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 Ultimate.

Design & Build Quality

Heavy Duty

The Partybox Ultimate needs to be plugged into a wall outlet for power. It does not run on its own battery like some of the smaller Partybox’s in the line. Similar to the JBL Partybox 710, the Partybox Ultimate has heavy-duty wheels and a sturdy handle to easily tilt on its side and pull your speaker anywhere you need. And this is a needed feature since the unit weighs in at 87 pounds! In addition, it is IPX4 splashproof, so you don’t have to worry about placing this near the pool or worrying about a drink or two spilling on it.

I/O

On the back, below the handle, you have a small rubber door that opens up the inputs. Inside the recessed area, you have a quarter-inch input to plug in a microphone and a second one on the other side with a switch to make it usable for a second microphone or a guitar. This is a really fun feature for your parties because you can have two people singing along with karaoke or even just use it as a PA system to make announcements at a soccer game. You’ll also get a USB-A to charge a device with and a 3.5mm input to plug in and play music from a wired device.

Below that is another 3.5mm input and a 3.5mm output that can be used to daisy chain more JBL Partybox’s together. This is a really cool feature that lets you add as many Partybox’s together as you want. However, keep in mind this will be a wired connection between each device.

Towards the bottom on the back of the speaker is the power input and a small door that opens up an area to store your power cable when it’s not in use. We absolutely love this feature as you never have to worry about carrying around your power cable, and it keeps it clean and tidy in one location.

JBL PartyPad

On the top of the speaker, there are dials to adjust the bass, mid, treble, and echo. There are also dials to adjust the volume and the lightshow effects. In the middle, there is the power button, a Bluetooth pairing button, a favorite the song button, and a bass boost button. Then there are three color pads that can be used to add DJ effects like a horn, repeater, and a filter to the music.

Features & Technology

JBL Pro Sound

JBL didn’t name this Partybox the Ultimate for no reason. It truly is the ultimate party and outdoor speaker on the market. The sound can cover a massive area such as a soccer field, football field, or two basketball courts. It features two 4.5-inch midrange drivers and two 2.75-inch dual tweeters to produce a stereo image with a wide soundstage. In addition, there are a pair of 9-inch subs that provide extraordinary bass that will shake the ground and hit you right in your chest. It’s even capable of recognizing and playing Dolby Atmos music for a truly unique and immersive experience.

RGB Lights & App Control

What makes these speakers perfect for your next party is the iconic RGB lights around the woofers and the strobe light located at the top of the grill. You can create a cool starry night effect, light trails, strobes, and light projection onto the floor. These automatically sync with your music and can be controlled from the dials on top or through the JBL app. While you’re in the app, you have full control of your music, update settings, music EQ, and you can 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.

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.

WiFi & Bluetooth

The Ultimate comes with Bluetooth 5.3 for when you’re on the go and also has WiFi built-in for when you’re at home. Not only does WiFi allow you to stream higher resolutions, but you can take that phone call or watch a video on your phone while connected to the Partybox and not worry about messing up the party. No one likes it when you’re connected to the speaker, and the song is at its best part, and a phone call interrupts. WiFi takes care of that and is an amazing solution for when you have access to it.

Self-Tuning

The Partybox Ultimate has an automatic self-tuning feature that automatically scans the environment and adjusts the music to sound its best no matter where you are.

Performance

We tested the Partybox Ultimate outside in a large open area and cranked it up loud. We were extremely impressed by how much bass and definition it provided even when we went and stood hundreds of feet away. For a “party” speaker, the details and soundstage it was able to create were super impressive. Not only does it come with all these extra party features, but it also has extremely high-quality sound too. You wouldn’t expect a speaker that has lights on the front and wheels to move it around to sound this good, but the Partybox Ultimate does.

The addition of WiFi makes the quality better and you’re able to not worry about getting a phone call and ruining the music. Better yet, having all the adjustments on the top along with the light controls makes it easy to make changes if you don’t want to use app on the phone. We even tested the mic input and voices were super clear even when standing far away. You can also change the volume on the voice and the echo if your friends want to do some karaoke and sing along to the music. We found this speaker to be extremely versatile and an absolute powerhouse. JBL really knocked it out of the park with its build quality, features, and sound quality and we see this being used in many different situations. In some cases, it might be the right fit to replace much higher-end DJ and PA equipment. That’s saying a lot from just a single all-in-one speaker!

Overall Recommendation

We see the perfect fit for this speaker with its 1100 watts of power being used as a PA system at a soccer game, football game, or at a gym where you want to play music and make announcements with the built-in mic system to a large area. This speaker will certainly make sure that everyone can hear the music and your voice no matter where they are on the field. In many situations, the Partybox will be an incredible solution where you don’t have a PA system and want an extremely simple and easy-to-use alternative. As long as you have access to power, the Partybox Ultimate will be the star of the show at the next football practice or game.

The other place we see the Partybox Ultimate fitting in is for a DJ. Typically, you need a pretty big setup to get a big sound that fills a party and get’s people on the dance floor. The Partybox Ultimate is the exception to this. One or even two of them will not only bring loud volumes but also extremely high-quality sound. You also get a complete lightshow built right into the speaker so you can impress your guests even more with this all-in-one solution. Whether you want to DJ at a wedding or at a large party, the Partybox Ulitmate has you covered with the mic input, light show, and even the PartyPad on top to make some fun remixes.

The Partybox Ultimate is going to be for a specific person. JBL has an entire lineup of Partybox’s that are different sizes with different features and one of the other ones may be a better fit for you. We have a review of the whole lineup that can help you choose which one makes the most sense for your situation. And if you still are unsure, our team of experts can help you decide which one is best for you!

We’re here to help!