What’s impressive about JBL as an audio brand is that they know how to make each of their products unique. It has established its market in the portable speaker department and this can be proven by how successful the JBL Go series is. While there are audiophiles who prefer to have pocketable speakers that produce hard-hitting bass, there are also those who want the big guns out. JBL found what can be called as the middle ground for this when they launched the JBL PartyBox On-the-Go, a party speaker that’s relatively big in size and purposely heavy in sound. Let’s take a quick look.
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| JBL PartyBox On-the-Go Review; Hear That Bass Boom |
Get yours via Lazada at https://bit.ly/jblstoreofficial or Shopee at https://bit.ly/jblofficialstoreph.
DESIGN:
Carrying the JBL PartyBox On-the-Go as a portable speaker reminds us of when people used to bring boomboxes back in the days, although JBL also has another product which is actually called JBL Boombox. Interestingly, the JBL PartyBox On-the-Go seems to be particularly targeted to the Philippine market because of one of its selling points -- it comes with two wireless battery-powered microphones designed to be used in a sing-along setup -- something that appeals to the karaoke-loving Filipinos.
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| Front |
For your reference, the JBL PartyBox On-the-Go has dimensions of 19.3 x 9.6 x 8.8 inches and weighs 7.5 kilograms. It's heavy but not too much that it's tiresome to bring from one place to another. JBL has also included a free strap which has a bottle opener in its package for easy transport of the JBL PartyBox On-the-Go and on both sides of the speakers, there are rubber straps where users can safely place the two microphones, and a grip handle to hold the speakers with both hands in case you don't want to use the straps.
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| Back |
On the top part of the speakers lie the control buttons for pause/play, volume up/down, power on/off, Bluetooth pairing, and a dedicated button for JBL Bass Boost. There are also the knobs to easily adjust the echo, treble, and bass of the microphones or the guitar that's hooked up to the speaker. You read that right -- the JBL PartyBox On-the-Go also easily allows plug-and-play for guitars.
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| Retail Package |
The JBL PartyBox On-the-Go of course has synchronized party lights which at this point can very well be associated with JBL as a brand. What the JBL PartyBox On-the-Go lacks, though, compared to other portable JBL speakers is the additional fabric cover. The JBL PartBox On-the-Go's body is mostly made up of plastic although there's a nice leatherette padding on its back. If you're worried whether this PartyBox speaker is durable enough, its IPX4 rating has your accidental splashes covered, and makes it suitable as a music companion for beachside and poolside parties.
See Also: JBL Launches Latest Line of Audio Devices in First Online Launch in PH
SOUND QUALITY:
As expected from a JBL speaker, the JBL PartyBox On-the-Go delivers an impressive sound performance. Even without its Bass Boost feature activated, the speaker can already bring punchy tunes much to the delight of bass heads. Turning the feature on will let your experience the advertised 100 watts of powerful, booming JBL Pro Sound.
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| JBL PartyBox On-the-Go Connected to Smartphone via Bluetooth |
And since the JBL PartyBox On-the-Go is more of an outdoor speaker than an indoor one, it really plays loud music without audible cracks even with the volume set on high. Playing music across various genres is also like clockwork both in the sound aspect and on how easy it is to set up the device and pair it with various gadgets.
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| Buttons, Controls, and Ports |
Now if you’re familiar with most of JBL’s offerings, you’re likely aware of how the brand likes users to connect their speakers to each other to create that surround system for even more powerful audio. Unfortunately, the JBL PartyBox On-the-Go isn’t invited to the Party Boost clique which is a bummer, to be honest. It would have been an added brownie point if it’s the other way around.
Its 4.2 Bluetooth connection, albeit outdated, is strong enough to play smooth music as long as the 10-meter range is observed. There are also other music sources to choose from including a wired connection using a 3.5 mm audio jack or via a flash drive.
BATTERY LIFE:
The battery life of the JBL PartyBox On-the-Go is the only thing about the speaker that we find mediocre. It seems like its Lithium-Ion 2,500mAh battery can’t keep up with how powerful it is as an audio device that we ended up just plugging it into a power source to avoid being interrupted with playing music. Its advertised 6-hour playtime also falls short in real-life usage. We were only able to use the JBL PartyBox On-the-Go for around four hours. To fully fuel up the JBL PartyBox On-the-Go speakers again, you’ll have to wait for three hours max.
FINAL WORDS:
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| JBL PartyBox On-the-Go |
It’s safe to say that the JBL PartyBox On-the-Go speaker is a well-thought-out audio device. If you have Php20,999 to spare and you’re looking to take the next step in the portable speaker department, then this is a decent purchase.
Get yours via Lazada at https://bit.ly/jblstoreofficial or Shopee at https://bit.ly/jblofficialstoreph.