So if you’re looking for a portable box speaker, then the JBL PartyBox 320 is a solid option that you cant go wrong with. It sounds good, it has a a lot bass, it has a super impressive light feature and its super portable as well. How JBL just released their JBL PartyBox 520 which is a larger version of the 320 with some important changes as well. So if you’re trying to choose between the JBL PartyBox 320 and the JBL PartyBox 520, lets compare these tow speakers and lets see which one is right for you.
Regarding pricing, this is going to be a deciding factor for a lot of people, and thats fine. The JBL PartyBox 320 has a retail price of $600 where as the JBL PartyBox 520 has a retail price of almost $900. Is that a lot? For sure, but I guarantee you you’re not going to want a second speaker. Nonetheless if you want to pick either of these two speakers up they’ll be linked down below, 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.
Now first theres the design of this speaker, the JBL Partybox 520 is a little later and a little heavier than the JBL Partybox 320. The Partybox 520 weighs in at 56 pounds where as the JBL Partybox 320 weighs in at 36 and a half pounds. Now with the JBL Partybox 320, I feel that a single person can easily move this speaker around, carry it up and down stairs and load it into a car all by themselves. Where as with the JBL Partybox 520, for the most part I feel that a single guy can move this speaker around by himself… however it is preferred to have help to move it up and down stairs or load it into your car if you dont want to risk damaging the speaker or car or walls in your house. What im saying is, the JBL Partybox 520 is still super portable… but the Partybox 320 is more manageable by yourself.
But besides size and weight, the JBL Partybox 520 is just like the Partybox 320. First off both of these speakers have built in wheels so you can easily roll them around. And the important thing here is, these wheels are also super chunky, so its still going to be super easy to roll them around in a parking lot, on the side walk, in the grass or on a rug. And just like the 320, the 520 also have a built in telescopic handle, however I still miss the push to unlock handle found on the 310 cause this one is a button just like the 320. Nonetheless these speakers are still super portable thanks to their wheels, but when it comes to durability, you still want to be careful. Both of these speakers have a mostly plastic body so they can get scratched easily and they have a thin metal grill on the front so it can get dented… and this speaker is only rocking an IPX4 ratting, so some water is going to be fine, but you want to make sure that its panels on the back are closed. And both of these speakers also have top hat mounts on the bottom, but I would feel more comfortable lifting the 320 over the 520. But regardless, you’re going to need very sturdy stands.
But then there are the light features on these speakers… now both of these light features are identical, except the 520 is just a little bigger… and through JBL’s app you can choose a few different lighting modes and you can customize these light features as well. And since both of these speakers are using aura cast, you can also connect them to JBL’s Partylights and extend their light feature. Overall, JBL’s light features look great, but I do wish the 520 had floor lights like the Partybox ultimate… and I do feel the ultimate’s light feature is more impressive cause the light rings have a 3D effect. But nonetheless if you do decide to use the light feature on either of these two speakers, that is going to take its toll on the battery life.
Now when it comes to battery life… the Partybox 320 has an advertised battery life of 18 hours and the Partybox 520 has an advertised battery life of 15 hours. Which is solid for both. However these advertised battery lives of 18 hours and 15 hours is with the 320 playing at 50% and with the 520 playing at 40%… which are already really good listening volumes… but with the light feature turned off and with the bass boost feature turned off. and battery life on these speakers really varies depending on how you use them.
But real world use for me, if you use the Partybox 520 at 60% volume or the Partybox 320 at 70% volume, with the light feature turned on and with the bass boost feature turned on, then both of these speakers are going to be good for like 8 hours of playback time.
But the really cool thing about both of these speakers is that you can quickly and easily swap out the battery, so you can either get multiple batteries and keep the party going, or if you get to the point where your battery can no longer hold a charge, instead of having to get a new speaker, you just need to get a new battery and this is really good just for the overall life of your investment.
However, you can not mix and match batteries here cause the 520’s battery is way bigger than the 320’s battery. However if you were to get a 320 then you’ll be able to mix and match with an Xtreme 4 cause they use the same battery… and it seems that the JBL Boombox 4 is using the same battery found on the Partybox 520.
And to charge these speakers they both charge via a double barrel AC port, and with both of these speakers, if you use them while they are plugged in you are going to get a performance boost out of them, they’re both going to get louder and therye both going to have more bass.
But then there are the ports, and this is where we start to see some super important changes here. First off, both of these port panels are illuminated which I feel is a very nice touch… but more importantly, the Partybox 520 is now using XLR combo jacks where as the 320 has 3 quarter inch inputs. So with the Partybox 520 you can plug in a mixer if you want which is great for people that might want to work as a DJ. Now dont get me wrong, with the 320, we have been able to use it with a mixer… But you have to use bluetooth, so you’ll might have technical difficulties… where as having a physical connection is bullet proof.
But more importantly with both of these speakers you can plug in two microphones for karaoke, or you can also plug in a guitar, but I feel kakroke is more important. And with both of these speakers you can adjust the sound of your mic directly from the speaker it self.
