Last Updated: March 16, 2019 (Refresh Now)
Bose SoundTouch 20 wireless speaker works with Alexa Black
Last Updated: March 16, 2019 (Refresh Now)
7.9
SCORE
/10
Total Reviews
506
Old Reviews
199
Unverified
123
Spam Test
PASS
Yes
WIFI
Yes
BLUETOOTH
Yes
FM RADIO
Review Analysis - 184 recent, verified reviews
Detailed Mode
Sound Quality
108speaker, speakers, sound quality, music, soundtouch
+87%
-13%
" ... I love everything about my Bose SoundTouch 20. ... "
" ... We love this speaker. ... The quality of the sound is outstanding! ... "
" ... It output good sound! ... "
" ... The sound quality is pretty good but that is it. ... "
" ... This is a great speaker! ... "
" ... The sound was great when it was connected to my phone and my SoundTouch 10 but the sound kept going in and out for no apparent reason. ... "
" ... This speaker will blow you out of the room! ... "
" ... This is my third and best Bose wirleless speaker. ... "
Device Compatibility
28bluetooth, speaker, app, bose, alexa
+50%
-50%
" ... I wanted to love my SoundTouch 20 but it wouldn't stay connected. ... I decided for the price paid that I needed to return this very expensive, kind of unreliable speaker. ... "
" ... Also, the secondary speaker has intermittent connectivity issues. ... "
" ... I wanted to love my SoundTouch 20 but it wouldn't stay connected. ... "
" ... First, and the biggest gripe, the app continuously forgets all the speakers, so you have to manually go around the home and reconnect all the speakers. ... "
" ... If you want to give Alexa any command there will be no sound and you will be forced to turn the speaker on with the bose app, by remote out by pressing the buttons on the unit. ... "
" ... Connecting these speakers have also proven to be an impossible task at times. ... "
" ... But the units have connectivity problems and the app doesnt always work well. ... "
" ... Absolutely refused to setup with my Moto G4. ... I originally managed to play audio via Bluetooth on this speaker. ... I've tried to pair with several android phones. ... "
Ease of Use
25easy, easy to set, setup, set, great sound
+92%
-8%
" ... App makes it easy to use and easy to have sound throughout your home. ... "
" ... Easy to navigate through or reset your quick set or favorites buttons. ... "
" ... awesome sound good range and easy to use ... "
" ... I finally read the instructions and the process was quick and fairly easy. ... "
" ... Sound is great, easy to hook up, easy to set stations. ... "
" ... It couldn't be any easier to use. ... "
" ... great sound very loud easy to set up ... "
" ... Sound is great and the set up was very easy. ... I purchased another speaker and linked them, again super easy. ... "
Volume
24loud, room, speakers, soundtouch, bose
+79%
-21%
" ... We love this speaker. ... "
" ... We love this speaker. ... "
" ... One of the best little speakers around . ... Great for my counter and the volume is great with not static. ... "
" ... great sound very loud easy to set up ... "
" ... But one is sufficient to fill my small space with Bose-quality sound as long as I want. ... "
" ... This is a great speaker! ... "
" ... This way I have the flexibility of listening to my music throughout the apartment. ... "
" ... I might just purchase more SoundTouch 10s but I really want more powerful sound in my larger rooms around the house. ... "
Apps
20speakers, pandora, library, alexa, windows
+30%
-70%
" ... Two examples - worst first: there is no equalizer available in the app. ... Second: the app for playing music is absolutely minimal in its features - in random mode you can't see what's coming next and therefore can't sort it, you can't set a track from a different artist "next up" (all you can do is stick by the app and click at the right time if you want to transition correctly), you can't even program a playlist. ... "
" ... To top it all off, Bose does *NOT* allow you to enter your own streaming URLs and workarounds via .pls files on the NAS have all been blocked so TuneIn is the ONLY source of radio streams available on the SoundTouch. ... "
" ... First, and the biggest gripe, the app continuously forgets all the speakers, so you have to manually go around the home and reconnect all the speakers. ... It happens at least 1x per month or after any app update. ... Even when it does work, it sometimes takes over a minute for the app to find the speaker, which completely misses the point of having an app. ... In the app, speaker button at the bottom is very small. ... Personal playlist do not show at all in Amazon Music (ridiculous) ... Spotify playlists are buried down below (should be the very top of the list) ... "
" ... Wasn't a big fan of their app. ... Their app is very buggy, laggy and unintuitive. ... "
" ... Their app is far from user friendly while also containing bugs that have not been fixed in the year of owning these speakers. ... "
