Thanks to its massive battery life upgrade, the JBL Encore 2 is a great box speaker to take on the go with you. Its small, but its also very loud and it packs a lot of bass. However its not super durable so you do have to baby it a little bit. So today we’re going to see how the JBL Encore 2 compares to both the JBL Boombox 3 and the Sony ULT Field 7… these speakers are more durable and more portable… plus the ULT 7 can also be used 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. Where as both the JBL Boombox 3 and Sony ULT Field 7 have a retail price of $500, but the Boombox 3 now lets to go on sale for $400 and the Sony ULT Field 7 goes on sale for $350. Nonetheless if you want to pick any of these speakers up they’ll be linked down below or you can 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… now the JBL Encore 2 is a very small box speaker to begin with… its half the size of the already small JBL Partybox 120… so taking the Encore 2 on the go with you is super easy and it weighs in at 13 pounds. However this speaker isn’t super durable cause it has a mostly plastic body, and a thin metal grill on the front… so it can be scratch and dented very easily… and its only rocking an IPX4 rating so a little bit of water is going to be fine but you still want to be carful. Where as with these other two speakers, they both weigh about the same as the Encore 2 but more importantly they are a lot more durable cause they have a mostly fabric wrapped body and they are a lot more waterproof. So with all of these speakers, they’re great to take on the go with you… but with the Encore 2 you’re going to have to be more carful.
However, something the Encore 2 does have over these other two speakers is a good light feature. Now if you were to get the more elusive Encore 2 then you’re going to have additional light bars on the top and bottom like on the Partybox 120… but since this is the essential, you dont. But more importantly since this speaker does have aura cast you can connect it to JBL’s Partylights and build out your light feature if you want. And overall this light feature looks good. Now I know the Sony ULT Field 7 has a built in light feature, but since its so tucked away int eh passive radiators and its hard to see, personally I dont use this light feature and I just enjoy the improved battery life.
Now when it comes to battery life, the Encore 2 has an advertised battery life of 15 hours… but thats with this speaker playing at 50% volume and with the light feature turned off and with the bass boost feature turned off. where as both the JBL Boombox 3 and Sony ULT Field 7 are good for like 24 hours of playback time when they’re both playing at 50% volume. And volume performance on these speakers is very similar to one another.
And real world use with all of these speakers playing at 80% volume which I feel is a very good volume for when you’re with friends… and with the light feature turned on the Encore 2… the Encore 2 is good for about 7 horus of playback time…. 8 to 9 hours of playback time.
And to charge all of these speakers, they all charge via a double barrel AC port… and with all of these speakers if you use them while they are plugged in, you are going to get a performance boost out of them. They are going to get louder and they are going to have more bass.
But something that makes the Encore Essential 2 very special here is that you can access the battery and swap it out. Now replacing the battery on this speaker isn’t as easy like on the Partybox 120 or the more elusive encore 2 which have a spring door on the back… but at least with the Encore essential 2, you can still replace it yourself which is going to extend the overall life of your investment.
But also, the Encore 2 has a USB C port so you can use it to charge your own devices… and you can also use it as a wired connection. Now you can also use both the Boombox 3 and ULT 7 to charge your own devices… but they are still using USB A ports which I feel isn’t as relevant or as convenient in 2025.
And when it comes to bluetooth connectivity, all of these speakers can be connected to 2 devices at the same time so you and a friend can both be DJ, latency is not an issue for any of these speakers so you can use them to watch videos with on your phone… and all of these speakers still have an audio jack so you can still use them with a wired connection that way.
And finally both the Encore 2 and ULT Field 7 have a 3 quarter inch in put so you can plug in a mic for karaoke or you can plug in a guitar… but I think karaoke is more important. However with the Encore 2 you can adjust the sound of your mic from the app.
Now with both the Encore 2 and ULT field 7 they can only be used with one wired mic… or if you want you can get a wireless mic kit from either JBL or Sony and this way you can get 2 mic going for karaoke… and in general, karaoke is a lot of fun if you have friend.
