Mackie Thump GO Battery-powered Loudspeaker Reviews

I purchased this unit for our homeowners associations outdoor events. It was surprising how far away folks could hear strongly and clearly. Bose got the job done in a big way with this piece. There are also nice features. Thank you to Chris Goldbach and the sound advice in purchasing this product. His recommendations are always on point.

I was completely blown away with the sound quality of these small speakers, using them for karaoke and they sound phenomenal!! I could not be happier!! Well done Mackie!!

This speakers really rocks! I used it outside for a wedding ceremony and pleasantly surprised. I love these speakers. Don't hesitate to purchase them!

I always used bose speakers for my streaming music because they always had that bass no one else seem to have.
Till now my friends. I kid you not. This Go Thump handels not just my streaming music but it handels my low end on my Montage and my Roland 8 keyboards with no issues. And its battery lasted all day. Yea all day... So thanks Mackie and Thanks sweetwater for the best price.....

I purchased a single Thump Go to use for outdoor wedding ceremonies when power is not an option. While it's main job will play softer background music, it has no issue filling a room with clear thumping music. Highly recommend the Thump series from Mackie - every speaker is high quality and the price point is easy on the wallet. The power, portability and ease will have me adding a second soon - I'd like to also mention the bluetooth capability is fantastic.

These are awesome little Speakers. very versatile, powerful..

Sweetwater Staff: Please append this review to my previous one of the same title.

Mackie Thump Go 8: Review Update Feb 2, 2023.
I have used this speaker almost every day, 3 to 6 gigs a week for the last year. There are three things to criticize after a year. I don't knock any stars: It's a great every-day gig speaker, and I don't even think about buying some other speaker. All the same, some people might like to know the following before buying:

Cons:
(a) The mic preamp is anemic. When I plug a dynamic mic into Channel One with the line/mic button pushed in, I crank the volume to the max and it is just about barely passable for reaching the far corners of the room. With the button out, forget it. Fortunately, I have a Yamaha AG03 mini-mixer in my pedal box that runs on 5v USB from the pedal battery, and it has a good mic preamp for my purposes. I mix voice and guitar signals into one output and send it to Channel One on the Mackie with the mic-line button OUT, and it works great. See also point (c).

(b) when I use the Mackie Thump's Channel One input for the mic (button in) and use Channel Two for my guitar signal, the gain is, again, anemic, and I have to max everything, and the output volume is just passable. So, I have the output of the pedal chain going into the guitar input on the Yamaha AG03 mixer, and the mixer boosts the gain up. Without the mixer, I am not happy with the output volume of the Mackie Thump. I have a buffer with boost in the front of the signal chain. The mixer serves as a booster at the end, and also allows me to avoid using sending anything to Channel Two. See (c).

(c) The THRU XLR output on the back of the Mackie Thump only takes its input from Channel One and ignores Channel Two. This could make some kind of creative signal routing but it leaves Channel Two looking pretty lame if you want to send the THRU signal somewhere else. I note that another reviewer also said that the Bluetooth does not go thru the THRU (I haven't tried it). The THRU would be more useful if it could sum all inputs. This is an advantage to using a mixer last in the previous signal chain, so that only one signal goes to the Mackie through its Channel One: nothing will be missing from the THRU signal, and the extra gain from the mixer helps a lot.

(d) I don't do distortion or overdrive. I think if you want those you probably ought to have a guitar amp. I just use compression and reverb.

But these are just caveats for other buyers, so you are not surprised. I really like this speaker and it stands up well against all the speakers that my friends are using and plays well with them when we play together (but see my review for the indispensable Radial Ice Cube XLR line isolator). I have no complaint whatever about the quality of the Mackie Thump's sound. The somewhat low volume output and weak mic pre are forgivable for a battery speaker - and it's not that bad, given enough input gain, but if you try using it with just a dynamic mic and a guitar plugged straight in, you will probably be disappointed unless you work at very low volume. It has a great, rich bass for an 8" speaker. I have overdriven it a couple of times trying to use a low octave pedal, so I quit doing that, but for my lowest string at F#1 around 40 hz, it gives a fine bass response. For real bass players, there's probably a better choice, I dunno. (I just play a guitar with some extra bass strings, and I only play smallish rooms, not even big clubs.)

