This is the review of the comparison between two speakers from two popular brands in the market. The comparison here is between the Anker Soundcore 2 and the JBL Go 3. To know which one is worth buying for the price, go to the detailed review.

Anker Soundcore 2	JBL Go 3
BUY NOW	BUY NOW
PROS	PROS
Supports stereo content. Super affordable. Solid sound quality.	Weatherproof (IP67 dust/water certified). Rich, crisp, relatively powerful audio for the size. Low Android and iOS latency. USB Type-C for charging.
CONS	CONS
Doesn’t get very loud. Slightly quieter than expected. No flashy extra features. No sound customization features.	Battery life could have been a little longer. Limited onboard controls. Lacks low-bass. No speakerphone, digital assistant support.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Detail Review:

INTRODUCTION:

Anker Soundcore 2

In this version, they’ve almost all gripes in the original been fixed, and quite honestly, this could very much be the new best budget speaker. This speaker is retailing for around forty dollars currently on Amazon.

JBL Go 3

The JBL Go 3 is the updated version portable speaker of the Go 2. There are few changes in the design and features of the Go 3 compared to the Go 2. This speaker is retailing for around forty-five dollars currently on Amazon.

DESIGN:

Anker Soundcore 2

When I first got my hands on it, the first thing I noticed was how sleek the design was. It’s covered in a grippy mat rubber great for on-the-go, so your speaker won’t slip off your hand or from the table. Almost everything is blacked out except for the small inoffensive logo which is a dark great leaving to a nice minimalistic, and overall, aesthetically pleasing look. The buttons are still flushed into the rubber but they feel significantly more tactile than the first version of the speaker. They’re nice and clicky and with the rubber symbols, it’s easy to navigate.

On the right side, we have an aux jack for non-Bluetooth devices, and a micro USB charging port under the protective cap, and I have to mention this feels just as strong as the weather-sealed ports on my Canon camera. On the left side it’s blank, on the back, we have an indented logo, and on the bottom, we have some more slightly softer rubber feet to stop the speaker sliding which is super nice.

JBL Go 3

The Go 3 comes in a variety of colors but the JBL online store I bought it from only had black at the time so I had no choice but it’s okay I like black anyways. In the front are the big JBL letters that are made from rubber from the grille all the way to the back of the speaker is covered with a good-looking fabric that also feels nice at the same time. On the right side of the speaker, you only have two buttons one for turning the speaker on or off, the Bluetooth discovery button, and also, an led that will either blink white or red.

On the left side is where you will find the USB Type-C charging port, and also, the integrated loop. The back also has a rubber material, that I’m not sure what the purpose is but it’s there. On the bottom are the rubber feet that are made from the same material as the JBL letters, and it grips to almost any flat surface. On the top of the speaker, you only have three buttons you have the minus and plus for controlling the volume, and in the middle is your play and pause, which you can also use to skip a song by double-clicking it but you don’t have the option of going back to the previous track.

FEATURES:

Anker Soundcore 2

The overall build quality is absolutely solid and it’s actually IPX7 waterproof in the upgraded version and what this means is you can submerge this in one meter of water for upto 30 minutes and it will be alright. The Soundcore 2 also features an impressive 24 hours of battery life, so throughout your day no matter where you go in the summer you won’t need to carry an external power bank to charge up the speaker. I personally love this as I saw a ton of these portable speakers that don’t have a good battery life, so you have to like to plug it into a power bank pretty much defeating the purpose of it being portable.

During my testing I found the Soundcore 2 to have a good connection not quite W1 levels but that’s to be expected on a slave connection is snappy it’s the same hold the Bluetooth button that we see on many other wireless speakers. But I’m glad that is a dedicated Bluetooth button as opposed to a multifunction power button. The range is also good, I’ve managed to walk around my house without dropping connection, only losing connection in my garden which is honestly fine because at that point you’re probably not gonna hear it anyway.

Overall, I am pretty impressed with this little speaker, it’s a worthy upgrade from the original Soundcore and if you’re looking for a cheap durable portable speaker for this summer you can’t really go wrong with the Soundcore 2. As this has good water-proof rating, great battery life, and good sound quality, this one is definitely worth buying for thr price.

JBL Go 3

The playtime on the Go 3 can go up to 5 hours depending on the volume, and the type of music you listen to. On maximum volume, it only lasted around two and a half hours for my testing and I was listening to some heavy bass music, so it could be more if I listen to something else. When the led on the side turns red and starts blinking, it means it’s time to charge. When I tested the charging I used my USB volt ammeter to check for the current it pulls, and to charge it I used the Anker power bank that can output up to 2 amps, and also, the original USB Type-C cable that came with it.

