JBL - JBL Go 2

JBL

Go 2 speaker: JBL improves its ultra-nomad bestseller

Aprox. 29€ - see price -

See specifications

JBL, and more precisely Harman, does not put his book a hundred times on the craft, but certainly more than one: each bestseller of the now subsidiary of Samsung has been tirelessly improved, like the Flip, the Clip (the test of the third version is imminent) and the Charge. It is now the turn of the Go, a devastating success in the field of ultra-portable speakers, to benefit from a "facelift", as the other would say: we are promised increased resistance, sound performance more precise and an improved hands- free kit. So let's check!

Positive points

Waterproof.

Improved design.

Good power.

Good autonomy.

Presence of a mini-jack input.

Soundboard effect attenuated.

Complete orders ...

Bad points

... with the exception of going back.

Unsatisfactory hands-free kit.

Lack of extension in the bass.

Our review

Ergonomics

To begin with, the design benefits from subtle modifications that change the Go 2 from the Spartan aesthetic of its predecessor: if it retains the parallelepipedal appearance and the extremely compact dimensions of the Go (82 x 30 x 68 mm), the second of the name becomes slightly heavier (from 130 to 184 g), slightly bulges the torso (namely the front protective grille of the speakers), rounds the corners and gets rid of the rubbery envelope cheap enough to coat a soft material -touch with metallic finish. Four pins are added under the enclosure to guarantee more reliable support on all types of surfaces.

The upper banner of the enclosure houses the old symbols, with the exception of the telephone, swapped for a "play" triangle. These buttons give access to all the usual commands, namely power on / off, volume adjustment, music navigation (play / pause / skip to the next song) and call management (off-hook / on-hook). Returning to the previous track remains impossible directly from the speaker - a choice found with other manufacturers, as with the Wonderboom from Ultimate Ears.

The cover located on the left flank of the enclosure attests to the upgrading of the Go 2, which passes IPX7: the ultra-portable is therefore now protected for up to half an hour against aquatic immersion at 1 m. Behind, we discover a micro-USB port as well as a mini-jack: at a time when many manufacturers are no longer bothered with such a connection, JBL has the advantage of leaving the possibility to its users to go through a wired connection.

Autonomy again blithely explodes its promises, offering 10h25 of independence at 75% of the maximum volume for half a dozen promised. The Bluetooth connectivity is good, the pairing is done smoothly and the connection is quite stable. Multipoint pairing, however, is not available.

The hands-free kit finally, which had disappointed us on the previous model, turns out to be even more disappointing on this one, despite the promises of JBL. Here, above, two recordings made respectively from Go and Go 2, in the same environment (very quiet), 30 cm from the enclosure.


Ergonomics

Audio

JBL not having added a passive radiator and having kept the dimensions of the enclosure which make it one of the most compact models on the market, it is not surprising to find the weak extension in the bass: the first frequencies really noticeable are around 130 Hz For comparison, the Soundlink Micro happily goes down to 100 Hz, supported below by the action of a passive radiator.

The modification of the design, notably of course the materials, however allows the Go 2 to finally depart from the particularly pronounced sound box effect that we had noted on the first model, and to lower the distortion rate in low mids. This therefore results in a better controlled, more balanced sound performance.

The power is even higher than that available previously, the Go 2 defending itself particularly well in this field compared to its competitors: for 150 mV (maximum voltage under a load of 32 Ω according to the European standard), at 1 kHz, the GB emits 69 dB SPL while Go 2 delivers 74 dB SPL - monophonic still, of course.


Audio

Conclusion

Thanks to its extremely compact dimensions, its good size / power ratio and its modest price, the Go had a tremendous success in 2016. The Go 2, now waterproof, more resistant and aesthetic, offering a better controlled and more powerful sound performance, therefore has all the assets to, in turn, seduce fans of nomadic listening.


Conclusion

Specifications

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