Bose SoundDock 10 Review

Bose is no stranger to small speaker docks, but being American, it’s obviously prone to thinking big, thinking loud and thinking… well, a little overpriced.

Take the SoundDock 10: weighing in at over 8kg and measuring 22cm tall, this dock is a big, beefy proposition, dwarfing all the other models in Bose’s range. If it was a car, it’d be a Dodge Viper – insanely powerful and great-looking, but ultimately just a lot of bluster.

Bluetooth bonanza
The unit is iPod- and iPhone-compatible, and will charge the devices when docked. There’s a 3.5mm input for connecting other external devices, but the highlight of the SoundDock’s feature set is the Bluetooth adaptor that comes supplied – simply pull out the iPod cradle and slot in the Bluetooth module.

Pairing up a Bluetooth-equipped device is a very convenient solution, although not the best option for optimal sound quality. The SoundDock looks impressive, but the casing doesn’t feel as solid as it should – especially for this sort of money.

Falls a bit flat
The sound? It’s capable of plummeting to serious depths. There’s a good amount of detail in the lows, as there is across the frequency range. The openness of the Bose’s sound helps to throw everything out there for the listener to enjoy. The scale and authority is enough to fill a very large room.

Review continues after the break…

But there are a few chinks in the SoundDock’s armour. Voices don’t sound natural, and there’s a lack of insight to high frequencies, even though tonally, there’s no hardness or brightness. The Bose doesn’t have the dynamic range of its closest rivals, either.

If the SoundDock 10 had been £200 cheaper, it’d be a serious contender. But at this price, you aren’t getting your money’s worth. Bin off the Viper and go for a nice, nippy Mazda like the Klipsch iGroove SXT or B&W Zeppelin Mini instead.