A portable speaker that's loud and tough enough for the outdoors
I've been a contributing editor for PCMag since 2011. Before that, I was PCMag's lead audio analyst from 2006 to 2011. Even though I'm a freelancer now, PCMag has been my home for well over a decade, and audio gear reviews are still my primary focus. Prior to my career in reviewing tech, I worked as an audio engineer—my love of recording audio eventually led me to writing about audio gear.
You won't want to carry it too far, but the highly durable JBL Boombox 3 brings impressively deep bass and plenty of volume to the great outdoors.
JBL makes some of our favorite Bluetooth speakers, and the Boombox 3 ($499.95) is another top-notch entry. It's just as stylish and durable as its predecessor, with an outdoor-ready build and characteristic built-in handle. But it also offers several notable upgrades, such as a subwoofer that delivers noticeably better low-end sound quality and a companion app with a customizable EQ. We don't like the lack of speakerphone functionality or the decision to stick with the default SBC codec, but neither prevents it from earning our Editors’ Choice award for premium Bluetooth speakers.
The Boombox 3 is available in black or camouflage. It measures roughly 10.1 by 19.0 by 7.9 inches and weighs a hefty 14.7 pounds. The speaker is portable in the sense that you can carry it from one place to another, put it in the trunk, or take it to the beach, but you won't want to haul it around in a tote for hours.
On the front, a prominent JBL logo sits on top of a sturdy weatherproof grille along with a status LED strip. A horizontal array of easy-to-operate controls is on top. From left to right, the control bar includes buttons for PartyBoost (for linking with other JBL speakers), volume down, power, Bluetooth pairing, volume up, and play/pause (which also skips forward to the next track when you press it twice). Annoyingly, there's no option for going to the previous track. Along the back panel, a covered compartment houses a connector for the included power cable, a USB-A port for charging other devices, and a 3.5mm aux input.
The Boombox 3 looks quite similar to the older Boombox 2, with a familiar built-in handle and large passive radiators on either end. But there are some notable upgrades under the grille. The previous model had dual tweeters and woofers, as well as passive radiators at either end. The updated version uses a similar setup, but adds a subwoofer to the mix.
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.
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.
An IP67 rating applies to the speaker as long as the snap-shut cover on the back is in place. The rating means the Boombox 3 is dustproof and waterproof to depths of up to a meter for 30 minutes, so neither poolside splashes nor heavy rain should pose a problem. You can also feel free to rinse it unit off with a garden hose if it gets dirty.
JBL estimates that the speaker can last roughly 24 hours on a charge, but your results will vary based on your volume levels. The company claims the battery takes about 6.5 hours to fully charge from empty.
The JBL Portable app (available for Android and iOS) shows the remaining battery life for the speaker and lets you update the firmware. You also get a customizable, three-band EQ. That's all a big deal because the previous model didn't have a companion app at all. The EQ is simplistic, with just five positions for the Bass, Mid, and Treble bands, but it’s better than nothing and still allows for fine-tuning.
Otherwise, there's a button that toggles feedback tones, a user guide, a software update section, and a PartyBoost option. In PartyBoost mode, you can link the Boombox 3 to other JBL speakers. You must choose between Party Mode (which keeps the speaker in stereo) or Stereo Mode (which lets you designate it to handle the left or right audio channels).
We tested the speaker in both the AC and battery power modes. Although the AC mode enables a little more punch, its performance in battery mode still thoroughly impressed us. The drivers output real bass at high volume levels in both modes.
On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the speaker delivers a powerful low-frequency response. There’s no distortion at top volumes, but the bass thins out somewhat in this scenario. At moderate to high volumes, the bass still sounds robust. Although the speaker’s rumble focuses above the sub-bass range, it certainly reaches down and provides some subwoofer-like rumble.
Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better sense of the overall sound signature. In default (no EQ) mode, the drums sound thunderous and far from accurate. The in-app EQ lets you significantly dial back the bass if it’s too much. You can also pump up the low end, but doing so might cause the digital signal processing (DSP) to thin things out a bit at high volumes. At moderate volumes, the drums sound grand, while Callahan’s baritone vocals get an ideal blend of rich low-mids and crisp highs. Despite the obvious sculpting, everything still sounds balanced.
On Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “No Church in the Wild,” the kick drum loop receives plenty of high-mid presence, which accentuates its punchy attack. Meanwhile, the sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat come across with impressive depth. We don’t get all of the sub-bass here, but it's still more than most portable speakers offer. The drum loop’s sustain receives the heaviest concentration of low-end emphasis. The vocals sound clear and don’t compete with the bass for attention; we note just a minimal amount of sibilance.
Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary, get some additional bass depth, but not to the degree you might expect. The lower-register instrumentation sounds relatively natural and in balance with the bright, higher-register brass, strings, and vocals. There's plenty of scooping in this sonic approach, but classical tracks can sound pretty terrible on portable speakers and that’s not at all the case here.
The JBL Boombox 3 improves on a winning formula by offering more deep bass and an even louder maximum volume than its predecessor. Bass and maximum volume aren’t typically the most important aspects of sound quality, but they make a significant difference for an outdoor speaker. The addition of a companion app with an adjustable EQ is a nice touch too, though we would still prefer better Bluetooth codec support. Simply put, if you want to outfit your backyard with powerful sound, the Boombox 3 offers an unmatched size-to-power ratio, earning our Editors' Choice award. But if this speaker is too big for your needs, the handle-free JBL Xtreme 3 ($349.95) offers a similar sonic philosophy. We’re also fans of the carry-friendly Sony SRS-XG300 ($349.99) for its LED lighting and speakerphone functionality.
You won't want to carry it too far, but the highly durable JBL Boombox 3 brings impressively deep bass and plenty of volume to the great outdoors.
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I've been a contributing editor for PCMag since 2011. Before that, I was PCMag's lead audio analyst from 2006 to 2011. Even though I'm a freelancer now, PCMag has been my home for well over a decade, and audio gear reviews are still my primary focus. Prior to my career in reviewing tech, I worked as an audio engineer—my love of recording audio eventually led me to writing about audio gear.
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