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Harman Kardon go+play 3 vs Earfun UBoom X (Patreon)

Published:
2024-07-05 15:46:38
Edited:
2024-09-22 10:24:54
Imported:
2026-09
Tags:

Content

The go+play was one of my favorite speakers many years back when it still had the Apple-dock and needed batteries for portable use. From batteries it lacked both bass and loudness unfortunately, which Harman Kardon fixed with the go+play "mini" how they caled it back then, although it was still not the loudest speaker around. The go+play 3 is by far the best sounding one from all go+play models I have heard during these years but IMO I managed to outperform the go+play 3 in all rregards with the UBoom X (except maybe off-axis perrformance, which should be also fixed with the ground O mode).

I perceive the UBoom X as more natural sounding and even with outdoor+ mode it doesn't drone as much as the go+play 3.

Please let me know what you think!

Files

Comments

J

Do you have the option to play some those tracks again i suggested a few weeks back? Which you used in the bass issues video. Just wanted to hear them at normal or low levels if that is possible, maybe against the boombox 3 or any other speaker😁

oluvsgadgets

If I manage in time I will of course play them

J

Thanks a lot! Could i add 1 suggestion? Risiko from bonez mc and raf camora. Its totally not a fidelity track, but has a very strong and low bass amphasis which will sound very weird on a boombox 3 or go play, and should sound quite normal on a uboom X or boomster. Curious about that one!

brex14

Your work is incredible sir Olaf! I do agree with your analysis and you really do take it to the next level I should say.

Raelin Trenta

I think part of the reason the go+play 3 has this droning low bass character is how its bottom radiator is tuned, or perhaps its material. Its perhaps similar to boombox 3 passive radiators, where either the material or the large size (compared to other boomboxes) results in more decay as the radiator is vibrating. The Uboom X with its (harder? more solid?) material would have tighter bass, not as much decay as the go+play 3 or the boombox. The Stormbox Blast doesn't also have this decay as far as I can remember. Then again, these are just my own observations. On another note, the UBoom X just sounds more pleasant on the mids and highs to me compared to Go+play 3. Cheers

oluvsgadgets

Which mode should I play them? I think indoor+ is the most natural one while still having some slight bass and treble emphasis

J

Yes i would also take indoor + i think. So thats fine👍🏼

oluvsgadgets

I had the same impression as if sounded more natural with upper mids and treble but I did some further tweaks when I got the go+play and the Boombox 3 as I was not satisfied at first.

Raelin Trenta

I see. I have a pair of studio monitors and a pair of bookshelf speakers myself so it would be interesting to compare the UBoom X to them myself once I get my hands on it soon. On another note, would you like to take a track suggestion? Summer Fragrance by Powerless - this has a violin and guitar melody and lots of percussion so I'm curious how it would sound on the UBoom X. Take it as a mids and highs test.

Raelin Trenta

I rewatched the video again and it just seems that the go+play 3 is playing the mids and highs a bit recessed than the UBoom X, probably because of that boomy bass, pushes away the rest of the frequencies away slightly

Raelin Trenta

If I remember correctly, 3.9kg but I may be wrong

Uller

Everything about the UBoom X sounds very good, but the current dealbreaker against all other brands was that JBL is starting to install a replaceable battery in the latest generations of devices. I think this is extremely important and forward-looking (sounds strange, because back then it was normal that you could simply change the batteries)! By the way, I now own a JBL Partybox Club 120 as a fun speaker for my home (in addition to my stereo system), but I'm still looking for something smaller that also sounds good. Olaf has somehow come at just the right time with his UBoom X. Sounds really interesting! :)

Rick Kooistra

That's true but replaceable batteries are quite expensive. The Earfun Uboom X has an USB-C type charging port so you can also charge it with a powerbank.

Arturo

Wonder how it sounds when you pair 2x the uboom x . As with the uboom l

Uller

That's great indeed! I would just be interested to know: if the internal battery is dead after 2 years, will the device work with the connected power bank alone or do you then have to start carrying out questionable surgery on the device in order to somehow get the battery changed? You could start with replaceable standard Li-ion batteries (e.g. 18650), and a built-in, safe charger with cell monitoring costs very little money these days. I don't think Lithium-Polymer batteries have a bright future. They are too unreliable and short-lived.

Richard

I can clearly hear that the goplay3 has fuzzy mids and highs that sound way more artificial, probably for dispersion sake. Also the delayed bass is very evident.

Richard

You can buy 1 earfun or 1jbl replacable battery.. Hard choice..

Tamás Major

The Harman sounds exactly as you described, like a subwoofer with a slightly wrong crossover and level setting. It has strong deep bass, but too separated and too strong for normal use. I love bass, but it's boringly strong to listen to for long periods of time just for fun. The UBoom X's bass is complete, nicely balanced across the entire frequency range, with no noticeable gaps or peaks. The Go+Play 3 sounded like an outdoor party speaker most of the time, with unnaturally forced rumbling bass. Earfun makes the same bass smoother, more natural, without those weird forced resonances, even in outdoor or outdoor+ mode. The bass on Go+Play 3 reminds me of listening to music outside of a building where the party is. You hear that strong bass with all those resonances added by resonating objects in and around the building. You can hear the power in it, but it's not clean and natural and definitely not pleasant anymore. Weardly all the bass in any music sounds the same with Harman. Great job Oluv, well done.

