Exploring the Acoustic Depths of Anker’s SoundCore Motion X500 – The One-Dimensional Space Speaker Reviewed

Key Takeaways

• The Anker Soundcore Motion X500 is a compact Bluetooth speaker that aims to bring spatial audio to whole rooms, but its small size limits its ability to create a wide sound.
• The speaker has a three-channel design with two forward-facing drivers and an angled up-firing driver. It’s portable and can be used outdoors or in a bedroom.
• The sound quality of the Motion X500 is good for a wireless Bluetooth speaker in its price range, but it lacks the immersive spatial audio experience. It performs best at lower volumes and may not be suitable for larger spaces. Battery life is decent, lasting around 12 hours.

Spatial audio is the new buzzword in music. It’s about adding depth and height to stereo’s left and right mixes. Instead of relegating the technology to earbuds, Anker’s Soundcore Motion X500 is trying to bring more dimensional music to whole rooms. It employs an up-firing driver for a worthy attempt at its goal, but ultimately, the Bluetooth speaker is just too compact to create a wide sound. It’s not a bad speaker, though, and still might be worth your time and money.

Soundcore Motion X500

7/ 10

The Soundcore Motion X500 features Hi-Res wireless audio and three-channel spatial audio with a 40W output. Its integrated handle makes it perfect for moving from one place to another.

Bluetooth Connectivity?

5.3

Battery

12 hours

Waterproof Rating

IPX7

Wireless capabilities

Bluetooth

Drivers

3

Pros

• Lightweight and portable
• Solid audio quality for its size and price
• 12 hours of battery life

Cons

• Spatial audio wasn?t convincing
• Huge Souncore logo on front isn’t attractive

$169.99 at Soundcore

Spatial Audio By Design

Tyler Hayes / How-To Geek

The point of the Motion X500 is to play spatial audio in the smallest size possible. That’s why this device exists. To do this, Soundcore utilizes a three-channel design, two forward-facing drivers and an angled up-firing one that sits right between the control buttons.

It’s a visual design that mimics the more advanced Motion X600 in a lot of ways. The permanent handle, metal grille, and rubbery buttons are shared between both models. The thing that isn’t shared is the amount of drivers. The Motion X600 uses five instead of three, which is why the spatial audio just isn’t the same between the two. The X600’s four distributed drivers across a wider surface area really give the speaker a bolder punch.

Even though the buttons across the top of the X500 might look like touch controls, they’re not. The six buttons are part of the rubber material and were easy to press, even with wet hands. You don’t always get a prominent button for pairing Bluetooth devices, so while a little unnecessary, it was still nice to have it here.

Overall, this speaker is pretty self-explanatory from a design perspective. It’s a lunch box-style portable music maker that can be used outside or in a bedroom. If there’s one thing I would change about its look, however, it would be the huge Soundcore logo across the front. I hate it. It’s subtle on the black model, so I minded it less, but compared to the plain front of the X600, this newer one simply feels boastful, when it shouldn’t be.

The Motion X500 Sounds Like Any Other Bluetooth Speaker

Tyler Hayes / How-To Geek

I was extremely impressed by the previous Soundcore spatial audio speaker, for its price, so I was curious if the company could duplicate that success in a smaller and cheaper package. It turns out the answer is no.

The Motion X500 sounds great for a wireless Bluetooth speaker in the $150 price range, but I was never fooled by errant or impossible instrument placements.

I streamed songs from all genres to get a sense of what performed the best on the Motion X500. Like other entry-level and mid-priced speakers, this one handled a wide range of styles with grace. It was able to produce enough low-end bass to keep songs sounding full, but I never looked over at the speaker in awe of its power to rumble or thump.

Also, like a lot of speakers in its class, the X500 gives its best performance with a volume level between 25 and 50%. Pushing past a 60% threshold often led me to regret the decision. Raising the volume would be fine for use at a park in an undiscerning environment, but less so in a living room.

On the other hand, I was often impressed when the speaker played around a 20% volume level and I worked away. “Weird Goodbye ” from The National offered an air of rolling bass that was altogether pleasant on the Motion X500.

When I toggled the spatial audio button on the previous Motion X600 speaker, it was obvious. On the X500, it wasn’t. I used Apple Music’s Dolby Atmos tracks and I listened using stereo tracks from Spotify. It didn’t matter what different combinations of streaming tracks and whether the button was activated, I didn’t hear much variance. The Soundcore “3D Sound algorithm” just didn’t do it for me.

The low-end was a touch punchier without the speaker’s immersive feature toggled, but not enough to make a difference one way or another.

If this is a key area of interest for you, I would advise looking at Soundcore’s other option or investigating whether the Sonos Era 300 , priced at $449, might fit in your budget.

This speaker does offer LDAC codec support, so compatible Android devices could have a boost in audio performance. Frankly, though, in terms of real-world results, I’m skeptical this really matters. People who know and care about this are not buying a $130 (or $170) Bluetooth speaker. Those who don’t care are streaming music that usually isn’t super high bitrate, from YouTube or Spotify’s basic account, anyway. Codec support just isn’t a feature that really matters on a speaker like this.

Close

Normally, a section would be dedicated to a device’s mobile app. In this case, functions and features for the Motion X500 in the Soundcore app are minimal. The app is available for iPhone and Android but only offers an EQ and a few customizable options for the light brightness of the buttons. (Everything is contained in two screens.) Beyond using it for firmware updates, the app might not even be worth downloading to use with this particular speaker.

Battery Life Is a Tentative Thumbs-Up

Tyler Hayes / How-To Geek

If the Motion X500 is more useful as a portable speaker than a spatial audio one, battery life is key. The advertised 12 hours of battery rang true in my constant usage. It’s hard not to wish for even more power, but given the roughly 7.5-inch width and 3.5 pounds of the unit, the play time seems proportional.

The speaker charges via a rubber-seal-protected USB-C port and I had no problem with it, though its six-hour recharge time felt a little long. The problem I had with the device’s battery was that there was no good way to tell how much listening time was left. The only power level was in the Soundcore app, but it didn’t show a percentage, only a small icon that was not helpful.

Motion X500 Price and Availability

The Soundcore Motion X500 retails for $169.99 (£169.99 in the U.K) but launched with a promotional price of $129.99. If you want a step-up in audio performance, the Motion X600 has been selling for $199.99.

Should You Buy the Anker Soundcore Motion X500?

Simply, the Anker Soundcore Motion X500 is a fine Bluetooth speaker that excels in portability. Its size and shape make it easy to bring on most outings. Those physical characteristics also define the device’s limits as well. The speaker can get loud but sounds the best at mid-to-lower volumes. Its spatial audio chops also disappoint because of its narrow footprint.

Spatial audio elements will not be flying around you in space when listening on the Motion X500. If you care about a more immersive listening experience, check out the Motion X600 or Sonos Era 300.

At its full $169.99 price, this speaker is a little disappointing—get the X600 instead! If you can find it for its promotional $129.99 price, or less, you’ll be much happier with its value.

Soundcore Motion X500

7/ 10

The Soundcore Motion X500 features Hi-Res wireless audio and three-channel spatial audio with a 40W output. Its integrated handle makes it perfect for moving from one place to another.

$169.99 at Soundcore

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