Get Them Here:
JBL Partybox 520: https://geni.us/GC-JBLPartybox520
JBL Partybox 720: https://geni.us/GC-JBLPartybox720
JBL Partybox 710: https://geni.us/GC-JBLPartybox710
JBL PartyBox Mic: https://geni.us/GC-JBLPartyboxMic
JBL PartyBox Lights: https://geni.us/GC-JBLPartyLightStick
So I feel the JBL PartyBox 520 is right in that Goldilocks zone if you’re looking for a portable box speaker. It gets so loud you never wonder, huh I wish I had a little more or you never ask yourself what if you get second speaker… but its also not so overkill where you start thinking that getting it was a mistake like you’ll might think with either the JBL PartyBox 710 or JBL PartyBox Ultimate. Now in a lot of ways, I think the JBL Partybox 520 is the new more portable replacement for the partybox 710… but I still think theres room for a Partybox 720. Nonetheless today we’re going to compare the JBL Partybox 520 to the Partybox 710… and we’re going to see if its worth upgrading or waiting for the 720 if it ever comes out.
Reading pricing, the JBL partybox 520 retails for almost $900… but you do forget about it when you’re playing music. Where as the 710 has a retail price of $850 and its still available today. But the Partybox 710 actually came out 2021. And honestly I think there is still a need for the Partybox 720. It can be a slightly smaller and more affordable version of the Ultimate but with the upgrades found on the 520 but with no built in battery. 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.
So first we have to talk about the design and portability of these speakers… and most importantly, the built in batteries. The JBL PartyBox 710 does not have a built in battery. You can only use this speaker while its plugged in… obviously affecting the portability of this speaker.
Where as with the JBL PartyBox 520, this speaker does have a built in battery. Now the 520 has an advertised battery life of 15 hours, which is very impressive. However this advertised battery life of 15 hours is with this speaker playing at 40% volume which is already a really good listening volume, but with the light feature turned off and the bass boost feature turned off. and in general, battery life on this speaker really varies depending on how you use it. If you use it at a higher volume, or with the light feature turned on or with the bass boost feature turned on, all of that is going to affect your battery life.
But real world use with this speaker playing at 60% volume, with the light feature turned on, and with the bass boost turned on, for me its been good for 8 hours of playback time… and honestly, anything above 60% volume while indoors with either of these two speakers is going to require hearing protection. Any thing above 80% volume is telling your neighbors you really care about them, and max volume is just telling the cops that you need some company.
But the really cool thing about the partybox 520, is that jus like the Ultimate and 120, you can quickly and easily swap out the battery on this speaker. So if you want you can get multiple batteries and keep the party going, or if you ever get to a point where you speaker can no longer hold a charge, you just need to get a new battery instead of having to get a whole new speaker.
However, the battery on the 520 is much larger than the battery on the Ultimate or 120. So no you cant mix and match batteries here, however you’ll might be able to mix and match batteries with the JBL Boombox 4, cause it looks like its going to be using the same removable battery as the Partybox 520.
And to charge this speaker it charges via a double barrel AC port, and when you use this speaker while its plugged in, you are going to get a performance boost out of it, its going to get louder and its going to have more bass. Now its not going to get as loud as the Partybox Ultimate, but it is a boost.
So thanks to the Partybox 520’s built in battery, this speaker is a lot more portable than the Partybox Ultimate. Also the 520 is noticeably smaller than the Partybox 710, it weighs in at 56 pounds, plus it has built in wheels so you can easily roll this speaker around. And thankfully these wheels are super chunky so the 520 is easy to roll in a parking lot or on the side walk, on the grass or on a thick carpet. Now the 710 also has built in wheels so you can roll it around just like the 520, however this speaker weighs in at 61 pounds, and I feel that if you’re going to load it in a car or take it up stairs, you’re going to need help. Where as the 520 is a little more manageable but I also feel that if you’re going to take it up stairs or load it into the car, some help would be preferred. But the important thin here is, neither of these two speakers are as bad as the Ultimate.
But durability on both of these speakers is the same, both of these speakers have a mostly plastic body which can get scratched easily. They both have a thin metal grill on the front which can get dented easily and they both have an IPX4 rating. So they’re water resistant, so some water isn’t going to be a problem, but you do want to keep the port panel on the back covered.
