CONS

• Expensive
• Heavy and bulky
• Sound signature not for those seeking accuracy

Design

Available in black or camouflage models, the 10.1-by-19.1-by-7.9-inch (HWD), 13-pound Boombox 2 isn’t the kind of portable speaker you can throw in a bag. It’s big and heavy, and portable in the sense that it has a built-in handle for taking it to the backyard, rooftop, or to and from your car’s trunk. Its IPX7 rating means it can be submerged up to 3.3 feet underwater for up to 30 minutes. We don’t advise this, as Bluetooth doesn’t work well underwater, but the point is that the speaker can get drenched and work just fine.

The look of the Boombox 2 is similar to its predecessor. A huge handle is situated over a cylindrical housing covered in grille. Beneath the grille, dual 30-watt, 0.8-inch tweeters and dual 40-watt, 4-inch woofers combine for a frequency range of 50Hz to 20kHz. On either end of the speaker, there are two large passive radiators that aid in pumping out bass.

Across the front face of the speaker, there are controls for power, Bluetooth pairing, play/pause (this button can also skip forward a track with two presses, but oddly cannot skip backwards with three), and plus/minus buttons for volume control. There’s also a Partyboost button for linking the Boombox 2 with other JBL speakers to output the same audio. A status LED strip on the front face also gives a battery life readout.