carry two around, I also don’t think it’s needed and If it was for use around the house, I’d go for a proper home speaker system?
To find out more and to purchase, head over to the official Soul website.
