JBL

PartyBox Encore Essential 2

JBL PartyBox Encore Essential 2

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Overall

#89 in

Portable Bluetooth Speakers

according to Reddit Icon Reddit

Sentiment score68% positive
13
3
3

Top Pros

Top Cons

Last updated: Apr 28, 2026

Reddit Reviews

Reddit IconAugmentedHuman
5 months ago

If you're traveling with it that much, I wouldn't do the 320. Seems like it would be a pain in the ass. Two 120s would be great, or even two encore 2s. Those encores sound surprisingly well, and theyre really portable. Oh, and as for the handle on the 120, it's fine. It's sturdy enough to carry around the house or outside, but I wouldn't wanna walk a long distance with it. Too heavy for that.

Reddit Iconbharding81
9 months ago

Poolside I found the JBL PartyBox essential encore 2 to be impressive. It’s bulky but $330 is cheaper than Move 2. And I have the original Extreme which also it impressive for similar size and less money. Assuming the newer extreme is bigger tho haven’t heard.

Reddit IconFickle-End-9351
about 2 months ago

Hola bro, yo tengo ambas, Xtreme 4 y Encore de 2da generacion (No versión esencial) . Te puedo decir que la Encore le da una paliza extrema en cuanto a bajos y también en volumen aunque siento que la Xtreme 4 se defiende bien en ese aspecto, por otro lado en cuanto a batería la Xtreme gana muy limpiamente.

Reddit IconLetterheadFuzzy7578
11 days ago

I have the denon 350 and it's a beast. I also have the jbl encore 2 and also really good. Enjoy!

Reddit IconLogicNimbus
3 months ago

Estoy en el mismo dilema hermano. El Boombox 4 está un poco elevado de precio aquí, yo estoy casi que decidiendo entre comprar el Encore essential 2 o el Club 120.

3 months ago

Me too, bro, I'm super self-conscious about the bass, that's what scares me. I love it when it has super deep bass. But I don't think the Encore Essential or the Club 120 will have any problems with that. I've tried the Boombox 4 and it does sound powerful and loud, yes! But the bass doesn't really resonate in the room, in the walls, like I'd like.

Reddit Iconnettebar
5 months ago

I saw this in Sam's very tempted!! But it seems less powerful than what I am currently using (Ion Part Rocker Max) But also saw the ikarao with luggage carrier. It looks pretty small.

5 months ago

Worth it if you can get it from Sam's I think, it sounds fantastic when I tested it.

Reddit IconStreet_Soup7940
5 months ago

Looking for a compact and highly portable Bluetooth speaker that has a mic input. Prefer wireless mic, but am OK with wired. I recently purchased JBL on the go essential but that’s a bit too big. I really liked the size of Soundcore at 12” x 7” x 4” and 3.7 lbs, however that doesn’t have a mic input. Anything similarly sized or a little smaller would be ideal.

5 months ago

I did and it’s also pretty heavy and big. Different form factor than the on the go essential but still bigger than what I was looking for.

Reddit Icontainer_official
2 months ago

sorry for the late reply, on mine it’s really bad in particular songs where the bass isn’t necessarily clean, but in songs with clean bass, especially rock/metal songs it’s superb. but then again i can fix it by just using the EQ anyway so it really doesn’t bother me. out kicks my encore essential 2 and is on par with my 120. very happy with this speaker especially it being fully waterproof and i can actually take it to the beach without worrying about the sand and water and and i guess salt water

6 months ago

for the price you cannot beat the partybox 120, relatively light and small ish, battery is amazing and the bass and even sound clarity is best in class. i never need to use it with max volume as i mainly use it indoors, however if portability is an issue, get the encore essential 2, honesty with deeper bass it keeps up really well. if portability is not really a massive issue, but still keeping things at a decent price get either 2x 320s or one 520. yes they are bigger and heavier, but worth it imo. i have owned 2x 320s since launch and they have never missed a beat, it punches wayy harder at higher volumes and when plugged in, it will rattle your house, but if price is not an issue get the partybox 720, the bass is unimaginable, the clarity is still good even though there is a lack of midrange drivers, but the mids are well kept by JBL’s best in class DSP, or what they call “Ai sound boost”

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