Audio review
Soundcore Select 4 Go Review: Sound Scored 3.9, Overall Got 4.5 Stars
One lab measured 83.7 dB and ranked it tenth of fifteen. Another measured 86.8 dB and gave it 4.5 out of 5. The battery is the part nobody argues about.
By Paulo GerchonPublished 2 min read
Illustration, not a photo — we don’t have a licensed image of this product yet.
Anker
Soundcore Select 4 Go
Good · researched from 3 sources
A pocket-sized speaker with a genuine dust rating, a measured twenty-five hours and sound that one lab rated 3.9 out of 10. For a shower, a bike or a kitchen it is excellent. For a party it is the wrong speaker entirely.
- Buy if
- Showers, pools and anywhere it might get wet or dusty · One or two people in a small room · Long days out, on a measured 25 hours
- Skip if
- Groups or outdoor spaces, on TechGearLab's 3.5 volume score · Bass-led music, which both sources say it cannot do · Anyone expecting the sound quality to match the battery
We don’t list prices, because Amazon’s change hourly.
Two labs, two speakers
TechGearLab: sound quality 3.9 out of 10, bass watered down, soundstage flat, tenth of fifteen.
Outer Audio: bright and vibrant with well-balanced mids, 4.5 out of 5.
SoundGuys: 7 out of 10, with sibilance on some tracks.
That is a very wide spread for a small speaker, and the explanation is in the weighting rather than the listening. TechGearLab gives sound quality 35 percent of the overall score and compares against speakers several times the size. Outer Audio is judging it against what a pocket speaker can do.
Both are right about the same thing: there is no bass, and both name it explicitly.
The loudness numbers
TechGearLab: 83.7 dB, volume scored 3.5 out of 10.
Outer Audio: 86.8 dB at one metre, enough for a small room or a small group and not for outdoors.
Different distances, different methods, three decibels apart, same conclusion. This is a speaker for a bathroom, a kitchen worktop or a bike, and it will disappear in a garden.
The battery is the real specification
Anker claims 20 hours at 40 percent volume. TechGearLab measured 25 hours 21 minutes.
Beating a claim by a quarter is rare in this category. Most portable speakers in this catalogue fall short of theirs.
TechGearLab still scored the battery category 5.9 out of 10, because they score capacity alongside duration and this is a very small cell. As a practical matter, it runs for a full working week of showers.
IP67, with the six that usually goes missing
Most speakers this size are rated IPX7. The X means dust was never tested, which is the exact gap that catches people out at a beach or on a building site, and it is the criticism levelled at the Soundcore Boom 2 elsewhere in this catalogue.
This one is IP67. Dust and water, both tested, and it floats.
Outer Audio did not take that on trust. They ran a hose at medium pressure over it for fifteen minutes and then dropped it in a pool. No problems.
TechGearLab scored durability 8.5 out of 10 and portability 9.0, its two best categories by a distance.
The small stuff
No backlit controls, which SoundGuys raises and which matters more than it sounds on a speaker designed for a shower.
Rubber feet that SoundGuys found pull out too easily.
And Outer Audio's observation that the mesh feels cheap and the rubber picks up dirt fast, which on a speaker built to be thrown in a bag is more a description than a complaint.
How it scored
The overall 7.5 is the weighted average of these five criteria — we never adjust it by hand.
Sound quality
TechGearLab scored sound 3.9 out of 10 and calls the bass watered down and the soundstage flat. Outer Audio calls it bright and vibrant with well-balanced mids while agreeing it lacks bass.
Value
SoundGuys scored 7 out of 10 and frames it as the budget speaker to beat. Outer Audio gave 4.5 out of 5. TechGearLab scored 60 out of 100 and still calls it a great value.
Build quality
IP67 and it floats. TechGearLab scored durability 8.5 out of 10. Outer Audio hosed it for fifteen minutes and submerged it in a pool with no problems.
Ease of use
TechGearLab scored ease of use 5.0 out of 10. SoundGuys criticises the lack of backlit controls and rubber feet that pull out too easily.
Battery
TechGearLab measured 25 hours 21 minutes against a 20 hour claim at 40 percent volume. They scored the category 5.9 out of 10 anyway, on capacity rather than duration.
Pros and cons
What we liked
- TechGearLab measured 25 hours 21 minutes against a 20 hour claim
- IP67, so dust as well as water, and it floats
- Outer Audio hosed it for fifteen minutes and dunked it in a pool with no failure
- TechGearLab scored portability 9.0 out of 10 at 0.6 lb
- A nine-band equaliser and stereo pairing with a second unit
- TechGearLab measured Bluetooth range at 136 feet
What we didn’t
- TechGearLab scored sound quality 3.9 out of 10, the weakest in this catalogue
- Both Outer Audio and TechGearLab say it lacks bass
- TechGearLab measured 83.7 dB and scored volume 3.5 out of 10
- SoundGuys reports sibilance on some tracks
- There are no backlit controls
- Outer Audio finds the mesh fabric cheap and the rubber quick to collect dirt
Specifications
| Battery | 20 hours claimed at 40 percent volume; 25 h 21 m measured by TechGearLab |
|---|---|
| Loudness | 83.7 dB per TechGearLab; 86.8 dB at one metre per Outer Audio |
| Power | 5 W per SoundGuys |
| Water resistance | IP67, dust and water, and it floats |
| Weight | 263 g per SoundGuys; 9.3 oz per Outer Audio; 0.6 lb per TechGearLab |
| Dimensions | 3.23 x 4.72 x 1.89 in per Outer Audio |
| Bluetooth range | 136 feet measured by TechGearLab |
| App | Nine-band equaliser, presets, stereo pairing and remote power off |
| Missing | No backlit controls |
How we researched this
We have not had this unit on the bench. This review synthesises the manufacturer’s published specifications, independent measurements and owner reports listed below. Every figure on this page comes from one of those sources rather than our own measurement.
3
sources reviewed
TechGearLab tested against fourteen other speakers and supplies the measured battery figure, the loudness measurement, the Bluetooth range, the weight and every category score, ranking it tenth of fifteen at 60 out of 100. Outer Audio supplies a second loudness measurement at a stated distance, the dimensions, a physical water resistance test and the sound assessment, scoring 4.5 out of 5. SoundGuys supplies the power output, the weight, the app inventory and the criticisms about controls and feet, scoring 7 out of 10. The two loudness figures were taken by different methods and both are reported rather than averaged.
What we read
Common questions
How long does the Soundcore Select 4 Go battery last?
How loud does it get?
Is the sound actually bad?
How waterproof is it?
What are the practical annoyances?
The bottom line on the Soundcore Select 4 Go
A pocket-sized speaker with a genuine dust rating, a measured twenty-five hours and sound that one lab rated 3.9 out of 10. For a shower, a bike or a kitchen it is excellent. For a party it is the wrong speaker entirely.
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