Soundbook Go Is the Most Powerful Party Speaker You Can Carry in One Hand

Soundboks has been making a name for itself in the party scene for years. They’ve been around since 2015, but I hadn’t heard of them until they released the third generation Soundboks speaker. As you might have guessed, they specialize in stage speakers designed for parties—that is, until 2022, when they released their first portable party speaker , the Soundboks Go . It’s a smaller version of their flagship party speaker that I find easier to carry with one hand. For its size, this is the most powerful portable party speaker I’ve ever used.

While the speaker is great in its features, it lacks other features of larger flagship speakers that could make this speaker much better. Yes, it’s expensive at $699, but I can see it serving a purpose for those who want power and quality in a compact 20-pound speaker. But if you’re looking for a party speaker system with more features, I recommend the PartyBox Stage 320 instead. Soundboxs sent me their portable speaker for review.

Pros and cons of SOUNDBOKS Go

Pros

• Impressive volume of 121 decibels from a small speaker.

• Portable design and weight (20 pounds), making it easy to carry.

• Adjustable equalizer and pleasant signature preset sounds.

• AUX connection

• Powerful battery that provides up to 40 hours of operation, which can be used as a power bank.

• Can play music and charge the battery at the same time.

• Replaceable battery

• Two hours for a full charge and the ability to play music while charging

• Protection class IP65 (dust and splash proof)

Cons

• Expensive

• No distinctive features

• No connection for guitar, DJ mixer, microphone or instruments.

• Monaural audio channel only (can get stereo sound if you connect more than one Soundbok speaker)

• There are no physical controls for music on the speaker.

• The app may be glitchy on Android phones

Characteristics

• Battery life : Up to 40 hours at medium volume and 10 hours at maximum volume (requires 2 hours to fully charge). Removable battery with a capacity of 99.84 Wh, 7.8 Ah and 12.8 V.

• Connectivity : Bluetooth 5.0 with TeamUP for connecting up to five Soundboks and 3.5mm auxiliary input.

• Inputs : 1 × 3.5 mm stereo input (AUX), Bluetooth.

• Speakers : One 10″ woofer and one 1″ silk dome tweeter.

• Output power : 2 class D amplifiers of 72 W, power up to 121 dB. Total output power 144 W.

• Water resistance : splash proof, IP65 rating for internal electronics.

• Size : 18 x 12 x 10 inches.

• Weight : 20 lbs.

First impressions of Soundbox Go

I picked up the Soundbox Go to test it the same way I test all my outdoor speakers: on a soccer field with over 20 players running around the field. The speaker weighs 20 pounds and is comfortable enough to be carried over long distances thanks to the handle. It doesn’t feel fragile; instead, he feels ready to take a hard hit from a soccer ball against a plastic honeycomb grid without being embarrassed.

I was standing on the opposite side of the field with the speaker volume at 75% and it was incredibly loud. According to Soundboks Go, volume levels can reach up to 121dB with a total output of 144W. The sound did not distort even at full volume and maintained a balanced and clear sound.

There were other people on the field with speakers, but the Soundboks Go easily defeated them. When it started to rain, the Soundbox Go was the only speaker on the field. Many players approached me concerned that the speakers might get damaged in the rain, but were happy to hear that the music didn’t have to be stopped as the speakers were IP65 rated (dust and splash proof), so the party continued until the very end. wet and muddy conditions.

Features of Soundbox Go

Soundbox Go doesn’t stand out with any special features. The third generation Soundbox Go lacks a large number of connections, controls and features. It still retains the most important ones, like the TeamUP feature that lets you pair the speaker with four other Soundboks for synchronization. Pairing it with another speaker is also the only way to get stereo sound from that speaker. By connecting it to other speakers, you can choose which speaker will play left, mono or right channels. There’s also a SKAA Pro Mode feature that lets you reduce latency between paired speakers, but I wasn’t able to try out either of those features when paired.

I can automatically pair the Soundboks Go to my phone when I turn on the speaker (and I can also disable this feature), but there is no multi-device pairing, so I can’t switch between multiple devices.

The Soundbox Go’s Bluetooth range is impressive. I could go to the furthest point of my house with two rooms and a kitchen wall in between without compromising the sound. On the football field, I could stand across the football field without any interruption in sound. Soundboks claims a range of 150 feet.

Soundbox app

The Soundboks app is simple and straightforward, but despite the many time-consuming updates I had to do, it was still buggy on my Google Pixel 6a Android phone. There are no physical controls on the speaker for pausing or skipping media playback other than a rotary volume dial, so I had to use my phone to control all media. It was frustrating that most of the time when I wanted to go into the app’s settings to change the equalizer, the speaker would disconnect from my app (but I could still control my music from Spotify and adjust the volume). But this is something that will hopefully be fixed with new updates.

The application allows you to adjust the volume, turn off the speaker, use the TeamUp function and change the equalizer. The equalizer adjusts in real time, so you can hear the difference by moving the lever in the app up and down (until the app turns off). However, the sound is really great with the preset equalizer settings. You can choose between BASS+, POWER, and INDOOR presets, and I found that each had a better use case.

• Bass+ : Best used outdoors to get the most out of the 10-inch woofer. Loud, with dull bass. This reduces battery life to about six hours when running at maximum volume.

• Power : I prefer the combination of punchy bass and clear mids while still delivering 10 hours of battery life at maximum volume.

• Indoors : Ideal for when I’m at home and don’t want to annoy the bride while we’re working from home. There’s less bass in the sound, and the one-inch tweeter emphasizes higher-pitched nuances.

The standard flat EQ is unimpressive, although it does offer the best battery life of up to 40 hours at medium volume. You can really hear and feel the speaker’s potential when you use one of the three proprietary equalizer settings.

What else is worth noting about Soundboxes Go

The battery is one of the main attractions of this speaker. This is one of the most powerful speakers I’ve ever seen in a portable speaker of this size. I was able to use it for over 10 hours at different volume levels and EQ settings before I had to charge it again. It also charges very quickly, taking just two hours to fully charge. Soundboks says you can also use it as a battery if you have a DC jack.

Thanks to the T-jack cable that comes with the speaker, you can play music while the speaker is charging, but there are a few caveats: You can only play music up to volume level 5 out of 11 (which is loud enough for most rooms). or small outdoor activities); Do not leave the battery charging for more than six hours or you risk damaging the battery. Also, you should not power the speaker from a charger without a battery (although I did this and everything worked at volume 5) – the battery, according to the instructions, must always be connected.

Soundboks have a pin code feature so only those who know the four-digit PIN code can connect to the speaker. This is a reasonable option for an outdoor speaker intended for use at parties where many people are likely to be under the influence of what is legal in your state. . If one of these disabled individuals stole the speaker, there is a way to completely block the speaker in the app by marking it as stolen. Soundboks allows users to register a speaker by serial number into an account.

Final Thoughts

Although the Soundbox Go is designed for parties, it’s only great for any outdoor event. It gets incredibly loud while maintaining a clear and balanced sound that’s impressive for its size. It’s easy to carry with one hand and has a battery life of up to 40 hours, so it’s likely to last the entire party. A quick two-hour charging time and the ability to play music while charging can be the difference between a party and a hectic party, while the dust and splash resistance means it can handle almost any party. However, it is expensive and lacks unique features and costs more than the JBL PartyBox Stage 320 , which has better interactive features that can make the party more fun without sacrificing sound quality or volume.

If you need power and jacks for instruments or microphones, a refurbished third-generation Soundboks speaker costs the same and offers better options. But if you’re looking for a portable speaker with a reliable battery and powerful sound, this is a great option if it fits your budget.

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