Anker's Soundcore Rave Neo 2 ($179.99) joins the larger Soundcore Rave Party 2 ($229) as the latest entries in the company's lineup of Bluetooth speakers. This mono model pumps out impressive bass for its size and makes for a suitable poolside companion thanks to its waterproof build. We like that you can customize the onboard LEDs and tweak the sound signature via the companion app, though other aspects of the mobile experience feel very gimmicky. Overall, the smaller, more durable JBL Charge 5 ($179.99) remains our Editors' Choice winner in this price range because it outputs stereo sound, but it doesn't have the same fun lighting effects.

Waterproof Design, But Few Accessories

The Soundcore Rave Neo 2 measures roughly 11.2 by 7.0 by 6.1 inches (HWD). It sports rounded, black, semi-glossy plastic edges, a large metallic grille on the front, and lots of LEDs around its drivers. A built-in handle makes it easy to tote around, while a cover on the back protects USB-C (for the included USB-C charging cable), USB-A (for charging external devices), and 3.5mm aux inputs. We're disappointed the box doesn't include cables for the latter two ports because plenty of people still have devices and adapters that support one standard but not the other (and vice versa).

Behind the grille, dual 2-inch tweeters and a 4-inch woofer deliver a combined 80 watts of power. The speaker is compatible with Bluetooth 5.3, but Anker doesn't provide any information about codec support. Notably, if you have the funds and the ambition, you can pair up to 100 compatible Soundcore speakers simultaneously for more directional audio.

Up top, there’s a silicone rubber panel with Bluetooth, bass, LED (to toggle the lights), power, pairing, and volume buttons. A central multifunction button between the volume controls handles playback and track navigation depending on how many times you tap it. 

An IPX7 rating means the speaker is fully waterproof. You can submerge it at depths of up to a meter for 30 minutes without an issue. Bluetooth signals don't work well underwater, but the point is that the device can handle poolside splashes, thunderstorms, and a rinse in the bathtub. The aforementioned JBL model has a slight edge here because its IP67 rating means it's protected from dust ingress as well.

Anker estimates that the speaker can last roughly 18 hours per charge, but your real-world results will vary based on your typical listening volume.

Anker Soundcore Rave Neo 2 App Experience

Anker’s Soundcore app (available for Android and iOS) is equal parts useful and obnoxious, as it forces you to create an account in order to access all of its features. The main screen shows an image of the speaker with a battery life readout, along with playback and volume controls.

Further down, there are sections that let you customize the LED lights, use the EQ (which offers nine bands between 75Hz and 14KHz), set up the PlayCast feature (for linking additional speakers), and toggle the Bass Up setting (which is on by default).

Swipe left from the main screen to access the Light DJ settings. Doing so launches a landscape view of two turntables; from here, you can manually control the lights and add in sound effects to your heart's content. Swipe right to bring up various party games that no one has ever needed an app for, like Spin the Bottle and Truth or Dare. The speaker's LEDs seamlessly sync with the spinning wheel on the app, but overall, these sections seem to be the vision of adults who were trying to guess what younger people would find cool.

Otherwise, the app lets you update the speaker's firmware, toggle prompt tones, and adjust the auto-power-off time. Unfortunately, and as mentioned, the app forces you to log in with an account before you can save certain settings like custom EQ presets. That's disappointing because the pricier Soundcore Rave Party 2 doesn't have the same limitation.

Larger Than Light

LEDs on portable speakers aren't novel at this point, but Anker at least has fun with it. For instance, the lights around the tweeters make them look like a pair of eyes on a cartoonish robot face. And when you adjust the volume, the LEDs that ring the woofer illuminate to show those levels.

In the app, you can choose between several lighting presets, such as Campfire Vibes, Euphoric Dance, Flow, Neon Night, Party, Romantic Stroll, or Spring Break. Most of these modes offer multiple color scheme options, too. Of course, if all of these lights ever become annoying, you can turn them off via the app.

Balanced Audio With Light Sub-Bass

We mostly left the Bass Up setting on for testing because that's the default. The speaker benefits from this mode, too—without it, the sound signature lacks a bit of low-end response. There's just one exception to that advice: Because the digital signal processing (DSP) slightly thins out the deepest lows at top volumes, tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” sound slightly fuller without Bass Up mode. The good news is that we didn't hear any distortion at top volumes in either scenario.

Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better sense of the sound signature. With Bass Up mode active, the drums sound full and heavy—not quite thunderous, but certainly big. Callahan’s baritone vocals seem to grab the bulk of the low-frequency energy, but they also get some high-mid crispness that prevents muddiness. The acoustic strums sound bright, though a bit more buried in the mix than usual.

The speaker struggles to reproduce the sub-bass tones at the 34-second mark of Kendrick Lamar’s “Loyalty.” The first of the deep bass notes is barely audible, while the rest of the progressively deeper sub-bass notes are absent. We don’t expect a speaker of this size to reproduce the lowest elements here, however. The various vocal performances come across with solid high-mid crispness, while the drum loop packs some extra thump.

Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary, sound full because of the additional depth in the lower-register instrumentation. That said, the higher-register brass, strings, and vocals still sound clear.

A Fun Portable Speaker for the Pool

The Anker Soundcore Rave Neo 2 outputs strong sound for a mono speaker of its size and is waterproof enough to survive rainstorms or splashes from your pool. It's frustrating that you have to sign up for an account to access all of the app’s features, but the customizable EQ makes it worth downloading. Ultimately, we're bigger fans of the aforementioned JBL Charge 5 in this price range because it produces stereo sound and is a bit more portable, but we understand if you prefer the Rave Neo 2 for its admittedly fun LEDs. If you want significantly more bass depth, meanwhile, you need to spend a lot more for a speaker like the Sony SRS-XG300 ($349.99), which also offers LED light capabilities.