So the JBL Partybox 710 is jut an over kill speaker for personal use. But personally I can’t help but really like this speaker cause it looks and sounds great. Now personally, I think that if you're actively looking for a large bluetooth speaker then the Partybox 310 is going to be just fine. But if youre actively looking for something that is over kill then the 710 will not disappoint… and today we’re going to see how the 710 stacks up to another personal favorite speaker of mine… the third generation Soundboks. Now this isn’t going to be an apples to apple companion… but people definitely want to know how these speakers compare.
Regarding pricing, the Partybox 710 retails for $800. Where as the Soundboks retails for $1000. However I have seen it go on sale for $850 sometimes. Nonetheless, the short of it is… if you want something big, if you want the better sound, and if you want something thats still portable… then the Soundboks is the way to go. Nonetheless both of these speakers are great and they’ll be linked down below.
Now first lets talk about the design of these speakers… cause they’re very different from one another. Now first there’s their size… the Soundboks is significantly smaller and light than the 710 weighing in at 34 pounds. Where as the 710 weighs in at 62 pounds. Now regarding portability… even though the 710 does have built in wheels so you can roll this speaker around. Since its handle is fixed it can be a little awkward to roll this speaker around. And even still, sometimes moving this speaker around can be a 2 person job. Where as with the Soundboks, this speaker is much easier to move around cause its both smaller and lighter. Now when it comes to materials… the Soundboks has silicon ball corners, so you can throw this speaker down and not have to worry about it. Its also got a poplar cabinet body with an aluminum frame and steel grill on the front which helps make this speaker durable and light weight. Where as with the 710… this speaker has a mostly plastic body and a metal grill on the front… and plainly said this speaker can be a real scratch magnet. I’ve also got to point out that the Sounboks has a speaker stand mount on the bottom. So if you want you can easily raise this speaker up. Where as with the 710… there is no speaker stand mount. And when it comes to IP ratings, the 710 is rocking an IPX4 rating and the Soundboks is rocking an IP65 rating. Basically, both of these speakers are going to be okay if they get splashed on or rained on. But you definitely don’t want them to get drenched. But technically, the Soundboks is a little more resistant to water than the 710, and its also got some resistance to dirt and dust. So overall, personally I prefer the Soundbok’s lighter and more compact body. It just makes moving this speaker around way easier.
However, something the Partybox 710 has over the Soundboks is this light feature. And this light feature alone could be a deciding factor for some people. And I can’t blame them… this light feature really is sick. Its bright and dynamic, and you can control it through JBL’s Partybox app. If youre looking for something to visually liven up your man cave or pool side, the 710 is going to easily get the job done. Now I know there are plenty of other speakers out there that have built in light features… but I really don’t think that any of them look as good as this one.
Now even though the Soundboks doesn’t have a built in light feature… something that it does have over the Partybox 710 is that it has a built in battery… and you can easily swap this battery out for another battery. And I think that this is a very important feature to point out… cause let say for example the Partybox 310… even though it does have a built in battery… you can’t easily swap it out.
Now the Soundboks has an advertised battery life of 40 hours when its playing at around 50% volume. And trust me 50% volume is already plenty loud on this guy. But if you were to use this speaker at max volume… and trust me… you will rarely will get to do so unless you’re some recluse that lives in the mountains… then this speaker has an advertised battery life of 5 hours when its playing with its stock EQ.
Now personally I just use this speaker while in its stock EQ… but if you were to use its bass boost EQ then your battery life is going to drain a little faster cause this speaker is going to have more bass. And if you were to use this speaker while in its indoor EQ then this speaker is going to last a little longer cause it has less bass than its stock EQ.
But with all the being said, just like with how the light feature on the Partybox 710 can be a deciding factor for some people… the built in battery on the Soundboks can be a deciding factor for some other people. Now even though there are a lot of other box speakers out there that have a built in battery… namely the Partybox 310… a major pro the Soundboks really has going for it is that you can easily swap it out if you’ve got multiple batteries.
But now lets talk about the ports on these speakers. Cause they are pretty different. Now with both of these speakers if you want you can plug in a pair of microphone’s through their quarter inch inputs and do Karaoke. I just hope you don’t startle your neighbors with your singing. And if you want you can adjust the sound of you microphone on either of these speakers. Now with the Partybox you can either do so directly from the speaker it self… or you can use the Partybox App. Where as with the soundboks, you gotta use the App. And with the Partybox, its very important to keep in mind that these EQ settings will only affect your microphone. Not your music. You can’t directly change the EQ on the Partybox like you can with the Soundboks.
However, its very important to keep in mind that the Partybox only has 2 quarter inch inputs. Where as the Soundboks has 2 XLR Combo inputs. So you either plug in an XLR cable, or a quarter inch cable. And having the XLR input on the Soundboks is great cause if you want you can plug in a mixer into it. Which could really come in handy for someone that likes to moonlight as a DJ. Just keep in mind that neither the ports on the Partybox or Soundboks supply phantom power.
Now even though I do think that its a shame that the Partybox doesn’t have XLR inputs… something that it does have going for it is that it has a USB A port. So you can either plug in a USB Stick and play music off of it… or you can plug in your own devices and charge them up. Where as the Soundboks just doesn’t. Now even though I think its great and all that the Partybox has a USB A port… I still really wish that it had a USB C port so that you can either use it as a wired connection and or use it to charge your won devices… cause most phones these days just come included with a USB C cable instead.
