Who it’s for: A music lover with a retro style sensibility who’s all about the bass ![]() JBL claims six-hours of battery life, so there’s a chance the PartyBox Encore Essential may run out of juice, just about the time your party is taking off. What’s not to like: While the Encore Essential sounds quite good for a speaker of its size, you can get equivalent sound quality albeit at lower volumes with the cheaper, smaller Charge 4. The app also lets you add DJ sound effects ranging from a horn or a dog’s bark to a variety of record scratch sounds. An LED light show controlled by JBL’s smartphone app surrounds the single woofer. And while it’s rather modest in size by the standards of karaoke-compatible party box speakers, it does deliver plenty of volume. With the tone controls in the smartphone app set for the most even tonal balance, it offers solid sound quality, according to our testers. What’s to like: For a party speaker, the PartyBox Encore Essential is a pretty versatile device. Who it’s for: A party animal looking for a compact box speaker that sounds good enough for weekday duty But if you plan on hauling the speaker around town, the smaller and lighter Charge 4 might be a more suitable travel companion. That shouldn’t be an issue if you plan to use the Xtreme 3 indoors or in your backyard. And unlike other large portables (see JBL’s Boombox 2), it lacks a handle you’ll have to make do with a shoulder strap. What’s not to like: Did we mention that it’s hefty? At more than 5 pounds and almost a foot long, the Xtreme 3 is quite a load for a portable speaker. The Xtreme 3 features an internal power bank that can charge other devices and JBL says the speaker is both dustproof and water-resistant to 3 meters, but CR doesn’t test those claims. The model can play loud enough to fill a medium-sized to large room. Like the Xtreme 2, the 3 has strong bass that goes fairly deep, but is somewhat boomy and lacks natural instrument detail compared with better-performing speakers we’ve tested. The Xtreme 3 sounds slightly better than its predecessor, too, although it’s very close in overall character. In any case, you might be surprised at how large it is when you see it in person. ![]() What’s to like: The JBL Xtreme 3 is one hefty hunk of speaker, a tiny bit bigger and a little lighter than its predecessor, the Xtreme 2. Who it’s for: Someone looking for a fine-sounding portable speaker, even if it’s not all that portable
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