(Image credit: Bluesound)

Bluesound is one of Sonos's key rivals in the multi-room audio market, and the Pulse Flex is the firm's most popular wireless speaker. Now it's been given a makeover and a big audio upgrade with a compact design that belies its power.

The new model is a 50W speaker with high-resolution and lossless audio, as well as full integration with Bluesound's BluOS multi-room platform.

You can use the Pulse Flex in several different ways – on its own as a normal wireless speaker, as part of a stereo pair, in a surround system with Bluesound's other speakers, or amongst a multi-room setup.

There are three colour options to match your décor, too – white tan, black charcoal and white pebble grey.

(Image credit: Bluesound)

Bluesound Pulse Flex speaker: key features and pricing

The Pulse Flex has a four-inch woofer and a three-quarter-inch tweeter powered by a SmartDSP amplifier, and it supports Hi-Res Audio of up to 24-bit/192kHz with MQA decoding and DSD256 playback.

It has dual-band Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth with aptX HD, and wired inputs – including USB-C and a combination optical/analogue input.

The software here is Bluesound's own BluOS, which enables you to stream from over 20 different music services, plus internet radio and personal libraries via BluOS's Controller app. The speaker also supports Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Qobuz Connect, Roon, and AirPlay 2.

Bluesound is big on smart tech and the Pulse Flex works with smart home control systems from the likes of Crestron, Control4, Nice, RTI and others. It also works with third party IR remotes and voice assistants too.

We really rate Bluesound's speakers, with models such as the compact Bluesound Pulse M winning the full suite of five stars in our review: they deliver "substantial, insightful and enjoyable sound" with impressive muscularity.

If you're looking for a stand-alone speaker that can also play its part in a surround or multi-room setup, the new Pulse Flex is a serious contender.

The Pulse Flex will be available from December 2025 with a recommended retail price of £279 / €299 / $349 (about AU$570).