JBL's contributions to the realm of tiny, inexpensive, portable wireless speakers have helped elevate the category from "why bother" status to "worthwhile improvement over your phone." We've enjoyed the various iterations of the the JBL Clip series, and now we're checking out the even more affordable, even smaller JBL Go 2 ($39.95).
Those seeking booming bass need to adjust their expectations and spend more money on something larger, but for its size, the Go 2 pumps out some impressive volume with a full, rich sound.
It's a definite improvement over any laptop, tablet, or phone speaker, and the price is certainly right.
Design
Measuring 2.8 by 1.3 by 3.4 inches (HWD) and weighing in at 6.5 ounces, the Go 2 is available in a wide spectrum of 12 colors.
The hues are less ROYGBIV and more muted tones, like coral orange, champagne, and cyan, though there's still a standard black, blue, and red.
The front face of the speaker is all grille, which is dominated by a JBL logo.
An IPX7 rating means it is waterproof.
Across the top panel, there are controls for power, Bluetooth, volume down/up, and playback/call management.
Double tapping the playback button skips forward a track, but triple tapping doesn't navigate backward.
The right panel houses connections for the included micro USB charging cable and a 3.5mm aux input.
The back panel is also emblazoned with a large JBL logo, and the bottom panel has tiny rubber gripping feet to keep the speaker upright despite vibrations from the driver.
And yes, obviously, we said driver, not drivers.
This is a mono speaker, with a single 40mm, 3-watt driver to output audio.
As mentioned, you can field calls on it, and the mic offers average intelligibility.
Using the Voice Memos app on an iPhone 6s, we could understand every word we recorded, but there were plenty of fuzzy audio artifacts in the mix.
Picking up the speaker and holding it closer to the mouth cleans the audio up a bit, but either way, it'll work in a pinch for fielding calls, and the fuzzy audio is par for the course with most Bluetooth portable speakers.
Other than an orange micro USB charging cable, the Go 2 ships with no accessories, so you'll need your own 3.5mm audio cable to use the aux in.
At $40, it's hard to complain.
JBL rates the battery life for the Go 2 at a modest 5 hours—not great for a portable speaker, but not dismal, especially considering the size and price.
Performance
On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the Go 2 runs into trouble at top volumes.
A speaker this size simply isn't built to pump out deep bass of any volume.
At moderate volumes, the bass is cleaner, but you'll never get a sense of its actual depth—those looking for a fuller bass response are going to need to spend more money on a larger offering.
Bill Callahan's "Drover," a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better sense of the Go 2's general sound signature.
The drums on this track can sound thin and brittle on tiny speakers, but here they at least have a semblance of depth.
It's Callahan's baritone vocals that receive more low frequency presence—there's a pleasant richness, balanced out with solid high-mid definition.
The guitar strums and higher register percussion benefit form the solid presence in the high-mids and highs, as well.
At top volumes, you can hear the DSP (digital signal processing) controlling the peaks of the track, and this can make the sound seem as if the volume is coming in and out a bit.
Not ideal, but better than those peaks distorting.
On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," the drum loop receives enough high-mid presence for its attack to retain its punch and cut through the layers as a prominent force in the mix.
The sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat are, as we'd expect, more implied than delivered—we get more of their raspy top notes than any real depth.
Yet if you were to hold the speaker while this track is playing, you'd feel some real vibrations being pushed out by the Go 2, and to be fair, the sound is never brittle—this is a full-sounding speaker for its size.
The vocals on this track are delivered with excellent clarity—there's only a smidge of added sibilance.
Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, sound crisp and bright through the Go 2.
The lower register instrumentation is just barely there in the mix, but there's enough mid-frequency presence to keep things sounding full and never brittle.
Conclusions
Probably the most impressive aspect of the Go 2's performance is its ability to pump out volume.
No, it's not loud like a larger speaker with multiple drivers would be, but it'll blow away the built-in speakers on nearly any laptop or tablet.
In other words, for what it is, it does its job well.
If you want a similar-sounding waterproof speaker with a carabiner attached to it, the JBL Clip 2 has been a Daxdi favorite in multiple iterations.
Other budget portable Bluetooth speakers worth considering include the Sony SRS-XB10 , the Polk Boom Swimmer Jr., and, for more money, the less water-friendly Ikea Eneby (8-Inch).
The Bottom Line
The JBL Go 2 is an affordable waterproof speaker that offers solid volume levels and a full sound signature for its size.
