Soundcore Motion X600 Review: With Spacial Sound Design

Bryn De Kocks | October 29, 2024

Soundcore’s Motion X600 stands out for its impressive spatial sound and aesthetic design. It merges comprehensive audio control using the Soundcore app with outdoor protection, incorporating an IPX7 water-resistance rating. It is well suited to general use in and around the home but can just as easily be taken away on trips thanks to its lightweight and portable design.

Pros

  • Effective spatial sound design
  • IPX7 Water-resistance
  • Comprehensive control over the sound through the Soundcore app
  • Easily portable

Cons

  • Limited connection options
  • Battery life is mediocre when listening at higher volume levels

Battery Life:Up to 12 hours
Water Resistance:IPX7
Wireless Stereo Pairing:Yes
Power Output: 50W
Frequency Response:50Hz to 40 kHz
Charging Type:USB-C
Mobile App:Yes (Soundcore)
Size:4.33 x 13.78 x 7.87″
Weight:5.18 lbs

What’s In The Box?

  • Motion X600 Speaker
  • USB-C Charging Cable (60cm)
  • Safety Card 
  • Quick Start Guide

Introducing The Soundcore Motion X600

The Motion X600 forms a part of Soundcore’s Motion X range of portable Bluetooth speakers. The Motion X range is designed to provide a broad spatial sound, fusing high-resolution audio support with portability and affordability. The Motion X600 is larger than the X500 but holds many of the same benefits, producing quality sound in an easy-to-carry speaker.

Released in May 2023 after an initial series of pre-orders, the Motion X600 is a relatively new speaker. Like the Motion X500 that we recently reviewed, the Motion X600 forms part of what is a shift in direction from Soundcore, with more focus on high-fidelity audio, incorporating a modern spatial sound design.

Design & Build Quality

The Motion X600 is a stylish speaker that’s available in various colors. The wide design allows for broader driver separation, while the built-in controls fit neatly along the speaker’s top. Its unique and stylish design can blend into any room in your home. Despite looking slightly out of place outdoors, its built-in water protection makes it suitable for indoor and outdoor use.

Durability of Finish: 7.9/10
Feel of Buttons: 8.9/10
Weatherproofing: 7.8/10

The Soundcore Motion X600 has a distinctly classy aesthetic that blends into most home environments. Available in black, Luna blue, and Aurora green, you’re bound to find what works best with your home decor. Despite the refined design that speaks more to elegance than durability, the Motion X600 is surprisingly well-suited for outdoor adventures. While it lacks dust protection, it boasts a comprehensive IPX7 rating that protects the speaker from splashes, sprays, and limited submergence in water.

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While it is suitable for most outdoor areas, it is best to keep it out of direct contact with sand or dust, as the expansive front grille is tight-knit and irremovable, making it challenging to thoroughly clean, even when using water. Still, thoughtful placement of the speaker on a towel or other solid surface makes it a viable option for pool parties and outdoor adventures. Weighing just over 5 lbs, it’s a relatively light speaker that can be easily carried, further lending to its portable nature.

A subtle difference between the X500 and X600 is the presence of an LED light at the top center of the speaker. In the X500, the Soundcore logo on the control panel is backlit, but not on the X600.

Controls & Connectivity

There’s no shortage of control with the Motion X600. The on-speaker buttons allow for basic track and volume control while also allowing you to quickly and easily toggle bass boost and spatial sound on and off.

Bluetooth Profiles: SBC, AAC, LDAC
Bluetooth Version: 5.3
Bluetooth Range: 100 meters
Frequency Response Range: 50Hz – 40kHz

The controls are located across the top of the speaker, with the power button having a unique indentation to it, allowing users to find it when the speaker is not in a direct line of sight. The buttons are split between the left and the right side of the panel, with a central driver separating them. The left side provides power control, Bluetooth pairing, spatial audio toggle, and bass boost. Essential track and volume controls are located on the right side of the panel.

The ports are located on the back of the speaker and are sealed with an effective port enclosure that protects the speaker from water damage. Soundcore has retained a minimalist approach to the inputs and outputs, with a single USB-C input to charge the speaker and a 3.5mm auxiliary input. With aux input becoming a rare feature in modern Bluetooth speaker releases, it is a welcome feature for those who still rely on a wired connection. Keep in mind that when the speaker is charging, it is more susceptible to water damage.

The Soundcore Motion X600 utilizes Bluetooth 5.3 for its wireless connections, providing a low-latency, high-resolution audio experience. Because of the rapid data transfer, this speaker can even be connected to a television using Bluetooth without audio/video syncing concerns. It’s this modern and effective wireless connection that allows the X600 to achieve such high levels of fidelity.

Soundcore Motion X600 Review: With Spacial Sound Design 3

Control Mapping

Power
Pressing the power button once will turn the speaker on. Holding it down for 2 seconds will turn it off.

Bluetooth Pairing/TWS
Pressing the Bluetooth button once will activate pairing mode. Holding it down for 2 seconds will toggle TWS pairing mode.

Spatial Sound Toggle
Single press to toggle the spatial sound setting. Unlike the X500, there is only an on/off mode, which doesn’t change the EQ preset.

Volume Down
No second function

Track Control/Calls
Single press to play/pause tracks. Press twice for the next track or three times to skip to the previous track. Additionally, when a call comes through, you can answer it with a single press or hang up using two presses.

