The Soundboks Go Is the Most Portable Performance Speaker Available Right Now

Bring the party to the picnic and the rave to the road with Soundboks' awesome Go bluetooth performance speaker.

Looking for the ultimate in portable party power? The Soundboks Go has a great feature set and excellent sound, particularly suited to outdoor performance. Whether you want to throw down a DJ set with your portable mixer or stream your favorite playlist while you're on a camping trip, the Soundboks Go has got you covered. It might be a bit on the pricey side, but it is worth every cent.

It is two years since Soundboks released the awesome Gen 3 version of its portable party starter, and its new Soundboks Go takes the idea of portability and runs away with it. The $700 speaker cuts the Gen 3's dimensions in half, but can it still deliver on that big Soundboks boom?

Yep, in short, it can. If you're looking for a premium Bluetooth speaker that is as perfect for listening to Lo-Fi hip hop beats in the park as it is for laying down some jungle mayhem with your DJ controller at an impromptu pop-up party, then the $700 Soundboks Go is for you. Let's take a closer look at this mini-beast.

Like its larger sibling, the Soundboks Go comes in a fairly sizeable container. Inside you'll find:

Note that our test device also came with a carrying strap, which is perfect for taking the Go out and about. Anyway, that's all you need to get started; jsut add music!

I mentioned in my Soundboks Gen 3 review that these aren't just your standard Bluetooth speakers. The price alone should tell you that. These are portable performance speakers and as such look very much like a speaker you'd see in a gig, nightclub, or festival stage. Indeed, Soundboks speakers have been used to power festival stages in the past.

Soundboks has constructed the cabinet from black ABS plastic, making it impact resistant. This rugged quality is further serviced by black rubber bumpers that run around the top, bottom, and sides of the speaker, so if you do drop it, you know it won't cause any significant damage.

The front of the speaker houses the large honeycomb grill, with the Soundboks logo located in the top left of the front fascia, in a silver colorway. Below the honeycomb pattern, you can make out the 10-inch bass driver, the tweeter, and the bass reflex ports to amplify the bass sound.

The top of the speaker carries the controls; the on/off switch (which doubles as the volume dial) with LED indicator, Bluetooth indicator, and the bond and pair buttons. You'll also find a rubber carry handle, plus the loop strap for attaching the over-shoulder carrying strap.

The right edge features the Team ID plate (which identifies the device for Bluetooth purposes), while the left edge features the auxiliary port (a standard 3.5mm headphone jack). Around the back you'll find the recess in which to place the Batteryboks, plus the connectors for attaching the battery to the Soundboks Go. The underside features a pole mount for placing the speaker on a stand.

Measuring 320 x 460 x 270 mm (12.6 x 18.1 x 10.1 inches) and weighing a solid 9.2 kg (21 lb), the Soundboks Go can feel a little unwieldy to carry, and is fairly heavy despite being half the size of the Gen 3 Soundboks.

In all, we have a speaker that looks every part the performance powerhouse.

So, onto the Soundboks Go specs. Driving the speaker, we have an Infineon MERUS amplifier, from the Danish Infineon brand. This is a Class D amplifier, which means it is incredibly efficient but doesn't offer the highest fidelity compared to other amplifier classes (Class A has the highest fidelity but is the least efficient).

As this is a portable performance speaker, a Class D integrated amplifier is the best way to go, as it takes less battery to power the amp, meaning it lasts longer while you're out and about. Nobody wants the party cut short because the battery died too soon. It doesn't need to be the highest fidelity out there; the likelihood is you'll be using it outdoors for a party, not to listen to your collection of FLAC files while you stroke your chin.

For drivers, you'll find a 10-inch 96dB woofer bass reflex system, while a 1-inch horn-mounted silk dome tweeter takes care of the top end. There's also a proprietary Soundboks DSP (digital signal processor) chip, which allows you to tailor the sound based on various profiles, making the speaker work just as well outdoors as it does indoors.

The speaker uses Bluetooth 5.0 for connectivity and, using the TeamUp functionality, you can connect up to five Soundboks speakers for a wider soundstage, affording stereo capabilities. I connect the Go to the Gen3 (which I also own) frequently to allow for stereo sound, and it works perfectly using the TeamUp functionality.

