Bose SoundTouch 30 Series III

Wireless & Bluetooth Speakers / Home

A Bose wireless home speaker system that uses proprietary WiFi based technology with Bluetooth and Aux input.

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CR Expert Take

How did it perform in our expert lab testing?

Overall Score

The Overall Score for this model is derived from our expert lab test results.

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Current Range of Tested Wireless & Bluetooth Speakers

What goes into the Overall Score?

Sound quality

/ 5

Ease of use

/ 5

Versatility

/ 5

Color

/ 5

Detailed Test Results

Sound quality: The Bose SoundTouch 30 Series III has good overall sound quality. Bass is somewhat prominent and boomy, while it goes deep, the deep bass is exaggerated and has excessive impact. Midrange is fairly even but slightly gritty and hazy - with some program material deep bass can overwhelm the midrange. Treble is a bit sizzly and upper treble is muted. Does a so-so job of recovering room ambience. Fine detail is lacking. There was no significant difference between WiFi, Bluetooth, and wired sound quality. It can provide enough volume to be heard in a large sized room but can get harsh at louder volumes.

Ease of use: This model could have been Very good but it scored Fair overall. The Bose Sound Touch 30 Series III connecting to a Wi-Fi network is somewhat straight forward. Bluetooth pairing is very easy and doesn't require that the speaker be setup on WiFi first to use. The speaker and remote have well marked controls that are easy to use, and the speaker has a very informative display. But volume controls via the iOS app was glitchy - which did not fluidly track volume changes, either muting or setting volume to other than the setting made.

About

A Bose proprietary technology and AirPlay 2 compatible WiFi wireless home speaker system with Bluetooth and analog audio input and remote control.

Features & Specs

Features

IP rating

Claimed battery life (hrs.)

Adjustable tone settings

Yes

Wireless stereo pairing

Speaker phone w/built-in mic

Optional multi-room sharing

Yes

Remote

Yes

Power source

Updatable software/firmware

Yes

Warranty (mos.): parts/labor

12/12

Other features

Can do Multi-room setup with up to 4 speakers on the same network.

Included accessories

Quick-Start Guide, Safety and Warranty Information, Power Cord.

WiFi content sharing technology

Bose Proprietary

Wake timer

Sleep timer

Specs

Wireless type

WiFi, Bluetooth

Audio format

Stereo

Height (in.)

Width (in.)

Depth (in.)

Weight (lbs.)

Dimensions HxWxD (in.)

10 x 17.25 x 9

Connections

Stereo analog audio input

Yes

Optical digital audio input

Headphone jack

Active subwoofer pre-amp out

Other connections

Micro USB and USB type A used for setup.

iPod Docking

Price & Shop

Bose SoundTouch 30 Series III

CR Expert Take

Overall Score

What goes into the Overall Score?

Detailed Test Results

About

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