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JBL Partybox Encore 2 : https://geni.us/GC-JBLPartyboxEncore2
JBL Partybox 120: https://geni.us/GC-JBLPartybox120
The new JBL Partybox Encore essential 2 is actually a pretty solid small box speaker now thanks to its upgraded battery life and it gets impressively loud and has a lot of bass for its size. But today we’re going to see how it compares to the JBL Partybox 120 and some other small box speakers like the Sony XV500 and the Soundcore Rave 3S which is an amazing box speaker for karaoke.
Regarding pricing… first off theres the JBL Partybox Encore 2 which has two versions. Now there’s this version, the JBL Partybox Essential 2 which retails for $330… and this is the much more common version… and then there’s the JBL Partybox Encore 2 which comes with wireless mics, it has an extended light feature and its battery is more easily removable. But this version retails for $400 and its a lot harder to get. And I really think that this is very dumb on JBL’s part. Nonetheless in this video we’re going to be focusing on the JBL Partybox Encore essential 2. But then theres the Soundcore Rave 3S which has a retail price of $350 and it comes with two wireless mics, and then there are the JBL Partybox 120 and Sony XV500 which both retail for $400. So if you want to pick any of these speakers up they’ll be linked down or you can always press on the YouTube shopping button, and if you want to further support the channel then you can always pick up some merch.
So first theres the design of these speakers, now all of these speakers are small portable box speakers and they should all be easy enough to take on the go with you. However the JBL Partybox Encore 2 is half the size of these other box speakers. It has the same footprint, but its half as tall and it weighs in at 13 and a half pounds where as these other speakers weigh in between 20 to 25 pounds. They’re all portable, but obviously the Encore 2 is easier to travel with. But when it comes to durability, all of these speakers are the same. They all have a mostly plastic body, they all have a thin metal grill on the front and they are all rocking an IPX4 rating, so a little bit of water isn’t going to hurt these speakers. But these speakers can get scratched and dented very easily.
But then there are the light features, now all of these speakers have a light feature, but unfortunately I think the Sony XV500 has the least impressive light feature here. It works, but it doesn’t look as good as these other light features. I personally really like the Rave 3S’s light feature, its very angular and you have a lot of customization options. But then there are the light features on JBL’s speakers. Now the 120’s light feature is a little bigger than the Encore 2’s cause it has 2 right lights and it also has these light bars on the top and bottom. Now if you were to get the more expensive Encore 2, you’re also going to have the light bars, but since this is the essential, you don’t. But you still get your main RGB ring light, and with both the 120 and Encore 2 you can connect them with JBL’s Partylights so you can build out your light feature as well.
But obviously, if you decide to use these light features that is going to take its toll on the battery life. Now when it comes to battery life, the JBL Encore 2 has an advertised battery life of 15 hours, which is a lot and thats with it playing a little over 50% volume but with the light feature turned off and the with bass boost feature turned off. Cause with the JBL Partybox 120, it has the same 34 watt hour battery as the Encore 2… but it has an advertised battery life of 12 hours and thats with it playing at 20% volume which is good for like ambiance and with the light feature turned off and with the bass boost feature turned off as well.
Then theres the Rave 3S which has an advertised battery life of 12 hours as well but that with it playing at 50% volume and with the light feature turned off and with the bass boost feature turned off… and the reason why it can keep up with the Partybox 120 is cause it only has one Woofer to power like with the Encore 2, so its not going to have as much bass.
And then theres there’s the Sony XV500 which has an advertised battery life of 25 hours… but that’s with this speaker playing at 36 volume and with the light feature turned off but with the mega bass feature turned on. However 36% volume on the XV500 is quieter than the JBL Partybox 120 playing at 20% and in general, the Sony XV500 is a little quiet for its size when its running off of its internal battery.
But real world use with the Encore 2, Rave 3S, and Sony XV500 playing at 80%, both the Encore 2 and Rave 3S are good for like 7 hours of playback time and the XV500 is good for like 8 hours of playback time… and the partybox 120 playing at 65% volume its good for about 7 hours of playback time as well. And with the 120 you can use it as a lower volume cause its going to have more bass.
But the really important thing here is, with the JBL Partybox 120 you can easily and quickly remove the battery. So if you want you can get multiple batteries and keep the party going, or if you ever get to the point where your battery can no longer hold a charge, instead of having to get a new speaker you can just get a new battery, which is going to extend the overall life of your investment.