The Go operates within a 40 Hz to 20 kHz frequency range, which affords plenty of scope for you to enjoy all the elements of your music. It doesn't quite extend down to the 20Hz many of us will be familiar with, but as most human ears cannot hear frequencies much lower than 40Hz anyway, you're good. The bass from this beast is loud anyway, so you still get a palpable bass sound.

The battery is a 12.8V, 7.8Ah Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) cell, with a capacity of 99.84Wh or 7.8Ah. In real-world usage, this means the Soundboks can keep the party going for 40 hours at medium volume, and 10 hours at high volume. Note that the double-ended charger allows you to power the Soundboks from an AC supply at the same time as charging the battery, which is very helpful! It takes around 3-3.5 hours to fully recharge the battery.

Finally, we have an IP65 rating, so while you should be careful not to drop the speaker into the nearest swimming pool, the internals are protected if a sudden downpour interrupts your outdoor party.

The Soundboks Go is straightforward to operate. Once you've charged the battery up and switched the device on with a long-press of the power button, you just need to pair the device with your source, via Bluetooth, and off you...go.

The power button is responsive and thanks to the LED lights that surround it, you can easily tell that you have switched the speaker on. The volume dial is smooth in operation, and again the LED lights surrounding it tell you how much volume the device is pumping out.

As mentioned, you can team the Soundboks Go up with other Soundbox speakers, wirelessly, with up to a maximum of five speakers in the chain. You can do this with the controls on top of the device, or you can head into the Soundboks app on your smartphone in order to team your speakers up, simply by dragging and dropping each speaker's icon onto one another.

The app also allows access to the different sound profiles, meaning you can tailor the sound for different situations. The profiles are Bass+ (which enhances bass, obviously), Power (which conserves battery while optimizing sound), Indoor (for use inside), and a custom EQ setting giving you complete control over sound output.

This is a really simple device to get your head around, with easy-to-understand settings and a useful app for even more customization.

How, then, does the Soundboks Go perform? Very well indeed, which is no surprise, given the Soundboks Gen. 3 astounded me when I reviewed it back in 2021.

As this is a performance speaker, I have approached this review from the point of view of using the device to perform, and in particular for using it as an accompaniment for DJ sets. Now that Spring is in the air here in the UK, this affords more opportunity to give the Soundboks Go a run for its money outdoors, and I can confirm it is just as good as its beefier sibling and is even better with the two paired up.

As with any DJ set, you want revelers to be able to feel the sound as well as hear it. The Soundboks Go is loud enough to blow socks off in an indoor setting, and is excellent outdoors too, overcoming any environmental sound so that the party can stay in full effect without the sound of other people/vehicles/whatever else is around you from impacting the performance.

Bass response is excellent and thanks to the reflex ports surrounding the woofer, it is very loud, too. No dampening or muting of undulating bass wobbles here, thank you very much, although the bass is limited to 40 Hz rather than going all the way down to 20 Hz. The mid-range remains clear and well-defined, and the top end is detailed thanks to that silk bass tweeter.

Bluetooth performance is also great. The range is excellent and I haven't noticed any sort of degradation of the signal even standing 15 meters away from the speaker (in an unobstructed straight line). Good news if you want to use the speaker as a playback device rather than a performance device.

The battery life is seemingly non-stop as well, so you can take the Soundboks away with you on a camping trip, for example, and boogie for several nights under the stars before it needs some juice. Pack an additional battery, and the party lasts even longer!

Hell yeah! If you want a portable party starter that's just as good for playback of music from your favorite streaming service as it is for performance by a live DJ at a private shindig—indoors or outdoors—then you need this speaker in your life.

Granted, it might be a bit on the expensive side, but for the sheer rugged longevity the Soundboks go will afford you, as well as the performance quality sound, you won't go wrong if you've got the cash to spare.

Ste Knight has a degree in English and Media from Edge Hil University, UK. Having worked as a writer for three years, Ste finally decided to concentrate his efforts in a sector for which he has lots of passion; technology. Ste joined MUO in 2019 as a writer, before becoming Gaming Editor, and since then has moved from the editorial side of MUO into Partnerships at Valnet Inc, where he is currently Partnerships Manager for tech and gaming. When Ste isn't sitting in front of his computer, you can find him sat in front of a games console, reading graphic novels, or mixing repetitive beats. Ste is also the primary food provider for four felines.