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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

SOUNDBOKS Go vs JBL PartyBox Encore Essential

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

SOUNDBOKS Go
JBL PartyBox Encore Essential

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Sep 06, 2024 01:31 PM

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BestBuy.com

Tested using Methodology v0.8

Updated Jun 07, 2024 02:40 PM

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Amazon.com
SOUNDBOKS Go Picture
JBL PartyBox Encore Essential Picture
  1. Recommended in 1 article:
  2. Loud
  1. Recommended in 2 articles:
  2. JBL
  3. Bluetooth For Bass

Variants

  • Go (Black)
  • Partybox Encore Essential (Black)

Our Verdict

SOUNDBOKS Go

JBL PartyBox Encore Essential

The JBL PartyBox Encore Essential is a better speaker than the SOUNDBOKS Go. The JBL has a better-balanced sound profile that can produce a deeper and thumpier low-bass. It can play stereo content without downmixing it to mono, resulting in a more immersive soundstage. It comes with a mic input whose sound you can customize in its companion app. It's also smaller and better built with an IPX4 rating for water resistance. However, the SOUNDBOKS can get much louder. It also has a longer-lasting battery life of over 35 hours from a single charge, so the speaker doesn't die on you in the middle of the party.

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Black
Partybox Encore Essential
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Amazon.com
Black
Partybox Encore Essential
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BestBuy.com
Black
Go
B&H
Black
Partybox Encore Essential
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Walmart.com
Black
Partybox Encore Essential
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B&H

Main Differences for

Threshold 

0.10

Music 

6.4
7.4

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

6.5
7.8

Soundstage 
 

4.5
6.6

Dynamics 
 

8.3
7.0

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Style Photo  

SOUNDBOKS Go Style Photo
JBL PartyBox Encore Essential Style Photo

RGB Lights  

No
Yes

Show text

Portability 
 

7.3
8.1

Dimensions Photo  

SOUNDBOKS Go Dimensions Photo
JBL PartyBox Encore Essential Dimensions Photo

Volume 
 

2,388 in³ (39,124 cm³)
1,580 in³ (25,893 cm³)

Weight 
 

21.4 lbs (9.7 kg)
13.2 lbs (6.0 kg)

Power Source 
 

AC & Battery
AC & Battery

One-Hand Carry 
 

Yes
Yes

Show text

Build Quality 
 

6.4
7.0

Build Quality Photo  

SOUNDBOKS Go Build Quality Photo
JBL PartyBox Encore Essential Build Quality Photo

Material Quality 
 

Good
Good

Water Resistance 
 

No
Water-resistant (IPx4)

Dust Resistance 
 

No
Unspecified

Impact Resistance 
 

Unspecified
Unspecified

Floats In Water 
 

No
Unspecified

Show text

Controls 
 

4.9
7.0

Controls Photo  

SOUNDBOKS Go Controls Photo
JBL PartyBox Encore Essential Controls Photo

Controls Photo 2  

SOUNDBOKS Go Controls Photo 2
JBL PartyBox Encore Essential Controls Photo 2

Ease Of Use 
 

Good
Great

Feedback 
 

Great
Great

Music Play/Pause 
 

No
Yes (Physical)

Call Answer/End 
 

No
No

Volume Up/Down 
 

Yes (Physical)
Yes (Physical)

Track Next/Previous 
 

No
Yes (Physical)

Microphone On/Off 
 

No
No

Additional Controls 
 

Yes
Yes

Show text

In The Box 
 

In The Box Photo  

SOUNDBOKS Go In The Box Photo
JBL PartyBox Encore Essential In The Box Photo

Show text

Sound

Frequency Response Accuracy 
 

6.5
7.8

Frequency Response Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Slope 
 

0.07
-0.15

Std. Err. 
 

4.99 dB
2.59 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

49.7 Hz
39.4 Hz

High-Frequency Extension 
 

13.7 kHz
18.0 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 
 

4.5
6.6

Directivity Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Directivity Index 
 

6.64 dB
6.38 dB

Stereo 
 

No (mono)
Yes

Show text

Dynamics 
 

8.3
7.0

Dynamic Range Compression  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

SPL @ Max Volume 
 

106.6 dB SPL
95.0 dB SPL

DRC @ Max Volume 
 

3.34 dB
3.63 dB

Show text

Active Features

Battery 
 

7.8
7.6

Battery Life 
 

35.7 hrs
8.6 hrs

Charge Time 
 

2.1 hrs
2.6 hrs

Power Saving 
 

No
Yes

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 Microphone

Ambient Noise Performance 
 

No Microphone
No Microphone

App 
 

7.9
7.9

App Picture  

SOUNDBOKS Go App Picture
JBL PartyBox Encore Essential App Picture

App Name 
 

SOUNDBOKS
JBL PartyBox

iOS 
 

Yes
Yes

Android 
 

Yes
Yes

EQ 
 

Graphic + Presets
Graphic

Stereo Pair Mode 
 

Yes
Yes

Party Mode 
 

Yes
Yes

Multi-Room 
 

No
No

Show text

Connectivity

Wired 
 

Aux Input 
 

Yes
Yes

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Other Ports 
 

No
Yes

Show text

Bluetooth 
 

8.2
8.9

Bluetooth 
 

Yes
Yes

Bluetooth Version 
 

5.0
5.1

Bluetooth iOS Latency 
 

48 ms
57 ms

Bluetooth Android Latency 
 

92 ms
94 ms

Bluetooth Range 
 

334.6 ft (102.0 m)
334.6 ft (102.0 m)

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
2 Devices

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 Encore Essential
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Black
Partybox Encore Essential
SEE PRICE
BestBuy.com
Black
Go
B&H
Black
Partybox Encore Essential
SEE PRICE
Walmart.com
Black
Partybox Encore Essential
SEE PRICE
B&H

SOUNDBOKS Go

JBL PartyBox Encore Essential

Comments

  1. Comparison

SOUNDBOKS Go vs JBL PartyBox Encore Essential: Main Discussion

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