Get Them Here:
JBL Xtreme 4: https://amzn.to/3W1r2cs
Soundcore Boom 2 Plus & Soundcore Boom 2
Shop on soundcore.com: https://soundcore.tech/A31342ide
Shop on AMZ: https://soundcore.tech/A31342aLb
So the JBL Xtreme 4 has some very big upgrades to it like a swappable battery, better sound and Auracast. And in general, this is a super portable and loud speaker thats great to take to the beach or park with you. However, the JBL Xtreme 4 is a little pricy especially when you compare it to either the Soundcore Boom 2 and especially the Soundcore Boom 2 Plus which both give you a very big bang for your buck. Either way, if you’re thinking about picking up the JBL Xtreme 4 or if you’re thinking about going with either the Soundcore Boom 2 Plus or even the Soundcore Boom 2… lets see which one is right for you.
Regarding pricing, this can easily be a deciding factor for many people here. The JBL Xtreme 4 retails for $380, a little pricy if you ask me. Where as the Soundcore Boom 2 plus retails for $250 and the Soundcore Boom 2 retails for $130… and both of Soundcore’s speakers routinely like to go on sale. Nonetheless, depending on your needs you’re going to be better off with one of these speakers over the other, so if you want to pick any of these speakers up they’ll be linked down below, or you can always press on the YouTube shopping button.
Now first theres the design of these speakers. Now all of these speakers are relatively small and easy to take on the go with you. However, both the Boom 2 and Xtreme 4 are noticeably smaller than the Boom 2 plus. But the Boom 2 plus is still relatively easy to take on the go with you cause it is smaller than either the JBL Boombox 3 or Sony ULT field, plus just like the Xtreme 4, the Boom 2 plus does have a built in shoulder strap so you can more easily carry it. But one thing the shoulder strap on the Xtreme 4 has over the Boom 2 Plus is that it has a built in bottle opener which I feel is a very nice touch and its very convenient. But regarding durability, all of these speakers are water proof and they all float in water, which is nice. However, the Xtreme 4 is more durable and it feels more premium cause it has a mostly fabric wrapped body, so its going to do a better job of standing up to abuse from bumps and scrapes. Whereas these two Boom speakers have a mostly plastic body, which can get scratched easily, however, I dont mind the mostly plastic body on the Boom 2 Plus cause this helps this speaker keep its weight down thus making it easier to take it on the go with you.
But something that both Boom speakers have over the Xtreme 4 is that they both have built in light features in their passive radiators. And I actually really like these light features cause they are fairly dynamic. However, if you do decide to use these light features then that is going to take an additional toll on the battery life.
Now when it comes to the battery life on these speakers, the Boom 2 has an advertised battery life of 24 hours and the Boom 2 Plus has an advertised battery life of 20 hours. However these advertised battery lives of 20 and 24 hours is with both of these speakers playing at 50% volume and with the light feature on these speakers turned on but with the bass up feature on these speakers turned off. And 50% volume on the Boom 2 plus is noticeably louder than 50% volume on the Boom 2.
But real world use with both of these speakers playing at 80% volume, and with the light feature turned on and with the Bass UP feature turned on, both of these speakers are going to be good for about 6 to 7 hours of playback time. And just keep in mind, the Boom 2 Plus is going to get louder and its going to have more bass and the Boom 2.
But then theres JBL Xtreme 4 which has an advertised battery life of 24 hours, but this advertised battery life of 24 hours is with this speaker playing at 50% volume. But real world use with this speaker playing at 80% volume, its going to be good for about 14 hours of playback time. And 80% volume on the Xtreme 4 is going to be noticeably louder than 80% volume on the Boom 2, but its not going to be as loud as 80% volume on the Boom 2 Plus.
However, one major upgrade on the Xtreme 4 over these other two speakers is that you can now fairly easily remove the battery in it. Now I say thats its fairly easy cause you do have to use an Alan wrench to remove these screws, and I feel that JBL used screws here to keep their IP67 ratting. instead of using a spring loaded door like what’s found on the Partybox 320 or 120. But regardless, being able to fairly easily remove the battery on the Xtreme 4 means this is either going to extend the overall life of your speaker… or you can always get multiple batteries and just keep the party going cause the Xtreme 4 uses the same battery found in the Partybox 320.
Now when it comes to charging these speakers, all of these speakers charge via a USB C port, even the Soundcore Boom 2 plus which I feel it impressive given its size. So you can charge any of these speakers with your phones charger. However, only the Xtreme 4 comes included with a proper chargning cable where as with both boom 2 speakers, you just get a USB to USB C charging cable and you have to use your own wall adaptor.
Now when it comes to ports, this USB C port is the only port that you’ll find on the Xtreme 4. Unfortunalty, the Xtreme 4 doesn’t have an audio jack and you cant use this speaker with a wired connection. However, you can use the USB C port on the Xtreme 4 to charge your own devices, which I feel is great. And you can also use the USB C port on the Soundcore Boom 2 Plus charge your own devices too. But sadly, even though the Soundcore Boom 2 also creates via a USB C port, you cant use its USB C port to charge your own devices. Instead, the Boom 2 has a USB A port… but I dont feel that this USB A port is a useful as the USB C on these other two speakers cause most phones these days come with USB C to USB C charging cables.
