This portable Bluetooth speaker delivers room-filling sound at an extraordinarily low price

ZDNET’s key takeaways

The Treblab HD-GO is available now on Amazon for under $35.

This palm-sized speaker delivers big sound and a sixteen-hour battery life.

Although the sound won’t impress audiophiles, it’s still serviceable, especially at this price range.

more buying choices

When I see Bluetooth speakers that are no bigger than my hand, I immediately question their ability to produce the decibels I require (especially when I’m in the mood to dance about my office – which happens more than you might think).

So, it should come as no surprise that when I received the Treblab HD-GO Bluetooth speaker that measures 4.8″D x 1.77″ W x 2.87″H, you can bet I was skeptical.

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Then I connected it to my Pixel 9 Pro, opened Spotify, and Played “Blessed Be” by Spiritbox. At first, the volume was respectable, but I wanted to see how much the little thing could produce.

This fun-sized speaker produces fun-sized sound, and at only $34.99 (on Amazon), it is pretty remarkable.

My experience

I’m just going to come out and say this: although the HD-GO can rock with the decibels, the quality of sound doesn’t quite suit my taste. Keep in mind that I’m quite picky about my EQ curves, and the HD-GO falls flat for me.

Okay, flat is the wrong term.

It’s flat with a boost to the mids, which can make it sound slightly tinny. It’s not nearly as bad as, say, a phone speaker, but it does lack the depth and presence of bigger, more costly speakers. That’s expected at this price range, and if you have discerning audio taste, the HD-GO will be a great speaker for you.

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Certain bands and genres also demand a bit more from a speaker. Spiritbox is a great example. This band doesn’t work well with EQ curves that don’t temper the mids. When that happens, the sound comes across as hollow without the necessary punch at the bottom or top.

After jamming out with Courtney LaPlante and the gang, I switched to Mozart and surprisingly found the sound to suffer from the same issue – too much mid and not enough low. There was enough on the high side of things, but only just barely.

The Treblab HD-GO speaker in the palm of a hand. — Jack Wallen/ZDNET

The one artist who really shined on the HD-GO was Miles Davis. “Freddie Freeloader” sounded very clean. Sure, it could have used a bit more crispness in the highs and a bit more bottom end, but it was sufficient to satisfy.

As you might expect, a speaker this size can’t deliver much in the way of soundstage. Everything sounds very close together, so it can be a bit challenging to differentiate voices (which is made clear when listening to just about any chorale music).

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I found that just about anything by Kate Bush sounded just fine, with her glorious voice punched up enough to bring it back and center.

To some, I often come off as an audio snob… but I’m not. I’m perfectly willing to admit when a budget-friendly piece of equipment is worth your dollars, and considering this speaker lands in the sub-$35 range, I would say that it’s worth every penny for those who don’t make exacting demands on their audio equipment.

ZDNET’s buying advice

This is very much a budget speaker with budget sound. But with such a small form factor, the HD-GO is still impressive. You could drop it into your purse, backpack, or even your pocket and carry it with you wherever you go. Simply pull it out when you reach your destination and hit play on your device.

Since the HD-GO offers an impressive 16-hour battery life on a single charge, you can enjoy whatever you listen to all day.

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Who is this speaker for? I would say anyone on a tight budget who’s looking for a small, package speaker capable of filling an office, bedroom, or similar room with serviceable sound would do well with the HD-GO.

If you don’t expect too much from this portable speaker, you’ll be thrilled with what it offers. It’s a no-frills Bluetooth speaker with enough sound to have you dancing around your office, the playground, or while tooling around on your bike.