This Bluetooth speaker is so cool I’d take it to house parties just to show it off — here’s why

Forget finding the best Bluetooth speakers for sound quality, what about the best speakers for aesthetics? If looks were the sole metric we evaluated speakers against, the Fender x Teufel Rockster Go 2 would be top of my list, no questions asked. The Rockster Go 2 rocks up to class four hours late with sunglasses askew, last night’s eyeliner smeared down its face, and no homework in sight. 100 points for coolness.

But looks be damned, this speaker is still a frenetic, retro, punchy little thing, with gallons of bass.

Unfortunately, beauty is not how we analyze speakers. We take everything into account: sound quality, battery life, extra features, value for money, and more. So how does the Fender x Teufel Rockster Go 2 hold up against the best of the best?

Well, you’ll be relieved to know it’s not all bark and no bite. Despite lacking a companion app (a major con for speakers costing more than $150), the Rockster Go 2 has the sound quality to rival its premium brethren like the Sonos Move 2 ($449). Find out the whole story in this Fender x Teufel Rockster Go 2 Bluetooth speaker review.

Fender x Teufel Rockster Go 2 review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? A stylish, portable Bluetooth speaker.
• What does it cost? $149
• Who is it for? People who want a retro, effortlessly cool speaker with great sound quality to boot.
• What should you use it for? Showing off to your friends, obviously. If that fails, listening to sweet tunes with equally sweet audio quality.
• What are its weaknesses? There’s no companion app, which means no customization.
  

Fender x Teufel Rockster Go 2 review: Specs

Fender x Teufel Rockster Go 2 review: Price & availability

The Fender x Teufel Rockster Go 2 is the cheapest and smallest speaker in the range, available for $129 at Amazon U.S.. The Rockster Cross ($249) and the Rockster Air 2 ($599) are the heavier, more expensive models for parties and outdoor events. The entire Fender x Teufel range is only available in the U.S. and continental Europe due to U.K. shipping restrictions.

Fender x Teufel Rockster Go 2 review: Design

If you’ve read my intro, you already know how I feel about this speaker. It’s so effortlessly cool, from the mesh covering to the branded silvery woofer. The retro vibes are immaculate. Besides the instantly recognizable ‘Fender’ name, if you take this to a house party, I guarantee you’d have people drooling over it. Well, not necessarily guarantee, but I know that I would be salivating over this speaker like a dog after a bone.

The Rockster Go 2 comes with a carry strap that connects to the unit with strong velcro. You can easily connect it to your backpack or over your wrist if that’s how you roll, which is better than the Bose SoundLink Flex ($149) and the Tribit StormBox 2 ($69). Both of those only have a tiny strap, too small to fit around a wrist.

I can’t deny it, though — there are a couple of things that bug me about this speaker’s design. I’m not a massive fan of the power on and Bluetooth buttons being on the back of the speaker; I wish they were on the top along with the volume controls and stereo pairing button. The rubberized plastic casing is also quite unforgiving for dust, so you’ll need to keep on top of cleaning this thing off. Ironically though, it’s IP67 rated, which means it is mostly dustproof and waterproof, making it great for taking out and about.

But my complaints are so inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. The bottom line is this: if you want a speaker that looks like it was plucked straight from the background of a ‘70s music video but upgraded for the modern day, this is the music box you’ve been looking for.

Fender x Teufel Rockster Go 2 review: Connectivity

I connected the Rockster Go 2 to my iPhone 11 and MacBook Pro M1 Max with ease. The ‘Bluetooth pairing’ mode music is a groovy guitar flexion in classic Fender style. I was able to connect my iPhone and my MacBook to the Rockster Go simultaneously.

For testing, I streamed on my iPhone via Apple Music, but because the Rockster Go doesn’t have ALAC (Apple’s high-res streaming codec) compatibility, it only streams in standard AAC. Unfortunately, there’s no 3.5mm jack for wired playback.

Fender x Teufel Rockster Go 2 review: Features

For a $129 speaker, you’d expect some premium features like a companion app, aptX or LDAC support, or customizable EQ. Unfortunately, Fender and Teufel seem to have sacrificed all that for pure rugged retro beauty. Teufel does seem to have apps for its home speakers and headphones range, but apparently nothing for its portable speakers, which is very disappointing.

