JBL PartyBox 1000 Speaker Review

The JBL PartyBox 1000 is a large wired speaker that retains a similar look and feel to other models in the PartyBox lineup. It features RGB lights in the front of the speaker that are reactive to the music you play. You can also turn them off if you prefer. You can position this speaker either horizontally or vertically. It has wheels and a carrying handle for easier transport. You can position your phone on its built-in stand, which is a nice touch.

This large, heavy speaker is meant to be wheeled from one location to the next. Due to its elongated design, it's not the easiest to transport, as it tends to wobble when you roll it over uneven ground. You need to be careful to make sure it doesn't tip over. It's wired-only, too, so you must keep it plugged in to use it, limiting its portability. You can see an image of the full speaker in our dimensions box here.

This speaker has a decent build quality. It's not the most premium feeling, but the materials feel good overall, giving it a solid and sturdy construction. It's mostly made of plastic, with metal grilles to help protect the drivers inside. Rubberized feet on the bottom of the speaker help hold it in place. The wheels roll well, too. The carrying handle isn't texturized, though, which makes it more difficult to grip, and it isn't the most comfortable to hold, especially if you're wheeling the speaker over a longer distance. Also, this speaker isn't rated for dust or water resistance, so exercise caution if you plan to use it near a water source.

Since this speaker doesn't come with a companion app, it's designed to be controlled mainly from its physical controls. There are lots of buttons to access a wide array of different features. All of them are illuminated for easier use in the dark.

There are also buttons to control the lighting, switch the audio source, and activate Bluetooth. You can turn on the Smart DJ feature here, too, which enables automatic mixing of sound effects in songs (though it's not for everyone, as it can make audio sound busy and cluttered.) Key, Echo, and Gain control knobs are available alongside the microphone and guitar inputs. These buttons are well-labeled, responsive, and easy to use. The front RGB lights also show the volume level as you adjust it.

DJs can check out the DJ pad on top of the speaker. It has four different presets, each of which changes the light color of the panel itself. You can even set up a customizable preset by importing your own mp3 sound effects through USB. You can check out a video of the DJ pad here.

Also, this speaker comes with a wristband that lets you control the device through gestures. For example, you clap twice to play effect 1 and shake four times to play effect 2. The effects are the last inputted on the DJ pad, so you can set them accordingly. This feature is responsive, though it can sometimes register the wrong input, so you'll want to be deliberate in your movements. You can see it in action through the video linked here.

• JBL Partybox 1000 speaker
• Air gesture wristband
• 2x Batteries (for gesture wristband)
• Quick start guide
• Power cable (length: 6.4 ft / 1.96 m)

The JBL PartyBox 1000's frequency response accuracy is great. Out-of-the-box, it offers a pretty even, balanced sound suitable for many different music genres. Voices and lead instruments are reproduced with clarity, and there's plenty of thump and rumble in the bass for more bass-centric genres like EDM. Note that we tested the speaker with its Bass Boost EQ set to 1. You can see a comparison of the frequency response with its Default EQ and its Bass Boost EQ set to 2 at the link here. As expected, Bass Boost 2 brings more punch to the mix.

Unlike the JBL PartyBox 710, this speaker has to downmix stereo content into mono to play it back. Its directivity is middling, too, so you don't get consistent sound from all around the speaker.

Since this speaker gets plenty loud, it's more than suitable for listening in larger and more open rooms. There's some compression when you push it all the way to max volume, though.

While there's no battery, this speaker still goes to sleep after twenty minutes without an audio signal. You can wake it up by pressing the power button or playing audio from a paired device.

While there's no app, you can control some of the features commonly found in companion apps through the speaker itself. For example, using the controls, you can switch between the Default and Bass Boost EQ modes. Also, you can hold the Bluetooth button for five seconds to enable True Wireless Stereo pairing with another PartyBox 1000 speaker.

This speaker has a lot of different connectivity options to make the most of your listening experience. Musicians can use the mic and guitar ports to connect their instruments. You can also playback audio over an AUX input or USB. Line-in and line-out ports are available, too. While its USB port is designed for servicing the speaker, you can also use it to charge connected devices like smartphones.

You can pair this Bluetooth-compatible speaker to up to three devices simultaneously, making switching your audio source between different phones and laptops easy. Its latency with Android and iOS devices falls around good limits, too, so you can stream videos and movies without lip-synching issues.