JBL Partybox 310 – Portable Party Speaker

Gostei de mais som limpo nota mil recomendo

So I bought this Ankuka karaoke machine back in 2019. For something that would probably go for under $200 these days if they still made it, it had a good run, scratched my karaoke itch, and died a very unceremonious death this year. So began my hunt for the “perfect” karaoke machine/BT speaker. And seriously, I tried them all. I would order, wait in anticipation, get excited when they arrived, try them out, send them back. I am currently still waiting for refunds on some of them. Anyway, I swear, many of these machines are exactly the same, made by the same people in the same factories, and shipped out under different names. They look the same, they all have their flashy lights, monster and gibberish sounds, no real EQ to speak of, and way overuse the “echo”function as if that’s some kind of good thing. But most of they all sound the same, with little to no difference between them, and none of them were better than the old die hard Ankuka, at least when it was new. I even tried a few of the “all in one” systems, with built-in rechargeable, microphones, built-in tablets, and these crazy claims have incredible wattage and power, none of which were true. All those were great in concept and appearance, but definitely not in the execution, with latency/delay issues, subpar tablets that didn’t connect right or stay connected and microphones that were just – blah. If you really have nothing better to do, you can read separate reviews on all those items. But I won’t name names because it’s not worth it. Bottom line – the JBL Party Box 310 was kinda my last try at this. I figured if I didn’t like it, I’d either keep the flawed but livable all in one that came on the same day, reorder the first cheap copycat of the JBL PB 310 I sent back, or hang up my jock so to speak and not have a home karaoke system/BT speaker at all. I ain’t getting any younger, after all. But then this thing shows up and as listed in the title, it absolutely CRANKS! My house literally shook when I turned it on, connected to my phone (very quickly by the way) and started playing some sample songs. I was worried a little bit as while the volume was super loud, it sounded a little “muddy”, even without the bass boost. Adjusting the EQ settings on my phone helped a little but I was still not overtly thrilled. And then I was like “oh yeah – there’s an app for that!” (Don’t sue me, Apple!). So I dowloaded that, synced it to the device, did the update (really, already?) and with the app’s EQ feature, it sounds much better – more crisp. Oh and did I mention that it CRANKS? Man is this thing loud. Now I did but this thing primarily for karaoke. Unfortunately, mics don’t come with the JBL PB 310 or any of the PB’s, I believe, so I had to order those separately and they just got here today. I don’t consider them to be world class, professional mics but they do the trick well enough, there’s no latency/delay that I could tell, and since JBL makes them, I knew there’d be no issues being compatible with the device, which I had to connect to my iPad for karaoke use as though I can do that with my phone, it’s nice to have the words much larger. I did a few tunes and once again, something was bugging me – the mics were way loud – almost too loud and I realized I spent $99 on mics with no volume control. That couldn’t be right. Luckily it wasn’t as the JBL PB 310 does have mic volume control – but it’s on the back of the speaker, not on the mics themselves. I talked about that in my review of the mics themselves. I don’t see it as a speaker issue, but it is a JBL issue. Maybe someday they’ll make mics with the controls on the mics so I don’t have to spend time crewing around f with the back of the speaker. But at least the issue was resolved. The unit also has a hole in the bottom so it can be mounted. It’s covered so I didn’t think there was one but the cover popped right off and I was like “YES” as I did buy a speaker stand that went with the “all in one” systems I tried. But I wasn’t sure that the JBL PB 310 had one as it’s not mentioned anywhere in the description that I could tell and not shown in any photos. Not worth docking a star for or anything, because it’s definitely a good thing, but its presence would be good to feature so people know in advance. So to sum it up, finally I think I’ve found my “perfect” home karaoke machine and BT speaker! It’s portable, seems to be on good rollers, has a handle, has an app to adjust the EQ and fun party lights (among other features), clearly works well with the JBL mics I got, you can mount it which actually brings the sound and volume to a whole new level – oh and did I mention this thing CRANKS??? It’s not cheap, and JBL offers some others that are presumably even better, louder and crisper (given their costs), but good things usually aren’t – and this one works for me. So with the price and the quality thus far, I’ll really hope this will last a good long time (I mean heck the now discontinued Ankuka I had lasted 5 years), and I won’t be shlepping this one back to the UPS store anytime soon – hopefully not at all. Absolutely 5 stars and I’d highly recommend to anyone looking to up their karaoke game or just looking for a good, loud, powerful, BT speaker! Happy shopping!

