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So this is the new JBL Partybox On The Go… Its JBL’s newest partybox that really tries to put an emphasis on portability. Which retails for $300. But ultimately this is a very niche speaker that I wouldn’t just recommend to just anybody. If you’re planing on constantly using the included microphone or planning on constantly plugging in your guitar then sure. But personally I really wish JBL did a better job of emphasizing the portability aspect of this speaker.
Now first off lets talk about the design and build quality of this speaker. Since this is a Partybox we’re looking at a mostly plastic body and a grill on the front. This speaker doesn’t have a fabric covered body like JBL’s other portable speakers. However the backside of this speaker is padded leatherette which I think is a nice unexpected touch which really does help when it comes to carrying this speaker around with its included shoulder strap. Now even though this is the partybox on the go… carrying this speaker around is still quite a workout. Now it does weigh in at 16 and a half pounds which isn’t too bad, but it is rather large with a width of 19.3 inches, a hight of 9.6 inches, and a depth of 8.8 inches. For me the weight isn’t a problem, I just feel this speaker could stand to be more compact to make it easier and more applying to take it on the go with you. However this speaker is rocking an IPX4 rating which means a little drizzle or a splash of water won’t harm it and its shoulder strap still has that signature JBL bottle opener for your beverages… two nice features to have when it comes to portability.
Now the main stand out feature here looks wise is that this speaker does have a built in light feature which really does look great. And you have 3 different lighting modes to choose from. But unfortunately you can not customize or remotely control the light feature on this speaker through JBL’s new dedicated partybox app at this time like you can with the Partybox 310 which was announced along side this speaker. Now personally I do think that it would behoove JBL to add app support to the Partybox on the go cause personally I just find it very odd that this speaker doesn’t have app support when the 310 does and so do JBL’s older Pulse speakers. And I really do think its a shame cause JBL really does make one of the best looking light features out there.
But now we have got to talk about battery life. This speaker has an advertised battery life of 6 hours… but thats when this speaker is playing at 50 percent volume, with its light feature turned off, and with its bass boost turned off as well. Now at 50 percent volume this speaker gets loud enough for indoor use but with bass boost turned off this speaker does sound rather flat. Making it sound rather underwhelming for it sheer size.
Now the bass boost feature on this speaker has two levels to it. And I assume most people are going to use this speaker with its bass boost set to two. But with real world use with this speaker playing a 80% volume, with its light feature turned on, and with its bass boost set to 2 we’re looking at a battery life of around an hour and a half to 2 hours of playback time. Which is not all that impressive especially considering its size and weight. Now you could squeeze out a little more battery life out of this speaker if you use it with its bass boost set to level 1… but if you’re trying to get the most out of this speaker you are going to sacrifice battery life. And keep in mind if you use this speaker past 80% volume its going to run out even faster.
So even though JBL is trying to market this speaker as an ultra portable partybox… the reality is this speaker is going to mostly live on the charger and can only be unplugged for brief periods of time. But now this brings us to actually charging this speaker… now this speaker charges via an AC port like all of the other Partyboxes…
But personally I just really wish JBL also threw in a 12 volt charging port like what’s found on the Partybox 300 and Partybox 310 so that you could charge this speaker with the optional JBL car charger which I feel would have came in really handy given that this speaker doesn’t have the best real world battery life. And I also feel that it would have helped cement this speaker as being the ultra portable partybox.
Now when it comes to bluetooth connectivity, this speaker is using Bluetooth 4.2 but more importantly it can be connected to 2 devices at the same time so you and a friend can both be DJ. And when it come to audio codecs this speaker has support for both SBC and AAC. But if you want to you can still use a wired connection with this speaker cause it still has an easy to reach 3.5 millimeter audio jack… and you can even play music off of a USB drive through its USB A port.
Now keeping on the topic of ports this speaker also has a microphone input and a guitar input. So if you’ve got either one you can always just plug in. However this speaker does come included with its own double A powered wireless microphone. Which does have some pretty good range to it and this microphone doesn’t really pick up any feed back.
However just keep in mind the control knobs on top of this speaker are strictly used for adjusting the echo, treble or bass for either any microphone or guitar thats hooked up to this speaker. These control knobs are not used to customize the EQ of your music.
But now lets talk about listening to music with this speaker. Now when it comes to speaker set ups this speaker has a single frontward firing 5.25 inch diameter woofer with frontward firing exhaust ports and dual 1.75 inch diameter tweeters. Now JBL does market this speaker as being a 100 Watt RMS speaker… but thats when this speaker is plugged in. When running off of its built in battery this speaker is rated at 50 watts RMS. So you are going to get a noticeable performance bump out of it when its plugged in. Now like I mentioned earlier this speaker does have a bass boost feature and there’s two levels to it. But for this sound test we're going to be using this speaker with its bass boost turned off, and with it bass boost set to level 2 and im also going to be throwing in the JBL Boombox 2 as well.
So like you may have just heard, the partybox sounds very different from the Boombox 2. The biggest sound quality difference is that the Partybox has more bass to it where as the Boombox 2 sounds more open. But at the end of the day the Partybox sounds like your typical JBL speaker. As in it is a little vocals forward. Now over all this speaker does have a decent amount of bass but I can’t help but feel that for it size it is lacking a little bit even when its set to bass boost level 2. And unfortunately since the exhaust ports on this speaker are frontward facing you can’t place this speaker up against a wall or place it in a corner to up its bass like you can with other speakers. And just like with the boombox 2, the bass on the Partybox really only increases up until around 80% volume… and then from there on out when you increase its volume really the mids and highs just get louder. So over all for it size I do feel this speaker is lacking a little bit when it comes to bass.
Now when it comes to max volume… again this speaker does get decently loud and it gets more than loud enough for indoor use…. But for it sheer size its does leave you wanting a little more. But like I mentioned earlier, this speaker does get a noticeable performance boost when its plugged in. When its plugged in its going to get louder and its going to have more bass. So just reiterating here, this is a speaker that you’re better off just keeping plugged in for the bulk of the time and if you do plan on using it unplugged you’re only going to be able to do so for a short period of time and at a reduced performance level.
But finally let's talk about paring this speaker up to other speakers. Now the Partybox on the go can be paired up to one other Partybox On the go so that you can get left and right stereo sound going. However you can not pair this partybox on the go to any other partybox speaker. So if you’ve got a partybox 300 or a partybox 310 you can’t wirelessly pair them up.
You also can’t wirelessly connect the Party Box on the go to any of JBL’s speakers using party boost. So you can’t pair a partybox on the go to lets say a JBL Boombox 2. Now personally I do feel all of this fragmentation sucks, and at the very least I would like to be able to pair at least any two partybox speakers together.
So overall, if you’re just an average user looking for a large portable Bluetooth speaker to constantly take on the go with you… for me the partybox on the go is a hard pass. Size wise this speaker is rather cumbersome to carry around and the audio performance you go out of it while its running off of its internal battery does leave you wanting more. But the biggest issue is its battery life. With real world use with this speaker playing at 80% volume, bass boost turned on, and with its light feature turned on you’ll be lucky to hit 2 hours of playback time. But if you are someone that does plan on mostly using this speaker while its plugged in, and if you really do plan on constantly using the microphone or guitar inputs on this, and only occasionally plan on running this speaker off of its internal battery then I say maybe. But overall I do feel the partybox on the go has a lot of room for improvement. First off there’s battery life, I also wish this speaker also had a 12 volt charging port so that you can use the optional JBL car charger with it, I would also like to see this speaker be able to get louder and push out more bass whether running off of its internal battery or plugged in, and I would also at least like to see app support so that you can customize the light feature on this speaker.