Review: Soundboks 4 ‘portable’ speaker is over the top (in a good way)

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It’s hard to justify spending nearly $1,000 on a massive speaker meant to be used for crowds of 250 or more. But if you can find a justification, you’ll be glad you did. The Soundboks 4 is overkill for a portable speaker, and most people probably won’t use it to its full potential, but even using it at 60% power made me feel like I was in the middle of a music festival. This is the fourth version of the Third generation soundboks speaker and the larger and less portable version of the Soundbox Go. It’s Soundboks’ flagship party-sized speaker, and it’ll make you the life of the party on your block (or call the police).

Soundboks sent me the Soundboks 4 speaker to review. I’ve been using it for months to host soccer games and the occasional house party (and a wedding). It’s a powerful and simple speaker, but if you’re looking for a less expensive indoor party speaker with more features, I recommend PartyBox Stage 320 instead.

Advantages and disadvantages of SOUNDBOKS 4

Pro

• An incredible volume of 126 decibels and an output power of 216 watts RMS

• Adjustable EQ and beautiful preset sounds

• Connection for guitar, DJ mixer, microphone or instruments

• Powerful battery of 40 hours

• Replaceable battery

• Can play music and charge the battery at the same time at half volume (or full volume with accessories)

• IP65 rating (dust and splash resistant)

Cons

• Expensive

• Mono audio channel only (can get stereo sound if you connect multiple Soundboks speakers)

• There are no physical music controls on the speaker

• Very prone to feedback when using a close-range microphone at high volume

• The app may have bugs for Android phones

• Hard to carry in one hand

Specifications

• Battery life: Up to 40 hours at medium volume and 6 hours at maximum volume (default sound profile); takes 3.5 hours to fully charge. A removable 99.84Wh, 7.8Ah, 12.8V rechargeable battery with overheat and short circuit protection.

• Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0 with TeamUP for connecting up to five Soundboks speakers and a 3.5mm auxiliary input.

• App: Upgradable firmware, custom sound profiles with customizable EQ and Bluetooth PIN code option.

• inputs: Pro Panel inputs for guitar, DJ mixer, microphone or active instruments (2 1/4″ inputs, 3.5mm input and 3.5mm output).

• DRIVER: 2 x 10″ woofers, 1 x 1″ compression driver tweeter with 40Hz – 20kHz frequency response, custom pulse reflex port.

• Power output: 2 72 watt class D amplifiers, reaching up to 126 dB. Total power output of 216 watts RMS.

• Water resistance: Splash-proof with an IP65 rating for internal electronics.

• Size: 25.6 × 17 × 13 inches (height × width × depth).

• Weight: 35.5 lbs.

First impressions of Soundboks 4

As soon as the huge, heavy box of Soundboks arrived in the mail, I knew there was going to be trouble. The speaker is considered portable, but at £35.5, I have trouble carrying it in one hand for more than 20 seconds. It still falls into the portable category because it can be carried with a handle and played with a battery, but it is not easy to move. In fact, it’s so big and sturdy that I sit comfortably on it when hosting football games. Compared to other large speakers I own, the Soundboks look massive.

Like all my portable speakers, I took it to test it out with my soccer community – this time on a street hockey rink to accommodate 15 people playing soccer. Street FC. I was worried about blasting it at full volume as the rink is opposite a residential block, but I did it anyway (just for journalistic integrity of course). Even at this setting, cranking the volume to 11 (yes, it goes one level above 10) was too much. But he called incredible, and the players loved it. My body felt the thud of every bass note; it reminded me of being in the front row during a concert. Music did not feel distorted even at maximum volume of 126 dB and output power of 216 watts RMS, keeping its sound balanced and clear just like the smaller Soundboks Go.

Features of Soundboks 4

The Soundboks 4 has more features than the Soundboks Go, but for a nearly $1,000 speaker, I expect more features. It has the TeamUP feature that allows me to pair the speaker with up to four other Soundboks to play them in sync. Connecting it to another SKAA-compatible Soundboks speaker is also the only way to get stereo sound. After connecting it to other speakers, I can select which speaker plays the left, mono, or right channels in the app. There’s also an SKAA Pro Mode feature to reduce latency between paired speakers, but I wasn’t able to try any of these features when paired.

