The JBL Boombox 3 is hands down the loudest Boombox ever made by JBL with a 136 watts RMS output (on battery) and 180 watts peak power (while on AC power), and has a very wide frequency range from 40 Hz to 20 kHz that can deliver tremendous bass performance. Compared with the JBL Boombox 2 speakers, the Boombox 3 offers much more volume and bass and comes with two 3.2” midrange drivers and two 0.8” tweeters, including a 7.4” subwoofer that delivers deep bass performance. By comparison, the JBL Boombox 2 has a power output of 4 X 40W and a peak power of 160 watts. It comes equipped with two 4” woofers and two 0.75” tweeters that deliver crystal clear highs and mids, but does not have a dedicated woofer for low-end frequency response.
The sound performance of the JBL Boombox 3 is very impressive, with very good depth in the bass and gravitas in the sound quality. We played a couple of jazz music pieces that emphasize the vocals and bass response, such as Tony Bennett’s “I left my heart in San Fransisco” and Dusty Springfield’s “The look of love” and you can really hear the distinction between the vocals, mids and bass. The soundstage is very wide and impressive, and although the JBL Boombox 3 is designed to play loud EDM and punchy music, it handles vocals and bass in jazz music pieces really well – this really makes the JBL Boombox 3 feel like a quality speaker rather than just a loud boombox.
We really liked the new 3-way speaker design of the JBL Boombox 3 which provides higher sensitivity and acoustic clarity for deeper bass performance and lowers distortion at higher volume levels. The entire speaker is also IP67 waterproof and is fully waterproof, which means that this speaker can be brought virtually anywhere outdoors without any issues. In addition, the JBL Boombox 3 comes with upgraded twin side-caps and a study metal handle with an eye-catching orange silicone grip which allows you to carry the speaker everywhere with you. You can also use the PartyBoost feature which allows you to pair two JBL PartyBoost speakers together for a full-range stereo sound or link multiple speakers together for louder volume control. This makes the JBL Boombox 3 the perfect speaker to take outdoors with you so that you can enjoy the music without having to worry about getting the speaker wet.
Finally, the JBL Boombox 3 also comes with a built-in power bank that allows you to charge your devices on the go which is very convenient.
Sound Performance
Compared with the previous JBL Boombox 2, the JBL Boombox 3’s 136W RMS speaker sounds roughly 40% louder than the JBL Boombox 2’s 80W RMS power output. The Boombox 3 also comes with an added advantage for having a new 7.4” subwoofer which delivers extended bass and deep lows that go down to 40 Hz, which is slightly lower than the JBL Boombox 2’s 50Hz. Although this 10 Hz difference may seem like a small difference in terms of bass output, it actually does make a substantial difference to the sound. With the JBL Boombox 3, you are able to hear deep subtle notes and nuances in the music that may not be accurately picked up by the JBL Boombox 2’s woofers. We played a couple of bass-heavy EDM and jazz music performances and the JBL Boombox 3 speaker deliver extremely rich bass and deep undertones that make the bass notes feel deep and come alive; there is a sense of realism and impact to the bass that the Boombox 3 speaker has. While the bass on the JBL Boombox 2 hits hard and punches deep, it does have the level of depth and finesse that the JBL Boombox 3 can pull off with its dedicated subwoofer.
Surprisingly, the JBL Boombox 3 can also handle vocals with great precision and clarity despite having a more bass-leaning sound signature. We played a few jazz musical soundtracks on the Boombox 3 such as Dusty Springfield’s “The Look of Love” and you really get good reverb and a sense of gravitas with the lower-end bass response; there is a sense of quality and depth to the music which makes the JBL Boombox 3 very enjoyable to listen to. They have the clarity of the JBL Charge 5 speakers in terms of vocals and upper-frequency response, and yet maintain a good balance between the highs and midranges and have very deep bass that works well for EDM, rock and hip-hop music genres; you can turn up the volume and the bass to maximum and the JBL Boombox 3 will not distort even at high volume levels; the bass stays where it should be as bass and does not muddy into the midrange and sub-bass frequencies around <100 Hz.
How good is the bass?
