The Best JBL PartyBox Wireless Bluetooth Speakers for Every Event

In the 1970’s, The Grateful Dead packed their stage with over 600 JBL speakers and created the famous Wall of Sound. Today, JBL offers high-quality sound solutions for outdoor parties and events through its PartyBox line of speakers for those who still crave that exciting, live music sound. These portable speakers come packed with powerful audio capabilities and unique features such as RGB lighting, wireless connectivity, and Karaoke functions. The JBL PartyBox series promises to take your party to the next level, and its sleek, sturdy design ensures that it can withstand the wildest of dance floors.

Whether you're throwing a backyard barbecue, hosting a karaoke night, or just enjoying a fun night in, the JBL PartyBox speakers are the perfect addition to your entertainment setup. In this article, we'll dive deep into the features and capabilities of the JBL PartyBox series to help you choose the perfect speaker for your next event.

True Wireless Stereo Mode (TWS)

Take it to the next level with two speakers in True Wireless Stereo mode! Now, if you’re at a party and just want the same sound coming out of each speaker to increase the sound in different areas of the party, then you can simply keep it in party mode. But if you put them roughly equidistant from where you will be listening to them and set them to stereo, it brings the soundstage up to an entirely new level. The vocals float right in between the speakers, and it’s so much more immersive in this mode. It is important to note that if you want to pair any of the PartyBoxes together, you can only pair two total together, and they must be the same exact model. We wish JBL would update this in the future, as it would be nice to pair different size PartyBoxes together.

RGB Lights & App Control

What makes these speakers perfect for your next party is the iconic RGB light around the woofer and strobe light located at the top of the grill. These are both controlled through the JBL app, and they give you different light show controls and allow you to sync them up with your playlist. While you’re in the app, you have full control of your music, update settings, and check your battery life. You also get full control of the Karaoke features and more with just a few swipes and taps within the app, allowing you to DJ while not being next to the speaker.

Bluetooth

Every PartyBox on this list uses Bluetooth 5.1, which is great if you pair it up with any video source because there will be very little to no input lag. This is perfect for connecting to an iPad, laptop, or other device that you may want to watch videos on without worrying about the character's mouths not matching the audio coming out. You can also connect two devices at once if you and a friend want to pick the music together at a party.

IPX4 Water Rating

Go ahead, make a splash! Each PartyBox is IPX4 waterproof rated, so whether you’re outside in some light rain or by the pool on a hot summer day, you’ve got peace of mind knowing this will be safe, rain or shine. Just be sure to close the rubber flap on the back to protect all the I/O ports!

JBL PartyBox Encore Essential Portable Bluetooth Speaker

Your dorm or bedroom glow-up is here. The JBL PartyBox Encore Essential Portable Speaker is perfectly sized to fit right into your space. Your playlist will sound crystal-clear, featuring JBL’s signature Original Pro Sound with deep bass. Just be sure not to wake up your neighbors or your parents.

Design

The PartyBox Encore Essential is the smallest speaker on this list, weighing 13 pounds. It is close to a perfect cube shape at roughly 11 inches by 13 inches by 12 inches in dimension, with a sturdy built-in handle on the top. If you want to set these up in a room at your home, they will perform best when elevated closer to your ear height. We recommend placing them on a table or countertop instead of the ground for better sound. However, if you don’t have an ideal location for them, we recommend putting them on speaker stands if you want them to be perfectly placed in your home. Now the Encore does not feature a speaker stand slot on the bottom like some others on this list, but they match up perfectly with the Sanus Steel Foundation Stands and look phenomenal paired together.

Regarding battery life, JBL has rated the 4800mAh battery inside the Encore Essential to last for 6 hours, depending on the volume and audio content, and takes 3.5 hours to charge to full. In our testing, we were able to hit the six-hour mark only when we had the lights turned off, the bass boost turned off, and the music set to around 50% volume. However, when we used it with the light show and bass boost turned up slightly, and the volume ranged from 40-70%, it lasted closer to around 5 hours.

I/O

Spin the Encore Essential around and open the protective rubber flap to see a host of connections. First, you have one quarter-inch input for attaching a microphone. Yes, that’s right, a microphone! This feature is pretty unique and is definitely one of the features that put the word “party” in PartyBox. Simply plug in a mic, adjust its volume with the dial right below the input, and open the app to adjust the bass, treble, and echo on the microphone sound. We see this being used as a karaoke mic to sing along with your favorite songs or simply as an announcement mic at a party or event.

We also have an aux port to connect your device with a wired connection. A 5V USB plug can charge your phone or other devices or allow you to plug in a USB device (WAV, MP3, WMA) and play music directly from it. In addition, there is a TWS (True Wireless Stereo) button to sync up another PartyBox and use them as a left and right stereo pair.