" ... But the units have connectivity problems and the app doesnt always work well. ... "
" ... As I finally backed away from it for the final time to face that I'd wasted $349, I explored the SoundTouch app a little and noticed it plays "Amazon Music" -- THAT feature worked easily at first, then stopped. ... "
" ... No SoundCloud integration. ... "
Software Platform
19updates, bose, alexa, windows, spotify
+21%
-79%
" ... If you want to give Alexa any command there will be no sound and you will be forced to turn the speaker on with the bose app, by remote out by pressing the buttons on the unit. ... "
" ... But the units have connectivity problems and the app doesnt always work well. ... They also issue a lot of updates which tend to throw things into chaos. ... "
" ... After initial setup, which was complicated because Soundtouch *requires* a DLNA server, just a file share is not good enough, it worked fine. ... "
" ... The app that comes with is is absolute junk (no equalizer - seriously? ... "
" ... It happens at least 1x per month or after any app update. ... Spotify playlists are buried down below (should be the very top of the list) ... "
" ... Two examples - worst first: there is no equalizer available in the app. ... "
" ... The nightmares are the horrendously poor connectivity, and terrible app. ... And then there's the app. ... "
" ... Only drawback is it constantly requires updates and occasionally you have to re-set the device, which is a pain.i also expected the sound to be a little better. ... "
Capacity
15throughout, apartment, soundtouch, rooms, living room
+100%
" ... I live in a large NYC apartment and I want to be able to listen to my music throughout the apartments. ... "
" ... Because it is small and light weight, we can easily move it from inside the house to out by our pool with ease. ... "
" ... This way I have the flexibility of listening to my music throughout the apartment. ... "
" ... This is perfect to take outside to the backyard. ... "
" ... I have always been a big fan of the "play everywhere" feature, which allows me to play the same thing simultaneously in different rooms, so I can walk throughout the house and enjoy my music (and each speakers volume can be set separately). ... "
" ... I might just purchase more SoundTouch 10s but I really want more powerful sound in my larger rooms around the house. ... "
" ... It is a perfect size for a small apartment and matches my interior perfectly! ... "
" ... Great sound, perfect for my dining/living room area. ... "
Bluetooth
15speaker, wifi, via, aweful, bose
+60%
-40%
" ... Going to look into pairing it with another. ... "
" ... And even better I don't have to use my phone via Bluetooth. ... "
" ... Hooks up easily with BT. ... Start up time is too long for a simple BT speaker. ... "
" ... GREAT sound but aweful software and bluetooth auto shutdown ... I returned it and got a Peachtree Deepblue,sound quality slightly less good but good solid Bluetooth connection and unit STAYS ON connected ,unlike the stupid BOSE auto shut down and auto dis connect. ... "
" ... This unit has wired plus wifi plus Bluetooth connections, which gives me options for my cell phone, tablet or computers. ... "
" ... However, the app and speaker connection to the wifi could be a bit iffy at times, although the bluetooth always worked perfectly. ... "
" ... The sound is very clear and using the Bluetooth feature makes controlling our music so easy. ... "
" ... Hooks up easily with BT. ... Start up time is too long for a simple BT speaker. ... "
Bass
14base, room, loud, treble, tones
+93%
-7%
" ... Can hear it in any room, I have a 1200 square foot home, and also handles BASS when it needs too. ... "
" ... I am just floored on the amount of sound and bass such a small unit is able to pump out. ... "
" ... This sounds will fill an entire room before it even reaches half of its max volume, and the bass shakes the house! ... "
" ... is it going to sound 'tiny' is the bass going to sound full? ... "
" ... The sound fills the whole room and the bass is loud and clear. ... "
" ... The sound fills the whole room and the bass is loud and clear. ... "
" ... Bass is ok. ... "
Price
11price, worth every penny, worth, waste, truly
+82%
-18%
" ... incredible with such prestige and price you got this back. ... "
" ... but the competition is catching up with a cheaper price. ... "
" ... TRULY TOP NOTCH AND WORTH EVERY PENNY! ... "
" ... Just perfect for the price and its purpose. ... "
" ... I am sure there are way better options for much less money. ... "
" ... This is highly appreciated- got my money's worth ... "
" ... Amazing Sound worth every penny . ... "
" ... Amazing Sound worth every penny . ... "
Wifi
11wi fi, speaker, network, neighbors, connection
+45%
-55%
" ... It's not my WiFi that's the issue ... "