Luka Bošnjak

There's just way more stuff happening on the Earfun, you are listening to music while on the Hk you're hearing the speaker... But your mic setup still amazes me every time, I can close my eyes and pin point exactly where the sound is coming from

John

I would love to one day see a earfun uboom M or something or the sort, M standing for mid or medium, fitting between the L and X, something to take on the sound core motion boom, with proper tweeters. Hopefully they would include dynamic bass volume like you've been saying about this model.

Lukáš Bartošek

Hi Oluv, does the speaker sound the same when on external power?

Uller

The replacement battery for my JBL PB 120 costs 60 bucks, for the Xtreme 4 and Partybox Stage 320 it costs 99 bucks (original JBL spare part). And there will be or better said there are already no-name replacement batteries for much less money (half the price or less of the original part on Aliexpress for example).

Luka Bošnjak

I'd rather have a micro speaker from them (Uboom S maby) also tuned by Olaf ofc. You kinda have this middle class with 2 Uboom Ls

John

For me personally as useful as having 2 speakers is, family wise (kids and wife) is just easier to have one speaker overall so a mid size in my mind and a travel one like the L. The mid size in my mind could sell more than the L or the X as it's smaller for more portability than the X and larger than the L so sounds more powerful and capable. An ideal size. But would be nice if oluv was connected to their whole line up and would be awesome to get a micro as well.

John

Cross my fingers that on any future colab you would get the default tuning and hopefully instead of only a kickback on models that use your coupon code, maybe you could take a smaller percentage, but on all units sold or a flat rate or something like that, however you would prefer it structured.

Jose Santos

ye, same like a younger brother of the uboom X would be the nicest for me too :), mb sometime in the future.

Jose Santos

The soundcore boom plus 2 would be nice to compare, just to show em who's the boss lel. Fr anker changed the industry but for some reason they had gone this route, the shill overhyped route, unbelievable.

John

This speaker at least has given me hope! I'm excited for this after ages of disappointment. Specially since soundcore motion+ and tribit Max sound plus back in the day. Things were exciting back then thinking they were getting closer and closer to the perfect speaker for me. But then they started coming out with worse products over and over. I always hoped for a larger motion+ with tweeters and nicer build quality. The motion boom wasn't bad I have it and it's still hard to beat, but not perfect.

pokketa

All these YouTube comment going nuts 😱, even with original song they can't even listen

. fankyy

They should do S, L, M, X, and an XL too, in order to compete (and thanks to Oluvs tuning outdo) the partybox 100 or even 300 series

. fankyy

The HK isn't even playing that deep, a peak between 37 and 45Hz probably. Real deep bass plays at 20 to 35Hz, where you really get that far reaching/long concert/live bass waves, but even the HK with its rather little subwoofer won't be able to physically output enough in that area for at least mid to louder levels. I wonder how much headroom both would have at these frequencies. The Indoor drowning rather comes from too much pushed 45-60Hz mostly

Sturmflut

UBoom X = 3,9kg Go + Play 3 = 4,7kg Stormbox Blast = ~5,3kg not sure what you are talking about?

Sturmflut

no problem, you are welcome. i just googled it. i was confused about the statement that 4kg is half the weight of the go + play 3 :D

oluvsgadgets

It’s just 5V input which doesn’t change anything soundwise. Battery gets drained even when attached and playing at maximum thus the received power is less than the necessary power for maximum volume. I still didn’t manage any battery life tests yet but I assume you can extend it by some powebank although after a while it will turn off anyhow.

Sturmflut

it would be perfect if you can cycle through the eq presets with a button including optional audio announcement (on and off contrallable in the app) of the presets name: studio -> indoor -> indoor+ -> outdoor -> outdoor+ -> ground O -> BOOM xxX -> studio and so on... i hope it won't rely on the app to change the eqalizer?

Foltea Iustin

Will there be a comparison of the uboom x to the 2.1 minirig setup?

oluvsgadgets

This was my suggestion long ago, but there is no button and they can’t do this

Thomas Wesolowski

Some guys at Bluetooth_Speakers reddit spotted the User manual for the UBOOM X. According to this manual, the UBOOM X will have Stereo Pairing and a Video mode (probably for low delay BT sound).

LeJJ

Was just listening to my Exos-9 today outside… was reminded how good it sounds. How do you think the uboom x compares?

Mister 13

The Go Play 3 is too much for indoor and too soft for outdoor while still lacking battery performance. With the UBoom X it's not as boosted but this is a more sophisticated sound with some nice deep and punchy bass and it is alors way louder. This Uboom X is actually a killer for its category.

Marcus Rother

If the leaked manual on reddit is correct, it will have 20V by 3A, so 60W. But you will need a fitting charging device for that, also a fitting cable.