Another really cool option is to use these in your gym to bring your workouts to another level. We tested it in a home gym with two speakers on stands set in TWS mode and connected them to a Peloton. Being completely wireless, the setup was insanely easy and made the Peloton workouts 10 times better. And when we were done, you could just pick them up off the stands and bring them on the go with no fuss of detaching wires!

Performance

Let us start by saying this is a “party” speaker. Hence the name PartyBox. If you’re looking for extremely detailed and nuanced sound from your speakers, we recommend looking at our Best High Performance Powered Speakers, which will be on a totally different level than any of the PartyBox speakers.

That said, for the price of the Encore Essential, it is 100% worth the money with the sound it outputs. It has one 5.25-inch woofer, and two 1.75-inch tweeters with 100 watts of power all packed in this cube. To give it a run for its money, we threw this in our trunk and took it outdoors to a park.

We loved the easy-to-use controls on the top of the unit to easily play/pause music, change volume, power on/off, and control the bass boost function. We have an entire setup video that will be available for all purchasers if you need additional help getting up and running with any of the PartyBoxes.

In honor of Rihanna’s Super Bowl Halftime show, we tested each speaker with a Calvin Harris and Rihanna party song; This Is What You Came For. This song features Rihanna's iconic vocals with an EDM vibe that is sure to get your party up and dancing. The Encore Essential brought this song to life with clear vocals and a really good presentation of the dynamic mix of instruments. However, when we turned the bass boost feature to the “punchy” setting, it changed it completely. Since this also has a rear-firing port, we were able to put it up against a wall and really fill the outdoors with some fantastic party music. In addition, we could tweak the EQ right in the app to sound its best depending on what music style we played.

One of our favorite features is pairing two of the Encore Essentials together. As we mentioned before, we tested this while riding a Peloton and had one speaker act as the left and the other act as the right in a true stereo setup. Now, if you’re at a party and just want the same sound coming out of each speaker to increase the sound in different areas of the party, then you can simply keep it in party mode. But if you put them roughly equidistant from where you will be listening to them and set them to stereo, it brings the soundstage up to an entirely new level. The vocals float right in between the speakers, and it’s so much more immersive in this mode. It is important to note that if you want to pair any of the PartyBoxes together, you can only pair two total together, and they must be the same exact model.

JBL PartyBox 110 Portable Bluetooth Wireless Speaker

Your graduation party, BBQ, or general hang-out could use some music to set the mood. Or, the budding musician in your household needs a good speaker to practice. The JBL PartyBox 110 features two adjustable bass levels for the right amount of deep bass and the same engineering as JBL’s professional-grade line of speakers. Of note, the PartyBox 110 can be configured via the JBL PartyBox mobile app, which gives you control of the soundstage.

Design

The PartyBox 110 is the next step up in size and sound. Weighing 23 pounds, it gives you an entire extra woofer and a few more features. Instead of a handle at the top, the 110 features a recessed handle on the back of the speaker for transporting it. It’s not quite as easy to grip as the Encore Essential, but with the way the weight is dispersed, we didn’t have many complaints about carrying long distances. There is an additional handle at the bottom which allows you to carry it on its side with two hands which is a really nice touch. If you want to set the 110 up in a room at your home, we recommend putting them on a stand that brings the speaker closer to the height of your ears. There is a standard speaker mount on the bottom that you can uncover and fit on a 35 or 36-mm PA speaker stand. This is an awesome feature as you can now raise one or two of them up into the air to be closer to ear height and really improve the sound at your party.

If you do end up keeping it on the ground, we really like that it’s angled slightly upward to guide the sound up ever so slightly. It also has some heavy-duty orange grips on each side, which allow you to play the speaker on the side and be slightly elevated off the ground or table. Another nice feature is the shallow slot on the top that lets you place a phone or iPad on the speaker so everyone can easily find the audio source and change music.

Regarding battery life, JBL has rated the roughly 9,800mAh battery inside the PartyBox 110 to last for 12 hours, depending on the volume and audio content, and takes 3.5 hours to charge to full. Similar to the Encore Essential battery, we found the total battery life claim to be a little lower which was closer to 11 hours when we had the lights turned off, the bass boost turned off, and the music set to around 50% volume. However, when we used it with the light show and bass boost turned up slightly, and the volume ranged from 40-70%, it lasted around 10 hours. Still, 10 hours is one long party!

I/O

Spin the PartyBox 110 around and open the protective rubber flap to see all the great connection options. First, you have a 1/4-inch input for attaching a microphone and one-quarter-inch for plugging in a guitar! Above those respective inputs are physical dials to adjust the gain on each. Now you can sing along and have a guitar play along. This is a really cool feature, and if you are just learning how to play guitar, it might be the perfect setup to play along and practice playing on time with your favorite songs.

