The JBL PartyBox Ultimate is the company's biggest and loudest party speaker yet, but its sound is remarkably clean and its Wi-Fi connectivity gives it an edge.
JBL PartyBox Ultimate MSRP $1,699.95 Score Details DT Editors' Choice “It's big, it's brash, and the JBL PartyBox Ultimate will turn any party into a banger.” Pros Cons I had completely forgotten that JBL was sending me its latest party speaker to review. There were some delays in shipping it to my home in Canada, and it just slipped my mind. Then one day, as if to ask, “remember me?” the 87-pound JBL PartyBox Ultimate landed on my porch in a box the size of a small refrigerator.
The speaker stands at 41.3 inches by 18.9-inches deep and 17.3-inches wide. And, as mentioned, it weighs a hefty 87.1 pounds, roughly 10 pounds heavier than JBL’s outgoing champion, the JBL PartyBox 1000, and more than any other party speaker I’ve ever come across. One public service announcement I can make about the PartyBox Ultimate is to not lift it by yourself. Sure, it has a sturdy plastic handle, the wheels are big and smooth, and it rolls around with ease.
On the back of the Ultimate, behind a rugged protective flap, you’ll find a panel of inputs, including two quarter-inch jacks, one for the main mic and another for mic 2/guitar, as well as a USB-A port for USB sticks and charging devices, a 3.5mm AUX in, and in/out ports for daisy-chaining to other PartyBox Ultimate speakers. There’s also a compartment for storing the power cable, which makes this the perfect time to mention that the Ultimate does not have a battery, so it must be plugged in.
JBL PartyBox Ultimate: sound and performance If you’re familiar at all with JBL’s pleasant little chime tone when you turn on one of its Bluetooth speakers, the PartyBox Ultimate has this, too — except that it shook my house. And things just got crazier from there. As advertised, the Ultimate’s power is authoritative, with the ability to effortlessly push out the kind of volume you’d find in a nightclub or a really good wedding.
I was also curious to check out the Ultimate’s Dolby Atmos compatibility. While most people won’t use this, it’s new for JBL party speakers and touted in their marketing materials. The short version is that it’s just OK, but it depends on a few things. You need to be connected to Wi-Fi and the streaming service needs to have Dolby Atmos music tracks available, so we’re talking Tidal, Amazon Music, or Apple Music. However, the latter has no native connection in the JBL One app .
All those features are controlled by the feature-rich JBL One app, but let’s start with the lights. In short, the PartyBox Ultimate lights up like a Christmas tree, with LEDS circling the twin nine-inch woofers, strobes dotted around the face, and several lines of LEDS accentuating the top, sides, and bottom of the speaker. With more colors and presets than you’ll ever need, you can tweak away to create a custom light sequence or just let it pulse along to whatever music you’re playing.
Lastly, what would a DJ or emcee be without a mic? The PartyBox Ultimate’s main mic sounds clear and loud and can be controlled with physical knobs on top of the speaker, which is great because you don’t have to crawl around to the back panel like on other speakers. You can also use the app to control these settings, too.
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