Like its big brother, the Soundcore Motion X600 (test), the Motion X500 adopts the visual style of a portable radio. It also looks as if Anker has simply compressed the sides of their X600: Weighing around 1,640 grams and measuring 19 x 8 x 22 cm (with a carrying handle), this model has a more compact and “travel-friendly” design.
Packaging and first impressions
The Soundcore Motion X500 arrives smartly packaged and wrapped in a transparent plastic bag with a hinged cardboard slipcase. The 60 cm long USB-C to USB-C charging cable is also in a bag, but fortunately, the multilingual quick guide doesn’t use any more plastic.
There is no power adapter included, but the manufacturer states that the X500 can be recharged to 100% in around five hours using a 5V/3A power adapter (15W).
The speaker, which is available in black, blue and pink, has a robust and high-quality finish.
The “radiator grille” on the front discreetly bears the Soundcore logo, and this is barely noticeable. This is a different impression from that given by the manufacturer’s photos of the product, which can be seen in many web shops.
Two drivers are located behind the grille, while a third smaller one is installed in the centre of the slanted top and is illuminated. The six illuminated push buttons on the rubberised but rather fingerprint-prone surface switch the speaker on and off, activate pairing, switch between the three sound profiles, control the volume and take care of playback (play, pause, track forward/back).
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Two horseshoe-shaped rubber feet on the underside ensure a secure, acoustically isolated footing, while the rear features a bass reflex port and a USB-C charging socket protected by a waterproof rubber flap.
The Soundcore Motion X500 can only be connected via Bluetooth; there is no analogue input like on the X600.
Waterproof
A mobile speaker needs to be suitable for use on the move, and so it needs to withstand various environmental conditions. The Soundcore Motion X500 has IPX7 certification, meaning the speaker can be completely submerged in water for a short time without any problems. It can easily withstand heavy rain or be used in a shower.
However, the “X” in “IPX7” has not been given a number by the manufacturer. This would provide information about how resistant it is to dirt or dust. You should, therefore, exercise particular caution in sandy, dirty environments.
Bluetooth connection
The Soundcore Motion X500 works with the latest Bluetooth version 5.3 and supports the codecs SBC, AAC as well as Sony’s high-resolution LDAC. Whether you are using Android, iPhone or Mac, the speaker connected quickly and reliably, although multipoint was not included. This means that the connection must always be disconnected if you want to connect to another device. However, the speaker remembers the last Bluetooth connection, and this was automatically resumed when communication was established.
The wireless connection was extremely stable: We had no dropouts to report when using in the garden (approx. 40 metres) or in the house, including when moving between floors. It should be noted that when you use LDAC, the range and battery life are reduced. This amounts to around 12 hours (via SBC or AAC) if you play music at approx. 50 % volume. Five hours of charging time isn’t great, but unlike headphones, this type of device usually lacks fast charging options. There is no charge level indicator on the device itself; the power button lights up red when charging and flashes when the battery level is low. If you want more details, it’s best to take a look at the…
Soundcore app
The free and clearly laid out app for iOS and Android takes care of the usual management tasks such as firmware updates, volume control, play/pause, and determining the brightness of the buttons, etc. If you don’t like the three sound pre-sets, you can create as many new ones as you like, and you can also share them with other users. The nine bands of the EQ can be increased or decreased by +/- 8 dB, and you can even change their bandwidth – very commendable! You can also choose the colour of the LED ring on the top of the speaker to match your sound profiles. However, if you want to see red, you’ll be disappointed: despite selecting red, it lit up yellow.
Making phone calls
Thanks to the built-in microphone and call control via the playback button, you can also use the Soundcore Motion X500 as a hands-free device. The sound was fine, and the person on the other end of the line had no trouble understanding the call. The speaker was also very satisfactory during video conferences using a MacBook.
Sound
As already mentioned, you can switch between sound pre-sets using the buttons on the top of the Soundcore Motion X500. But these three permanently installed EQ curves cannot be replaced by your own EQ curves, which was a shame, and you can only switch these via the app.
The “Spatial Signature” pre-set is the default setting, and it reproduced music quite neutrally. “Spatial Dynamics” – the second pre-set – significantly boosted the bass range and the upper treble but, at the same time, depressed the mids, which might cause details to be somewhat lost when listening to certain tracks. With the third pre-set, “Bass Boost”, the name says it all, but here, Spatial Audio was switched off – which was also the case with specially created EQ pre-sets. In direct comparison, it sounded rather flat and was almost boring without the added spatiality.
You shouldn’t expect any miracles from the built-in spatial audio technology, but the sound spread out quite widely, especially in small rooms, thanks to a reflective ceiling above the speaker that radiated upwards. Outdoors, this effect was lost to a certain extent.
As with Anker’s other Soundcore models Motion 300 and Motion X600, two Motion X500s can be combined to create a larger setup, but we were regrettably unable to test this due to the lack of a second speaker. Unfortunately, the speaker models are not cross-compatible with each other.
But back to the sound: In contrast to the Motion 300, the channel separation between left and right was much more pronounced, but the Motion X600 clearly had the edge here. Nevertheless, the Motion X500 also managed to reproduce bass with plenty of oomph, but depending on the track, this could sound quite muffled and a little muddy.
The mids seemed slightly subdued and were masked when the bass boost was activated, especially with fat bass lines or deep bass drums.
The highs, on the other hand, came into their own thanks to the upper driver but were far from sounding sharp or harsh.
Compared with the small Motion 300, the use of the high-resolution LDAC codec in combination with lossless music provided a clearer increase in gain. For example, a direct comparison of David Bowie’s “Lazarus” actually revealed more details, which benefited the spatiality and naturalness. Although this didn’t quite give us a eureka moment, if you listen to lossless music anyway, then you will appreciate the effort.
Conclusion
The Soundcore Motion X500 from Anker sounded good and, when required, rich, powerful and – considering its size – spatial thanks to spatial audio. The mobile speaker is, therefore, impressive and not just in terms of sound. Its shape, design and, last but not least, built-in technology such as Bluetooth 5.3 and successful app connection created a very good impression. LDAC and IPX7 certifications are also quite rare to find in the large Bluetooth speaker market. If you can overlook the slight weaknesses such as the faulty red lighting or the susceptibility to fingerprints, you will get a solid product, currently for just under 160 euros.