Now with both of these speakers you can plug in 2 wired mics, or you can plug in JBL’s Partybox Mics and get 2 wireless mics. Now I know JBL’s wireless mics are a lot more expansive compared to wired ones… however these mics do sound better, they do a really good job of focusing on your voice and they also do a really good job of not picking up too much noise when you’re handling the microphones.
However, I do prefer the 520 over the 320 here cause it has a USB C port that you can use to charge your phone, and you can also use it to charge your wireless mics. And you can also use this USB C port as a wired connection if you want. Where as with the Partybox 320, this speaker has a USB A port… so chargning your phone isn’t as convenient as the 520.
But with both of these speakers you can use them with a wired connection cause they both have an audio jack, but more importantly, both of these speakers do have an audio out jack so if you want to cab daisy chain any speaker to either of these two speakers, and get them to play in sync.
And finally when it comes to bluetooth connectivity, both 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 either of these two speakers so you can use them to watch videos with on your phone, and when it comes to audio codecs both of these speakers have support for SBC and AAC.
But with all of that out of the way lets talk about sound. When it comes to speaker set up both of these speakers have dual frontward firing woofers with an exhaust port that shoots out the back and they both have dual frontward firing tweeters. Expect on the Partybox 520, its just bigger. And with both of these speakers you can go into their apps and you can adjust their EQ to your liking and they both have their bass boost. Now peronsally I prefer deep cause you get more kick in your bass, where as with punchy, you get more resonance but I feel that it muddles the rest of you music. But now we’re going to jump into the sound test. Both of these speakers are playing at 75% volume while unplugged and they both have their bass boost set to deep.
Soundtest
Now when it comes to sound quality, both of these speakers sound very similar to one another, as they should. They both have a lot of kick in their bass, but more importantly they still have good instrument seperation and well defined vocals. However the 520 does get louder and it has more bass than the 320. The 520 is a 400 watt speaker where as the 320 is a 240 watt speaker. Basically, with the partybox 320, I feel that this is a great speaker to use with crowds of around 20, maybe 30 people. Where as with the Partybox 520, I feel that this speaker is great for a crowd of like 50 people, and we’re starting to enter commercial territory here. Think small DJ gigs, medium sized restaurants, events at the park. And with both of these speakers if you were to use them while they are plugged in, you’re going to get a performance boost out of them. They’re both going to get louder and they both have more bass. Overall both of these speakers are great but with the partybox 520 you never think to yourself, huh maybe I should get another speaker, like some people will might think with the 320… but with the 520 you also never go, oh man this was overkill like you’ll might say with either the partybox 710 or Partybox ultimate.
But finally lets talk about pairing these speakers up with other speakers. Now 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, so your music is going to sound more open and its going to get louder. But you have to have 2 of the exact same speakers.
But also, since both of these speakers are using aura cast you can pair them up to other speakers that are also using aura cast like lets set the JBL Partybox Encore 2, 120, 320, 520, or ultimate and you can get them all to play in sync… but also you can pair your Partybox 520 or 320 up to any of JBL’s smaller speakers that are also using aura cast like lets say a charge 6, xtreme 4, flip 7, clip 5, or go 4 or the up coming JBL Boombox 4.
But also, you can pair your Partybox 520 or 320 up to any of JBL’s older Partybox Speakers that are using TWS like either an original partybox encore, or 110, 310, or 710… however you can only have a total of 2 speakers wirelessly paired to one another. And another thing is, lets say you have your 520 paired up to any other speaker… if you have a mic plugged in into your 520, then your mic audio is only going to come out of the partybox 520. The audio isn’t synced up across all other speakers.
And like I mentioned earlier, the Partybox 520 and 320 both have that audio out jack so you can always daisy chain them up to any other speaker regardless of size or brand, and get them to play sync. And since these speaker are using aura cast, you’ll also be able to pair it up to other non JBL speakers that are also using aura cast. Just keep in mind that you cant pair these aura cast speakers to any of JBL’s older speakers that are using Partyboost like either a JBL Boombox 3, Boombox 2, Xtreme 3, Charge 5, Pulse 5, Pulse 4, Flip 5 or Flip 6.
But with all of that being said, Both the JBL PartyBox 520 and JBL PartyBox 320 are great box speakers to consider. They both sound good, they have a lot of bass, they both have easy to remove batteries and they are both very portable. However with the Partybox 520, you are going to get more sound and more bass out of it cause its just bigger, but it also has a USB C port so that you can charge your phone more easily and it now has those XLR Combo jacks so its easier to use it with a mixer. The Partybox 520 is in that Goldilocks zone, you never wonder, what if I had more, but you never go, oh my god this is overkill. However the Partybox 320 is still a solid pick up as well, but more importantly its smaller a lighter than the Partybox 520… and I feel that the majority of the people are going to be just fine with the 320… but sometimes I do like using my 320 with my 120 just cause I want a little more.