And finally, the Soundcore Boom 2 plus is the only speaker here that have an audio jack, so you can use use it with a wired connection. Now I dont mind that you can’t use the Xtreme 4 with a wired connection, but I do feel that this speaker is too big and too expensive to not have an audio jack.
But finally, when it comes to bluetooth connectivity, all of these speakers can be connected to two devices at the same time so you and a friend can both be DJ… however, latency is a bit of an issue for the Xtreme 4 so I do hope that JBL fixes that through a software updated, but latency is not an issue for either of these two Boom speakers, and both of these Boom speakers have support for SBC and AAC where as the Xtreme 4 only has support for SBC.
But with all of that out of the way, lets talk about sound. Regarding speaker set up, the Boom 2 plus has a single frontward firing woofer, dual frontward firing tweeters and dual passive radiators that shoot out the sides. But then there are the Xtreme 4 and Boom 2 Plus which both have dual frontward firing Woofers, dual frontward firing tweeters and dual passive radiators that shoot out the sides, expect on the Boom 2 Plus, its larger. Now with all of these speakers you can always go in an adjust their EQ to your liking. However, with the Xtreme 4, if you use this speaker while its plugged in you are going to get a performance boost out of it, its going to get louder and its going to have more bass. Where as with these other two Boom speakers, you dont get a performance increase. But now we’re going to jump into the sound test. All of these speakers are playing at 75% volume while unplugged, the Xtreme 4 is using its stock EQ and both Boom speakers are playing with their Bass Up turned on.
Sound test
So first off when it comes to sound quality, the JBL Xtreme 4 has the best sound quality here because there is a lot more detail in the mids and it sounds a lot more open, thus giving you a much more realistic listening experience. Cause with both of these Boom speakers, yes they have a lot of bass, and having a lot of bass is fun, but their highs aren’t are crisp and their mids aren’t as detailed, and as a result, they can sound a little shallow compared to the JBL Xtreme 4. And when it comes to max volume performance, the Boom 2 gets surprisingly loud for its size and its price, however the Xtreme 4 gets noticeably louder than the Boom 2, but the Boom 2 Plus gets a lot louder than the Xtreme 4, and thats to be expected cause its larger. Overall I feel that the Boom 2 plus is good for like a 12 person party, the Xtreme 4 is good for like a 10 person party and the Boom 2 is good for like an 8 person party. But like I mentioned earlier, if you were to use the Xtreme 4 while its plugged in you are going to get a performance boost out of it, its going to get louder and its going to have more bass. And while its plugged in it does a decent job of keeping up with the Boom 2 Plus. However, the Boom 2 plus is louder and its bass is a lot more imrepssive. Overall, both the Boom 2 and Boom 2 Plus get loud and they deliver a lot of bass, however with the Xtreme 4 you are going to get better fidelity.
But finally, lets talk about pairing these speakers up with other speakers. Now with all of these speakers, if you have two of the exact same speakers then you can wirelessly pair them up and get them to play in left and right stereo mode. So your music is going to get louder and its going to sound more open cause you’re going to have one speaker for your left channel and another for your right channel.
But, both of these Soundcore Speakers are using Soundcore’s Partycast 2.0, you can pair them up together and get them to play in sync and you can have up to 100 speakers playing in sync. And there are a few Soundcore speakers to choose from that are also using Partycast 2.0.
But then theres the JBL Xtreme 4 which is using Aura cast, so you can pair it up to other speakers that are also using Aura cast like either a Clip 5, or a Go 4… or you can wirelessly connect your Xtreme 4 to JBL’s Partybox speakers that are also using Aura cast like a Partybox 120, 320 or Ultimate and you can get them to play in sync. But also, Aura cast is backwards compatible, so you can pair your Xtreme 4 up to any of JBL’s older speakers that are using Partyboost like either a Boombox 3, Boombox 2, Xtreme 3, Charge 5, Pulse 5, a Pulse 4, a Flip 5 or to a Flip 6 and get the to play in sync.
However, if you’re going to pair an aura cast speaker to an aura cast speaker, you just have to press the aurcast button and they’ll connect. But if you’re trying to connect an aura cast speaker to a Partyboost speaker than you do have to connect them through JBL’s app. Overall, both JBL and Soundcore have good speaker pairing protocols, however, JBL does give you a lot more options if you plan on growing your collection of speakers.
But with all of that being said, I personally really like both the Soundcore Boom 2 and the Soundcore Boom 2 Plus because they give you a lot of value for your money. Both the Boom 2 and Boom 2 Plus get impressively loud for their size and price, they both have decent battery lives and they both have an impressive looking light feature which I personally really enjoy. And for a lot people, I feel these will get the job done at a price that you cant be mad at. However, if you were to spring for the JBL Xtreme 4, you are going to get better fidelity in your music, its going to feel more premium and durable, and you’re going to have a much longer lasting battery. But also, thanks to the Xtreme 4’s fairly easy to remove battery, you can either get multiple batteries and keep the party going… or you can always swap out the battery when your battery eventually dries up, and thats going to prolong the overall life of your speaker and investment.