" ... Now I have to re add it to my wi fi network almost every time I turn it on. ... "
" ... The bluetooth souds aweful and the ap/wifi connection problems are consistantly non stop a problem. ... "
" ... Very bad, It is loosing the WiFi all the time and try to connevt to my neighbors WiFi. ... "
" ... Very bad, It is loosing the WiFi all the time and try to connevt to my neighbors WiFi. ... "
" ... Basically a wifi speaker that doesn't work on WiFi, unless you have Spotify or Tune-in. ... "
Product Reliability
9year, stop, bose, weeks
+78%
-22%
" ... especially since the update took so long. ... "
" ... Everything is working fine and I am happy with all three purchases. ... "
" ... Worked like nothing bad has ever happened. ... "
" ... It worked right out of the box and is exactly wjat I waned. ... "
" ... Worked great for a year. ... "
" ... I love this speaker, I had been saving for months to purchase It! ... "
" ... Got this for my husband last year. ... "
Setup
8easy, process, wifi, speaker, soundtouch
+75%
-25%
" ... Basic wifi setup was easy and the sound quality is incredible. ... "
" ... It was easy to install the hard drive in the NAS and install it on my wireless router. ... "
" ... The sound is excellent, setup was very easy. ... "
" ... I finally read the instructions and the process was quick and fairly easy. ... "
FM
8stations, internet radio stations, internet, pandora, internet radio
+88%
-13%
" ... Internet radio options are great. ... "
" ... Need a CD player and radio ... "
" ... from Pandora for free as well as other internet radio stations, or from Amazon Prime which a member and if you're a member you get all kinds of choices of all different genres of music. ... "
" ... Love streaming favorite radio stations. ... "
" ... the streaming of LA radio stations is very reliable and has no monthly recurring expense. ... "
" ... The sound is fine and it is great to get internet radio. ... "
" ... The sound is fine and it is great to get internet radio. ... "
Size
8sound, small, size, easy to use, set
+100%
" ... It is so easy to use and set up and obviously very portable. ... "
" ... I purchased the ST20 for our small retail store and it works great. ... "
" ... Good sound for the size. ... "
" ... Love the sound, wish it was portable. ... "
" ... This is a great compact sound system. ... "
" ... This is also pretty portable, so you could take it with you for the most part. ... "
" ... I like the sound, I knew it would be good, but I just thought it was portable. ... Is there a way to make it portable or is there a way that I can get a portable one? ... "
Controls
5button, thumbs, set, pandora, easy
+40%
-60%
" ... Something so simple as controlling the volume level has been relentlessly horrible. ... "
" ... And, this is probably more a Pandora issue, why do I no longer have the option to ‘thumbs down’ or just skip a song? ... "
" ... In the app, speaker button at the bottom is very small. ... "
Network
5neighbors, issue, connection, solve, network
+40%
-60%
" ... If you just like to spend the majority of your day trying to solve connection/ap issues and solve the mystery of how it simply seems to be artificial intelligence that rides the short bus, this is for you. ... "
" ... Very bad, It is loosing the WiFi all the time and try to connevt to my neighbors WiFi. ... "
" ... Very bad, It is loosing the WiFi all the time and try to connevt to my neighbors WiFi. ... "
Battery Life
5wish, use, stream, bluetooth, batteries
+40%
-60%
" ... I wish it had an in-built battery so that I can use it anywhere I go. ... "
" ... You are out of luck, unless you want to stream over Bluetooth and bleed battery life. ... "
" ... It should be made clear that this unit is NOT battery powered. ... "
Frequencies
4bass, treble, tones, rich, mids
+50%
-50%
" ... awful balance between highs and basses . ... "
" ... Want to lower the treble or increase bass - too bad). ... "
Overall performance
4fast
+75%
-25%
" ... Lately however, the performance seems to be much improved, with less updates and more consistent performance. ... "
" ... This one blows my mind and makes it feel like a live performance! ... "
Remote
4easy to use, controls
+100%
" ... The remote is simple to use. ... "
" ... Remote is very handy and useful if you don't have your phone or laptop to navigate the app. ... "
" ... Easy to use iPhone controls and remote ... "
Marketplace
4promised, arrived, amazon, advertised
+75%
-25%
" ... 5 stars because Amazon took care of the problem with no issues. ... "
" ... My order arrived on time as promised. ... "
" ... It was as advertised. ... "
Ports
3cable, auxiliary, hate
-100%
" ... it is so bbad that if i want to properly shut it down i have to pull out the plug ... "
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Specifications
Connectivity
WiFi: Yes
Bluetooth: Yes
FM Radio: Yes