So JBL has been super busy over the last few months putting out new versions of their products and putting out new products all together, and most recently we checked out the JBL partybox 520 and I think this speaker is the perfect size, it puts out more than enough power where you wonder what if you got something bigger, but its also not overkill to where you’re regretting your purchase. But today we’re going to break down JBL’s current Partybox line up from the Encore 2, partybox 120, 320, 520 and ultimate and lets see which one is right for you.
Regarding pricing, we’ve got a big range. Now the JBL partybox Encore 2 has two versions to it which I think is very dumb. Now theres the Essential version which we have here and this is the more common version and it retails for $300 or you can get the Encore 2 which comes with two mics and an easier to remove battery but that version retails for $400 and its harder to find. But then theres the partybox 120 which has a retail price of $400, the Partybox 320 has a retail price of $600, the party box 520… which is the newest speaker here has a retail price of $900 and then there’s the Partybox Ultimate which has a retail price of $1700. Now depending on your needs you are going to be better off with one over the other. 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.
Now first theres the design of these speakers, Now both the Encore 2 and partybox 120 are very small box speakers and they are super easy to take on the go with you. Now both the 320 and 520 are also relatively easy to take on the go with you cause both of these speakers have built in wheels, so you can easily roll these speakers around. However the Partybox 520 is noticeably larger and heavier than the 320 weighing in at 56 pounds where as the 320 weighs in at 36 pounds. So the 320 is going to be much easier to carry up and down stairs all on your own where as with the 520, I think some people are going to want some help. But then theres the Ultimate which is the largest speaker and its much heavier weighing in at 87 so with this speaker you are going to need help to carry it up and down stairs.
But when it comes to durability, all of these speakers are the same, they all have a mostly plastic body which can get scratched very easily and they all have a thin metal grill on the front which can get dented very easily as well. But all of these speakers do have an IPX4 rating so water isn’t going to be a problem for any of these speakers, and I think they’re all going to be a good option for the pool cause since they all have physical media buttons up top, you’ll still be able to control your music even if your fingers are wet.
And all of these speakers have a built in light feature, and I really like these light features cause they are very dynamic and they are very bright. And since all of these speakers are using Aura Cast, you can pair them up to JBL’s Partylights and get them to play in sync so you can extend their light feature if you want. Now for the most part the light feature on the Encore 2, 120, 320 and 520 are all very similar, but the Ultimate’s light feature is a little different cause this light feature does have a 3D effect which I actually really like, and the Ultimate also has built in floor lights which is sometime I really wish the 520 had. Nonetheless all of these speakers have a good built in light feature, but if you do use these lights features that is going to affect your battery life.
Now when it comes to battery life, first off the Ultimate does now have a built in battery, you can only use this speaker while its plugged in. Where as all of these other speakers do have a built in battery. Now the battery on these speakers really varies depending on how you use them, if you use them at a higher volume, or if you use them with their light feature turned on or off or if you use them with their Bass boost turned on, all of that is going to affect your battery life.
But real world use with all of these speakers playing between 60 to 80 percent volume and with the light features turned on and with the bass boost feature turned, all of these speakers are going to be good for around 7 to 8 hours of playback time. But obviously the larger the speaker the louder and more bass you’re going to have… and with all of these speakers if you use them at max volume they’re going to be good for like 2 and a half to 3 hours of playback time.
But the really important thing here is, with all of these speakers you can quickly and easily remove the battery, so if you want you can get multiple batteries and keep the party going, or if you get to a 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.
However, with the Encore 2 Essential, removing this battery isn’t as easy as these other speakers, your going to need a screw driver. But if you were to get the nonessential version, then removing your battery is as easy as the partybox 120. And you’ll be able to mix and match batteries between the two cause the 120 and nonessential version of the Encore 2 use the same battery.
However you can not mix and match batteries between the partybox 120, 320 or 520 cause alll of these batteries are different. However, you can mix and match batteries between the Partybox 320 and JBL Xtreme 4 cause they use them same batteries and you can mix and match batteries between the Partybox 520 and the JBL Boombox 4.
But then there are the ports, and the partybox 520 stands out here cause this speaker is using XLR combo jacks so you can connect this speaker up to a mixer if you want which is really good for someone that might want to work as a DJ. Now you can still use all of these other speakers with a mixer but you’re either going to have to use an audio jack connection or bluetooth… it works but having an XLR input is more solid.
However with all of these speaker you can connect a microphone for kakroke if you want. Now with all of these speakers you can connect 2 mics if you want, except for the Encore 2 cause this speakers only has one quarter inch input. But with all of these speakers you can adjust the sound of your mic by adjusting the bass or treble, or you can also add an echo if you want. However you can adjust the sound of your mic directly from the speaker itself either on the 320, 520 or ultimate cause they have a control panel up top. Where as with the 120 and encore 2 you need to use the app.
So if you plan on doing lots of kakroke I think you should go with at least the 320 cause of the control panel up top. Now like I mentioned earlier if you were to get the nonessential version of the the Encore 2 you are going to get 2 wireless microphones and the receiver is actually built in, which I think is super cool. Where as with these other speakers, the wireless mics are sold separately and you have to plug in the receiver. Now for the most part I really like these wireless mics cause they sound really good and they also do a really good job of not picking up any noise pollution when you’re handling them… but what I dont like is that the mics have a 20 hour battery life but the receiver as a 12 hour battery life.
