Bose Portable Home Speaker vs JBL Boombox: Which to Buy?

Bose Portable Home Speaker vs JBL Boombox

This is the review of the comparison between two speakers from two popular brands in the market such as the Bose and the JBL. The comparison here is between the Bose Portable Home speaker and the JBL Boombox. There is around fifty dollars difference in their price range which does bring a huge difference in their features and performance. To know which one is good for you to buy, go to the detailed review.

Bose Portable Home SpeakerJBL Boombox 1
Bose Portable Home SpeakerJBL Boombox
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PROSPROS
Warm, well-balanced sound.
Premium and very portable design.
Choice of Alexa or Google Assistant.
The app lets you tweak the sound to suit you.
IPX7 rated.
Really loud and balanced sound.
Fantastic battery life.
Portable despite its power.
Can withstand outdoor elements.
CONSCONS
Neither the brightest nor most bombastic performer on the block.
The white version gets dirty easily.
Not waterproof.
Expensive.
Lackluster speakerphone.
Expensive.
Long time to recharge.
Buzzing sound at low battery.
The app lacks EQ.

SPECIFICATIONS:

HEADERBOSE PORTABLE HOME SPEAKERJBL BOOMBOX
BrandBoseJBL
ModelPortable Home Speaker Boombox
GENERALBOSE PORTABLE HOME SPEAKERJBL BOOMBOX
ManufacturerBoseHarman
Design Featuresfor portable use
SPEAKER SYSYTEMBOSE PORTABLE HOME SPEAKERJBL BOOMBOX
Amplification Typeactiveactive
Crossover Channel Qty2-way
Frequency Response50 – 20000 Hz
Output Features360° omni-directional360° omni-directional
Output Level (SPL)80 db
Audio Amplifierintegratedintegrated
Connectivity TechnologyWirelessWireless
BATTERYBOSE PORTABLE HOME SPEAKERJBL BOOMBOX
Rechargeable Batteryrechargeablerechargeable
Run Time (Up To)12 hour(s)24 hour(s)
POWER DEVICEBOSE PORTABLE HOME SPEAKERJBL BOOMBOX
Power SourceBatteryAC power adapter, battery
OptionsUSB chargingUSB charging (powerbank function)
NETWORK AND INTERNET MULTIMEDIABOSE PORTABLE HOME SPEAKERJBL BOOMBOX
Connectivity InterfacesBluetooth, Wi-FiBluetooth 4.2
Internet Streaming ServicesAmazon Music, Deezer, Pandora, Spotify, TuneIn, iHeartRadioJBL Connect+
SPEAKER SYSTEM DETAILSBOSE PORTABLE HOME SPEAKERJBL BOOMBOX
Speaker TypePortablePortable
Speaker Channel Qty2
Speaker Channel Typestereo
DRIVER DETAILSBOSE PORTABLE HOME SPEAKERJBL BOOMBOX
Driver Typetweeter driver, woofer driver
Driver Qty2
Driver Diameter0.79 m, 4 m
CONNECTIONSBOSE PORTABLE HOME SPEAKERJBL BOOMBOX
TypeDC power output
DIMENSIONS & WEIGHTBOSE PORTABLE HOME SPEAKERJBL BOOMBOX
Width4.7 in19.5 in
Depth4.1 in7.7 in
Height7.6 in10 in
Weight2.34 lbs185.12 oz
FEATURESBOSE PORTABLE HOME SPEAKERJBL BOOMBOX
FeaturesSpacious 360 degree sound, powerful bass.

Built-in voice control.

Durable, water-resistant design.

Control with voice, touch, or app.

Up to 12 hours battery life per charge.

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.

Apple airplay 2.

Multi-room functionality.
Rally the crowd with monstrous sound and hard-hitting bass.

Pool and beach ready. This is equipped to endure epic pool parties with an IPX7 waterproof rating.

Listen all day long with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that supports up to 24-hour playtime.

Share the playlist. Wirelessly connect up to 2 smartphones and tablets so you can take turns DJ-ing the party.

Detail Review:

INTRODUCTION:

Bose Portable Home Speaker

The Bose Portable Home Speaker is one of the great speakers from Bose and it is popular in the market from the day of its launch itself. This speaker is retailing for around three hundred and fifty dollars currently on Amazon. This speaker works through both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi which is really a great feature to have.

JBL Boombox

The JBL Boombox is a massive and huge speaker and in fact, it’s made to actually kind of hold like the old boomboxes or you can put them on your shoulder but you wouldn’t want to do that because of this thing will make you deaf instantly. This speaker is retailing for around four hundred dollars currently on Amazon.

Bose Portable Home Speaker

DESIGN: 

Bose Portable Home Speaker

As far as the design of the speaker itself, it’s solidly built and looks more refined when compared to the older generation Soundlink Revolve Plus. The top part is made of hard plastic which feels very smooth to the touch and the bottom part is made of a metal grille. There are several buttons on the top of the speaker, there are the volume rockers, the play, and pause buttons, there is a button to turn the microphone on or off, there is the Wi-Fi, the power, and Bluetooth Pairing button.

There are many openings around the top to listen and pick up your voice even when you’re listening to music. I like the smooth texture on the upper part of the speaker. Down below is the USB-C port for charging the speaker up, there is no 3.5 millimeters auxiliary port for Wired listening. There is a nice rough textured handle for carrying it around. Then underneath the speaker are the metal rings, which can be used with an optional charging cradle, which is sold separately.

JBL Boombox

As far as the connections in the back, there is the slot for the power plug, there are two USB ports so that you can plug in two devices to this thing and charge them simultaneously. This thing is insane and the micro USB port is simply just for updates to be able to do through your computer, and then you have a line in that way if you want to plug something into this, that doesn’t have Bluetooth and you want it to play out of here you can. Also, on the back, there is a home and outdoor mode. Basically, you just switch between the two, the only noticeable difference it seems is that the outdoor mode tends to have a little more bass but I still prefer the indoor just simply because it just has a better balance of sounds.