However if you want you can always use a wired connection with either of these speaker cause they still have your standard 3.5 millimeter audio jack and they both have an audio out jack so if you want you can daisy chain any other speaker to them and get them to play in sync.
And when it comes to bluetooth connectivity, both of these speakers have zero latency across the board when watching movies or videos on your phone whether youre using an iPhone or android device… but when it comes to audio codecs, the Soundboks is only using SBC, where as the Partybox has support for both SBC and AAC.
But now lets talk about actually listening to music with these speakers. Regarding speaker set ups the Partybox 710 has dual frontward firing woofers, dual frontward firing tweeters and an exhaust port that shoots out the back. And with the Partybox you’ve got your left channel and your right channel. Where as the Soundboks has dual frontward firing woofers, a single frontwards firing tweeter, nestled in a tweeter horn which is supposed to help with dispersion and its exhaust ports shoots out its sides. However, with the Soundboks, its top woofer plays both mids and lows, where as the bottom woofer only plays lows. The idea is that this is supposed to create a more full sound profile. And in short, I think it does. The Soudboks sounds significantly more open than the Partybox. Now both of these speakers sound great.. but they do sound and perform very differently. The Partybox sounds balanced… but its stand out characteristic is just its sheer amount of bass. Seriously, the bass on the 710 can get violent cause it has a ton of physicality to it. And you also have 2 different bass boost levels to choose from. Now the Soundboks also has a ton of bass to it and you can feel it… but its much cleaner and airs more towards the audible side than the Partybox. But now we’re going to jump into the sound test. Both of these speakers are playing at 44% volume and the Soundboks is running off of its internal battery. The Partybox is playing while in bass boost level 1… and in order for my recoding equipment to just not freak out… I had to use the Soundboks while in its indoors mode. Which does reduce its bass. Nonetheless the Soundboks still had a ton of bass in this mode… but its not as physical as the Partybox.
So like you may have just heard… both of these speakers sound good, but they do sound different. The 710 has your classic Partybox sound signature of strong mids so that vocals are elevated and the Bass comes in strong when it has to. Where as with the Soundboks… it does have a slightly brighter sound signature. Now if you want a warmer sound signature out of your Soundboks you can always go in and customize your EQ to your liking. Personally I just use this speaker while in its Power EQ… but you can always make your own. But from a performance standpoint, the Soundboks does sound more open than the Partybox and it does maintain better clarity at higher volumes. And not to mention, its has really clean audible bass. Where as with the Partybox, its bass is much more physical which can be a lot of fun. But it can get over powering at times. Especially if you use it indoors. Like I’ve mentioned in the past, if im going to use the Partybox while indoors… I use it with its bass boost tuned off. But overall, personally I do prefer the openess and clarity that you get from the Soundboks over the violent bass that you get from the Partybox 710. But like I’ve mentioned a few times already, both of these speakers sound good… but it all comes down to preference. If you want violent bass go with the Partybox, and if you want more openess go with the Soundboks. But finally there is max volume, now both of these speakers get incredibly loud. But the Soundboks does get louder. And this is very impressive cause the soundboks get louder than the Partybox even when its running off of its internal battery. And yes, during this max volume demonstration, the Soundboks is using its stock, Power EQ.
But finally lets talk about wirelessly pairing these speakers up with other speakers. The Soundboks is pretty simple, you can wirelessly pair up to 5 Gen 3 Soundboks’s together. And you can either get them to play in sync or you can get them to play in stereo mode. However, there is no backwards compatibly here with older Soundboks. But overall, I do feel that being able to pair up to 5 Sounboks’s together is more than enough.
Where as with the Partybox 710… there is some fragmentation to look out for. Now you can wirelessly pair a Partybox 710 up to either another 710, a 310, or even a 110. And you can get them to play in sync. However if you want to get left and right stereo sound going you are going to need 2 of the same speakers. But the really important thing to keep in mind here is that you can only wirelessly pair a total of 2 partyboxes together. If you want to get more than 2 speakers synced up youre going to have to daisy chain them like I did in my roll.
But its also important to keep in mind that the 710 will not wirelessly pair up to any older Partyboxes like either a Partybox 300 or Partybox 100. And also you can not pair a Partybox to any of JBL’s smaller Partyboost speakers. So if you’ve got a JBL Boombox 2, Xtreme 3, Charge 5, JBL Flip 5 or a JBL Pulse 4… they will not wirelessly connect to your partybox.
Now overall, the 710’s TWS works fine… but it is rather limited. Personally I really wish JBL would just bring Partyboost to their Partyboxes… but at least both of these speakers have audio out jacks. So you can always daisy chain them with other speakers.
But with all the being said, both of these speakers are over kill. But they both truly deliver and theyre both great for their intended use cases. The Partybox 710 is an awesome speaker thats going to look and sound amazing in your man cave or by the pool side. The light feature on the 710 truly is amazing. But more importantly this speaker sounds great and has very violent bass that will easily redecorate your whole house. But from a sound quality stand point… personally I still prefer the Soundboks. It just sounds more open and has better clarity. Now even though there is no lighter feature… I really prefer the Soundboks’s smaller and lighter body. And having that built in battery is great cause you can take this speaker anywhere. But also, youre going to be able to take better advantage of the horse power the Soundboks has to offer versus the Partybox. Meaning that with the Soundboks you're going to be able to plug in more instruments or even a mixer thanks to its dual XLR combo inputs. And also through its app youre able to directly adjust its EQ to your liking.