But then there are the light features on these speakers… now both of these light features look really good and from JBL’s app you can choose from a few different lighting mores. However I do feel the 520’s light feature is a little sleeker than the 710’s light feature. But more importantly, the 710 does not have aura cast, so you cant connect it to JBL’s partylights like you can with the 520 and build out your light feature if you want. Now its not a huge deal cause these party lights will still work with your 710 or any other speaker out there… but they just wont sync up like they will with the 520. But in general, if we do see a partybox 720… I would like it to look very similar to the Ultimate… I would like for the light rings to have the same 3D effect and I would like to see some floor lights on it like with the Ultimate.
But then there are the ports on these speakers, now the port panel on the 520 is illuminated which I do feel is a very nice touch, but more importantly, the Partybox 520 is now using XLR combo jacks where as the 710 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 710, we have been able to use it with a mixer… But you have to use bluetooth, so you’ll might have technical difficulties… or you can use the audio jack… but just having those XLR inputs is just easier. And if there is a 720, we want to see XLR inputs as well.
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 710 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 710, this speaker has a USB A port… so charging your phone isn’t as convenient as the 520. And again, if there is a 720, we want to see a USB C port here as well.
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, but when it comes to audio codecs, the 710 only has support for SBC where as the 520 has support for SBC and AAC. And if there is a 720, I wouldn’t be surprised to see wifi support like on the Ultimate… but personally I dont care for wifi.
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 710, 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 with their bass boost set to deep, but with the 520 we’re going to use it while its plugged in and unplugged.
Sound test
Now when it comes to sound quality… even though these speakers have the same speaker set up… they do sound a little different. Specifically the partybox 520 has slightly more defined highs… and it sounds a little more open. Now I think these sound differences are very small and I feel that your average persona isn’t going to notice or care all that much. However what is very different between these two speaker is the bass and max volume. The JBL partybox 710 is a 800 watt speaker, where as the 520 is a 400 watt speaker, so the 710 does get louder and it has more bass than the 520. Now the 520 also has a lot of bass… but the 710 just has more. But since the 710 has so much bass… this is why this speaker might not sound as open or have as well defined highs as the 520 cause the bass is a little over powering. But then theres the max volume performance of these speakers, both of these speakers are good for like a 50 or more person party and both are good for commercial use. Think small DJ gigs, restaurants or events. But the 710 just gets louder. But like I mentioned earlier, if you use it while its plugged in, you are going to get a performance boost out of it. Its going to get louder and its going to have more bass. However its not going to get as loud or have as much bass as the 710. But overall, the Partybox 710 still gets noticeably louder and it has more bass than the Partybox 520… but with the Partybox 520 you are going to have slightly better instrument separation and slightly better definition in the highs. But I don't think that your average user is going to be able to notice or care for the improved sound quality on the 520… if the 710 means louder and more bass.
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, the JBL Partybox 520 is using aura cast so you can pair it up to other aura cast speakers like 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 Ultimate 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 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.
Where as the Partybox 710 is using TWS so you can only pair it up to JBL’s older partybox’s that are also using TWS… Only the 520 gives you that backwards compailtily.
But like I mentioned earlier, both the Partybox 520 and 710 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 the 520 is 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 either of these 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, the JBL Partybox 520 is almost the more portable upgrade of the Partybox 710… it has a built in battery, its a little smaller and its a little lighter than the 710. It also has some important upgrades like aura cast and XLR inputs. And I feel that it sounds a little better as well. However, the JBL Partybox 710 does get louder and it has more bass than the 520. If you already have the Partybox 710 and you dont need a built in battery, there’s no need to upgrade. However if there is going to be a Partybox 720… I would really like it to be a smaller version of the Ultimate… dont throw in a battery so that we can save on costs… but I do want to see the same light feature as the ultimate, and I would also like to see XLR inputs and that USB C port. I think the JBL Partybox Ultimate is epic… but it is a little too much… both size wise and price wise. If there are an option between the 520 and Ultiamte… I think the 720 would fit right in.