So I am actually a very big fan of the JBL partybox 520, Sony ULT Tower 9 and Soundboks 4… all of these speakers are big and loud enough where you wont want something bigger, but they also aren’t super overkill like either the JBL Partybox Ultimate or Sony Tower 10 where you might regret your purchase. But these speakers are very different from one another. So today we’re going to compare the JBL partybox 520, Sony ULT Tower 9 and the Soundboks 4 and lets see which one is right for you.
Regarding pricing, both the JBL partybox 520 and Sony ULT Tower 9 retail for about $900, where as the Soundboks 4 used to retail for $1000… but it now has a retail price of $1200… regardless with all of these speakers you do forget how much they cost when you’re actually playing music with them. Nonetheless if you want to pick any of these 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 theres the design of these speakers… now all of these speakers are large but they are still very portable, and with both the JBL and Sony both of these speakers have built in wheels so you can easily roll these speakers around and these wheels are also super chunky so you’re still going to be able to easily roll them around in the parking lot, on the side walk, in the grass or on a thick carpet. However, the Soundboks 4 is noticeably smaller and lighter than these other two speakers. The Soundboks 4 weighs in at 35 pounds, where as the JBL weighs in at 56 pounds and the sony weighs in at 65 pounds. So with the Soundboks 4, this speaker is going to be much easier to carry around especially if you plan on going somewhere where you cant easily roll your speaker around like lets say the beach or into the woods for a camping site. Now dont get me wrong, I would really like to see some retractable wheels built into the Soundboks 5 so that it can compete with the JBL Partybox 520 or Sony Tower 9… but with the Soundboks 4, this speaker is smaller and lighter than these other two speakers.
The Soundboks 4 is also a lot more durable that then other two speakers as well. Both the JBL and Sony have mostly plastic body which can get scratched very easily and they both have a thin metal grill on the front which can get dented very easily as well. Where as with the Soundboks, this speaker is a lot more durable cause it has a thick steel grill on the front, it has an aluminum frame, wood panels and silicon balls on each corner. Plus this speaker is rocking an IP65 rating so its dust and water resistant where as the JBL has an IPX4 rating and the Sony doesn’t have any. Overall if you’re looking for something portable and a lot more durable, then the Soundboks 4 is the way to go here.
However something the Soundboks 4 just doesn’t have is a a light feature… but I guess that just eh price you pay for having much better durability. Where as both the JBL and sony do have light features. Now I like the light feature on the Sony I think the floor lights gives this speaker very big presences, especially at night, but I think the light feature on the JBL is a lot more impressive and dynamic. Plus since the JBL is using Aura Cast you can pair it up to JBL’s partylightfs and extend your light feature if you want. So if you’re looking for a speaker for your man cave or maybe your business, then you’ll might want something with a light feature, but these lights features do take their toll on the battery life.
Now when it comes to battery life… these speakers are very different from one another. The Sony does have slightly better stamina than the JBL… cause with this speaker if you use it at 40% volume, and with the light feature turned off but with the ULT feature turned on, it going to be good for around 20 hours of playback time… which is really good and 40% is already a really good lisnteing volume. Where as with the JBL Partybox 520, if you use this speaker at 40% volume as well and with the light feature turned off and with the bass boost feature turned off… its going to be good for around 15 hours of playback time.
Where as with the Soundboks 4, this speaker is on a whole other level, with this speaker if you use it at 50% volume while its set to its Lounge EQ, its going to be good for 40 hours. And if you were to use this speaker at max volume then its going to be good for 6 hours. Where as with these other two speakers if you use them at max volume they are going to be good for 2 and a half hours.
However, the really cool thing about both the JBL and Soundboks 4 is that with both of these speakers you can quickly and easily remove their batteries, so if you want you can get multiple batteries and keep the party going, or if you get to the point where you battery can no longer hold a charge, instead of having to get a new speaker, you just need to get a new battery which is good for the overall life of your investment. Where as with the Sony, you cant remove its battery.