I bought two of these speakers because they are battery-powered, to use for busking in places where I can't plug in to power. I have a pedalboard and looper that is also battery-powered - so the Thump Gos integrate great with that system. For fun, I connected the XLR outs on my Helix to the speakers, and was floored by how nice they sound. Honestly, for 90% of what I do (bar band, remote performances for my YouTube channel, etc.) these speakers will handle anything I need. I've not pushed them super hard to see just how loud they can be, but in my studio they sound rich and full with the Helix - and they truly do 'thump!" So since the Helix WILL require plug-in power, I'll use the Mackie speakers plugged in for live monitoring if I'm playing out - maybe even as live floor audio instead of an amp. If I'm busking with the battery powered looper setup, I'll use the Mackies powered by the internal batteries. Just know I'm impressed with the sound and volume. Those 8" speakers are not wimpy! Very satisfied with this purchase.

Very good speaker for the price!

Great speaker, and Mackie delivered again on quality. Easy to handle and move around, and this speaker is can get very LOUD. Battery life is long as well. If you are looking for a great portable speaker with Bluetooth connectivity, then give this one a strong look.

This little beauty is solidly built and sounds great. The battery gets an A for long life and the go is simple and easy to use, especially with the Mackie Thump Go app. Love it.

Beautiful design, elegant, easy to carry, it's like a son, haha. and its spectacular sound, it has a bass, a medium and treble that do not clash with any rhythm. I repeat, the equalizers of the device that is being used must be activated and this raises its audio quality. and thanks to sweetwater who are the kings of customer service.

Really impressed by the sound! Nice bass and crispy highs. Runs for hours. Party at the beach! lol Thank you Mackie! Thank you Sweetwater for the smooth delivery.

I have used this little guy for two events, a family get together and more.

The battery life is phenomenal! I have ran it for several hours and still no indicator.

The music sounds a little flat until you give it enough space to open up. In a home it doesnt sound the best but when you're in a venue or outside it really shines.

Last event we set it up in a corner for toasts, shoe game etc at a wedding and we filled the 70 x 70 room without a problem.

I will be getting another one of these little guys. It's wll worth the investment.

Recently purchased thos unit from Sweetwater (excellent sales and after sales service!)and used it during our church retreat. Used it for playing music and PA with an a oustic guitar. Blown away with quality of sound and power of this unit.

I recently bought this speaker because I was in need of a monitor for my gigs and I have not been disappointed with the quality and power of this little piece of hardware. Nuce, crisp sound. Loud enough that I can use it as a regular speaker in smaller venues, lightweight and ,best of all, no extension cord needed. Definitively will be getting another one.

Great sound! Everything you'd expect from a Mackie Thump but in a smaller package. Love that it's battery powered too.

Surprised with the ability of this speaker. I had seen someone ask if using channel 2 for Bluetooth eliminated the possibility of using the channel with a microphone and no, you can use both, you only manage the Bluetooth volume from the cellular device or external device.

Sound is amazing! Bought 2 so I can link them up and listen in stereo. Love the new Mackie Thump Go speakers. A must have in my humble opinion.

Since AC power is still sometimes embarrassingly unreliable here where I am, and my competition has battery power, I got a battery for my pedals (preamp, compressor, reverb, mini-mixer for guest input) and this battery powered speaker. The SOUND is GREAT, far better than what I expected really. It is missing a few desirable features - it has no EQ knobs! only four presets (one works for me; I have good EQ in my preamp.) The bass response is lovely and amazing for an 8" battery powered speaker! Compares well with the Crate and Bose battery-powered speakers used by some musicians I play with here. (The Bose a little tinny to my ear. The Crate is full of bells and whistles that this one doesn't have, but I have those features in my pedal box.) Also compares well with any comparable size and weight speaker, like my Behringer B210Ds, and most bigger ones, not including big pairs of 12" & 15" FOH like Mackie Thump 15's - which a local band has and inspired this purchase. For a one-man show, outdoors or in any modest-sized venue, perfectly adequate. Fine also for accompanying other musicians in small venues without a mixer. 3-minute set up time! My battery powered pedal box has a guitar cable in and an XLR out, no more cable connection required. When playing with a band and my B210s for FOH, this is a nice personal monitor. I can't answer yet for battery life and durability. I have at this writing used it for one weekend, very happy! I was wondering if I would want it ONLY for those gigs where AC power might be a problem, but I believe that it is going to be my main speaker for playing all small gigs. The sound is that good, the convenience of no AC requirement is wonderful after all these years of lugging speakers.

