JBL Go 4 Review

Our JBL Go 4 Experience

There were a handful of speakers in our lineup that we ended up taking everywhere with us, and the JBL Go 4 was one of them. We listened to it at the beach, on park coffee dates, during nighttime bike rides, in the shower, and while reading in bed. It's so small it's hard to pass up a chance to bring along some tunes. In most of these scenarios, some music was better than no music, but we won't pretend we were wowed by the sound quality of the Go 4. It sounds better than older versions we've used, but overall we'd still call it pretty lackluster. Most of the time we wished it sounded better, and near the end of our testing period, we found ourselves reaching for one of the other micro speakers we had on hand.

Analysis and Test Results

Sound Quality

Overall, we were pretty disappointed by the sound of this speaker, and particularly the bass, which sounds withdrawn and quiet compared to every other JBL speaker we tested. (JBL usually nails this part of the listening experience.)

Sound Quality Ratings

Product	Bass	Mid-Range	Treble
Best	8.8	9.0	8.7
Average	6.2	6.5	5.9
JBL Go 4	2.7	4.2	3.7
Worst	3.4	3.9	3.3

While we are able to hear the bass, it lacks body and depth, and feels like a poor representation of the real thing. The lows are thin, watered down, and prone to hissing with certain sounds, like synths, or in hip-hop tracks, which we noticed while listening to “NDA” by Megan Thee Stallion. The mids and vocals are warmer and are definitely the most developed part of the mix, providing a fuller experience. That said, even those sounded noticeably flatter than other micro speakers, even the budget options we listened to. The highs are quite jarring, with overemphasized “ch” and “s” sounds that can be hard on the ears, especially if the volume is on the higher end. Once we turned the volume down a bit, the highs sounded smoother, but still uninspiring.

The soundstage has an impressive sprawl for how small the speaker is. It extends in front and around both sides of the speaker pretty well, so most people sitting in the room can enjoy the sound, but it sounds very muffled if you're listening from behind.

But even though the sound projected well, we had a hard time finding any separation between instruments within that sound. We couldn't place specific instruments and vocals; everything sounded a bit muddled and mixed together.

Soundstage Ratings

Product	Soundstage Score
Best	9.3
Average	6.1
JBL Go 4	4.0
Worst	3.0

Portability

Let's be real: if you're looking at a speaker like the JBL Go 4, you probably value portability more than sound quality. If you're looking for something you can take with you anywhere, the Go 4 fits the bill here. It's about as light and portable as they come; at less than a half pound, it feels like throwing an extra smartphone in your bag. We were even able to fit it in the stretchy pocket of our leggings. Though not the most comfortable, it worked when we needed to be hands-free for a second.

It fits in our pocket and all of the side pockets in our day bag. It even has a small cord loop that we used to hand the speaker on a towel hook in the bathroom or on a small tree branch while doing yard work. The only reason it didn't earn the highest score in this metric is because you'll have to bring your own carabiner if you want to clip it onto anything. Other models have this built in, which we found more convenient.

Volume

The JBL Go 4 can get quite loud for its size, getting up to 83.9 decibels. This is about as loud as a small Bullet blender. It's a level that was loud enough to feel like we were jamming out, but not enough to carry very far beyond the room we were listening in, even at max volume.

That said, we didn't often crank the volume to 100%. We noticed that the sound quality became quite compressed and produced significant hissing at higher volumes, and we enjoyed it more in the middle range.

Durabilty

Like many JBL speakers, the Go 4 has impeccable build quality. We've dropped it several times, both intentionally, and accidentally, and it has survived our butterfingers without a dent or difference in sound quality. We would trust this thing to survive kids, pets, camping trips, and being tossed in a suitcase for international travel.

With an IP67 rating, the JBL Go 4 can handle being submerged for up to a half hour, and it floats, so we were confident using it around the pool, or taking it out on our paddle board for a spin around the lake. The buttons are all sealed beneath a silicone cover, and the entire case shrugs off dust and sand like a champ. Even the fabric parts of the exterior stayed looking clean for a lot longer than we expected. Most speakers with fabric casings tend to collect dirt and grime quickly.

Battery

The Go 4 has a pretty short battery life compared to other speakers we tested. It lasts through almost 11 hours of continuous play, which honestly isn't bad for a mini speaker, and will get you through a full beach day. We just made sure to plug it in beforehand if we knew we'd want to take it for a spin the following day.

It has a cool “Playtime Boost” feature that you can turn on via the JBL app. This gives the speaker an additional two hours of listening time, which was awesome for moments when we couldn't find a charger cord. However, we tried to avoid using this feature because it makes the bass sound really weird and ripped out.

Ease of Use

Pairing the JBL Go 4 was standard; it took no more than a few seconds, and we never experienced any issues with our phone disconnecting or the speaker pairing with a previously connected phone.

We were able to walk about 100 feet away before the music started glitching. This isn't as far as other speakers allow, but we're not sure you can even hear the speaker from 100 ft away anyway, so we opted to just carry the speaker around the house with us.

Like other JBL speakers, the Go 4 features “Auracast”, which allows it to connect to other JBL speakers to play music simultaneously, and can also be used in “Stereo Mode” with another Go 4, giving the speakers a stereo system sound that plays from left to right. These are all cool features, but none of them improved the overall sound.

We were able to adjust the sound profile in the JBL app, but no amount of tweaking made it sound any better. Like many portable speakers, the Go 4 lacks a built-in microphone for calls and voice assistant.

Should You Buy the JBL Go 4?

We find this speaker to be overpriced for what it offers. We don't expect world-class sound from something this small, but we tested a few other micro speakers that actually impressed us with what they were able to produce. The sound that comes from the Go 4 is muddled in comparison.

What Other Bluetooth Speakers Should You Consider?

If you're set on a speaker that's $50 or under, we would suggest saving $20 and buying the Soundcore Select Go 4. This small, portable speaker delivers vocals with much better clarity, giving it a more well-rounded sound profile, and also making it a good option for listening to audiobooks and podcasts. If you want a more robust bass in a pocket-sized, waterproof speaker, we recommend the JBL Clip 5. It's a bit more expensive, but we love the built-in clip. It's super convenient to hook onto a backpack strap, or over the shower head for a little karaoke sesh.