The Bose SoundTouch 10 is a compact wireless music system that streams audio from Internet radio and online music services like Spotify and Deezer via Wi-Fi, as well as music libraries from local network computers via DLNA. It also supports Bluetooth connection and AUX to connect to your favourite music players.
Out of the box
Although small, the SoundTouch 10 feels solid and hefty. The package comes with various cables for electrical plugs, remote control and manuals. To listen to online streaming music, install the SoundTouch app on your phone and follow the on-screen instructions, including the mandatory signing up for an account.
Once you link up the SoundTouch 10 to your home network, you will be able to set up Spotify or Deezer (only Premium accounts are supported) to link to it. You can also explore Internet radio stations from the app. When you fancy a playlist or a radio station, just press-and-hold the preset 1-6 to save the channel.
Remote Everything
To remotely access the SoundTouch controls, you can use either the smartphone app or the remote control. The advantage of the app is that you can control anywhere in the house as long as the smartphone is connected to the same network as the SoundTouch. It is so liberating to be able to adjust volume, change channels, change tracks, without getting anywhere near the speaker.
A major drawback is that the app must always refresh and re-establish connection with SoundTouch every time I re-access the app. It does not maintain connection and status. So, changing channels or adjusting volume is not instantaneous unless you keep the app always on-screen. Also, the responsiveness of the app depends on the home network. For my case, I experience occasional lags.
In this case, a remote control achieves a more instant response, from changing channels to adjusting volume or skipping tracks. Or, if you are within arms reach, just press the controls on top of the SoundTouch unit.
Instant Internet Music
The SoundTouch 10 is truly the modern jukebox. The moment I turn on the speaker, it streams the most recent preset within seconds. Similarly, when you press other presets, the music plays fast. You don’t need any other gadget to get to your favourite Internet radio channel or Spotify playlist.
With such convenience, I find that 6 presets are grossly insufficient. Also, there is no LCD to display the channel information, but for that you would need to look for the SoundTouch 20 and 30 Series III.
Audio Quality
Among all the Bose products I have reviewed over the last dozen months, the SoundTouch 10 turns out to the most unimpressed. When listening on its own, the SoundTouch 10 sounds fine. Despite having only a single speaker driver, the generous bass response is the most strikingly sound signature which gives the speaker its fullness, so much so that I find some of the high-frequency details are lost in the air. It is a rather mixed experience for me, where some tracks sound dynamic and clear while others seemed muffled. On the whole, I feel that the Bose engineers have purposefully tweaked the sound for a consumer-profile positive listening response.
Group Play
The other value to investing in SoundTouch system is that you can stream the same audio to multiple SoundTouch speakers. Also, when you stream your Bluetooth audio to one of the SoundTouch speakers, you can broadcast the audio wirelessly to other SoundTouch speakers.
Verdict
The audio quality is not the strongest selling point for the SoundTouch 10. Neither is the clumsy smartphone app. What SoundTouch offers is the convenience of listening to your favourite online music sources or music libraries from home networking computers without using any other gadget. The SoundTouch 10 is the smallest among the SoundTouch family of Wi-Fi enabled home speakers by Bose, available at S$399 at Atlas Showroom. More information on SoundTouch can be found at http://soundtouch.atlas-sv.com.
Specs
Dimension: 8.34″ x 5.56″ x 3.43″ (HxWxD)
Input: AUX, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi
Wireless network compatibility: 802.1 1 b/g/n
Supported audio formats: MP3, WMA, AAC, Apple Lossless, Bluetooth