Now with the Encore Essential 2, you can also remove this battery… but its not meant to be swapped out are frequently or as easily as the battery on the 120… but the important thing is, it can be done yourself with just a screwdriver. Where as with either the Soundcore or Sony, you cant easily access the battery.
But when it comes to chargning these speakers, all of these speakers except for the Soundcore Rave 3S charge via a double barrel AC port… which is standard. So with the Encore 2, Partybox 120 and Sony XV500, you’re going to get a performance boost out of them while they are plugged in. Where as with the Soundcore Rave 3S, it charges via a USB C port, which is super convenient, but you dont get a performance boost when its plugged in, and also this USB C port is strictly used for charging.
Where as with the Encore 2, its the only speaker here that has a USB C port that you can use to charge your own devices and you can use it as a wired connection. Where as with both the Partybox 120 and Sony XV500, you can charge your phone but you have to use a USB A port which isn’t as convenient in 2025.
Inperson 13
But all of these speakers do have an audio jack so you can use them with a wired connection that way… and 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 and latency is not an issue for any of these speakers so you can use them to watch videos with on your phone.
However, one major port thats found on the Partybox 120 is that it has an audio out jack as well… so you can daisy chain it to any other speaker regardless of size or price and you can get them to play in sync.
Mic
And also all of these you can plug in a wired mic for karaoke or you can plug in a guitar… but I think karaoke is more important. However both the Encore 2 and Soundcore Rave 3S have a single quarter inch input where as both the Partybox 120 and Sony XV500 have two 3 quarter inch inputs.
Mic
But with the Soundcore rave 3s, this speaker comes included with 2 wireless microphones… so you can get a total of 3 mics going if you want. Where as with either of JBL’s or Sony’s speakers you do have to get the wireless microphones which are sold separately. Now the wireless mics that come with the Rave 3S are good… but the JBL Partybox Mic do sound better and they dont pick up as much noise when you’re handling them.
Mic AI Vocal Tool demo
but the really cool thing about the Soundcore Rave 3S is that is has this built in AI Vocal removal tool which works locally on the device and it can remove the vocals from any song and this works in multiple languages…. And there are also different levels…
so overall, all of these speakers are good options for kakroke… but the Soundcore Rave 3S is the best option here out of the box cause it comes with two wireless mics… but more importantly it has the AI Vocal removal tool so this way you can do karaoke with any song playing from any streaming service. You dont have to go looking for karaoke versions of your favorite songs.
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But with all of that out of the way lets talk about sound. Regarding speaker set up, the JBL Partybox Encore 2 has a single frontward firing woofer with an exhaust port that shoots out the back and dual frontward firing tweeters. Then theres the Soundcore Rave 3S which has a single frontward firing woofer with an exhaust port that shoots out the back, and it has a total of 3 frontward firing drivers. And then there are both the JBL Partybox 120 and Sony XV500 which have dual frontward firing woofers and dual frontward firing tweeters. The main difference here is, the exhaust port on the sony shoots out the front where as with the 120 it shoots out the back like all of these other speakers. And with all of these speakers you can go into their apps and you can adjust their EQ to your liking and they all have an extra bass feature. But now we’re going to jump into the sound test. All of these speakers are playing with their Stock EQ’s but with their bass features turned on, they’re all playing at 75% Volume and they are all playing while unplugged.
Soundtest
So first off, when it comes to the JBL Encore 2 vs the JBL Partybox 120… the Partybox 120 does sound a little more open than the Encore 2. I don't think its a huge difference, but it is there. But what is super noticeable is the bass. The JBL Partybox 120 has a lot more kick and resonance in its bass simply cause it has 2 woofers instead of just one. Now both of these speakers have rear firing exhaust ports so you can amplify their bass by placing them up against a wall or in a corner… and the Encore 2 has a lot of bass for its size… but simply put the partybox 120 just has more. But more importantly, the Partybox 120 not only has more bass, it sounds a little more open as well.
But then theres the Sony XV500… now this speaker also has dual woofers… however its bass is mostly on the audible side. But what really makes the Sony XV500 stand out here is that it sounds the most open cause it has the best instrument separation. But the problem with this speaker is, when its running off of its internal battery, it doesn’t get as loud as you’d expect. So the sony sounds better than the Encore 2… but the encore 2 might actually get a little louder. And then theres the Soundcore Rave 3S which appears to get very loud, but that’s cause this speaker leans towards a brighter sound signature, and it doesn’t have as much kick in its bass cause it only has one woofer. So the soundcore rave 3s is a louder than the Encore 2, but the bass is on the same level.
