Portable speakers are everywhere these days. You can buy one for as little as Rs. 1,000 but somewhere at the back of your head, you know you won’t get the performance you want. For that, you may have to spend a couple of thousand rupees more just so you can buy a better product, such as the JBL Charge or the fancier JBL Pulse. Fortunately for us, we won’t need to spend that kind of money because JBL has just unveiled, what could be one of the popular, compact, powerful little Bluetooth speakers you’re going to find in the near future. It’s called the JBL Go and we’re going to find out just how good it is.
Design
The JBL Go resembles a box, a bright, matchbox-sized, colourful box. The grill at the front and the JBL logo stamped at the front and the rear give away its identity. It's the same size as a large bar of soap, but just compact enough to fit into practically any pant pocket. It's minimalistic, but it is fancy in its own way, sporting a single colour all across. Of course, if you ask around at a Reliance Digital store, you'll find it in a colour you like. We're reviewing the blue one.
The finishing on the speaker (apart from the metal grill) is the kind of anti-bacterial-like, matte finish you find on some gaming mice and keyboards. We suspect you can use slightly damp fingers to press buttons on the Go, if you're in the kitchen cooking for example. The controls on the top are built flush into the body. They aren’t marked in any different colour or fancy artwork, but they’re simple and you get used to them in a few minutes. The buttons have a membrane-like feel that have little travel, and needs some pressure to press it in. That's a good thing in a way; you won't accidentally power on the speakers while carrying it. You don't see any screws, bolts, hinges on this product. There's a small segment on the side that you can use to hook on a hand strap if you like.
Features
On paper, there isn't much to talk about the JBL Go. It's a 3W speaker which may sound too less but we'll get to this when we talk about its performance. Remember, that this is a really tiny speaker and some desktop speakers with large woofers are rated at 15 and 20W. JBL is a bit modest with the specifications, so they rate the frequency response range of the single 40mm driver as 180Hz to 20kHz. We don't expect it to be bassy, but we're hoping the mids and treble sound good.
Physical connectors include a 3.5mm audio jack to connect external wired sources, which could be a mobile, table, laptop, PC, TV, etc. A microUSB port is necessary to charge its 600mAh battery. Bluetooth 4.1 is present, which means it should be efficient with handling power. JBL says the Go will charge fully in an hour and a half and go on playing for 5 hours. The deal gets better; you can also use the Go as a speakerphone. The controls on the top include a call disconnect button, along with usual power, Bluetooth and volume controls.
Performance
Considering the JBL Go is a 3W speaker, we aren't expecting mind-blowing performance, but it oddly is close to it. The speaker is really loud for its size, even though it's rated to have a low power output on paper. A few Bluetooth test runs reveal that the speaker plays music just fine from as far as 20 feet, till you run behind a wall or a partition.
The sound is a bit on the brighter side. The mids are just a tiny bit recessed, but the treble and highs sound nice and shimmery. It's the highs that make it sound even more detailed. We expect absolutely no bass but there are hints of it that you hear in some sound. The speakers aren’t really ideal for loud electronica or metal genres where there are a wide variety of instruments playing. For simpler, subtle jazz, classical, or any mainstream rock, it does a good job.
Not all is great about the performance. For one, we don't recommend cranking up the volume beyond 80 per cent or the sound starts breaking up. It also needs to positioned right or the sound gets muffled. Speakers are best placed at the same level as the listener's ears so the tiny little JBL Go sitting flat on a table is far from ideal. You need to prop it up to be facing you, or on the edge of a shelf or desk. It sounds a lot better that way. The microphone is pretty sensitive and you can hear people talking from a good 5 to 8 feet away. Incoming audio sounds good as well. The JBL Go truly is an all-rounder.
Verdict
There's little doubt that the JBL Go is good value for money. Those hesitating from spending a lot of money on good Bluetooth speakers have a pocket-friendly option now. It's not exactly a party starter, but it is the kind of the product you carry with you when you're travelling, working on your desk, for a conference call or for some light music listening while you're making dinner or reading a book in bed. JBL couldn't have priced it better. It's just under Rs. 2,000 and you can find it at one of our Reliance Digital stores. Go listen!
