The Soundboks 4 ‘Portable’ Speaker Is Overkill (in a Good Way)

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 won't probably use it to its maximum potential, but even using it at 60% of its power made me feel like I'm in the middle of a music festival. This is the fourth version of the third-generation Soundboks speaker and the bigger and less portable version of the Soundboks Go. It is Soundboks' flagship party-size speaker, and it'll make you the life of the party of your block (or get the cops called on you).

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 one wedding). It's a powerful straightforward speaker, but if you're looking for a less expensive indoor party speaker with more features, I recommend the PartyBox Stage 320 instead.

Pros and cons of the SOUNDBOKS 4

Pros

• An incredible volume of 126 decibels and a power output of 216 Watts RMS

• Adjustable EQ and nice signature preset sounds

• Connection for guitar, DJ mixer, microphone, or instruments

• Powerful 40-hour battery

• Replaceable battery

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

• IP65-rated (dust- and splash-proof)

Cons

• Expensive

• Only mono audio channel (can get stereo audio if you connect more than one Soundboks speaker)

• No physical controls for music on the speaker

• Very prone to feedback when using a microphone at close distance with high volume

• App can be buggy for Android phones

• Difficult to carry in one hand

Specs

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

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

• App: Upgradeable 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 x 1/4-inch inputs, 3.5mm input and 3.5mm output).

• Drivers: 2 x 10-inch woofers, 1 x 1-inch compression driver tweeter with 40Hz - 20kHz frequency range, 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 (H × W × D).

• Weight: 35.5 lbs.

First impressions of the Soundboks 4

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

Like all my portable speakers, I took it to test it with my soccer community—this time, on a street hockey rink to host 15 people playing soccer with Street FC. I was concerned about blasting it at full volume since the rink is across the street from a residential block, but I still did it (purely for journalistic integrity, of course). Even in this setting, hitting the volume to 11 (yes, it goes one level past 10) was too much. But it sounded incredible, and the players loved it. My body felt the thumping of every bass note; it reminded me of being in the front row during a concert. The music did not feel distorted even at the full 126 dB volume and power output of 216 Watts RMS, keeping its balanced and crisp sound just like the smaller Soundboks Go.

Features of the 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 speakers to play in sync. Linking it with another SKAA-enabled Soundboks speaker is also the only way to get stereo sound. Once I connect it with other speakers, I can select which speaker plays left, mono, or right channels in the app. There's also a SKAA Pro Mode feature to reduce the latency between paired speakers, but I couldn't try any of these features when pairing.

I can make the Soundboks 4 pair automatically to my phone when I turn the speaker on (and can turn that feature off as well), but there is 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 go to the farthers point in my home with two rooms and a kitchen worth of walls in between without the sound being affected.

Soundboks has a pin code feature 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 inebriated people. It also has a security setting that completely locks out the speaker from the app by marking it as stolen.

The swappable battery means the speaker's lifespan 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 doubles as a USB-C power supply.

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

The Soundboks 4 has two channels for guitars, DJ mixers, microphones, or active instruments. I only have a microphone, so that's the only thing I was able to test, and I was disappointed the speaker doesn't have a feature to avoid feedback. At volume 6, I could not stand less than five feet away before the screeching sounds of feedback warned me I was too close. For an outdoor speaker meant for big crowds, I expect better feedback technology like the PartyBox Stage 320 offers.

The Soundboks app

The Soundboks app is simple and straightforward, but despite the many long updates I had to make, it was still buggy on my Google Pixel 6a Android phone. There is no way to control your media physically on the speaker other than the volume rotary 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 settings of the app to change the EQ, the speaker would disconnect from my app (but I could still control the music from Spotify and adjust the volume). But this is something that hopefully gets fixed with more updates.

The app lets you control the volume, turn the speaker off, use the TeamUp feature, and change the EQ. The EQ is customizable in real-time, so you can hear the difference when moving the lever in the app up and down (as long as the app doesn't disconnect). The audio really shines with the preset EQ settings, though. You can choose between "Stage," "Dancefloor," and "Lounge" presets, and I found they each have a best-use case.

• Stage: Best used when outdoors to use the two 10-inch woofers to their maximum potential. It's loud with a thumpy bass. It reduces the battery life to about four hours when blasting at maximum volume.

• Dancefloor: My preferred mix of bumpy bass and clear mids while still giving you six hours of battery life at max volume.

• Lounge: Perfect when I'm indoors and don't want to annoy my dog. The sound has less bass and brings out the one-inch tweeter for more high-end nuance for a maximum of 8 hours at full volume.

The default flat EQ is not impressive, although it does give you the longest battery time of up to 40 hours at medium volume. You really get to hear and feel the potential of the speaker when you use one of the three signature EQ settings.

Bottom line

The Soundboks 4 is an impressive, powerful speaker that has its place among the best portable speakers in the market, for the right use case. If you're a DJ, host many large parties or events, the Soundboks 4 will do a brilliant job for you, if you can afford it. The 126 decibels volume is powerful and best used outdoors to get its maximum potential (and it is splash-proof), but you're limited to mono unless you have another Soundboks speaker. I like that they made the battery replaceable, and with a separate "The Battery," you can play music at full volume while you charge. 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 audio directly on the speaker, but if you're using it in a party setting, this might actually be a pro (you don't want drunk people messing with your speaker). The speaker works great as an amplifier for instruments, but if you plan to use a microphone, expect feedback if you get too close to the speaker. If you're looking for a cheaper speaker with more features and better for house parties, I recommend the PartyBox Stage 320. But if you're working with large crowds outdoors, the Soundboks 4 is the winner.