Now to charge both the Sony and JBL they both charge via a double barrel AC port and when you use these speakers while they are plugged in you are going to get a performance boost out of them. They are both going to get louder and they are going to have more bass. Where as with the Soundboks 4, this speaker does use an external power brick to charge your battery, and if you use this speaker while its plugged in, you are not going to get a performance boost out of it.
But then there are the ports on these speakers, and most importantly both the Soundboks and JBL are using XLR combo jacks, so if you want you can use these speakers with a mixer which is really good for someone that might want to work as a DJ. Now with the Sony you can still use this speaker with a mixer, but you’re going to have to use your audio jack or a bluetooth connection. It works but it isn’t as solid as having an XLR input.
But with all of these speakers you can plug in 2 microphones for kakroke or you can plug in a guitar, but I think a mic for karaoke is more important. But with both the Soundboks and JBL you can adjust the sound of your mic, where as with the Sony you cant.
Now with all of these speakers you can use them with 2 wired mics or if you want you can also use either JBL’s or Sony’s wireless mics systems. Now I do think JBL’s mics sound better and these mics do a better job of not picking up any noise pollution when you’re handling them… but I do like that Sony’s system, both the Mics and the receiver have a 20 hour battery life where as JBL’s system, the mics have a 20 hour battery life and the receiver has a 12 hour battery life.
But something that I really like about the JBL is that it has a USB C port which you can use to charge your phone or you can also use it to charge your mics and you can also use this USB C port as a wired connection. Where as the Sony has a USB A port… which I dont feel is a conviente, but if you want you can plug in a USB Stick and play music off of it, and then there’s the soundboks which doesn’t have a USB port, period.
But with all of these speakers they have an audio jack so you can use them with a wired connection that way, but more importantly, both the JBL and Soundboks have an audio out jack, so if you want you can always daisy chain either of these speakers up to any other speaker, regardless of size or brand and get them to play in sync.
Now the sony doesn’t have an audio out jack, but it does have an optical port, so if you want you can always connect this speaker to your TV and use it as a soundbar, which I feel is super useful if you dont already have a big home theater system or if you have a small sound bar, this way you can still have big sound when you’re going to have people over at the house.
And when it comes to bluetooth connecvity, the soundboks can only be connected to one device at a time, where as both the JBL and Sony can be connected to 2 devices at the same time so you and a friend can both be DJ
But with all of that out of the way lets talk about sound. When it comes to speaker set ups, these speakers are very different from one another. The Soundboks 4 has dual fonrtward firing woofers with exhaust ports that shoot out the sides and it has a frontward firing tweeter. And with the Soundboks, one woofer prioritizes the bass and the other woofer prioritizes the mid lows. Then theres the JBL Partybox 520 which has dual frontward firing woofers with an exhaust port that shoots out the back and dual frontward firing tweeters. And then theres the Sony ULT Tower 9 which has a frontward firing woofer with an exhaust port that shoots out the bottom, it has dual frontward firing mid range drivers which just aren’t present on these other two speakers and it has quad tweeters, two that shoot out the front and two that shoot out the back. But then theres the ULT setting, ULT 1 is going to increase your bass so this is the setting that you want to use while indoors, and ULT 2 is going to increase your bass and its going to amplify your mids and highs so this is the setting that you want to use while out doors. The JBL has its bass boost, deep and punchy, and personally I prefer deep cause it gives your bass more kick where as punchy adds a resonance, so it can muddle the rest of your music. And then there the Soundboks which has stage, lounge and dance floor. Dance floor is going to be your balanced sound mode, but if you want the most out of this speaker you do want to use it with stage cause you’re going to have more bass. But now we’re going to jump into the soundtest… all of these speakers are playing at 75% volume while unplugged.