I bought this for outdoor use – taking to baseball tournaments, patio parties, picnics, etc. I have not tried using it for any professional purpose (DJ, live shows, karaoke). I have been using it for a few months now.

Pros:
-The sound on the speaker is amazing. At max volume, I can flood an entire baseball field with “Green Onions” and have gotten tons of compliments on how great it sounds by people at the ballpark. The bass can be tweaked in the app with the touch of a button, and I love switching between deep and punchy depending on the song.

-The speaker is so far holding up very well. I am putting some miles on the handle, wheels, and lugging it over all kinds of terrain like rocky parking lots, grassy fields, dusty dirt paths. Is it getting kinda dirty? Yeah. Has it come down with a few scratches? Sure. But all in all, it is holding up better than I expected with all the bumps and jiggling. I haven’t dealt with moisture yet, but it is supposed to be able to withstand any thing besides being submerged (not an issue on solid ground, typically).

-The battery life is great. I can charge it up overnight and take it to the park for the next couple of days playing near max volume and I have yet to run out of juice with it. Stated battery life is 18 hours and I have tested up to ~10 without issue.

-Comes with a USB port that you can use to charge up your phone or other portable devices with the speaker’s battery. It’s not fast charging capable, but it will keep your device from draining and boost it slowly over time if you turn the screen off. It’s a small detail but I find it very convenient since without my phone the speaker is a giant paperweight.

-The lights are cool, but I have yet to really use them. They are bright enough to be visible during the day and are a cool feature, but I just haven’t found myself using them much.

Cons
-Thing is a bit heavy. Not too heavy so that my wife can’t lift it and lug it around, but it certainly dampens it’s portability. 10 lbs less somehow and this thing would be amazingly portable. Unless you’re taking it over smooth, even ground you will be a bit tired if you have to take it further than 50-100 yards. So, not the speaker to take on a hike – definitely the speaker to take car camping. I would have liked to see slightly wider wheels on it, as the roller-blade like wheels on it now can get be unsteady when hitting bumps in a sidewalk and cause the speaker to start rocking – when this happens just stop, let it settle, and start moving forward again. Otherwise, the rocking momentum will build and cause it to try and tip over. I think fatter wheels would give it more stability when being pulled by the telescoping handle.

-Some folks may not like the scratches it will take in moving it around everywhere. I see these as a patina from being put to good use – as long as it still works fine and the handle/wheels hold up, I do not mind some scratches or discoloration. I’m using it outdoors and taking it to so many places that I think expecting something to come out looking pristine is unreasonable.

-One feature I wish that it had (and maybe could be added to the app in a future update) is a fade in/fade out button for when I’m transitioning songs (or if I was making an announcement and needed a short break in the song). An abrupt pause and start can be distracting to listeners, and it would be cool if I could just push a button in the app and it would automatically start fading out over 5-10 seconds, then start fading up. I can do this manually with my volume buttons but I usually don’t because it is clunky.

Overall, great bluetooth speaker. Well-designed, looks great, and I have yet to take it somewhere without drawing a compliment. People ask where I got it, what brand it is (“Ohhhh yeah JBL, they are really nice”), etc. It is a bit of an investment for the price, but I am using it weekly and expect to continue using it for years to come. After my experience using the speaker, my opinion is that the price is justified by the quality and functionality.

Lontiene todo. Materiales de primera, acabados muy bonitos y profesionales. Excelente balance de frecuencias. Altísima calidad de sonido y muy alta potencia en volumen. Bajos profundos y contundentes. Muy alta duración de la batería. Está pesadita pero es fácil de transportar. Genial para karaoke y ambientación de fiestas. Excelente relación calidad-precio. La recomiendo ampliamente.