One of the things that the JBL Boombox is reputed for is the bass, and the JBL Boombox 3 is no exception. In fact, one of the enhancements given to the Boombox 3 is the addition of a dedicated 7.4” subwoofer which brings the lower-end frequency band down to 40 Hz. This allows you to hear subtleties in the bass which are barely noticeable in the Boombox 2, and adds a layer of depth and substance to the bass response. We played a couple of loud jazz music through the Boombox 3 including Tony Bennett’s “I left my heart in San Fransisco” and the deep low-end bass notes have a certain depth and quality in them that is lacking with the Boombox 2 or PartyBox 310 speakers – it sounds deep and is not the kind of boomy bass that you would get from a party speaker. You can really hear the distinction between the highs and bass notes on this speaker with great clarity without any muddiness. We really like the depth in the bass notes that the JBL Boombox 3 delivers.
Design and Specs
The JBL Boombox 3 is probably the ultimate party speaker that is rugged and durable enough to withstand virtually any outdoor environment that you can throw it in. We also liked the fact that this speaker comes with a 10,000mAh battery that delivers up to 24 hours of playtime on a single charge, and you can even use the JBL Boombox 3 to charge your other speaker devices. It is highly portable and you can easily take the Boombox 3 wherever you are to the beach or pool party; you can easily carry it with the top handle silicon grip. Compared with the JBL Boombox 2, the JBL Boombox 3 also features some latest audio codec improvements such as Bluetooth 5.3 and A2DP 1.3 and AVRCP 1.6, which is slightly improved as compared to the JBL Boombox 2’s Bluetooth 5.1. Both speakers come with a built-in 10,000mAh battery capacity which supports up to 24 hours of playtime on a single charge. Having said that, we did find that the JBL Boombox 3 slightly heavier (14.8 lbs / 6.7kg) as compared to the JBL Boombox 2’s (13.01 lbs/ 5.9kg) weight.
How does it compare to the Boombox 2?
We felt that the JBL Boombox 3 performed overall better than the JBL Boombox 2 speaker – the added subwoofer actually made a huge difference in sound and you can hear the bass literally on your chest with this speaker turned up to maximum volume levels. Compared with the JBL Boombox 2 speaker, the bass on the Boombox 3 sounded much deeper, more robust and with more depth which made EDM and rock music particularly stand out. The dual 4” woofers that the JBL Boombox 2 had were no match for the single 7.4” subwoofer in the Boombox 3 when it comes to absolutely bass output. Having said that, we did find that the battery life on the JBL Boombox 3 speaker depleted quite fast – when we played music at around 50-60% volume level, the battery life only lasted around 10 hours.
Despite this, we were absolutely pleased with the sound performance of the JBL Boombox 3. The sound is solid and the bass really adds lot of power and a low-end thump which makes it very enjoyable to listen to especially at louder volume levels. The JBL Boombox 3 is also IPX7 waterproof, meaning that you can bring this speaker anywhere in the outdoors. We also liked the fact that JBL provided the ability to customize the bass, mids and treble ranges directly from the JBL app.
For an in-depth comparison, be sure to check out our JBL Boombox 3 vs Boombox 2 article.
The Verdict?
The JBL Boombox 3 is hands down the loudest Boombox from JBL designed to deliver really loud 136W RMS sound, with a peak power of 180 watts. They have enough volume to power up a large concert room or an outdoor event where you can blast music to maximum volume without hearing any distortion. We really liked the new 3-way design of the JBL Boombox 3 speaker which comprises of two 3.2” midrange drivers and two 0.8” tweeters, including a 7.4” subwoofer that really deliver extremely clear highs and clean midrange performances. Although the bass response on the Boombox 3 can go as low as 40 ReinHz as compared to the Boombox 2’s 50Hz, this 10Hz difference in sound range makes a huge difference when it comes to bass output. The bass on the Boombox 3 feels much more authoritative and punchy, with really nice deep lows that make it feel as though you are listening to a dedicated subwoofer. It delivers deep bass on another level as compared to the JBL Boombox 2 or the original JBL Boombox speaker itself. We also liked the ability to crank up PartyBoost, which is very useful if you want to double the power output and bass for a much wider listening field. In terms of absolute bass performance, the JBL Boombox 3 are hands down the most powerful Boombox currently available from JBL that can deliver solid lows that carry depth and precision, making them great for EDM, rock and hip-hop music genres where you can dance to the beat of the music down to 30 Hz and hear the difference in bass quality.