There’s an aux port to connect your device with a wired connection. A 5V USB plug can charge your phone or other devices or allow you to plug in a USB device (WAV, MP3, WMA) and play music directly from it. In addition, there is a TWS (True Wireless Stereo) button to sync up another PartyBox and use them as a left and right stereo pair. There is also one more output that the Encore Essential does not feature. JBL has included an Aux output on the PartyBox 110 which may not seem like a big deal. However, this allows you to use an aux cable and daisy chain more than two PartyBoxes together instead of pairing them wirelessly. Essentially, you could have an unlimited amount of PartyBoxes stacked together for massive output, all connected by aux cords. A really cool feature!

Performance

We’re starting to get into some serious power with the PartyBox 110. It has two 5.25-inch woofers and two 2.25-inch tweeters with 160 watts of power. Just like the Encore Essential, we loved the easy-to-use controls on the top of the unit to easily play/pause music, change volume, power on/off, and control the bass boost function. We have an entire setup video that will be available for all purchasers if you need additional help getting up and running with any of the PartyBoxes.

We played the same couple of test songs that we used on the Encore Essential, but specifically, we will talk about the differences we heard in Calvin Harris and Rihanna’s This Is What You Came For. You get the same great sound as the Encore Essential; however, when we really cranked up the volume, the PartyBox 110 sounded more effortless. The mid-tones had much more clarity due to the extra woofer taking care of those super low bass notes. The vocals were slightly more authentic and lively, with a clear and fast bass than the Encore Essential. However, we’d argue that two Encore Essentials wirelessly paired with TWS on speaker stands sounds better than one single PartyBox 110.

JBL PartyBox 710 Portable Bluetooth Wireless Speaker

Design

You know the saying, “go big or go home,” right? The JBL PartyBox 710 Portable Wireless speaker is outfitted with the same tech used by professional studio engineers. Combining dual 2.75" tweeters and 8" woofers with its tuned bass reflex port creates a precise soundstage for music so loud you will feel it in every bone in your body. Weighing in at 68 pounds and boasting 800 watts of power, the PartyBox 710 brings the nightclub to wherever you go. Similar to the 310, the 710 has wheels on the bottom, but they are a bit more rugged than the smooth glide ones on the 310. This is a nice switch-up since the 68 pounds of weight could be difficult to move across anything other than perfectly flat terrain. There is no telescopic handle on this one, but since it is a bit taller than the 310, the handle is pretty easy to reach to roll it around. We do have to say that with the weight of this speaker, it definitely isn’t the one that you will want to constantly move around.

Another factor that makes this a bit less portable than the rest of the PartyBoxes on this list is that it is not powered by a battery. Every other PartyBox before this one allows you to plug them in and charge up at home and then easily unplug and take it on the go. The 710 is meant more for staying at home being plugged in but also features wheels, so it’s easily moveable outback to the pool or back into the house when needed.

I/O

Spin the PartyBox 710 around and open the protective rubber flap for all of your inputs and outputs. First, you have one-quarter-inch input for attaching a microphone and one-quarter-inch for plugging in a second microphone or a guitar! Above those respective inputs are physical dials to adjust the gain on each. Below the second input is a small button indicating whether you are using a mic or a guitar. This panel is the exact same as the PartyBox 310.

Like the others, we have an aux port to connect your device with a wired connection. A 5V USB plug can charge your phone or other devices or allow you to plug in a USB device (WAV, MP3, WMA) and play music directly from it. In addition, there is a TWS (True Wireless Stereo) button to sync up another PartyBox and use them as a left and right stereo pair. Like the PartyBox 110 and 310, there is an aux in and then another aux in and aux out dedicated section below the other buttons to allow for easy daisy chaining.

Performance

The PartyBox 710 has two 8-inch woofers and two 2.75-inch tweeters with 240 watts of power! You get all of the same physical buttons on top of the 310 on the 710 as well. One feature that really stood out while doing our testing was the RGB lights on the 710. They are around each woofer like the other PartyBoxes but are also connected between the woofers too, similar to the 110! There are also multiple strobe lights on the top, multiple RGB flashing lights behind the grill, and RGB strips down each side of the grill. This speaker has its own light show built right in that will definitely wow your guests.

Not being able to take this one on the go with us definitely hindered our testing a bit. Since we always needed an outlet, we didn’t bring it to the park or out camping with us. This is probably for the best since the sound coming from this would most likely scare all wildlife away within a mile radius!

This speaker is for someone who needs to entertain many people in a large backyard. Pair two of these up, and you have a true DJ setup, complete with a light show for entertainment. The 710 was by far the best sounding, coolest looking, and most impressive PartyBox we tested.

So, Where’s The Party?

JBL’s astounding PartyBox wireless speaker series offers something for every price range, space, and desire, whether having a couple of friends over or hosting an all-ages show. You always get the soundstage created by JBL specifically for professional recording with a light show to boot. You cannot go wrong! If each description wasn’t enough for you to decide which one is best for you, don’t worry!

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