JBL Go, Wireless Portable Bluetooth Speaker with Mic, JBL Signature Sound, Vibrant color options, Bluetooth & AUX Connectivity (Black)

I'm one of those sad audio geeks who, back in the 1960s and early 70s, used to go to the newspaper and magazine stores and contemplate what seemed to be dozens of Hi-Fi this and Hi-Fi that publications. . . and not a single PC Computing magazine in sight. Hi-Fi shows were all the rage back then; inexplicably, many were held at airport hotels (but perhaps because they had good sound proofing and better isolated the sonic output of all the stuff being exhibited inside.)Speakers? Ah, well. I'm an expert on speakers. I've had 'em standing 5ft tall in corners of the lounge or smallish bookcase models on shelves. I could tell the sound of a Wharfdale from a Bose, though to be honest, I couldn't tell much difference when the new trend came along for sticking speakers on Atacama stands and pushing them into buckets of sand. Nor, for that matter, the 'improvements' to be derived from gold-plated Monster Cables that cost a second mortgage but were said to be perfect to get the best out of a Nakamichi cassette deck. Well; I had the Nakamichi, several of 'em in succession, and they were marvels of precision engineering, but I never did fall for the sales hype about paying gold bullion prices for gold cables.All of which is to say that I have a reasonably good idea how a good speaker should perform, and why I'm never sold on the recommendations of others because too often I've picked up a speaker in a retail store and realised from its feather-weight that the laudatory reviews it has received from others have been penned by people to whom, it seems, any old tinny rubbish can be palmed off and they'll think it's good.If not tinny rubbish, then certainly something sonically inferior, was all I was expecting from this small JBL. Yup, I'm well aware of JBL's provenance, have known about it long before it fell into the arms of Harmon Karden. It ought, for a small, cheap-o speaker, to be at least a bit better than small cheap-o speakers with brand names that hearken back to the good ol' days but certainly don't exist anymore because they're all owned by an investment group which buys up old trademarks and brands and then commissions Chinese factories to knock 'em out by the milliion-fold. At least JBL is more than a label stuck on a box.What I hadn't expected was that those who've engineered this portable speaker have somehow, in some way, managed to create a mini-masterpiece. Because. . . it is. I've had it a few weeks now to let it bed in (I prefer not to post 'instant' reviews of any product anyway. And no: I don't do 'free products' either. I buy my own because there ain't any such thing as an 'objective' review if the reviewer got the goods in question for nothing.)This little JBL was only snapped up because I thought its Bluetooth facility would work well (it's surprising, how much one hears of devices whose BT doesn't) and because it was being offered at half today's price in Amazon's luvvly Black Friday sale. It's now apparent that it's not only the bargain of Black Friday, but the bargain of the entire year. I have two test pieces I tend to sling at any speaker for a short test: (1) Aaron Copeland's Fanfare for the Common Man and (2) Carly Simon and James Taylor's Mockingbird, the former for the sheer attack / dynamic range, the latter for the complexity of Simon's and James's interlocking counterpoint vocals. If a speaker can manage Copeland and Simon / Taylor then it's going some.Which this little JBL did. An astonishing, flawless performance for something of its size, a single unit -- not a stereo pair -- that nevertheless handled 'Mockingbird' without the slightest blurring or muddying, and then took on Copeland's thundering, hissing, smashing assault without any evident compression of the piece's dynamic range.This is not a speaker to replace a decent pair of fullsize units. It doesn't pretend to be, nor is it sold as such. It is, instead, a quite remarkable feat of audio engineering, one which worked straight out of the box and paired instantly with our new-ish Apple iPad Pro (and in so doing -- but of course -- made a nonsense of the fact that though the iPad's four speakers elevate it, sonically, above competing tablets, it ain't ever going to function at a depth, and at a volume, of a separate speaker.) And never, ever, at the depth and with the richness of this JBL Go.Fully deserving of a 5 star rating, my customer experience of this miniature masterpiece is tinged only with the sense of regret that really, I should've bought two inn that Black Friday sale. . . Unhesitatingly recommended.

This is a truly nice and useful product to have.1. Very convenient for Online Meetings, Webinars which have grown & popularising especially during this lockdown time/ WFH. We can hear loud and clear sound without having to put on earphones for hours.Also more than one person can hear/participate.2. For normal phone calls, great convenience with-a. Can receive/put/cut calls (volume Up/Down control also) without having to reach out to our mobile phone.b. No need to hold the phone on ear or even can avoid earphones/ wire-tangles etc.c. It’s good convenience to be able to take it wherever you are working, even bit messy areas like kitchen & bathroom etc, also with hands & ears free of phone or accessories.d. Also great to have a family call with many persons participating or even just hearing the call.3. For listening to music, it’s good enough (or just okay sort for music enthusiasts) although lacks punchy bass, stereo effects etc.PROs:1. Very compact and light weight, so extremely portable. Can comfortably be carried in laptop/office bag, smaller handbags and women’s purses.2. Loud sound with very good clarity (typical JBL sound quality as they claim)3. Bluetooth connects really Quickly n Smoothly once we set pairing with our mobile phone.4. Sturdy build, premium looks.5. Available in 7-8 Multiple colours to match any preferences.(if you have no specific colour preference then good to go for Black which looks more decent and less prone to look dirty over its lifetime).6. Seems okay to take inside bathroom/toilet (without having to carry your smartphone also), although it’s not certified waterproof.7. Satisfaction of having quality product of a Premium Brand in sound (JBL), so peace of mind also.CONs:1. None really, especially for its size and price band.But just to mention few, first one would be lack of deep bass (which could although be acceptable being okay for the size & price).No deep or punchy bass (so new punchy-bass songs or tabla-dholki kind of music may not be quite enjoyable on JBL Go. But it’s good enough for old genre music where punchy bass may not be too important).For good bass in such small size speakers, one may need to shell out more money and go for higher range in Sony, Bose and like.2. Boxy design- just like a rectangular box. :D(JBL Go 2 is its waterproof upper version whose edges/corners are more rounded; I guess it costs about ₹500 more.)3. Price is little bit on higher side.It has in fact increased to ₹1699 while I bought it at ₹1499 at the beginning of this month itself, i.e. Jul-20 (also got additional 10% discount on SBI Credit card *ongoing offer then).*Special Tip- Check for cashback/discount offers applicable at present. Typically Amazon keeps introducing such offers with different credit/debit cards- usually of ONE Bank at a time, and typically running for 3-4 days, after which you can see it gone and same/similar offer now on some other card. Keep looking for one that you or your family/friend may have (credit/debit card).If you have just above utility/expectations as mentioned above and ok with the price then just go for it. It’s a nice tiny accessory that won’t disappoint you!Hope you find this bit lengthy n detailed but well-covered (typical my kind) review useful. :-)