JBL - PartyBox 520
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Reddit Reviews:
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Based on 1 year's data from Jan 28, 2026 How it works
Liked most:
397
230
"Have run 3 half's and 2 fulls, never have ran out of battery provided they are properly charged beforehand."
"I use it for the same reasons and love it. ... I would not consider the regular Apple Watch because of battery life."
"the battery life easily lasts 10+ hours."
32
1
"sits perfectly in a water bottle holder, for biking, taking in your car, etc."
"for the price, i feel like it’s still the best option, especially for the size"
"I love the lifestyle projectors as I can easily camp out with movies, take it to a friends for "the big game", or point it at the ceiling and play games from bed while laying on my back."
5
0
"Having those XLR inputs would be a game changer for connecting my mixer though. Would love to run directly to each speaker with balanced cables instead of daisy chaining with aux cables."
"And lots of VoIP/DECT support too."
"Before with copper and now fibre."
62
8
"the best sounds separation in any portable speaker"
"the boombox 3 is honestly the king of flat responses at max volume. ... The bass can keep up all the way to 100% which is far better than any other speasker on the market afaik. ... But the bass response is completely flat at max volume."
"The boombox 3 is the best sounding, deep bass speaker for its size and weight class."
15
2
"As loud (and chest thumping) as you would ever need for a backyard party."
"You won’t find a louder speaker with that much bass for less."
"nothing compared to the bass and clarity."
Disliked most:
2
1
"For example I believe some of the JBL PartyBoxes have lag on the aux in but not on the daisychain as that bypasses the DSP :)"
1
1
"For me the 720 is a deal breaker because it can't be mounted on a speaker pole. ... I like getting my speakers up high so they have more throw and you can get the tweeters above your ears for less ear strain."
"For me the 720 is a deal breaker because it can't be mounted on a speaker pole. I like getting my speakers up high so they have more throw and you can get the tweeters above your ears for less ear strain."
0
1
"Wish they had side handles for lifting, but not too bad."
Basic-Window-6262 1.0JBL Partybox 520 would be the best there is that’s battery powered imo and for battery life you can buy multiple battery’s
The party box 520 is a lot better in my opinion, the soundboks is just technically louder, I meant it’s the loudest battery powered speaker other than professional DJ speakers that would weigh a few hundred pounds
Charming-Database359 1.0Jbl 520 will be the way to go if you don’t mind the size, I mean the swappable batteries are convenient as hell with no downtime really.
ComprehensiveSmell76 1.0I got two PB 520’s. I’m now getting called for every family get together… “can you please bring the music”?!? As loud (and chest thumping) as you would ever need for a backyard party. Even one did very well. I just HAD to get another. Portable… it has an extendable handle and wheels. Wish they had side handles for lifting, but not too bad. You can get covers (I did) that have handles built in. Good luck.
Same… it (520) was “the talk” of our reunion/party. It rocked all by itself… then we plugged in the JBL wireless mic receiver. Took the party to a whole new level. You won’t regret it. Not just thumping bass, but a very nice, well rounded sound to boot.
dolado13 1.0I have [the partybox 520](https://www.reddit.com/user/mohammedBird/comments/1mozjck/portable_party_speaker_with_big_sound_and_long/), and I absolutely love it. I upgraded from the 320, and the sound quality is better, louder, and the battery life is longer. I use it for pretty much everything from outdoor parties/events to movie nights to kareoke.
Elucyv3-one 1.0I juuuust bought a 520 over the Labor Day weekend and I am very pleased with it.
Happy7User 1.0All depends on where you taking the thing. If you just want a speaker that'll sit in one spot then get a PB Ultimate or 720, of you actually need to move the thing then a PB 520 is a really good sweet spot
Left_Survey_938 1.0The 520 are battery powered i believe makes sense tbh that the bigger ones arent probably impossible to make something that big and powerful portable without needing a power outlet
you say its not super expensive but they are £899 the jbl partybox 520 is a lot cheaper is the soundboks 4 that much louder ?
I want to get the 520 but it might be too expensive for me right now do you think the 320 would be loud enough ??
Even on full volume the 520 lasts 12 hours
luftic 1.0I already have 2x520 (just bought the second one, open box, for 500) and one 310 from way back. When I heard two speakers playing together I actually thought that 2x310 or 2x320 would be enough for everything. I just wasn't sure if there was a difference between 310 and 320. Now I plan to get another 310 for cheap for indoors. For outdoors it's 520 or 720, definitely, but they are too loud for indoors - 310 just sounds better and tighter.
mrdoom 1.0JBL is really covering the portable party speaker market. Depends on the type of party you are having and how much $ you want to spend for real advice but the big JBL 710 has no battery and the new 520 is getting good reviews and has a replaceable battery. Pair of JBL 120 is what I would use unless this was a real event where you need bust out the 18" subs and 130 db mains. The LG stage 301 and Zealot sS89 are getting good recommendations from Jagist reviews if you want something smaller than a big partybox.
Screw_Potato 1.0the bass on the 320 can be underwhelming, so I can recommend a 520 for bigger things
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