SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 3)  Speaker Review

The SOUNDBOKS 3 is a large, rectangular party speaker with silicone rubber balls protecting its corners to absorb impact and reduce potential strain on the speaker's body. It has built-in handles on its sides you can use to carry it. While its body only comes in one color variant, 'Black', the manufacturer sells 'Black', 'White', 'Orange', 'Blue', and 'Artist Edition' grilles you can purchase if you want to change the color of your speaker's grille. Also, there's a hole built into the bottom of the speaker, which you can use to mount it to a pole or tripod, though these must be purchased separately. It doesn't come with RGB lights like other party speakers like the JBL PartyBox 1000, though.

The SOUNDBOKS 3 isn't very portable. Although it comes with built-in handles that you can use to carry the speaker with one hand, it may still feel too heavy for some users. It's also battery-powered, so you can take it outdoors with you without needing to plug it into an outlet. That said, it also comes with an AC power cord you can use to operate the speaker while its removable battery is charging. If you're looking for a more portable SOUNDBOKS speaker, check out the SOUNDBOKS Go.

The SOUNDBOKS 3's build quality isn't bad. The manufacturer claims it's made of Poplar plywood and coated with plastic. Its protective grille is made of powder-coated steel, and you can switch it out for different colors using the included Allen key. There are silicone balls on each of the speaker's corners to absorb any impact and reduce strain on the speaker's body. That said, it isn't rated for impact resistance, and we don't currently test for this. The manufacturer also claims its internal electrical components and parts are coated to comply with an IP65 rating for dust and water resistance, so it should withstand some spills. That said, it doesn't have an IP rating since dust and water can still enter the product through some holes like its bass reflex port. We also don't currently test for this.

The SOUNDBOKS 3 has a limited selection of controls. They're relatively easy to use and feel clicky when pressed. It has a power button and a volume knob with lights around it to indicate your volume level on a scale from zero to 11 that subtly clicks as you turn it. There's also SOLO/HOST/JOIN button you can use to change the speaker's connection. You can set the speaker to SOLO when you want to use it on its own. The HOST setting allows the speaker to control up to four separate Gen. 3 speakers wirelessly. If you want your SOUNDBOKS 3 to connect to another host speaker, you can use the JOIN function and the BOND button located on its rear.

If you want to connect the SOUNDBOKS 3 to even more speakers, you can connect host speakers via their AUX ports. This will enable your host speaker to connect to the speakers that are connected to other hosts.

• SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 3) speaker
• SOUNDBOKS charger
• BETTERYBOKS battery
• Power Cable (US)
• Power Cable (Europe)
• AC Power
• Allen key (For front grille)
• Welcome pamphlet
• Warranty information for SOUNDBOKS speaker
• Warranty information for BATTERYBOKS battery
• Warranty information for charger
• 3x SOUNDBOKS stickers

The SOUNDBOKS 3's frequency response accuracy is very good. It has a V-shaped sound profile that can produce pretty deep bass, so you can feel the thump and rumble in the low-bass, which may please fans of bass-heavy music like hip-hop and EDM. The overemphasis in the mid and high bass range gives it a boomy quality, though this may muddy the vocals and instruments in your audio. Also, the overemphasis in the treble range can make those same vocals and instruments sound honky and harsh at times. That said, its SOUNDBOKS companion app comes with a graphic EQ and presets you can use to adjust the speaker's sound to your liking.

Note: Our sound tests were conducted with the speaker placed vertically, its default 'POWER' EQ preset enabled, and its 'Solo' and 'Mono' settings turned on.

The SOUNDBOKS 3 has a poor soundstage performance. It has disappointing directivity, so you may perceive its soundstage as directional and narrow-sounding. It also has to downmix stereo content to mono, which doesn't sound as immersive. That said, you can pair it to compatible speakers to create a stereo pair and select the channel each speaker plays using the SOUNDBOKS app. However, while the app allows you to choose between the left, mono, and right channels, we could only make the speaker play the left and right channels successfully in our tests. If you're looking for a party speaker with a better soundstage performance, check out the Sony GTK-XB90.

Update 07/22/2021: We retested this speaker to see if it could reach the advertised max volume of 126dB. While there have been no changes to our initial test results, we've updated the text to provide extra information regarding this.

The SOUNDBOKS 3 has fair dynamics. This speaker can get incredibly loud, making it well-suited for large parties. That said, there are a lot of compression artifacts present at max volume, especially in the bass and higher treble ranges, so your audio may not sound as clean and clear at louder volume settings.

Note: The manufacturer advertises that the speaker can reach a max volume level of up to 126dB. That said, with our test phone and the SOUNDBOKS playing at max volume, the speaker would only reach 110dB in our tests. We also ran the speaker at max volume for over 15 minutes to see if its volume level would automatically adjust to 126dB, and have also tested it from different distances, though the max volume reached remained 110dB. We're currently unsure what source, audio, or method the manufacturer used to get it to reach the advertised max volume level. We'll update our review if our test results change.

The SOUNDBOKS 3 has a very good battery life, lasting up to almost 44 hours on a single charge. However, battery performance can depend on your usage habits, and your real-world experience may differ. Unfortunately, there isn't a power-saving feature, so the battery drains completely if you forget to turn the speaker off. You can power the speaker using its AC power and charge the battery simultaneously. The battery is also removable, so you can purchase a spare from the manufacturer and replace it once it drains.

The SOUNDBOKS 3's companion app is great. It comes with a graphic EQ and 'BASS+', 'POWER', and 'INDOOR' presets, so you can adjust its sound to your liking. You can also use the app to connect it to another compatible speaker to create a stereo pair or to up to four other speakers when you want your audio to fill a large space without increasing the volume.

Aside from its power port, the SOUNDBOKS 3 has an AUX input, and output which you can use to wire your devices to the speaker. There are two XLR ports you can use to connect an external microphone, guitar, DJ mixer, or other instruments.

The SOUNDBOKS 3 has good Bluetooth connectivity. It has decently low latency with iOS and Android devices, making it suitable for watching movies and videos, though some apps compensate for latency differently, and your experience may vary. Unfortunately, you can only pair the SOUNDBOKS 3 to one device at a time, which can be inconvenient if you need to switch between audio sources.