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So now that the the JBL Partybox On The Go is here people want to know how it stacks up against the UE Hyperboom. Now just a disclaimer here, I absolutely love the hyperbooom… its been my go to speaker for the bulk of 2020 and I prefer this speaker over the JBL Boombox 2. So lets see how JBL’s new large portable bluetooth speaker compares to the hyperboom.
Now price wise the JBL Partybox On the Go retails for $300 where as the Hyperboom retails for $400. Now I know this $100 price difference between these two speakers might be a deciding factor for some people… but you really do get a considerable return on investment on those extra $100 if you go with the hyperboom. Nonetheless if you want to pick either of these speakers up they’ll be linked down below and if you want to learn more about either of these speaker please watch their full reviews cause we’re on going over their main differences.
Now first off lets talk about the designs and portability of these speakers. Now the Partybox is considerably larger and heavier than the Hyperboom. Now even though the partybox does have a shoulder strap which does help lugging this speaker around… taking this 16 and half pound speaker on the go with you is rather cumbersome mainly cause of its sheer volume. Where as the hyperboom is smaller and it is a little lighter weighing in at 13 pounds. Now even though this speaker doesn’t have a shoulder strap like the Partybox… it does have a built in rubber carrying handle which is super durable. So overall the Hyperboom’s smaller size and lighter weight just make it way easier to carry around with you than the Partybox. But then there’s also materials… the Hyperboom has a mostly fabric body which is going to standup to constant bumps and scrapes without any problems. Where as the Partybox is rocking a mostly plastic body and grill on the front. So it can be a scratch magnet. But both of these speaker do have an IPX4 rating meaning that neither one of them is afraid of a little water. Nonetheless if you are looking for a large portable bluetooth speaker to take on the go with you the hyperboom is the easier speaker here to carry around.
But something the partybox does have going for it is that it does have a built in light feature. Where as the Hyperboom is just a big rectangle. Now the light feature on the Partybox really does look great and you do have 3 different lighting modes to choose from. However just keep in mind you can not customize the light feature on this speaker through JBL’s Partybox app like you can with the Partybox 310 which was announced along side this speaker. Now personally I do think this is a shame and I would like for JBL to eventually add app support to the Partybox OTG.
But now lets talk about battery life cause there are some big differences here. Now the Hyperboom has an advertised battery life 24 hours but thats when its playing at 50% volume where as the Partybox has an advertised battery life 6 hours but thats when its playing at 50% volume, with its light feature turned off and with its bass boost feature turned off. And quite frankly when this speaker is playing with its bass boost turned off its sounds very flat.
Now the partybox has a bass boost feature and it has two levels to it… and im assuming that most people are going to use it while in bass boost level two. Where as the Hyperboom has a fully customizable EQ but even with its stock EQ this speaker still has a lot of bass. Now real world use with the partybox playing at 80% volume, with its light feature turned on and with its bass boost set to level two. We’re looking at a battery life of around an hour and half, maybe 2 hours of playback time which really isn’t all that impressive given this speaker’s sheer size and weight. And keep in mind if you raise the volume on this speaker even more its going to drain even faster.
Where as with the Hyperboom, real world use with this speaker playing at 80% volume its good for around 8 to nine hours of playback time and at max volume this speaker is good for 3 hours of playback time. And keep in mind at max volume this speaker is way louder than the partybox. So definitely if portability and battery life are a big deal to you then the Hyperboom is the way to go here.
But now lets talk about connectivity… both of these speakers can be connected to two bluetooth devices at the same time, they both have an easy to reach 3.5 millimeter audio jack and they both have a USB A port so that you can charge your own devices. However with the partybox you can play music off of a USB drive if you want where as with the hyperboom you can’t.
Now another thing the Partybox has going for it is that it does have a microphone and guitar input which could be useful for like events. Where as the Hyperboom has an optical port so you could hook it up to your TV.
But also the partybox does come included with its own wireless microphone. But just keep in mind the dials on this speaker are strictly used for adjusting the echo, treble or bass for any microphone or guitar you might’ve hooked up to it. These controls dials are not used for customizing the sound of your music.
