This is the review of the comparison between two speakers from two popular brands in the audio industry. The comparison here between the JBL Boombox 2 and the Marshall Tufton. To know which one is good for you to buy, go to the detailed review.

JBL Boombox 2	Marshall Tufton
BUY NOW	BUY NOW
PROS	PROS
Very powerful audio performance, with booming bass and sculpted highs. 24-hour battery life. Loud, distortion-free sound. IPX7 water-resistant.	Lively soundstage. Classic Marshall look. Powerful audio performance with rich bass depth and bright highs. 20-hour run time on battery power. Powerful bass.
CONS	CONS
Expensive. Lacks a bit of low bass. Missing the best Bluetooth codecs. Doesn’t have an EQ. Won’t work with the original.	Expensive. Oddball Blumlein stereo depends heavily on where you place the speaker. No onboard playback controls or speakerphone.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Detail Review:

INTRODUCTION:

JBL Boombox 2

The JBl Boombox 2 is the updated version speaker of the JBL Boombox the original version is known for its punchy and heavy bass. This speaker is retailing for a premium price range that is for around five hundred dollars currently on Amazon.

Marshall Tufton

This speaker has got some really great key features which might just make it a must consider if you are indeed looking to buy a new portable Bluetooth speaker. This is the Tufton a portable stereo loudspeaker from Marshall. There are three different portable speakers in this range, this is the largest in the range. 

DESIGN: 

JBL Boombox 2

The design is a little different. They kind of polished it, not too much polishing but a little bit different. I wouldn’t say necessarily better, I feel like they’re almost the same thing I would say but not quite they just added a few details here and there and that’s it. The passive radiators have engraved logos and it’s crazy different, that’s cool. In the back, this is kind of different here to see the Boombox 2 and right there you have your charging port, charging out, and service port right there, the aux-in right there, just all the same thing that the original had. There’s no indoor/outdoor mode button, so if that’s something you loved in the original then you are getting that here.

On the top of the speaker, we have some controls such as the party boost button, volume up button, Bluetooth button, volume down button, and also the play-pause button. The handle of the speaker looks really nice and it is designed like it is made by merging with the sides of the speakers. The sides have the regular passive radiators that you would get with all other JBL portable Bluetooth speakers. The bottom has rubber feet to it so that it can be placed on the table properly.

Marshall Tufton

I think the design will split the consumer, you get people that want that really modern flash look and that we those that prefer a more understated more retro kind of vibe, and I think that’s what you’re getting with this. And I think if you’re into your rock and roll for example, then this is definitely going to appeal to you. With that guitar-inspired carry handle and the solid metal grille, our design is very in keeping with certain styles of microphones. Then it looks great, it feels very premium, it looks like a really expensive bit of kit.

Another great feature is that you can customize your sound using the top panel control knobs including bass, treble, and volume, so you can hit that sweet. There’s also a visual battery indicator as well another good feature. In terms of colors, it only comes in black it would be nice to see them perhaps mix it up a little bit and have an all-white version for example but if you’re gonna go with one, it’s safe to go with black. It’s got brand-new corner caps for better protection, so if you are on the road and you’re moving it in and out of vehicles for example when it’s getting a little bit bashed about they will help to protect it.

Obviously, the IPX2 rating as well makes it great again for that portability aspect. In case, you’re out and about with friends, etc and it starts to rain, that added protection is always nice. Obviously, doesn’t make it completely waterproof and you certainly don’t want to start spraying it with water from the sides or drop it into a swimming pool but again fairly with minimal water you should be fine. Probably not heavy rain but with a quick dash of the little sprinkling of drizzle you should be fine.

FEATURES:

JBL Boombox 2

In the box, you can see Boombox 2, a massive sound all day long. I feel like the box is not very different from the one that the Boombox came with the first one so. On the box, we can see some advertising such as 24 hours of playtime that’s the same as the first Boombox, here Bluetooth 5.1 that’s an improvement the previous one has 4.2 so that’s an improvement, IPX7 the same thing as the original, the power bank the same thing as the original, and then this one has party boost that is different, the original one is running JBL connect plus, so these two will not pair together.

A few things are kind of different I already mentioned the Bluetooth version. But also another thing that’s different is while they are both running four-inch drivers, I mean the original and the new one, this one here has a higher wattage. So with a first Boombox when you were running on AC mode, the drivers in there are running at 30 watts at AC mode, and when you go into batteries, the drivers would run at 20 watts. The difference here is the drivers in the Boombox 2 run at 40 watts in AC mode when you have a speaker plug them and in DC mode they run at 30 watts. So they are an improvement, the same size of woofers but improved as far as wattage, so that should give us better sound. In the box, you are going to get paperwork stuff in here, cable and brick for charging, you speaker itself, and that’s it.