And then theres the max volume performance on these speakers. Now all of these speakers are good for like 15 person party I feel. But with the Soundcore, since it charges via a USB C port, you are not going to get a performance boost out of it. Where as with all of these other speakers, you do, they get a little louder and they have more bass. And when the Sony XV500 is plugged in, this is when this speaker starts to perform as you’d expect. Now when they are both plugged in, the Encore 2 gets almost as loud as the Sony XV500, which is super impressive… but it doesn’t sound as open. And then theres the JBL Partybox 120 which is the loudest speaker here when its plugged in. Now the Soundcore Rave 3S also gets very loud at max volume, but it doesn’t sound as full cause it doesn’t have as much bass.
So overall, the JBL Encore 2 does a great job of keeping up with both the Sony XV500 and Soundcore Rave 3S… however the Sony does have better instrument separation, and the soundcore gets louder, but with the same amount of kick in its bass. But then theres the Partybox 120 which not only gets overall louder and its has more bass… it also sounds a little more open than the Encore 2.
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… however they have to be 2 of the exact same speakers.
Now the Sony XV500 is using Sony’s party connect so you can pair it up with other sony speakers that are also using party connect like either an ULT Tower 10, ULT Tower 9, XV800, XV500 or to an XP700 or XP300. But you can also connect your larger speaker to any of Sony’s smaller speakers that are also using party connect like an ULT Field 7, XG500, XG300, XE300, XE200, or to an ULT field 5, ULT Field 3 or to and XB43, XB33, XB23 and you can pair up to 100 speakers together and get them to play in sync. The only thing is, you can not connect your XV500 to a Sony ULT field 1 which I currently my favorite small sized speaker to use an recommend.
But then theres are all of these other speakers that are using Aura cast. Now the idea with aura cast is that you’re going to be able to wirelessly connect multiple aurcast speakers regardless of brand. But as of right now I haven’t been able to connect my Rave 3S to any of my other Aura Cast speakers. So to be on the safe side, if you plan on getting the Soundcore Rave 3S then you’ll might want other Soundcore speakers that are also using aura cast.
But then there are the JBL Partyboxes which have a lot going on. First off since they are using aura cast you can connect your Encore 2 or Partybox 120 to lets say the Partybox 320, 520 or ultimate and get them to play in sync… or you can also connect them to JBL’s smaller speakers that are also using aurcast like either a Charge 6, Xtreme 4, Flip 7, Clip 5 or Go 4.
but also, both the Encore 2 and Partybox 120 give you some backwards compatibly cause you can connect them to older Partyboxes that are using TWS like either an original Encore, or to a Partybox 110, 310, or 710. The only thing is, you can not connect either your Encore 2 to Partybox 120 to JBL’s older speakers that are using Partyboost like either a Boombox 3, a Boombox 2, an Xtreme 3, Pulse 5, Pulse 4, Charge 5 or to a flip 6 or flip 5.
But with all of that being said, the JBL Encore 2 is a very impressive small box speaker that does a really good job of keeping up with its larger counter parts. And even though its small, it now has a large enough battery so its going to be able to keep up with you through a whole day of hard listening. And thanks to aura cast you can connect the Encore 2 to JBLs new speakers that are also using aura cast, plus you can connect it to JBL’s party lights and it also has a decent amount of backwards compatibility. The JBL Encore 2 is a solid pick up if you need big sound in a small package.
However, if you were to go with the JBL Partybox 120, this speaker is going to get louder, its going to have more bass and its going to sound a little more open. Also with the Partybox 120, its easier to swap out the battery. And with the Partybox 120, it has that audio out jack so you can daisy chain it up to any other speaker other there and get them to play in sync. And you can use it with two wired mics for karaoke… or you can get 4 wireless mics going with the Partybox 120.
The Sony XV500 offers you better instrument separation, but max volume is a little lacking when its running off of its internal battery. And finally theres the Soundcore Rave 3S… this speaker gets louder and its brighter than the Encore 2… but the kick in the bass is on the same level. But what really make the Soundcore Rave 3S stand out is that it comes included with 2 wireless mics and it has that AI vocal removal tool which works extremely well… making this an amazing karaoke machine right out of the box.