But now lets talk about listening to music with these speakers. When it comes to speaker set ups these speakers are very different from one another. The partybox on the go has a single frontward firing woofer with frontward firing exhaust ports and it has dual tweeters. Where as the Hyperboom has dual angled firing woofers, dual tweeters and it also has a pair of passive radiators shooting out the back. So with the hyperboom you are getting considerably more hardware in a smaller and lighter package. Now we’re going to be jumping into a sound test… like I mentioned earlier the partybox does have a bass boost feature and it has two levels to it. But for this sound test we’re strictly going to be using this speaker while in bass boost level 2. And even though the Hyperboom does have a fully customizable EQ we’re going to be using it while in it stock EQ.
So when it comes to sound, I gotta say the Hyperboom sounds more open and it also has more bass. Which leads to a more balanced listening experience. Where as the partybox does sound narrow with less bass. But another thing with the hyperboom is that thanks to its rear firing passive radiators you can always up the bass on this speaker by simply placing it up against a wall so that its bass something to bounce off of. Now I didn’t place the hyperboom up against a wall in this sound test to give the partybox a fighting chance cause you simply just can’t do that with the partybox cause it has frontward firing exhaust ports. But yeah, but its self the hyperboom does have noticeably more bass than the partybox but you can always get even more bass out of it by placing it up against a wall.
Now when it comes to max loudness… again this is an area where the hyperboom clearly comes out on top. Off of straight battery power the hyperboom gets way louder than the partybox. Now even though JBL does market the partybox as being a 100 watt RMS speaker… thats when this speaker is plugged in. When its running off of its internal battery the Partybox is a 50 watt RMS speaker. So if you use this speaker while its plugged in it is going to get a little louder and its also going to push out more bass. But even when its plugged in the Partybox still isn’t a match for the hyperboom which is still louder and pushing out more bass even with just its battery power. However just keep in mind, with the hyperboom you aren’t going to get a performance bump out of it if you use it while its plugged in… its still going to perform the same. Which isn’t a good or a bad thing. So over all the Hyperboom does sound and perform better than the Partybox.
But finally let's talk about the extra little features found on these speakers. Like ive mentioned a few times already the hyperboom does have a fully customizable EQ so you can make it sound however you want. Where as with the partybox all you can do it just raise it bass through its bass boost feature. But you can’t adjust it mids or highs. Another feature that I really like about the hyperboom is that you can power it on or off remotely through its app and you can also easily switch sources if you got it hooked up to any other audio source. And you can also easily pair the hyperboom up to other UE speakers through its app that support Party UP. So this will might be another hyperboom, a Boom 3 or Megaboom 3 or a few other UE speakers.
Where as when it comes to pairing the Partybox on the go to other speakers there is some major fragmentation to keep in mind. 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 a partybox on the go to any other partybox speakers.
So if for example you’ve got a Partybox on the go and Partybox 310 you can not wirelessly pair them up together. Which I do think is unfortunate. And also keep in mind you can not wirelessly pair a Partybox to any of JBL’s speakers using Partyboost. So you can not wirelessly pair a Partybox on the go to lets say a Boombox 2.
So over all, even though the Hyperboom might be a little more expensive than the Partybox on the go… you are getting a major return on invest on the extra cash spent. The Hyperboom sounds better, gets considerably louder, has more bass, and has significantly better performing battery life than the Partybox on the go all while in a smaller and lighter package. And the hyperboom also has a fully customizable EQ and remote on and off which is nice to have. So if you’re an average user looking for a large portable Bluetooth speaker then hands downs the Hyperboom is still the way to go. Where as the partybox on the go is really only suited for someone who plans on constantly using the microphone and or guitar input on this speaker. Or constantly using the included wireless microphone to host an event or something. But ultimately the Partybox on the go is a speaker you’re better off using mostly while its plugged in cause its real world battery life isn’t all that impressive. And since this speaker is rather large taking it on the go with you is rather cumbersome. And even though this speaker does have a great looking light feature… ultimately when it comes to sound it does leave you wanting more.