There are USB ports on the speaker and what it will do is charge the phone through the speaker’s battery and it’s got a pretty big battery on board, twenty thousand milliamp hours. That’s about the same size as one of those larger booster batteries you might get for your smartphone. I just know though that when the phone is plugged into the speaker and charging it’s sharing the battery with the speaker itself, and that will reduce your overall battery life on the speaker, so just keep that in mind. JBL says the battery life on the speaker on its own is about 24 hours which is pretty good. So you should be okay if you’ve got your phone plugged in especially if it’s just keeping it topped off, I think it’ll get through your party without a problem.

Marshall Tufton

Marshall is actually one of those vintage iconic companies that have produced many different speakers and amplifiers for a very long time. In fact, if you’ve been at concerts either recently or even gone back many years, you will probably have seen Marshall amplifiers actually on stage being used by different bands, etc. Due to that experience of producing products for that sort of environment, definitely creating a portable speaker would surely go hand in hand.

On the front of the box, we have a picture of the actual speaker in question and to be honest, the design looks great and very retro. There’s a bit of text at the top on the back, it says to bring the show on the road with Tufton. The mightiest portable speaker from Marshall Tufton packs 20 plus hours of portable playtime, offers Bluetooth 5.0 technology, and utilizes bloom lean stereo sound construction for a multi-directional experience, its water-resistant design, and flush-mounted corner caps make it supremely rugged and durable. Tufton is a behemoth of sound made for the open road. All of that is quite a claim by Marshall. As we open up the box, inside we have the Tufton portable loudspeaker, we’ve got the mains lead, and we’ve got the Quick Start Guide and legal and safety information as well.

It’s got a 30 feet Wireless listening range and due to the fact, it’s multi hosts two people can actually connect to the speaker at the same time. This is great if you’re hosting a party but you don’t want to constantly be always sorting out the music, and you want to designate somebody else to also take the range. You can connect it to your own device, you can set one up for your friend as well, and then you can actually take it in turns to switch who’s in control. Then they do claim 20 hours plus battery life and with a 20-minute charge, you can get four hours and fully charged within two and a half hours. I think that specifically, the 20 minutes for four hours is a really great feature. We’ve seen the improvements in charge time with smartphones over the last couple of years but other areas of tech have kind of struggled to get going with that really good feature with this. 

SOUND QUALITY:

JBL Boombox 2

Indoors you might not really feel the very big difference but when you bring the speaker’s outside, playing at maximum volume, you can clearly hear the best performance of the Boombox 2 way better than the Boombox 1 even if you have the Boombox 1 playing in indoor mode. It definitely has much bass to it, the bass is really punchy and heavy. if you are a bass-headed person then you will definitely love the way this speaker sounds in terms of bass.

Marshall Tufton

One of the great features about these speakers is the fact that they have a multi-directional sound due to the fact, it’s got rear-facing tweeters. So wherever you’re positioned around the speaker it will sound the same. The sound only comes out the front but also out the back as well. We’ve got a pretty great speaker considering these are not budget by any means but equally it’s not ridiculously overpriced as I think the sound quality is pretty amazing.

WHICH ONE IS GOOD TO BUY?

In my opinion, both of these speakers are good for you to buy but it depends on what you want to buy a speaker. If you want a good-sounding speaker for only music listening indoors and outdoor with then you can buy the JBL Boombox 2. Because it is better than the Marshall Tufton all the way, in terms of connection, and also, in terms of sound.

Expert Reviews of JBL Boombox 2:

By PC Mag
JBL’s Boombox 2 speaker is built for backyard parties, tailgates, and anywhere else you want to bring big Bluetooth audio.

By Rtings
The JBL Boombox 2 is decent for music. Although it lacks a bit of low-bass, its mid and treble ranges are well-balanced, so vocals and…

By Tech Radar
JBL doesn’t reinvent all that much with this newer iteration of the Boombox, though did manage to change its multi-speaker connectivity and…

By Good House Keeping
This portable speaker is ideal for a camping trip or for use in a large garden. It’s big and expensive but the sound it produces is worth it.

Expert Reviews of Marshall Tufton:

By Tech Radar
The Marshall Tufton boasts a rocking design and a powerful sound – but it comes at a high price despite having no ‘smart’ features built-in.

By Tech Hive
The Tufton sounds pretty decent given that the stereo mid-range speakers are oriented opposite each other. It’s loud, thumpy, and good-looking, but…

By PC Mag
The portable Marshall Tufton speaker delivers strong Bluetooth audio performance from a tough, stylish build.