JBL PartyBox 100
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Sound Quality - 90%90%
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Features - 85%85%
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Ease of Use - 90%90%
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Build Quality - 90%90%
SUMMARY
The JBL PartyBox 100 is an easy and highly effective way to add good sounding music to your events or parties. The overall quality is very high, both in terms of audio and design/build quality.
Powerful, dynamic, energetic and detailed sound
Build Quality
Versatile
Battery life
No remote
Design & Build Quality
The PartyBox 100 is the smallest in the series, but with dimensions of 14.0 x 13.9 x 26.1 inches (35.6 x 35.2 x 66.4 centimeters) it's far from small as far as bluetooth speakers goes. The molded box-shaped enclosure has rounded edges and to say that it looks and feels robust and sturdy would be an understatement - it's clear that it's meant to be able to withstand some rough handling.
The PartyBox is fitted with small rubber feet on the sides, allowing it to be placed both vertically and horizontally. On the top panel you find buttons for the most common functions - power on/of, volume up/down, bluetooth pairing, play/pause, lights/strobe, battery life indicator and a Bass Boost for some added 'thump'. Additional controls can be found on the back panel - USB for connecting or charging an external storage device, AUX in- and outputs (3.5mm) and mic and guitar inputs (6.3mm) with gain/volume contols. The back also features a bass reflex port and two sturdy carrying handles. The front panel is more straightforward with a metal grille covering the drivers (2 x 5.25" woofer, 2 x 2.25" tweeter), only adorned with a white and red JBL logo.
JBL states that the battery should last around 12 hours, but this depends on how you use it. If you stream music using bluetooth and play at full volume with the lights on it will be significantly less.
Let's Start This Party!
Due to its size the PartyBox 100 has no problem filling a room with music. It has that typical JBL sound that comes with plenty of power and impressive dynamics, but is also surprisingly detailed and delicate at lower volumes. With 160 watts on tap it also handles loud volumes without any discernible levels of distortion.
Being a single unit speaker, the stereo image is limited and wouldn't be a match for a dedicated two channel hi-fi system, but the overall size of the cabinet helps in creating a soundscape that beats any smaller sized bluetooth speakers. The stereo image can be improved slightly by placing it horizontally, or significantly by adding a second PartyBox 100 and use the TWS Mode (True Wireless Stereo) to connect them as a stereo pair using bluetooth.
According to the spec sheet the frequency response ranges from 45Hz to 18kHz. In practice this gives the PartyBox 100 a slightly warm character, but despite the rolled off top end it manages to remain detailed and has no problem conveying the emotion of a song. The bass is powerful and quick, with a nice attack in the upper region that gives most music a nice sense of rythm and pace.
While there's no doubt that the PartyBox 100 does a great job with high energy types of music genres, it also handles more delicate music really well. Acoustic music, like jazz or chamber quartets, benefit from the expressive midrange and the dynamic capabilities of this speaker.
Let's Rock!
One of the features is the option of plugging in a guitar and microphone and use the speaker as a guitar amp/karaoke machine. Unfortunately we didn't have any guitar available during the test, but we did try to sing along with some of our favorite songs using a mic. It may not have sounded very pleasant (mainly because of our singing) but functionally it worked as expected.
To further improve the party experience the PartyBox 100 comes with a variety of built in light shows that can be controlled by pressing a button on the top control panel. If you’re not in to that sort of thing you can always switch it off.
Conclusion
The JBL PartyBox 100 is an easy and highly effective way to add good sounding music to your events or parties. The overall quality is very high, both in terms of audio and design/build quality. It's no surprise that it won Best Product in the Party Speaker category at the EISA Awards. We reckon two units paired in a stereo setup could even give a lot of dedicated hi-fi systems a run for their money...
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- FEATURES
- SPECIFICATIONS
- IN THE BOX
Power to the party
Kick out the hottest jams in town. JBL PartyBox 100 thumps out 160 Watts of that pounding JBL signature sound. Start the party whenever and wherever you need.
Light up your party
Boost your party with an epic light show. Choose from several RGB LED light patterns or let the colors groove to the music for a next-level audio-visual party.
A battery that just won’t quit
Rock on from sunup to sundown with a massive battery life, up to 12 hours*.
Plug in and play
Have mic, will sing. Have guitar, will shred. Just plug into your speaker, take to the stage and rock that party like there’s no tomorrow.
Stream seamlessly with Bluetooth®
It’s easy to keep the music flowing. Simply connect to your smartphone, tablet, or favourite online service via any Bluetooth®-compatible device for uninterrupted wireless streaming.
Playlists made easy
Personalise your party. Build your ultimate party sounds from the ground up. Just make your playlist, pop it on a USB-capable thumb drive and slip it into your speaker.
Amplify your audio
One speaker just not enough? Link up to two compatible party speakers with True Wireless Stereo (Bluetooth).
Put your speaker on a pedestal
A speaker that rises to the occasion. Mount your JBL PartyBox 100 on a post for a dynamic, immersive party sound that really rocks the crowd.
*12 hrs battery playtime is only for reference and may vary depending on music content and battery aging after numerous charging and discharging cycles. It’s achievable with a predefined music source, light show switch off, volume level at 7 and BT streaming source.
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