The Soundboks Go is a massive portable Bluetooth speaker that literally goes to 11

You're putting together the party of the century, and you need music that can live up to the event. The only problem is that a tiny Bluetooth speaker isn't up to the task. Sure, it might sound great in your bedroom or office, but when it comes to filling a large room with glorious music, it just doesn't cut the mustard.

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That's when you turn to something like the Soundboks Go. This speaker dwarfs all other Bluetooth speakers I've tested in both size and sound. This speaker literally goes to 11. If you crank up the volume knob, you'll see that 11 is the highest volume and if you've ever watched Spinal Tap, it will make you smile every time.

Let's talk specs.

View at Amazon

The specs

Volume up to 121 dB Merus Audio Eximo -- 2 X 72 Watt continuous Class D amps
One 10" woofer and one 1" silk dome tweeter
Frequency range -- 40Hz to 20kHz
Custom sound profiles (via an app available for Android and iOS)
Bass enhancer
Weight -- 20 lbs (I told you it was massive)
Dimensions -- 18 × 12 × 10 inches
IP65-rated electronics coaching
99.84Wh batter with 40 hours of playtime at mid-volume or 10 hours at full volume (with a 3.5-hour charge time)
Bluetooth 5.0 with TeamUP connectivity to wirelessly link up to five Soundboks speakers
3.5mm stereo input jack
Price - $699 on Amazon

My experience

First off, just pulling this baby out of the box was an experience. It's not challenging to get out of the box or even set up, but when you think Bluetooth speaker, you typically think small and portable, and this speaker is neither of those.

Once it was out of the box, I had to break out the tiniest of manuals with the smallest of print to try and figure out how to turn this monster on. To do so, you press the volume button down until the lights appear. Once on, you connect your phone or tablet (or whatever Bluetooth device you wish to use) and get ready to answer the question "What do you want to do with your life?" with the simple reply, "I wanna rock!"

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Speaking of which, because of that very thing, I decided to skip my usual first test of Rush's "Analog Kid" and go for Twisted Sister's "I wanna rock." It was fitting.

How did it sound? In a word… impressive.

I tend to set the bar a bit lower for Bluetooth speakers because they cannot compete with audiophile-grade speakers. No Bluetooth speaker can rival my KEF LS Meta speakers because the very nature of Bluetooth degrades the sound.

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That said, the Soundboks Go produced some seriously big sound. With the help of the Android app, I could change the EQ curve to better suit my taste. Granted, the EQ is only a five band, but that's at least enough to bump up the lows and highs and tone down the mids. 

Even out of the box, the basic EQ curve produced a sound that exceeded my expectations. After the EQ adjustment, I was banging my head and dancing about my office in my happy place.

Jack Wallen/ZDNET

After Twisted Sister did their thing, I went through my usual round of tunes to kick the tires of the Soundoks Go. Here are my conclusions:

Different genres and styles will require you to fine-tune the sound. No matter how I customized the EQ, I was unable to find a curve that worked with everything I played. Although this is fairly common, it seemed a bit more pronounced with the Soundboks Go. The Bass and Power EQ options offered a more optimal sound profile for a wider range of genres (especially metal, pop, and rock).
I had a much better experience getting the Custom EQ option to work with classical music.
As per usual, 80s music really shined on this speaker (no matter the EQ selection).
The Soundboks Custom EQ option needs more than five bands.
The Soundboks app is prone to crashing.
When used in smaller indoor spaces, the speaker can be a bit much at anything above 75% volume.
It's easy to overdo the bass.
Anything performed by Kate Bush or The Cocteau Twins will wow you through this speaker.

Ultimately, this is a speaker for large, less refined sound. You're not going to blow anyone's mind with the agile bass, crystal-clear highs, or a wide soundstage. This speaker is all about filling large spaces with big sound, and on that front, the Soundboks Go outperformed my expectations by a long shot.

That's not to say you can't get this speaker to sound superb. With the right EQ and music genre, the quality of sound produced by the Soundboks Go rivaled any Bluetooth speaker I've reviewed to date. When you add the big, blustering sound this thing produces, it's a winner for those looking to power parties or other types of large gatherings with music to make everyone dance.

ZDNET's buying advice

This one is simple. If you have the budget (the Soundboks Go is $699) and the need to fill larger rooms (or even outdoor spaces) with music, this speaker is hard to beat. No speaker I've tested comes even close to the volume produced by this thing. As long as you don't expect audiophile-quality sound, you will not be disappointed.