On the website and in the manual, the charging is rated at 5 volts, 1 amp, but during my testing, it only maxed out at around 540 milliamps which is half an amp, and I did charge it when the red led was blinking, and the power bank can output more than 500 milliamps, and I know that because I charge my phone with it and it goes up to two amps. Anyways the speaker fully charged at one hour and 32 minutes versus the two and a half hour stay stated on the website. The Go 3 has an IP67 rating which basically means it protects the internal components of the speaker if submerged in one meter of water which is 3.3 feet for up to 30 minutes, and it is also resistant against dust.

As far as the pros, these have many pros such as this speaker is really compact and portable, easy to carry around, it’s a speaker that is meant for on the go. I love the design and how it feels in the hands, very sturdy, and it looks like it can handle a lot of drops, which I won’t do. It’s dust and waterproof, so you won’t have to worry about it if you get caught in the rain, or if you decide to take it out in the rain, just make sure your mobile device is waterproof as well. Playtime is more than five hours depending on the volume, and the type of music you listen to. It has a feature that will automatically turn itself off if there’s no more music being played. There is no warning sound for that if it turns itself off, so you won’t notice a thing. It is easy, and it connects really fast with mobile devices I have both android and iOS.

As far as cons number one it has no auxiliary port, so it will only work with Bluetooth devices. Number two it doesn’t have a microphone, so you can’t answer calls with it. Number three no pairing option meaning you can’t connect it to another Go 3 or other JBL speakers. Number 4 you can’t connect more than one device to it, so only one device at a time. Number five it will be very hard to replace the battery in the future, when it no longer holds a charge I suggest using it at 90 to 95 volume to make sure the battery won’t fail anytime soon. Number six there is no way to tell how much battery is left you are depending on that one led, so if it’s white that means it’s okay once it starts blinking red then that means you have to start charging it.

SOUND QUALITY:

Anker Soundcore 2

For the price, it sounds pretty great honestly, it’s not the best portable speaker I’ve heard. The bass is a little muddy almost soundly strained but again this is pretty common on lots of other wireless speakers. Everything else sounds pretty good though I had no issues with the highs and mids considering the price, and I would gladly use this as my personal portable speaker. In my opinion, I do think that the second one is slightly louder, very slightly louder. It’s got better bass and the sound is improved. 

JBL Go 3

The Go 3 to me sounds better when it’s actually at 80 volume. As soon as it goes to the max I could tell the bass decreased a little bit but it is also loud for its size. It has a really good sound quality for a small speaker, the bass is there, and it’s actually really loud. This sounds fantastic to get this level of quality, and the sound from such a small speaker is just absolutely crazy. The Go 3 does seem to handle bass better, the kicks are punchy, and kind of more pronounced.

WHICH ONE IS WORTH BUYING?

In my opinion, the Anker Soundcore 2 is worth buying than the JBL Go 3 beacuse it sounds better than the Go 3, and it has better battery life than the Go 3 for a lower price than the JBL Go 3.

Expert Reviews of Anker Soundcore 2:

By Rtings
The Anker Soundcore 2 is disappointing for music. This speaker struggles to reproduce low-bass, so you don’t feel the thump in bass-heavy genres. Vocals and…

By Life Wire
The Anker Soundcore 2 is hands down, one of the best Bluetooth speaker options in its price range.

By cnet
While Anker’s SoundCore 2 doesn’t sound as good as some people think, it’s a likable, relatively inexpensive mini Bluetooth speaker with strong battery life.

By TD Cat
At forty pounds this is a great buy. At thirty pounds, this is a steal. It’s easily worth double that, particularly with the IP rating. I have no hesitation in recommending this. It’s not perfect in every way, but…

Expert Reviews of JBL Go 3:

By gadgetbytanpal.com
To conclude this review, the JBL GO 3 is a fine addition to the company’s lineup of portable speakers. It brings great maturity…

By PCMag
JBL’s Go 3 speaker delivers solid wireless audio performance in a waterproof, easily portable design for a low price.

By RTings
The JBL GO 3 is disappointing for videos and movies. Its balanced mid-range helps it reproduce voices and dialogue clearly, but…

By which.co.uk
The JBL Go 3 seems to be a good value, small Bluetooth speaker. It’s waterproof and there are…