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  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Pictures
    2. Style
    3. Portability
    4. Build Quality
    5. Controls
    6. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Frequency Response Accuracy
    2. Raw Frequency Response
    3. Soundstage
    4. Dynamics
  6. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. Voice Assistant
    3. App
  7. Connectivity
    1. Wired
    2. Bluetooth
    3. Wi-Fi
  8. Comments

JBL PartyBox 310 vs ION Pathfinder 280

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

JBL PartyBox 310
ION Pathfinder 280

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Dec 03, 2024 07:33 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Mar 13, 2025 03:41 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
JBL PartyBox 310 Picture
ION Pathfinder 280 Picture
Bluetooth
Yes
Wi-Fi
No
Speakerphone
No
Voice Assistant
No
Battery Powered
Yes
Bluetooth
Yes
Wi-Fi
No
Speakerphone
No
Voice Assistant
No
Battery Powered
Yes
  1. Recommended in 6 articles:
  2. Bluetooth
  3. Parties
  4. JBL
  5. Bluetooth For Bass
  6. Waterproof Bluetooth
  7. Bluetooth For Sound

Variants

  • PartyBox 310 (Black)
  • Pathfinder 280 (Black)

Review

See JBL PartyBox 310 Review
See ION Pathfinder 280 Review
2 
0 

Our Verdict

JBL PartyBox 310

ION Pathfinder 280

The JBL PartyBox 310 is a better speaker than the ION Pathfinder 280. With 'Bass Boost' set to '1', the JBL can produce a much more extended low bass than the ION. It can play stereo content without downmixing it to mono and can get louder. Also, there are mic and guitar inputs you can use to connect an external mic or guitar to the speaker. The ION is smaller and lighter, making it more portable. It also has radio capabilities that let you save up to 16 radio stations.

0 

Check Price

Black
PartyBox 310
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Black
Pathfinder 280
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Black
PartyBox 310
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Black
Pathfinder 280
SEE PRICE
Walmart.com
Black
PartyBox 310
SEE PRICE
Walmart.com
Black
Pathfinder 280
SEARCH
B&H
Black
PartyBox 310
SEARCH
B&H
Black
Pathfinder 280
SEARCH
BestBuy.com

Main Differences for
Music

Threshold 

0.10

Music 

7.8
6.8

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

7.9
6.5

Soundstage 
 

6.8
5.7

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Style Photo  

JBL PartyBox 310 Style Photo
ION Pathfinder 280 Style Photo

RGB Lights  

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Portability 
 

5.4
7.0

Dimensions Photo  

JBL PartyBox 310 Dimensions Photo
ION Pathfinder 280 Dimensions Photo

Volume 
 

4,643 in³ (76,092 cm³)
2,703 in³ (44,294 cm³)

Weight 
 

37.7 lbs (17.1 kg)
23.8 lbs (10.8 kg)

Power Source 
 

AC & Battery
AC & Battery

One-Hand Carry 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Build Quality 
 

7.0
7.0

Build Quality Photo  

JBL PartyBox 310 Build Quality Photo
ION Pathfinder 280 Build Quality Photo

Material Quality 
 

Good
Good

Water Resistance 
 

Water-resistant (IPx4)
Waterproof (IPx5)

Dust Resistance 
 

Unspecified
Unspecified

Impact Resistance 
 

Unspecified
Unspecified

Floats In Water 
 

Unspecified
Unspecified
Show Text 

Controls 
 

7.0
7.0

Controls Photo  

JBL PartyBox 310 Controls Photo
ION Pathfinder 280 Controls Photo

Controls Photo 2  

JBL PartyBox 310 Controls Photo 2
ION Pathfinder 280 Controls Photo 2

Ease Of Use 
 

Great
Great

Feedback 
 

Great
Great

Music Play/Pause 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Call Answer/End 
 

No
No

Volume Up/Down 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Track Next/Previous 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Microphone On/Off 
 

No
No

Additional Controls 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

In The Box 
 

In The Box Photo  

JBL PartyBox 310 In The Box Photo
ION Pathfinder 280 In The Box Photo
Show Text 
Sound

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

7.9
6.5

Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Slope 
 

-0.49
-0.59

Std. Err. 
 

3.74 dB
2.91 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

32.2 Hz
73.4 Hz

High-Frequency Extension 
 

19.1 kHz
16.3 kHz
Show Text 

Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Binaural Recording @ 1m 
 

Binaural Recording @ 2m 
 

Soundstage 
 

6.8
5.7

Directivity Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Directivity Index 
 

5.96 dB
4.31 dB

Stereo 
 

Yes
No (mono)
Show Text 

Dynamics 
 

8.7
8.9

Dynamic Range Compression  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SPL @ Max Volume 
 

104.4 dB SPL
100.5 dB SPL

DRC @ Max Volume 
 

2.54 dB
1.13 dB
Show Text 
Active Features

Battery 
 

9.0
7.1

Battery Life 
 

17.1 hrs
68.0 hrs

Charge Time 
 

2.9 hrs
7.0 hrs

Power Saving 
 

Yes
No

Charging Port 
 

AC
AC

Battery Powered 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Voice Assistant 
 

0.0
0.0

Alexa 
 

No
No

Google Assistant 
 

No
No

Speakerphone 
 

No
No

Siri 
 

No
No

Voice Assistant 
 

No
No

Voice Activation 
 

No
No

Microphone Mute 
 

No Microphone
No Microphone

Far-Field Performance 
 

No Microphone
No Assistant

Ambient Noise Performance 
 

No Microphone
No Assistant

App 
 

7.9
6.3

App Picture  

JBL PartyBox 310 App Picture
ION Pathfinder 280 App Picture

App Name 
 

JBL PartyBox
ION Sound XP

iOS 
 

Yes
Yes

Android 
 

Yes
Yes

EQ 
 

Graphic
Graphic + Presets

Stereo Pair Mode 
 

Yes
Yes

Party Mode 
 

Yes
No

Multi-Room 
 

No
No
Show Text 
Connectivity

Wired 
 

Aux Input 
 

Yes
Yes

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Other Ports 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Bluetooth 
 

8.3
6.5

Bluetooth 
 

Yes
Yes

Bluetooth Version 
 

5.1
5.0

Bluetooth iOS Latency 
 

110 ms
322 ms

Bluetooth Android Latency 
 

165 ms
245 ms

Bluetooth Range 
 

334.6 ft (102.0 m)
278.9 ft (85.0 m)

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

2 Devices
No
Show Text 

Wi-Fi 
 

0.0
0.0

Wi-Fi Version 
 

No Wi-Fi
No Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi Frequency Band 
 

No Wi-Fi
No Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi 
 

No
No

Apple AirPlay 
 

No
No

AirPlay Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Google Chromecast 
 

No
No

Chromecast Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Check Price

Black
PartyBox 310
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Black
Pathfinder 280
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Black
PartyBox 310
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Black
Pathfinder 280
SEE PRICE
Walmart.com
Black
PartyBox 310
SEE PRICE
Walmart.com
Black
Pathfinder 280
SEARCH
B&H
Black
PartyBox 310
SEARCH
B&H
Black
Pathfinder 280
SEARCH
BestBuy.com
Back to Top

JBL PartyBox 310

ION Pathfinder 280

Comments

  1. Comparison
 • Posted 1 year ago

JBL PartyBox 310 vs ION Pathfinder 280: Main Discussion

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