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On the classic side of transducer technology, the JBL engineers leave no stone unturned: The Boombox 3 is designed as a 2.1 configuration. A central, approximately rectangular subwoofer with the amazing membrane size of 19 x 11.5 cm is supported by the passive membranes installed in the sides. 80 watts are available for the subwoofer path alone. At 48.2 x 25.7 x 20.0cm, the Boombox 3 is long and combined with its weight; it makes for a relatively cumbersome device. It takes up a lot of space and is heavy to carry. Most of the time, I just left it in one spot. It isn’t designed for taking everywhere and is better suited to the occasional change of position. On the contrary: Its subwoofer seemed to really get going when the volume control was turned halfway up and pushed more and more vehemently up to a certain point as the level increased. The punch was very rich, just the way you like it with dance music beats. At the upper end of the transmission range, the JBL Boombox 3 produced fresh, but by no means sharp highs. Cymbals and other high-frequency impulses not only flashed magnificently. They also had a pleasant effortlessness about them. Freedom with the equalizer The Xtreme 3 improves charge time to just 2.5 hours, down from 3.5 hours for the Xtreme 2 (both have 15 hours of battery life)
By default, the Boombox 3 is set to a bass-orientated configuration. You can EQ the sound to your liking within the JBL Portable app, but it’s limited in its capabilities. It’s a 3-band equaliser with one band dedicated to bass, midrange and high frequencies, respectively. While it allows you to adjust the sound to your preference, I would’ve liked more options here. Like the UE Hyperboom (see below), this has a USB-out port that allows you to charge external devices like your phone, and there's also an analog audio input if you want to go wired and connect a device without using Bluetooth connectivity (the Hyperboom adds an optical digital input).
There's Plenty of Boom in This Box
The Boombox 3 boasts a very similar design to the Boombox 2. The only immediate difference is the handle. It’s now a metal handle with silicone grips that sits on top of the speaker instead of blending into the ends like on the Boombox 2. It looks good. JBL provides specs for both AC and battery modes. If you plug it into AC, you get 80 watts (W) for the sub, 40W for the midrange drivers, and 10W for each of the tweeters. On battery, power decreases slightly: 60W for the sub, 30W for the midrange drivers, and 8W for each tweeter. Meanwhile, the subwoofer expands the frequency range to 40Hz-20KHz (up from 50Hz-20KHz on the previous model). As we discuss later, this additional range makes an appreciable difference. While this speaker isn't fully waterproof and can't float like some speakers can, it's splash-proof, with an IPX4 rating, and has a microphone input with discrete gain and reverb controls (no microphone is included). In the companion app for iOS and Android, you can customize the sound profile and light show. Battery life is rated at up to 16 hours, but that number will drop if you crank the volume.
The Boombox 3 is compatible with Bluetooth 5.3 and supports the SBC codec, but not AAC or AptX. Sonic fidelity is less important outdoors, but we expect higher-end codec support in light of the premium price. Again, this doesn't really affect the powerful bass or impressive volume output, but anything to help with audio clarity over Bluetooth is welcome. The manufacturer promises that the new JBL Boombox 3 will provide music enjoyment for the whole day, because the integrated lithium-ion battery ensures a playing time of up to 24 hours. And that’s not all: the new JBL Boombox 3 can even be used as a so-called power bank for charging smartphones, for example. Prices and availability To test the sound capabilities of the Boombox 3, I played Uh Uh by Thundercat. This is a complex song, and the speaker gave each element of the mix a natural-sounding amount of space. The subfrequencies came through clearly, and the bass notes hit hard enough to give the song a rhythmic bounce. JBL claims the Boombox 3 has a 24-hour battery. These claims are pretty accurate, and itâs very impressive. Sound Weighing 5.29 pounds (almost a pound more than the Motion Boom), it uses Bluetooth 5.3 and is equipped with upgraded dual 3.5-inch woofers and newly added dual 1-inch tweeters, delivering up to 80 watts of audio output (60W for the woofers and 20W for the tweeters). Battery life is rated for 20 hours at moderate volume levels. It's also IP67 waterproof and dustproof and floats if you happen to drop it in a body of water.
The new JBL Boombox 3 already uses the new Bluetooth 5.3 standard, which is said to have advantages in that the connection to the source devices is more stable and this standard has once again been optimised in terms of energy consumption, theoretically leading to longer battery life. The speaker has Bluetooth or a wired USB connection and there are guitar and mic inputs. It's also worth noting that the speaker is IPX4 splash-proof and you can wirelessly link two PartyBox 110 speakers together for stereo sound. I didn't test the stereo mode, but I was impressed with the sound of a single PartyBox 110 -- this bluetooth device puts out lots of well-defined bass with good overall clarity in the highs and mids -- and I suspect that pairing two of these together would be pretty awesome.
The JBL Boombox 3 also has slightly louder power output as compared to the JBL Boombox 2 when connected on AC power and has a power output of 180W compared to the Boombox 2’s 160W. Having said that, the JBL Boombox 3 and Boombox 2 retain the same shape and design and battery life. Both speakers are IPX7 waterproof and are portable enough to be carried around, while the battery can double as a portable power bank for your smartphone and Bluetooth devices.There’s an equaliser, a user guide and a PartyBoost option. PartyBoost is JBL’s software that allows you to connect up to 100 different speakers wirelessly. It’s easy and works well. Like JBL's smaller Bluetooth speakers, the Xtreme 3 is a versatile boom box that can be stood up vertically or placed horizontally. Though a tad bigger than the Xtreme 2, at first glance it doesn't look much different from the previous model, but it does have upgraded sound with slightly better bass and clarity while actually weighing slightly less. Here are the key differences between the two speakers, according to JBL:
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