So its 2023 and we have the JBL Boombox 3, now the boombox 3 does have some considerable upgrades over the JBL Boombox 2… However, the Boombox 2 is still a solid speaker in 2023, and it doesn’t look like its going anywhere anytime soon cause its using JBL’s Partyboost.
Now the main reason why I’m making this video is cause the Boombox 2 went on sale for a sick deal on prime day… so I do expect this speaker to go on sale for black Friday… but in general, the Boombox 2 likes to routinely go on sale. So if you’re trying to choose between getting the Boombox 3 and Boombox 2… here’s what you can expect if you choose the boombox 2.
Now first lets get the simply stuff out of the way. Both the boombox 2 and boombox 3 have a mostly fabric wrapped, so they can both stand up to constant abuse from bumps and scrapes. They’re both water proof, so if these speakers get rained on or get a drink spilled on them, they’ll be perfectly fine… and they are both easy to take on the go with you cause they both have a built in handle. However, the Boombox 2 is a little lighter weighing in at 13 pounds where as the boombox 3 weighs in at 14.7 pounds. But regardless, both of these speakers are durable and portable.
Regarding battery life, both of these speakers have an advertised battery life of 24 hours, but that’s with them playing at 50% volume. Real world use with both of these speakers playing at 80%, which is a decent volume to use while you have friends over, they’re both good for about 8 hours of playback time.
But when it comes to charging the speakers… this is where we say a major difference. With the Boombox 3 it charges via an AC port. So you can charge it with any AC cable. And I think this is very convent cause if you take this speaker to a friends house and if you have to charge it up, you can just use any of these cables which are super common.
Where as with the Boombox 2, it has an external power brick, so you’re going to have to remember to bring this along with you to places and you better not loose it. So, battery life, these speakers are the same, but when it comes to charging these speakers, the boombox 3 is slightly more convent.
And when it comes to ports, its the same, they both have an audio jack so you can use them with a wired connection, and they both have a USB A port so that you can charge your own devices. Now I think its great and all that both of these speakers have a USB A port… but I do feel that this port is obsolete cause most phones these days come included with USB C charging cables. And no, you can’t plug in a USB Stick to play music off of it like you can with some box speakers to the Sony XG500.
But with the basic stuff out of the way, lets talk about sound. When it comes to speaker set up, the Boombox 2 has your typical dual frontward firing woofers, dual frontward firing tweeters and dual passive radiators that shoot out the sides, where as with the Boombox 3, it has dual frontward woofer and dual frontward firing tweeters… but the tweeters are stacked on top of the woofers, so that there’s room for a new frontward firing passive radiator, in addition to the dual passive radiators that shoot out the sides.
Now in general, both of these speakers sound great and they both get very loud… but the Boombox 2 sounds great up top around 80% volume, cause past 80% volume the boombox 2 starts to sound a little nasally cause its bass just doesn’t increase as much, only the woofers and the tweeters are getting louder.
Where as with the boombox 3, this speaker continues to sound balanced even after 80% volume cause it has more bass and its bass continues to increase past 80% volume. So we’re going to jump into a sound test. Both of these speakers are playing at 94% volume with their stock EQs.
So like you may have just heard, the boombox 3 sounds more balanced then the Boombox 2 at those louder volumes cause its able to put out more bass past 80% volume. Where as with the Boombox 2, it does sound a little brighter cause it doesn’t have as much bass. But also, the boombox 3 does get a little louder than the Boombox 2. And with both of these speakers, if you were to use them while they are plugged in, you are going to get a performance boost out of them. They’re going to get louder and they are both going to have more bass. But still, the boombox 3 is going to be louder and have more bass.
But regardless, the boombox 2 sounds great all the way up to 80% volume, and you can actually adjust its EQ to your liking now, which is something that you couldn’t do for a very long time.
But finally, an important reason why the Boombox 2 is still a good pickup in 2023 is cause its still using JBL’s PartyBoost… meaning that you can pair it up to other JBL PartyBoost speakers like lets say a Boombox 3, another Boombox 2, an Xtreme 3, Charge 5, Pulse 5, Pulse 4, Flip 6, or a Flip 5… and you can pair up to 100 speakers together and they’ll play in sync. And it also looks like JBL will continue to use Partyboost for the foreseeable future.
Just keep in mind that if you want to get left and right stereo sound going, you do need to have two of the exact same speakers. Even though the boombox 3 and boombox 2 look very similar, they’ll only play in sync. And also, you can not wirelessly pair your Boombox 2 to any of JBL’s larger Partybox speakers like lets say a partybox encore, 110, 310, or 710.
But regardless, JBL’s PartyBoost is my favorite speaker pairing protocol cause its super easy to use, and it just works. You just press one button on each speaker, they get synced up and skipping is not an issue.
But with all of that being said, I do feel that the Boombox 2 is still a solid pick up in 2023. Its got Partyboost, so you can pair it with JBL’s newer speakers… and for the foreseeable future… their up coming speakers as well. The boombox 2 has the same battery life as the boombox 3… except it has that power brick that you have to be mindful of. But more importantly, when it comes to sound, the Boombox 2 still sounds great and you can adjust its EQ to your liking. The only thing is, past 80% volume, this speaker does start to sound a little nassly cause the bass can’t keep up. Where as the boombox 3 just has more bass. The Boombox 2 also gets very loud… but the boombox 3 does get a little louder. But regardless, if you are trying to save some money, the boombox 2 is still a solid option.