Harman Kardon Go + Play Review in 2018 – Wireless Speakers

Wireless speakers are focused a lot of features to make them more desirable over its competitors, but Harman Kardon as always do what they think is better. And in my thoughts, they did not go wrong, as they figured out to skip out some features and focused more on audio quality which is the most important feature a speaker needs. This makes the Go + Play a serious competition to my two most favorite speakers the Harman Kardon Onyx Studio 4 and Bose Soundlink Resolve+

Best Portable Bluetooth Speaker Comparisons Table

Performance

Although I throw some big words around comparing to the Resolve+ which is an unbeatable speaker in all categories, Go+ Play can fight back when it comes to audio quality.

First of all is that it is capable of filling a medium-sized room with sound easily and is capable to provide enough volume outside which makes it a great speaker for outdoor activities.

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Sound quality

Bass is rich and powerful with not too much thump in it when on running on battery, but when it is plugged in you can hear a serious change not only in its volume but in its bass also giving the speaker bit more power in the bass.

Highs and Mids for this speaker are pure and clear without any sign of distortion or trouble that could impact the audio quality of the track. That is because the speaker is very well balanced although I say it about a lot of speakers they all have a different balance. And that might be because most of the speaker we review are top notch portable Bluetooth speakers.

Volume and battery

When looking at the volume the speaker can easily fill a medium size room with quality audio and can behave itself even when placed outdoors making it a good companion while cooking a steak or enjoying a sunny day by the pool.

The audio quality does dip down a bit when the speaker is turned up (it felt that it lost its quality when turned over 80%) and mostly was felt on bass, but it was so because the speaker auto-tuned it down so there is no distortion.

Battery life is about 8 hours which is average life for such a speaker, although the 8 hours are what the Harman Kardon says it can get we managed to have about 6 hours of battery life as the lifetime of these speakers are depending on what tracks are you playing and at what volume.

Design and features

When looking at the design of Go+ Play there is not too much to talk about as the speaker itself maintains a minimalist design. With smooth lines, black cover it makes an elegant look which can fit in any room you place it in.

Plus the silver handle adds a bit of shine to the speaker making the looks less blunt and more modern/elegant looks and of course it adds an easier way to carry it around.

Although the handle makes it easier to carry it around it will fit more for a room to room or room to near outside carrying as its size and weight will take a lot of space in a bag which makes it hard to travel with Go+ Play.

Features

Features are not a thing that Harman Kardon likes to add to their portable speakers and the reason why is unknown to me. This means that the speaker has a Bluetooth capability which allows to connect up to three devices to switch the DJ and there is a 3.5mm Aux port.

With the added option to add another Harman Kardon speaker to make a stereo playback are the only features that impact its audio performance.

Other features like echo-canceling microphones and really simple control panel (There is buttons for Bluetooth, volume, pause/play and a power button) and capability to charge your phone or tablet thru its USB port is the only features it has.

Conclusion

It is hard to ignore the fact that the Go+ Play has very limited features to it which makes it less appealing to some people it makes back with its audio quality and capabilities. But those capabilities are only known for those who purchased it or did a research on the speaker itself.

With its weight, I would not consider it as a very portable and its portability is only because it has a rechargeable battery. Although the handle is a nice feature the Go+ Play size and weight limit its portability scale to more nearby destinations.

Whether the great audio quality and balance are enough to compensate the lack of features are up to a personal taste, but it still feels that you would like to get a bit more for the price. But I still believe Harman Kardon Go+ Play is a great speaker worth its price.

Last update on 2024-05-03 at 09:12 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API