Soundcore Motion X600 review: a summer party staple

Knowing that summer is just around the corner is an unrivalled feeling. Those reading this from more tropical climates don’t have to worry so much about limited daylight and cold weather in the winter months, but for us that feeling of impending long nights, festivals and far too many BBQs keeps us going. So what better time to upgrade your outdoor equipment?

After leaving our seating areas, decking and speakers dormant, the Soundcore Motion X600 Bluetooth speaker arrives to bring high-fidelity audio anywhere you like. If it’s anything like some of Soundcore’s recent offerings, the Motion X600 should offer quality at a reasonable price (in this case, £200/$200). And, given its pre-summer release, must also withstand several months of outdoor revelry and probably some festival mud. Does it succeed?

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Design and build: vintage futurism

There’s something wholesome about the Soundcore Motion X600. With a perforated grille at the front and basic volume, bluetooth and on/off buttons on the top surface, it resembles a vintage radio without being a cheesy throwback. Pop it in the kitchen, put your music on, and all of a sudden you’re hankering to flip through long-forgotten recipe books. It’s bound to be a park picnic staple, and could be carted around like a 2023 take on the boombox if you’re especially confident in your music tastes.

Made from aluminium, and without a single bump or bruise to be found, we were immediately reassured this will last more than a few knocks. The handle feels sturdy, but it could longer, similar to that found on the Bang & Olufsen Beosound A5. Our knuckles sometimes clatter against the main surface, but that’s a minor moan.

With an IPX7 waterproof rating, the Soundcore Motion X600 can handle the characteristically wet British weather. It’ll suit a decidedly much more pleasant day by the pool, too.

This isn’t the lightest portable listening device at 1.9kg, becoming a little cumbersome after a while, but less so than the not-entirely light 3kg Sonos Move. We do wish it came with a carry case, though.

Features and interface: bare bones

The Motion X600 is pretty light on features, at least compared to other Soundcore products. EQing is controlled entirely through the Soundcore app, which covers basic tweaks and customisation, but nothing overly in-depth. The basic EQing is split into voice, treble boost, balanced and Soundcore Signature – this essentially increases bass frequencies.

Custom EQing can be tinkered with manually through a nine-point curve. A Soundcore account means you can create and save EQ profiles too, which is great for tweaking it to different rooms or outdoor spaces. But there’s no automatic EQing based on genre, a feature seen in the Soundcore Liberty 4 earbuds app. As we’ll go on to say though, the Soundcore Motion X600 doesn’t require much fiddling to provide top-tier audio.

A 6400 mAh internal battery provides up to 12 hours of playtime at 50% volume, says Soundcore. That checks out, and then some. We barely listen to it above 50% volume, which obviously helps to extend the battery life. But after a week of frequent listening, we only charged it up once.

Sound: the ‘oomf’ factor

While the Motion X600 is light on features, it packs in power. Audio output mainly comes from a 50-watt amp and five drivers. This includes two woofers and two tweeters, as well as Soundcore’s ‘Sky Driver’ speaker, which fires full-range audio upwards. With all speakers combined, the Motion X600 can deliver spatial sound.

You can really feel that extra bit of depth and immersion, which solves one of our key portable speaker gripes. Too often, portable speakers rely on pure power to fill the space, compensating audio quality for volume which ends up a distorted mess. With the Soundcore Motion X600, though, audio envelops the room, rather than sounding like its coming from one source.

For a portable speaker, it could rival some at home systems. And, like most systems, it works best when the speaker is directly in front of the listener. It doesn’t fare as well when playing outdoors, but that doesn’t matter in our opinion. It’ll likely be used much more as a party gadget, or for a little extra BBQ entertainment anyway. It’s not meant for listening rooms, and likely won’t appeal to those who have them. That’s where the purpose serves the function, though. If you want an extra spatial boost to your casual listening sessions, then the feature pays for itself.

All this is a roundabout way of saying the Soundcore Motion X600 offers lots in a little package. It’s loud, too. Very loud. We barely creep it above 50% before worrying both about our neighbours, and whether it’s unsettling our dog. But it doesn’t rely on volume for its oomf. The Soundcore Motion X600 creates an expansive sound, rather than an overpowering one. Two-channel music from the likes of Spotify and Apple Music is much wider, thicker and richer. The result is a room filling, high-quality sound for everyday listeners.

Soundcore Motion X600 verdict

There are very few things to moan about with the Soundcore Motion X600. It offers grade A specs with convenience, and looks like it’s been chiselled from a single piece of metal.

It may not match up to the Sonos Move when it comes to audio quality (although it’s not far off), and it may be beyond the needs of more casual listeners. But it’s a worthy investment, and one that will last plenty of summers.