As far as the buttons on this thing, you’ve got your Bluetooth pairing button, you’ve got your volume down and volume up, which is also your track skipping forward and going backward your play button, and then you have your power button, and then you have party mode which will allow you to connect this with another JBL speaker. The branding is pretty simple and it says Boombox right at the top, you have JBL’s logo branded right there in the middle, and also JBL on both of their radiators on the side, this is where all of your punch comes from.

JBL Boombox 1

FEATURES:

Bose Portable Home Speaker

The package of the Bose Home Portable Speaker looks a bit unattractive considering the price you are paying for this. As far as the specs of this speaker as per the box claims, it gives powerful 360-degree sound, Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa built-in, you can stream audio via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, you get up to 12 hours of playtime per charge, it’s water-resistant I am assuming splash-proof not fully waterproof, and it also says it works with other Bose smart speakers, as well as you can control this with the Bose Music app.

Opening the box, you get the speaker covered with a white cover, and below that is a Quick Start Guide and a safety info booklet. Then underneath is a box, containing a two-pin plug, a 3 pin plug, and the USB-C charging cable. At this price point, I expected the charging cradle to be included inbox, that would have improved the overall value for money and the user experience as you get the flexibility of charging the speaker in two different ways. It’s quite impressive what Bose did here, it’s designed might not be for everyone but as for me, I’m okay with it. I just wish it had IPX7 waterproofing and the auxiliary port for wired listening.

JBL Boombox

As far as the accessories that come with it, its pretty simple, it’s a very large charger so it’s not something you’re going to want to carry around with you and this speaker gets about 24 hours of battery life so it will last you a full day or definitely a few days of listening to it about eight hours a day. So, this thing has plenty of power, it even has power to the point. It has like a 20,000 milliamp battery, this thing can play music and charge two phones or an iPad or whatever at a time.

The radiators in the speaker are what puts out so much bass, and it’s really hard to explain. This speaker is water-resistant up to IPX7, if you throw it in the pool you’re completely fine. another interesting thing about this speaker is that you can simply lay it on its back in the water and it’ll float, and it’ll actually play the sound out of the top of this and also, these radiators on the side will continue to pulse bass. You get really vibrant booming sound that you can just have floating around in your pool. 

This speaker does retail for 450 dollars that’s really expensive when it comes to a Bluetooth speaker but the thing about this is it’s really not your normal Bluetooth speaker. This speaker is made for like tailgating, it’s made for outdoor activities, and parties and stuff like that. This speaker can obviously fill a room but it can easily fill a lot of space and outside as well. I haven’t seen anything out there that compares to this, I haven’t seen anything that has that amount of vibrance and bass in a Bluetooth speaker but also this is very portable, has an amazing look to it. If you’re one that goes out and parties or tailgates, looking for something just to entertain a bunch of people, it is gonna be really hard to find something that’s gonna do it any better than this speaker. JBL is definitely known when it comes to their speakers more than it is anything else, and this right here I would say it’s probably the signature speaker of their series.

Bose Portable Home Speaker

SOUND QUALITY:

Bose Portable Home Speaker

As far as the sound quality of this speaker, this is the first portable speaker from Bose that really impressed me very much. The amount of bass on overall loudness though this little speaker produces is amazing. Considering its size, it gets very loud and you also get a very crisp sound. It produces an open sound as you can hear from all directions clearly as this is a 360 degrees omnidirectional speaker. 

JBL Boombox

This speaker is one of the loudest Bluetooth speakers I’ve ever heard and I’ve been through a lot and so again hopefully you can tell there’s a lot of basses that come out of this thing. The beauty of this speaker though is, it seems as though the highs, the treble doesn’t get lost within the bass, it’s still able to have a real-life sound, a real vibrant sound, that doesn’t just get muddy because this thing focuses around the bass. 

JBL Boombox 1

WHICH TO BUY?

If you’re somebody that listens to classical then the Bose Portable Home Speaker is good for you to buy but if you listen to anything like metal, pop, hip hop, anything that’s just made for that kind of atmosphere, the JBL Boombox is an amazing product for you to buy.

Expert Reviews of Bose Portable Home Speaker:

By Stuff
Not perfect and definitely not cheap, but the feature-packed Bose Portable Home Speaker is still very easy to like.

By Tech Radar
There’s a lot to like about the Bose Portable Home Speaker; it’s super smart, and its design blends functionality with minimalist…

By goodhousekeeping.com
This speaker comes with a high-end price tag, but its excellent quality makes it worth it. It’s lightweight, versatile, and…

By Tech Hive
The Bose Portable Home Speaker is a personable, user-friendly, voice-activated smart speaker that’s easy to tote, whether deployed outside…

By Tom’s Guide
The $349 Bose Portable Home Speaker is designed for mobility, and it packs substantial sound into a small frame.

Expert Reviews of JBL Boombox:

By Tech Radar
The JBL Boombox is a monstrous portable speaker that not only gets loud but stays pretty crisp when pumping the volume. It’s heavy, and…

By techaeris.com
The JBL Boombox definitely puts the boom back in a boombox with its big sound and easily earns a Top Pick of 2018 Award here…

By PCMag
The outdoor-friendly JBL Boombox delivers thunderous bass balanced with solid high-frequency presence in a nostalgic design.

By ilounge.com
Every once in a while, we get the itch to go on eBay to find an old boombox from the 80s, open the case, and figure…

By geardiary.com
If you want a speaker that is just as at home indoors as outdoors, one that can fill a large room or backyard with…