Bose omitted these arguably ‘premium’ features for its Bose SoundLink Flex portable speaker ($149), so the Rockster Go 2 isn’t alone here. The Bluetooth codec on the SoundLink Flex is just Bluetooth 5, whereas the Rockster Go 2 is 5.3.

Fender x Teufel Rockster Go 2 review: Sound quality

To start off audio testing, I wanted to select a song with the same level of coolness as the Rockster Go 2 itself. I chose ‘Shin Ramyun’ by Unknown Mortal Orchestra, which is a slick, groovy psychedelic track with a guitar melody as bouncy and juicy as the shin ramyun for which the track is named. The bass was pronounced, but not as pronounced as the SoundLink Flex. As a result of this, though, the midrange and treble were more layered, clean, and polished, which was my major complaint with the SoundLink Flex. In fact, comparing the two speakers side by side, there were some key differences I noticed. The bass was louder on the SoundLink Flex, but that makes for a more muffled treble and midrange. Overall, the Rockster Go had a more balanced and nuanced sound.

The next track I played was the 1960s tune ‘Tainted Love’ by Gloria Jones (yes, the original). Despite the grainy recording (which isn’t a bad thing, especially when played through a speaker with this degree of retro charm), the song sounded incredible through the speaker, and Gloria Jones’ heart-tugging voice was just as insistent as the day she recorded it.

To test the bass some more, I whipped out my dedicated bass-testing track, ‘flight fm’ by Joy Orbison. I always play this song through any audio gear I’m testing, because it’s almost entirely bass. The squelchy, rhythmic bass — that literally sounds like an airplane flying low overhead — vibrated through my desk and into my fingertips, as I was typing up this section. So what can I say, these words were written by bass.

As we’re entering the colder months, I’ve been on a Twilight kick. I’m a product of my time, so what? To pay homage to the best film ever made (and you can quote me on that), I played ‘Supermassive Black Hole’ by Muse, arguably one of the best songs ever written, and was pleased by the way the falsetto vocals drove the bass-heavy track, but I wished the percussion was clearer. To round off my heavy track testing, I played ‘Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)’ by Deftones, but to my surprise, the heavy, headbanger of a song sounded frankly epic through the Rockster Go 2’s 2-inch woofer.

I switched genres to Kali Uchis’ ‘Your Teeth In My Neck’, a groovy R&B song. Kali’s rich, almost husky voice absolutely conquered the speaker (in a good way) and I found myself wanting to play the rest of her album for the duration of testing. Finally, I played ‘Shaking Body’ by Ezra Collective, a jazz track built over side-stepping double bass and trumpets. Hearing this tune through the Rockster Go 2 made me want to leap out of my chair and start dancing like a 1920s flapper in a Chicago speakeasy.

Fender x Teufel Rockster Go 2 review: Battery life

The Rockster Go 2 can run for up to 28 hours in eco mode, but I kept the speaker on normal mode, which tops out at 12 hours. In reality, the speaker played for 15 hours before running out at medium volume, so I’d say 12 hours is a conservative number.

The speaker makes a cute bubbling sound when you plug it into charge, too, which got a yes from me. It took just a couple of hours to fully charge. The battery performance is far superior to that of the Sonos Roam 2 ($179), which lasts just 10 hours before needing more juice, and is one of the best I’ve ever seen, and for only $129.

Fender x Teufel Rockster Go 2 review: Verdict

Even if I ignore the frankly gorgeous aesthetics of the Fender x Teufel Rockster Go 2, I still can’t deny that this compact little speaker sounds way bigger than it is. The sound is clear, layered, and dynamic (although in the Muse track the bass became a little muffled) . It sounds much better than the Bose SoundLink Flex and Tribit StormBox Micro speakers. On top of the epic sound quality, the battery life is beyond impressive at a maximum of 28 hours (in eco mode, which reduces bass), and the IP67 rating means you should be able to take this out and about with you and it’ll survive, whatever the weather. Even if there’s a sandstorm and a torrential downpour, the little Rockster Go 2 should live to see another day. Which is good, because I want to use this speaker until it falls apart.