By now, Bluetooth speakers that also put on LED light shows are not a new thing—we've seen multiple examples from JBL and Razer.
At $59.99, however, the Soundcore Flare represents the most affordable model we've tested to date.
Even without the LEDs flashing, the speaker looks sophisticated and cool—and is somehow also waterproof.
And as far as audio goes, the Flare does a solid job of projecting clear, rich sound at higher volumes than you would expect for its size and price, earning our Editors' Choice in the process.
Design
Measuring roughly 5.9 by 3.5 (HW) inches and weighing in at just over a pound, the Flare has a cylindrical shape that widens at the base and stands upright.
The main outer panel is wrapped in a handsome cloth grille—a classy touch that's a little more sophisticated than the materials we typically see on sub-$100 speakers.
The bottom panel is rubberized to keep it from dancing around tabletops when vibrating with bass, and the LED panel is a 360-degree strip at the bottom.
Internally, dual 6-watt drivers deliver audio in all directions.
The Flare's IPX7 rating adds even more value.
IPX7 means the speaker can withstand immersion in up to one meter in water.
It's impressive, to say the least, to find all of these features combined in a budget model.
Along the back of the speaker, there's a rubberized panel housing the power and pairing buttons, as well as a covered section that protects the micro USB port for the included charging cable, as well as a 3.5 aux input (there's no included audio cable, however).
The top, rubberized panel houses a central play/pause button that also controls track navigation when tapped multiple times, as well as call management for the speakerphone function.
To the left and right of it are plus/minus controls for volume.
Below the playback button, there's a bass button for enhancing the low-end, and at the top, a button for controlling the LED lights—pressing it multiple times adjusts the hues and patterns, or eventually disables it.
The speakerphone mic offers so-so intelligibility.
Using the Voice Memos app on an iPhone 6s, we could understand every recorded word, but there were fuzzy audio flaws on the recording, and the mic sounded distant and quiet.
This is more or less the norm for portable Bluetooth speakerphone mics, so it's not a major negative—but fielding calls on the Flare on a regular basis might require some patience from the person on the other end.
You can use the Flare without the free Soundcore app, but downloading the app allows you to update firmware (which we did, and the process was seamless and relatively quick), control basic playback settings, and adjust the EQ.
Not only is there a basic Bass Boost setting, you can switch between presets like Voice, Flat, or Chill—each preset provides a basic illustration of the frequency ranges it's altering.
And of course, you can get a little more granular with the LED lights in the app—choose between Chill, Bedtime, Spring, Energy, or Party modes.
Within each mode, you can choose sub-features, like Glow, Music sync, Fusion, or Pulse, all of which do slightly different things.
The Music mode tries its best, but it's hard to call this mode truly in sync with the beat.
Battery life is estimated to be roughly 12 hours, but your results will vary with your volume levels, your mix of wired and wireless playback, and how much you use the LED lights.
Performance
On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the Flare delivers impressive overall performance.
We don't expect a speaker of this modest size and price to have deep bass or be able to get terribly loud, and the Flare manages to at least pump out an impressively high volume level for its size.
The bass depth is not going to blow your mind if you're looking for subwoofer-like lows, but the speaker does provide a solid rich presence, and it doesn't distort, even at top volume on tough tracks like this one.
Bill Callahan's "Drover," a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better sense of the Flare's general sound signature.
The drums on this track can sound overly thunderous on larger, bass-forward speakers, but here, they sound fairly natural.
The real focus of the Flare's bass response is Callahan's baritone vocals, which benefit from a pleasant richness in the low-mids, as well as a clear, crackling treble edge.
The higher register percussive hits and the acoustic guitar strums also have a bright, crisp attack.
Generally speaking, for a speaker this size, the Flare outputs a clear, balanced sound.
On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," the kick drum loop gets plenty of high-mid presence to accentuate its sharp attack and retain its punchy presence in the mix.
The sub bass synth hits here are more implied than fully delivered, but the drum loop also gets a healthy dose of low-mid thump.
The vocals are delivered with solid clarity.
They're not overly sibilant, either, despite the crisp, bright presence.
Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, get a solid low-mid boosting that brings the lower register instrumentation forward slightly in the mix, but the stage still belongs to the higher register brass, strings, and vocals.
If the Flare has a weakness, it's the optional Bass Boost mode.
Sure, the drums on some tracks get a little added depth, but it's not tremendous.
We also didn't notice much difference between the various EQ presets.
We're not saying they are useless, but there are no dramatic alterations of the sound signature.
For the record, we left the Bass Boost on after a while, as it is the better-sounding of the two modes, but Anker could simply have made this the default mode, since the differences are subtle enough that switching between modes seems almost silly.
Conclusions
So, let's rundown the list.
Quality audio performance for the size and price? Check.
LED light show? Check.
Attractive, waterproof design? Check.
Even the included app manages to be somewhat useful, rather than the bloatware we often see bundled with budget speakers and earphones.
In other words, the Anker Soundcore Flare is an all-around winner—and easily earns an Editors' Choice for budget portable Bluetooth speakers.
If LED lights on speakers are your thing, make sure you also take a look at the Razer Nommo Chroma and the JBL Pulse 3, although they're both more expensive.
If you're just looking for a great-sounding Bluetooth speaker that can get wet, and don't care about the lights, the EcoXGear EcoSlate and the Sony SRS-XB10 are sub-$100 options we're also fans of.
But the Flare pretty much delivers a bit of everything for a very low price, making it a great option for just about everyone.
The Bottom Line
The Soundcore Flare from Anker is a powerful portable speaker that puts on a cool LED light show.
