Harman/Kardon Go + Play 3 vs Bose SoundLink Max

Aug 27, 2026 12:17 PM By Bashar

120

Please re-check HK Go Play 3 tests; there is no way that Bose Soundlink Max could have more SPL max than HK. I’ve just tried both; your “Loudness” results are quiet impossible, especially while Bose has 50 Watt and HK 160 Watt.

Hi Bashar, Thank you for the feedback. We will double check the SPL measurement of the Harman/Kardon Go + Play 3.

Cheers!

Aug 27, 2026 11:23 AM By Bashar

120

I have both of these speakers and use them occasionally time to time. I believe that just very few people, (even an ordinary listener, no need to be an audio engineer) could say “Soundlink Max is better for -Music- than GoPlay3” after trying both of them. (I’ve read in few different user comments in your site that there are some problems about the tests of the speakers with room correction feature) New test bench and weight of the calculations are so disappointing. GoPlay3 has much better Freq. Response and Directivity than Soundlink Max in this comparison as an example; but just because Soundlink Max is 3 dB louder, it gets higher “Music” rating, because of new ratings calculations. In real life most of the people listen music between 80 to 95dB most of the time. (That’s why maybe better to add DRC tests in 85-95dB like Soundbar tests and increase the percentage of the DRC weight in Loudness instead of current 10%) Such kind of calculations and ratings are unfortunately misguiding new buyers. Most of the people

Thanks for the Feedback, Yes I agree that i’d like to update the loudness test, likely later this year. The number are higher as they are taken at 1m instead of 2 on the old test bench but fundamentally the method did not change significantly. We are also planning on updating our Usages Ratings, we will take good note of your suggestions.

Please re-check HK Go Play 3 tests; there is no way that Bose Soundlink Max could have more SPL max than HK. I’ve just tried both; your “Loudness” results are quiet impossible, especially while Bose has 50 Watt and HK 160 Watt.

I have both of these speakers and use them occasionally time to time. I believe that just very few people, (even an ordinary listener, no need to be an audio engineer) could say “Soundlink Max is better for -Music- than GoPlay3” after trying both of them. (I’ve read in few different user comments in your site that there are some problems about the tests of the speakers with room correction feature) New test bench and weight of the calculations are so disappointing. GoPlay3 has much better Freq. Response and Directivity than Soundlink Max in this comparison as an example; but just because Soundlink Max is 3 dB louder, it gets higher “Music” rating, because of new ratings calculations. In real life most of the people listen music between 80 to 95dB most of the time. (That’s why maybe better to add DRC tests in 85-95dB like Soundbar tests and increase the percentage of the DRC weight in Loudness instead of current 10%) Such kind of calculations and ratings are unfortunately misguiding new buyers.

Most of the people