But with both the Encore 2 and Partybox 520, these speakers have a USB C port which you can use to charge your own devices, or you can use them to charge your microphones and you can also use these USB C ports as a wired connection with your phone. Now with all of these other speakers they have a USB A port so you can charge your phone with them, but I dont think USB A is as conveintinte as USB C in 2025.
But with all of these speakers you can use them with a wired connection cause they all have an audio jack, but something the Encore 2 doesn’t have is an audio out jack. So with all of these other speakers you can daisy chain them up with any other speaker, regardless of size or brand and you can get them to play in sync, which I feel is super useful.
And finally theres bluetooth connectivity, all of these speakers can be connected to any two bluetooth devices so you and a friend can both be DJ. Latency is not an issue for any of these speakers you can use them to watch videos with on your phone and when it comes to audio codecs, all of these speakers have support for SBC and AAC. But something that is exclusive to the ultimate is that it also has wifi support sop you can stream music to it and you can also get it to play in sync with your other smart speakers.
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 and exhaust port that shoots out the back and it has dual frontward firing tweeters. Where as with the partybox 120, 320, and 520 all of these speakers have dual frontward firing woofers with an exhaust port that shoots out the back, and dual frontward firing tweeters, expect bigger. And then theres the Partybox Ultimate which has dual frontward firing woofers with an exhaust port that shoots out the back and dual frontward firing tweeters… but what is different is that this speaker also has dual frontward firing mid range drivers which is something that is lacking on all of these others speakers. And with all of these speakers you can go in and adjust their EQ and they all have their bass boost, basically deep is going to give you more kick in your bass where as punch is going to give you more resonance. But now we’re going to jump into the sound test, the ultimate is playing at 75% volume where as all of these other speakers are playing at their max volume while unplugged.
Sound test
So obviously, the larger the speaker the louder and more bass its going to have. However, something that the ultimate does have over all of these other speakers is that it does have better instrument seperation in the mids and it sound more open thanks to those additional mid range drivers. Now dont get me wrong, all of these other speakers still sound good, however I would have liked to have seen mid range drivers on the 520 so that it can have better instrument separation and overall better sound than the Partybox 320. But when it comes to max volume performance, I feel both the Encore 2 and Partybox 120 are good for like a 15 person party, but with the Encore 2 you’re going to have less bass. I feel the Partybox 320 is good for like a 20 to 30 person party and then theres the partybox 520 and ultimate which I feel are good for like a 50 person party and these speakers are starting to enter commercial use territory. And with the Encore 2, 120, 320, and 520, if you were to use these speakers while they are plugged in, you are going to get a performance boost out of them, they are all going to get a little louder and they are going to have more bass. But basically, with the Ultimate I think this speaker is better for commercial use, cause when used at home, this speaker gets so loud that you cant realistically use it at its full potential so you start to regret your purchase. Where as I think the Partybox 520 is the perfect size cause it gets more than loud enough, but it also doesn’t get so loud where you start to think that you made a mistake. With the Partybox 320, it also gets very loud, but sometimes you do wonder what if you had a second speaker. And then with the 120, it gets the job done for sure, but you’re always thinking about the upgrade
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, but they have to be two of the exact same speakers.
But also, all of these speakers have aura cast, so you can pair any of these party boxes up to one another and you can have up to 100 speakers pair together and get them to all play in sync. But also, you can pair any of these Partybox speakers with any of JBL’s smaller speakers that are also using aura cast like either a charge 6, xtreme 4, flip 7 clip 5 or go 4.
Also, with any of these party boxes you can pair them up with JBL’s older party boxes that are using TWS like either an original Encore or partybox 110, 310 or 710. However in order for you to do this you have to use the app and you can only have a total of two speakers paired together. But at least there’s the backwards compatibility. But keep in mind, you can not connect any of these Partyboxes up to any of JBL’s older speakers that are using Partyboost like either a JBL Boombox 3, a Boombox 2, Extreme 3, Charge 5, pulse 5, pulse 4, flip 6 or flip 7.
But like I mentioned earlier, all of these speakers except for the Encore 2 has 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 in sync. Also since these speakers are using Aura Cast you’ll be able to pair them up to other speakers that are also using aura cast but they aren’t from JBL. But also keep in mind, the Ultimate is the only speaker here that also has wifi support so you’ll also be able to pair it up to your other smart speakers around the house and get them to play in sync as well.
But with all of that being said, I think JBL’s Partybox line up is very good, but my favorite speaker here is the 520. Its the perfect size where you dont want or need more sound out of it. Plus it has those XLR inputs and a USB C. However I do wish that it mid range drivers like the Ultimate so that it can have better instrument separation. Now obviously the Ultimate gets louder, it has more bass and it does sound more open, but I would reserve this speaker for commercial use… and even then its a shame that it doesn’t have XLR inputs. I think both the Partybox 320 and 120 get the job done… but you are constantly thinking about the upgrade, especially on the 120. And then theres the Encore 2, its a good little speaker, but I do recommend that you spring for the 120 if you can.