I can get the Soundboks 4 to automatically pair with my phone when I turn on the speaker (and I can turn that feature off too), but there’s no multi-device pairing, so I can’t switch between multiple devices. The Bluetooth range is also impressive. Soundboks says it can reach 800 feet in perfect conditions, but I was able to walk to the farthest point in my house, with two rooms and a kitchen worth of walls between them, without the sound being affected.

The Soundboks has a PIN function, so only those who know the four-digit PIN can connect to the speaker, which makes sense for a party speaker meant to be used in a party setting potentially surrounded by many people in state of intoxication. It also has a security setting that completely locks the speaker from the app, marking it as stolen.

The replaceable battery means that the life of the speaker is not dependent on the battery. I was able to play music as I charged it thanks to the T-jack cable that comes with the speaker, but only at level 5 or lower, which is enough for casual listening at home. If you buy The battery ($199.99), which is a better battery than the one that comes with the speaker, you’ll be able to play music at full volume and charge the speaker at the same time. It also works as a USB-C power source.

Soundboks says you can’t leave the battery charged for more than six hours or risk damaging it. Also you it shouldn’t power the speaker using the charger alone, no battery (although I did and it worked up to volume 5) – the battery must always be connected when playing, according to the manual.

Soundboks 4 has two channels for guitars, DJ mixers, microphones or active instruments. I only have one microphone, so that’s the only thing I could test, and I was disappointed that the speaker didn’t have a feedback-avoid feature. At volume 6, I couldn’t stand less than five feet away before screeching feedback sounds warned me I was too close. For an outdoor speaker intended for large crowds, I expect better feedback technology such as PartyBox Stage 320 offers.

The Soundboks app

The The Soundboks app it’s simple and straightforward, but despite the many long updates I had to do, it still had problems on my Google Pixel 6a Android phone. There’s no way to physically control your media on the speaker other than the rotary volume dial, so I had to use my phone for all media control. It was frustrating that most of the time when I wanted to go into the app settings to change the EQ, the speaker would disconnect from my app (but I could still control Spotify music and adjust the volume). But this is something that will hopefully be fixed with more updates.

The app allows you to control the volume, mute the speaker, use the TeamUp function and change the EQ. The EQ is customizable in real-time, so you can hear the difference when you move the lever in the app up and down (as long as the app doesn’t disconnect). However, the sound really shines with the preset EQ settings. You can choose between ‘Stage’, ‘Dancefloor’ and ‘Lounge’ presets, and we’ve found that each has an optimal use case.

• Stage: Best used outdoors to use the two 10-inch woofers to their full potential. It’s loud with a booming bass. It reduces battery life to about four hours when maxed out.

• Dancefloor: My favorite combination of rugged bass and crisp mids, while still offering six hours of battery life at full volume.

• Lounge: Perfect when I’m indoors and don’t want to annoy my dog. The sound has less bass and highlights the one-inch tweeter for more high-end tones for up to 8 hours at maximum volume.

The default flat EQ isn’t impressive, although it does give you the longest battery life of up to 40 hours at medium volume. You can really hear and feel the speaker’s potential when you use one of the three signature EQ settings.

Conclusion

Soundboks 4 is an impressive, powerful speaker that has its place among the best portable speakers on the market for the right use case. If you’re a DJ, hosting lots of parties or big events, Soundboks 4 will do a brilliant job for you if you can afford it. The 126-decibel volume is loud and best used outdoors to its full potential (and it’s splash-proof), but you’re limited to mono unless you have another Soundboks speaker. I love that they made the battery replaceable, and with a separate “Battery” you can play music at full volume while charging. The adjustable EQ and preset sound signatures are nice and change in real time, but the app can be buggy. I wish there were more ways to control the sound directly on the speaker, but if you’re using it at a party, this could actually be a pro (you don’t want drunk people messing with the speaker). The speaker works great as an instrument amplifier, but if you plan to use a microphone, expect feedback if you get too close to the speaker. If you are looking for a cheaper speaker with more features and better for house parties, I recommend it PartyBox Stage 320. But if you’re working with large crowds outdoors, Soundboks 4 is the winner.