Love this speaker/PA. It's a great portable option for streaming via Bluetooth or for vocals/instruments. Not quite loud enough to totally cut through in a small room when you have drums, guitar, and bass going…but the fact the output can be sent to additional loud speakers handles that issue. I even take it on my boat and it's loud enough to be heard with the outboard(very loud) at full throttle. Very happy with it. Thanks to my guy Brad Irvin for the recommendation.

I purchased the Thump Go for wedding ceremonies in remote locations away from power sources. However, I've found myself using it all the time for outdoor parties with family and friends or just hanging out on the deck. Some YouTube reviews say that the 4-EQ settings don't really do anything. Wrong. There's a very noticeable difference. AND you can boost treb and bass in the app. True, it's only treb and bass, but it's something. As a music leader at a church who plays guitar and sings, I would definitely like to see a reverb on both channels. Even if it's just a single room or hall reverb. Something. It would make it more usable for gigging or small services. Also, don't be fooled by the markings on the speaker control panel. Bluetooth is not controlled by channel 2, it's controlled by the main. You can control BT on channel 2 in the app but not on the speaker itself. Maybe BT should have its own gain knob on the speaker and its own fader on the app. But the app works well also. It has the same distance of your devises (phone/tablet) BT range. If you have line-of-sight, it's about 175-200 ft away from the speaker. I've measured it. I'm very happy I purchased the Thump Go.

My applications for it: Mostly acoustic solo singing and playing. I use it more and more as my main, I use it sometimes as a side fill, and when I'm playing lead with another band I have used it more than once as a front facing tilt monitor.

I'll start with the cons first:

-If you wish to use this for guitar without a mixer, it's weak at best. The line level without a mixer is just very anemic. So forget busking or doing a tiny thing with a mic & guitar and no mixer. If you play guitar, you need a mixer. Period. That's why I'm giving it 4/5.
-Also, you cannot just connect via native bluetooth, you MUST use the Mackie app. Not a deal breaker but just one more thing you gotta have...

Pros:

-I only tried the Bluetooth the first night I had it, and it exceeded expectations. Really sounded rich, clear and deep so I was impressed. I'll rarely use it that way but it's good to know in case I want it for something in the future.
-The 4 selectable voicings... wow, very useful. I really didn't think they were going to be that meaningful. They are very musical and they really do give you good options depending on your room setting. Lately I have been favoring the Speech mode for acoustic sets, paired with a small powered sub, because of the built in compression in that mode which really helps shape up vocals and keeps feedback way down. Also the Monitor mode is excellent when outdoors to pair with a sub because the frequency cutoff is just right and the full spectrum is there. (I would guess it's about 110-120Hz for the high pass.)
-I have used the feedback eliminator before in a sticky situation with a weird room and it helped tremendously.

-I have used the outdoor mode at a giant pool but I have no idea how it sounded out front. No complaints though.

-XLR Thru is excellent as well. (Don't use the Mon setting for that as I believe it may cut the lows. I can't remember, but you will want to experiment anyway.)

-Volume wise, this will not blow away a compatible battery powered Bose or EV. Not even close. However I'm still impressed by what I hear for the most part. This is where the bluetooth or music playback wins on the speaker. It's definitely loudest with that. I do wish it had just a little more output when using my mixer, because I usually have it on the verge of clipping to get it where I like it. That being said I am constantly getting positive feedback from people, especially guitarists, saying they can't believe I'm getting away with such a rich sound and so little speaker-wise. It just barely has enough volume but it does the job. (I have Turbosound M10 I use as a main but it's getting relegated to stage monitor once my 2nd Thump Go arrives.)

-I ordered another battery and have yet to use it after 150 gigs. Impressive. It hasn't even gotten to the blinking/dying yet. And I have played some gigs for 4 hours with the clipping engaging now and then. Still keeps pumping. They definitely got the battery right. It's SO nice not having to run yet another power cable and have full confidence in it that it will run full-power all night.

-Zero noise or 60 cycle hum when the power is plugged in as well. (Some battery powered formats are guilty of this.) Also, thank you Mackie for using a standard IEC cable (provided) for these!!!

