{"id":74,"date":"2024-10-15T14:53:58","date_gmt":"2024-10-15T14:53:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/engadget.vip\/?p=74"},"modified":"2025-03-05T14:53:33","modified_gmt":"2025-03-05T14:53:33","slug":"soundboks-go-a-portable-boombox-with-a-wireless-focus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/engadget.vip\/?p=74","title":{"rendered":"Soundboks Go: A portable boombox with a wireless focus"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I\u2019ve spent plenty of time in the past DJing, throwing small parties and going to events, so that\u2019s put me in the mindset of looking for the biggest sound systems with the least amount of hassle. There are plenty of Bluetooth options these days that would make my younger self excited. The Soundboks Go is the latest of the bunch, packing a respectable boom from this relatively<\/em> small package (18 x 12 x 10 inches). This 20-pound speaker is half the size of the UE Hyperboom. There\u2019s strapping with loops that run around the center, which is used for connecting the shoulder strap. While the Go is easy enough to carry around by the handle, I\u2019d recommend going all in and getting the strap as well if you plan to walk around with it for more than a few blocks. Sometimes even 20 pounds can seem heavier after a while.<\/p>\n

The audio design for the Go has just one 10-inch woofer (96dB), a 1-inch horn-mounted tweeter (102dB) and you\u2019ll find the bass ports around the woofer in a front-facing position. This limits the reflectivity of the bass from that of the Gen 3, making it generally better for outdoor settings.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s fine, since this is a speaker that works best when unlimbered at higher volumes and provides bass you can feel even at 20 feet away (most effectively in Bass+ mode). While that\u2019s the ideal, you can use it indoors at a lower volume (50% or less on Indoor mode) to good effect, but again the output is very directional and can seem a bit big for smaller rooms. It is<\/em> marketed as an \u201coutdoor\u201d speaker after all.<\/p>\n

Still, you can shuffle through the custom profiles to get the ideal output for your particular environment. Bass+ mode provides the chunkiest and thumping bass output, but will tax the battery life. Power mode is still very loud, with plenty of bass and should give you 10 hours of playtime at full volume or 40 hours at medium. Indoors mode is a much thinner sound, but won\u2019t disturb the neighbors as much and still sounds fine. There\u2019s also a custom setting, so you can adjust the EQ as you see fit. However, if you\u2019re thinking of just keeping the battery plugged in and charging the whole time while you play, keep in mind that you shouldn\u2019t go past 50 percent volume or risk damaging the device.<\/p>\n

One big changeup with the Soundboks Go is the focus on wireless connectivity over practical wired inputs and outputs. The single 3.5mm aux input is all you get, so even though it’s more portable, musicians and singers looking to amplify their craft on the road will have to try and make do \u2014 or upgrade to the Gen 3.<\/p>\n

While the Soundboks Go is a high-end device, it can still fall victim to the capricious nature of Bluetooth signals. Using TeamUP to connect multiple speakers also has some range limitations, although raising the speakers up on top hats to maximize line-of-sight and having structures for the radio signals to bounce off of will help optimize connectivity. In my testing with the Bluetooth source being my pocketed phone and connecting a Soundboks Go and Gen 3 together via TeamUP they started to have a little bit of connection drop while about 40 feet away from each other in an area off a busy road with no walls of any sort nearby.<\/p>\n

Having more than one speaker placed within 30 feet or less of each other or in clusters would seem to be the way to go here if you have them. If you\u2019re planning an event, you may want to consider getting a SKAA transmitter to bridge your source and connect to the speakers for a more stable connection than Bluetooth. For the most reliable connection, you\u2019ll want to stick with wired input, although the Soundboks Go\u2019s 3.5mm port isn\u2019t a standard for professional use.<\/p>\n

<\/figcaption>Jon Turi \/ Engadget<\/figure>\n

Overall, the $699 Soundboks Go is definitely a more portable alternative to the $999 Gen 3 model, but loses most of the wired connections, aligning it more with the Bluetooth mainstream. If you want to use a pair as a Bluetooth loudspeaker alternative, it\u2019s doable considering the up to 10 hour runtime at full volume in Power mode. But for larger (and louder) event applications, especially in Bass+, the runtime limit becomes an issue. As a personal standalone device, it\u2019s powerful, portable and durable. The JBL PartyBox series (110 or 310) speakers are close competitors, but in portability, perhaps the two-year warranty (plus one more if you register the device). The Soundboks Go is now available to purchase for $699 on the company’s website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve spent plenty of time in the past DJing, throwing small parties and going to events, so that\u2019s put me in the mindset of looking for the biggest sound systems with the least amount of hassle. There are plenty of Bluetooth options these days that would make my younger self excited. The Soundboks Go is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":75,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[71,68,65,67,66,64,69,70,72],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/engadget.vip\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/engadget.vip\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/engadget.vip\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engadget.vip\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engadget.vip\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=74"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/engadget.vip\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1286,"href":"https:\/\/engadget.vip\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74\/revisions\/1286"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engadget.vip\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/75"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/engadget.vip\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=74"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engadget.vip\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=74"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engadget.vip\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=74"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}