Soundtest
So Simply put, the Sony Tower 9 just sounds way better than these other two speakers. The Sony Tower 9 just sounds a lot more open, fuller and it has much better instrument seperation than these other two speakers thanks to the mid range drivers which is something these other two speakers just dont have, and it has those quad tweeters. If you’re looking for a good sounding speaker, then the Sony ULT Tower 9 is the way to go. Where as with both the JBL Partybox 520 and Soundboks 4… these sound a lot more narrow than the sony. But I actually prefer how how the Soundboks sounds over the JBL partybox 520 cause it feel that it has better mids and highs. But the thing with the Soundboks 4 is, its bass is mostly on the audible side, you can defneitly hear it in this sound test, but in real life the Kick in its bass just doesn’t compare to the kick in the bass found on the JBL partybox 520. So with the Soundboks 4, this is a speaker that I would recommend to someone that plans on mostly using it while outdoors, which is fitting cause this speaker is super durable and portable. And with the JBL Partybox 520, this is a speaker that can be used as a hybrid, half out doors and the other half indoors cause when indoors, I know you’re going to want that kick in your bass. And then theres the max volume performance on theses speakers, and all of these speakers get loud enough for a 50 person party and I feel that they are all entering commercial use territory. But with both the JBL and sony, when you use these speakers 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 overall, the Sony Tower 9 is the loudest speaker here, but more importantly, its the best sounding speaker here.
But finally lets talk about pairing these speakers up with other speakers. Now with both the JBL and Sony, if you have two of the exact same speakers you can wirelessly pair them up and get them to play in left and right stereo mode. But they have to be two of the exact same speakers. Where as with the Soundboks 4, pair it up to a soundboks 3 or a soundboks go and you can get them to play in left and right stereo mode. And with soundboks you can actually get a 3 channel set up if you want. And you can pair up to 5 soundboks together.
Now the Sony ULT Tower 9 is using Sony’s wireless party chain and you can pair it up to Sony’s other speakers that are using wireless party chain like the tower 10, tower 9, XV800, XV500 or to the XP700 or XP500… or you can also pair it up to Sony’s smaller speakers that are also using wireless party chain like either the Sony ULT field 7, ULT 5, or ULT 3, or to the Sony XG500, XG300, XE300, XE200 or to the XB43, XB33, or XB23. The only thing is, you can not connect your tower 9 to the ULT Field 1 cause it does not have wireless party chain.
Where as with the JBL Partybox 520, its using aura cast so you can pair it up to other Aura Cast speakers like the encore 2, partybox 120, 320, 520 or ultimate and get them to play in sync… or you can also pair it up to JBL’s smaller speakers that are also using aura cast like the Charge 6, Xtreme 4, Flip 7, Go 4 or clip 5.
And you can also connect your 520 up to any of JBL’s older partyboxes that are using TWS like either the original encore or partybox 110, 310 or 710… the only thing is you can only have a total of 2 speakers wirelessly paired to one another. But also keep in mind that you can not connect your JBL Partybox 520 up to any of JBL’s older speakers that are using Partyboost like either the JBL boombox 3, Boombox 2, Xtreme 3, Charge 5, Pulse 5, Pulse 4, Flip 6 or Flip 5.
But also with Aura cast, you’ll be able to connect your JBL Partybox 520 up to other non JBL speakers that are also using aura cast, and like I mentioned earlier, both the JBL and Soundboks have an audio out jack so you can always daisy chain them up with any other speaker and get them to play in sync regardless of size of brand.
But with all of that being said, I think all of these speakers are great but they are all very different from one another. Now I think the Sony ULT Tower 9 is the best sounding speaker here. It sounds the most open and most balanced and it has the best instuemnet separation thanks to its mids range drivers which just aren’t found on these other two speakers and its quad drivers. But I feel this speaker is best for at home use. If you’re looking something a lot more portable and durable, then the Soundboks 4 is the way to go. It the smallest and most rugged speaker here and its sound performances lends itself for out door use. Plus it has the larger battery here and you can also use it as a DJ if you want. And then theres the JBL Partybox 520, this is the most versatile speaker here, its super portable as well, but it is a little heavier and less durable than the Soundboks… but its a lot more versatile than the Sony cause it has those XLR combo jacks, a swappable battery, a USB C and it has a great looking light feature. However I do feel that this is the worst sounding speaker here cause it sounds the most narrow… but its bass does has more kick to it than the bass found on the Soundboks 4.