But with all of that out of the way lets talk about sound. Regarding speaker set up the Encore 2 has a single frontward firing woofer with an exhaust port that shoots out the back and it has dual frontward firing tweeters. Whereas the JBL Boombox 3 has a frontward firing subwoofer with dual frontward firing woofers, dual frontward firing tweeters that are stacked on top of the woofers and dual passive radiators that shoot out the sides. And this is a rather unique speaker set up. And then theres the Sony ULT Field 7 which has dual frontward firing woofers, dual fonrtward firing tweeter and dual passive radiators that shoot out the sides. And this is more common. But now we’re going to jump into the Sound test, all of these speakers are playing at 75% volume while unplugged.
Sound test
So when it comes to sound quality I feel that both the Sony ULT Field 7 and JBL Boombox 3 has slightly better instrument separation than the Encore 2, so they sound a little more open. But I think the difference is very small. But what is very different is the bass… the Encore 2 just has a lot more kick and a lot more resonance in its bass than these other two speakers cause of its larger woofer and it has that exhaust port that shoots out the back. So the Encore 2 already has more bass than these other two speakers but you can also amplify its bass even more by just placing it up against a wall or in a corner cause this way the bass is going to have something to bounce off of.
And then theres the max volume performance. Now all of these speakers are good for like a 15 person party. And surprisingly all of these speakers get equally as loud as one another. And with all of these speakers if you use them while they are plugged you are going to get a performance boost out of them. They are going to get louder and they are going to have more bass. But overall, the JBL Encore 2 is going to sound the fullest here simply cause it has the most kick and resonance in its bass. However both the JBL Boombox 3 and Sony ULT Field 7 sound really good for their and added durability.
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 ULT Field 7 is using Sony’s party connect so you can pair it up with other sony speakers that are also using party connect like either another ULT field 7, ULT Field 5, ULT Field 3, or to Sony’s older speakers like an XG500, XG300, XE300, XE200, or XB43, XB33, or XB23… and you can also pair it up to Sony’s larger box speakers like either an ULT Tower 10, ULT Tower 9, XV800, XV500, or XP700 or XP500… the only thing is, you can not connect your Sony ULT field 7 to a Sony ULT field 1 cause unfortunately it does not have Partyconnect.
Where as the JBL Boombox 3 is using JBL’s Partyboost so you can connect it to other speakers that are also using party boost like another Boombox 3, a Boombox 2, Xtreme 3, Xtreme 4, Charge 5, Pulse 5, Pulse 4 a flip 5 or a Flip 6. And thats it.
Where as the Encore 2 is using Aura cast so you can pair it up with JBL’s other speakers that are also using aura cast like another Partybox Encore 2, a Partybox 120, 320, 520 or ultimate… or you can also pair it up to JBL’s smaller speakers that are also using aura cast like a Charge 6, Xtreme 4, Flip 7, Clip 5 or Go 4… and you can also pair it up to JBL’s older partyboxs that are using TWS like an original partybox encore, a partybox 110, 310 or 710.
So with the Encore 2, since this speaker is using aura cast its going to be more future proof cause with the Boombox 3 since its using Partyboost, it is considered last gen now cause you cant connect an Encore 2 to a Boombox 3.
But with all of that being said, the JBL Partybox Encore 2 is a great option if you’re looking for something small with a lot of bass. It gets very loud, it has a good looking light feature, it can be used for karaoke and it has a built in battery which should be able to keep up with you for a hard day of listening. Plus its using aura cast so its going to be more future proof than the Boombox 3.
However, both the JBL Boombox 3 and Sony ULT Field 7 also offer you a lot of sound in a small package… and they’re a lot more durable as well. And if you’re looking something more durable…personally I do recommend the Sony ULT Field 7 over the Boombox 3 cause it does get a little louder and it has a little more bass… and just like with the JBL Partybox Encore 2, it can also be used for karaoke. -