Volume Up 
No second function

I recommend looking at Soundcore’s official manual for more details about the controls.

The Motion X600 Uses Spatial Sound For Improved Dynamics and Soundstage

With a comprehensive setup of 5 drivers in a 3-channel configuration, the Motion X600 provides detailed and clear sound quality. The effective use of DSP further allows it to create a spatial sound that improves both the dynamic range and soundstage. It produces around 93dB of volume at its peak, enough to fill a small to medium-sized room with sound. The sound signature is easily adjustable using Soundcore’s app.

Bass Performance: 7.6/10
Mid-tone Performance: 8/10
Treble Performance: 7.6/10
Volume: 8.3/10
Balanced Sound: 7.8/10

Frequency Response

Frequency response varies depending on the settings used. With the spatial sound and bass boost features turned off and the EQ set to balanced – the speaker has a very flat sound that works fairly well for reference purposes. When spatial sound is turned on, the speaker sounds brighter, and the vocals become clearer. Turning on the bass boost feature adds depth, with a more pronounced deep bass. Additionally, there are 5 EQ settings to toggle between, along with a custom EQ – allowing you to refine the sound to your liking.

Bass

This speaker performs very well in its low-end frequencies. These lows are rather flat (even slightly recessed) without using the bass boost feature, but the bass becomes more apparent when the bass boost is active. It isn’t particularly punchy and comes across with a slightly boomy sound. Still, I wouldn’t consider it a bass-heavy speaker by any means. It performs well with the rest of the frequencies, and even when tuned away from a flat sound, it remains balanced in the sense that the bass doesn’t overwhelm the midrange or treble.

Mids

Vocals and instruments in the midrange sound great on this speaker. They sound detailed, balanced, and clear, with additional separation when spatial sound is enabled. The upper midrange is slightly recessed, but adding a little gain to the 1.2kHz and 2.5kHz bands with the custom EQ setting can effectively add brightness to vocals.

Highs

During testing, the highs came across as slightly recessed with the spatial sound off, particularly towards the upper end of the treble. The spatial sound toggle improved the detail in the highs, allowing subtle treble frequencies to become more audible. Adding some gain to the 9kHz and 13kHz frequency bands can bring these frequencies forward in the mix, helping the speaker sound more balanced.

Soundstage & Dynamics

The Motion X600 has a reasonably good soundstage without the spatial audio toggle enabled. The sound dispersion is wide but doesn’t feature the same 360-degree dispersion we’ve seen on Soundcore’s Flare 2, resulting in a noticeable decrease in intelligibility when the drivers are facing away from you. Similarly, the dynamics are good, and you retain much of the clarity even with the speaker turned up loud. However, it’s not perfect – and a slightly hollow sound becomes audible towards the end of its volume limits.

Discover a marked increase in soundstage and dynamics when turning the spatial sound toggle on, a process that can be done with the touch of a button. With spatial audio enabled, tracks spring to life with additional nuance in both the directionality and levels of sound. This improved dynamic range makes songs sound more 3-Dimensional.

Battery Performance

Charging Type: USB-C
Estimated Playtime: Up to 12 hours
Playtime at 50%: 6 Hours 34 Minutes
Charging Time: 4 Hours 32 Minutes

Soundcore advertises the Motion X600 as having a 12-hour battery life when listened to at ¼ of the maximum volume. Because the DSP controls spatial sound, having spatial sound and bass boost can impact the overall battery life. During our testing, we listened to the speaker at close to 50% volume and got just over six and a half hours of playtime with bass boost and spatial audio enabled and close to 11.5 hours with these features disabled and at the recommended ¼ volume range.

The charging time was somewhat lengthy but within the normal range for a speaker of this size, at 4.5 hours from an empty state.

App Support

Soundcore’s mobile app is robust, allowing for comprehensive tuning and audio customization. It features volume and play/pause control while also letting you toggle between sound signatures using the preset or custom EQ options.

 The available preset EQs consist of:

  • Soundcore Signature
  • Xtra Bass
  • Voice
  • Treble Boost
  • Balanced
  • Custom

The effects these EQ settings have on the sound are indicated by an illustrative frequency response chart within the app, letting you see which range of frequencies are being adjusted and how they are changed. The curve is also adjusted when the bass boost is toggled. The images below illustrate the various options.

The Custom EQ setting features a 9-band graphic EQ that allows for precise custom control over each of these frequency ranges. You can use this feature to customize the speaker’s sound signature to your situation and preference.

For even more refinement of the frequencies, you can enter the full-band EQ option, which provides precise adjustments of granular frequency ranges.

Soundcore Motion X600 Review: With Spacial Sound Design 14
Soundcore Motion X600 Review: With Spacial Sound Design 15

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Conclusion

Overall, Soundcore’s Motion X600 is one of the better-sounding speakers from the company. Much like the Motion X500, it’s built around producing high-quality sound suitable for indoor or outdoor use. It gets louder than the X500 but is a little more heavy. If you’re looking for a versatile portable Bluetooth speaker that you can use in and around the house while still allowing for broad outdoor use – the X600 is a good option.

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Author: Bryn De Kocks

Bryn has worked in the field for several years, writing in-depth speaker reviews for various audio publications. His work has historically focused on headphones and Bluetooth speakers, while incorporating his understanding of the Bluetooth speaker market to help educate potential buyers.

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Originally Published: April 17, 2024

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