-Lastly the sound: I love that the upper treble is barely there on the compression driver! They roll the top off and it's so clear and warm. The sound quality has just impressed me repeatedly. Never harsh. This is definitely not something they just guessed on. Very, very impressed with the tone and richness. You don't need gobs of volume if it's all mixed right, and the separation & clarity while not sounding harsh with this speaker gave me confidence to buy another one.

-As a monitor, did not disappoint and does not hurt my ears. Set and forget. Really happy about that.

In conclusion: It's so rare nowadays that you are relieved when a piece of gear is this reliable aAND sounds great. As long as you don't plan to do busking or a tiny gig with no powered mixer, you'll be satisfied with this.

PS: Get the gig bag. Super durable, huge pockets, sturdy zippers. No regrets.

I bought this speaker to function as a monitor on acoustic gigs and a playback speaker for teaching lessons…I was happy to find how well it worked with my acoustic/electric instruments…great, full sound, AND rechargeable battery powered…you can take this versatile speaker anywhere…

I'm a bug fan of Mackie product and picked this up to play some upcoming solo gigs where power is not available. It really falls short with adjustability, once I added a Mic Mechanic it really sounds nice. If you only need to use it as a big Bluetooth speaker it works fine but if you run vocals and guitar through it, it just sounds dead and boxy without some help.

When I saw these I had to try them out. I have a pair of Bose S1 speakers and they do the job but for what they cost I thought they could be a bit louder. I figured the Mackie Thump Go would be the solution since it has a 8" speaker. Well volume wise I'd say they're about the same. In fact the Bose might be a bit louder but for about 1/2 the price as the Bose. it's definitely a speaker I'd consider if I wanted to get another. The Mackie also has more features than the Bose. Check them out!

Everything Mackie says about this new BATTERY POWERED powerhouse is correct. Beautiful design, Lightweight, but rugged, ease of use and power to spare......beautiful sound and clarity HOWEVER.....for small venue gig performers there is no REVERB option either on the unit or in and APP like the FREEPLAY.....otherwise I would have given the 5th Star! I am also waiting for the Mackie Thump GO Bag to protect it. I have always loved the Mackie line so I may be biased in that regard!

Minus 1 point for the fact that two of the great features on this PA simply do not work on the "THRU" connection... Bluetooth, and music ducking.

I have a pair of large 15" PAs. Plan was to Bluetooth into this Thump GO, then daisy chain the other two speakers off of it. To my surprise, there was no BT audio coming through to my big PAs. I had to use a BT dongle and a 3.5mm to 1/4" adapter which occupied both of my inputs. But at least BT was flowing to all my speakers. Later I tried using a microphone on CH1 and just the left channel from BT on CH2 to see if ducking would work. Music ducking definitely worked on the Thump Go but does not carry through to anything further in the chain connected to the THRU output. Disappointing and a missed opportunity.

If that THRU connection is not important to you at all then disregard the minus 1.

Minus 0.5 because at low volumes (i.e. just hanging out, not a ceremony or party) the main volume knob is very sensitive and gets stuck in what seems to be between two different volume levels. It bounces back and forth between the two rapidly giving it a noticeable tremolo effect. My solution is to turn the volume up on the PA and then turn the volume down from your streaming device. Not ideal, kind of a nuisance.

This is not an inexpensive amp/speaker. LOWER

And in its favor, the battery life seems quite good. I charged it up, hooked up my board with a signal running through it, and ran it all evening with very little battery usage shown. Exactly what I wanted.

But it is not nearly as loud as my Roland Street Cube, which is also battery powered, The Roland is a small bit larger, but it has more features - at about $ more. The Roland is also listed as a lower powered amp.

But the part that really irritates me is that for channel one (of two) there is a switch for line input or mic level.
I can't tell that this switch does anything. And I don't have anywhere near enough gain for my Shure 58 microphone.

I can and will use this amp. The microphone works perfectly well through a mixer, and fine with that mixer plugged into that channel. I can make it do what I mainly needed to have done.

But for JUST that, I paid a premium price that I did not need to pay. I was hoping for better, and some added capacity. It works well enough, but it does not work as designed, or as priced.

I hate sending things back, and I retained none of the original packaging.

I trust Sweetwater, and expect that if I had complained properly, they would have treated me right. But that is the downside of on-line shopping.

I will continue to trust and shop with SW. I have too much good history.

But I am not likely to buy anything from Mackie again.