Soul S-Storm Max Bluetooth speaker: A lifestyle speaker that gets the job done

This portable, splash-proof music maker delivers a lot of volume for such a small device.

- JAMES BARBER

Since Soul Nation launched a decade ago with a line of Chris “Ludacris” Bridges–branded headphones, it’s a been an unapologetically lifestyle brand that makes some pretty good audio products. The $90 Soul S-Storm Max Bluetooth 5.0 speaker fits squarely into that tradition.

The S-Storm Max is a solid speaker with some interesting features that might interest more serious listeners, plus a couple that are just for fun.

IN THE BOX

The speaker is an 8-inch-wide by 3-inch deep cylinder that weighs 1.5 pounds. A USB-A-to-USB-C charging cable and a 3.5mm aux cable are provided in the box, and the manufacturer throws in a lanyard attached to the speaker with a serial number sticker wrapped around the string. Take a photo of that serial before you take the speaker out of the house; it’s not going to survive for long. There’s also a Soulbranded carabiner

FEATURES

Soul hypes the IP66 dust and waterproof rating. That means the speaker is impervious to harmful dust ingress and can survive getting sprayed with a jet of water, but it’s not meant to be fully submerged. Don’t take it out on a pool float unless you’re highly confident that you’ll never drop it. You can read all about IP codes in this other story (fave. co/3BmKhkC).