Go Essential

I’ve wondered the same thing. Even small Bluetooth speakers were always stereo originally. If you remember, the first few generations of the HK Onyx Studio, JBL Charge, JBL Flip, etc., were all stereo, then suddenly everything was mono. I can understand it for the very smallest speakers - Bose Micro, Tribit Micro, JBL Go, etc. - it wouldn’t make sense to try to cram dual speakers into those tiny housings or to try to create stereo sound in such a small space, but with the rest of them, I don’t get it. The only thing I can think of is the ‘race for the bass.’ After a while, it evolved to where all anyone cared about was ‘how much bass is there?’ and if companies could cram 1 large woofer into the same space that had once held 2, or even 4, smaller speakers, they could produce much more bass. The other possibility, as someone suggested when I asked basically the same question on another post a couple of weeks ago, is so that companies can now force you to buy 2 speakers instead of 1 if you want stereo sound.

I've had most of the lineup from JBL. The Go, Clip, flip, charge, extreme, and boombox. The only one I wasn't really happy with was the clip...it was being sold in a two pack and yet lacked the capability of virtually every JBL speaker which is to be able to link up to other JBLs and play in stereo. They're all good for their size/price. Obviously the Go doesn't thump like the boombox does but it's a fraction of the price and size. I think any of them up through the Charge can be charged with a USB cable then the bigger ones like the extreme/boombox have a proprietary charging cord. They're all at least somewhat water resistant and rugged all the way up to the Boombox and the Extreme being submersible. I remember when I first got the Boombox, being at a pool and my brother asked if I was worried about the speaker being so close to said pool. I said it's supposed to be waterproof and I then proceeded to throw it in the pool. It was totally fine. Battery life on them are all respectable, and at least personally, I haven't had a battery fail yet. The extreme and even more so the Boombox, seem to last forever. More recently I bought a Sony xg500 (Boombox equivalent) when it was on sale. Not a bad speaker, has good mids and highs, but the bass was a little lackluster and overall it couldn't get quite as loud as my 5 year old Boombox. It has an inferior IP rating compared to the Boombox as well. The only thing it really has over the Boombox, that I didn't even realize for a while, and it may or may not be a positive depending on the person, is it has some lighting effects on the side that strobe with music. Overall the Boombox is really the better buy for sure. The only other speakers I've heard that were as good or better were some bose ones, but they didn't have much bass, and the ones I saw didn't seem too rugged. The UE speakers I've heard were fine but not as good as JBLs

Jbl Go is always good. Go5 is even better, Go6 best. Remember, they all sound good. The higher the number the harder the sound. And the higher the price. Soundcore also gets good reviews, but i never tried them.

Gifted a jbl go when i was still an intern. Been using it during moonlighting, residency and up until now as a consultant anes. But now may battery and sound issues na, been eyeing for another jbl or a Bose or something with a more balanced sound signature. Have a marshall at home but it’s more on the bassy side, althought the design is really classy

I mean, small speakers like Marshalls, JBL GO, SoundCore Select Go, or etc are good and have punchy bass and get loud. I don't know where you go this information wrong buy they do have noticeable bass. And are good for many areas.

Agree! JBL Go new version po doc you can have 2 bluetooth speakers at the same time if you buy 2. Super tibay din and so much bassy. Bose is good too pero hindi kasi siya as handy as JBLs tapos di rin nakakatakot maiwan just anywhere. Dad had Bose, yes sound is superior pero in terms of handiness na dadalhin ko sa OR, JBL pipiliin ko. And honestly super happy ako sa sound ng JBL, unbelievable sakin na it costs below ₱2k.

JBL Xtreme 4 or my JBL Go.