Any party without a good speaker simply isn’t a good party. For times when you’re hosting a house party, going out camping, or hanging out at the beach with family and friends, having the right speaker can make a huge difference. Essentially, you’ll want a speaker that’s powerful and loud enough to fill a large, crowded space. For such occasions, party speakers are your best option. Party speakers look like any standard Bluetooth speaker, only they’re larger and designed to deliver a more powerful sound without compromising audio quality, making them suitable for playing music for large groups of people. If you’re looking for a party speaker that can take any party to the next level, the JBL PartyBox Club 120 would be an outstanding choice.
The JBL PartyBox Club 120 is a portable party speaker that features a IPX4 splash-proof rating, a 4-speaker system powered by JBL Pro Sound boasting 160 Watts RMS of Output Power, making it capable of delivering clear, dynamic sound with a deep bass, along with an AI Sound Boost function that ensures a powerful and distortion-free sound. The speaker also integrates user-friendly controls, dual microphone inputs and a guitar input, In/Out daisy chain ports for stereo pairing multiple PartyBox speakers, a 3.5mm AUX input, a USB-A output for charging your phone, and a built-in lightshow featuring different light effects that sync to your beat. It also boasts Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity for streaming audio from Bluetooth-enabled devices and for connecting multiple JBL Auracast-enabled speakers wirelessly, plus a removable 4722mAh Li-Ion battery that offers up to 12 hours playtime and 10 minutes fast charging for another 80 minutes of battery. Via the JBL PartyBox App, users can control their music, adjust EQ settings, and customize the colors and patterns of the speaker’s light show.
Engineered to deliver an amazing and immersive sound that fills the air, this portable party speaker turns any space into a party with great vibes.
Below is our review of the JBL PartyBox Club 120, where we go over everything that this portable Bluetooth party speaker has to offer you.
DESIGN & SPECS
Starting with the speaker’s size, the JBL PartyBox Club 120 has some size to it (as it’s expected with any party speaker), measuring exactly 11.69 inches long by 11.35 inches wide by 22.4 inches tall (29.7 x 28.8 x 57 cm), and weighs 24.4 lbs. (11.05 kg).
Despite its somewhat bulky dimensions, this party speaker comes equipped with a foldable carrying handle at its top side, which makes it easy to transport and take with you anywhere. The speaker also has an ergonomic design with even weight distribution that makes it easy to carry.
The JBL PartyBox Club 120 also sports a stylish and modern design, which gives it a really cool appearance. For our review unit, the company was kind enough to send us the Black color model, which looks awesome, but you can also get it in White.
Furthermore, the speaker also packs a durable, high-quality, and Eco-friendly construction, as its body is built of post-consumer recycled plastic.
Not only that, but the speaker is also rated to have an IPX4 splash-proof rating, which rates it as being capable of withstanding faint rain.
AUDIO SPECS & AUDIO QUALITY
Moving on to the speaker’s audio specifications. For reproducing its impressive dynamic sound, the JBL PartyBox Club 120 comes equipped with a 4-speaker driver sound system powered by JBL Pro Sound, which comprises dual 5.25-inch high-excursion woofers and dual 2.25-inch low-distortion tweeters, while also integrating a large bass port at its back side.
Its 4-speaker setup plus its bass port makes the JBL PartyBox Club 120 capable of delivering a clear, dynamic sound with a deep bass, even at its highest volume setting.
The speaker’s sound system is rated to have 160 Watts RMS of Output Power, and a frequency response varying between 40 Hz to 20.000 Hz (-6dB).
What’s more is that the speaker also features AI Sound Boost, a self-tuning function that utilizes AI algorithms for analyzing its audio profile in real-time while simultaneously predicting loudspeaker movement and power response, pushing its speaker drivers to their maximum capability.
This helps maximize the speaker’s overall loudness and its bass output, thus ensuring the speaker can deliver a powerful and distortion-free sound at all times.
INTERFACE / CONTROL PANEL
For controlling the speaker’s operation, there’s a control panel at the top side of the speaker that features a user-friendly interface, making it easy and intuitive to use.
Starting at the top side of its control panel, there’s a sound effects panel with three buttons for selecting different special sound effects.
Directly below those buttons, there’s the speaker Bluetooth pairing button, followed by the speaker’s Daisy Chain button (for stereo pairing multiple PartyBox speakers when having them connected through a 3.5mm audio cable), and then a Bass Boost button for changing its bass level (ranging between level 1, level 2, and Off).
At the bottom edge of its control panel, there’s a Light Effects push-dial at the left hand side, its Power On/Off button at the bottom center, and a Media push-dial at the right hand side.
Pressing the speaker’s Media push-dial lets users play / pause their music, while rotating it clockwise or counterclockwise respectively increases and decreases the speaker’s volume level.
One other really cool thing about the JBL PartyBox Club 120 is that this party speaker also features a built-in lightshow with different light effects that sync to your beat, including starry lights, cool light trails, and strobe lights.
Pressing the speaker’s Light Effects push-dial lets you turn its light effects On and Off, while holding it for more than 2 seconds lets you turn the starry and strobe light effects On or Off. Rotating its Light Effects dial clockwise and counterclockwise lets you cycle between all its different light patterns.
At the back side of the speaker, we have its connectivity panel, which is protected by a plastic cover.
Going from left to right, there’s a microphone input port with a volume gain dial below it, followed by a USB-A output port that you can use for charging your phone, then a 3.5mm AUX input for connecting the speaker to another external audio device (such as your phone if it has a 3.5mm AUX output), which is then followed by a dual microphone and guitar input port with a second volume gain dial below it.
At the bottom center, there’s also a set of In/Out daisy chain ports for stereo pairing multiple PartyBox speakers together via a 3.5mm audio cable.
Directly below the speaker’s connectivity panel, we have its removable battery slot.
Integrated close to the speaker’s base, you’ll find its AC power port for charging its battery.
CONNECTIVITY
For establishing a wireless connection with your Bluetooth-enabled devices and with its mobile app, the JBL PartyBox Club 120 utilizes Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity.
Additionally, the speaker also supports Bluetooth Multi-point connectivity, enabling users to connect multiple JBL Auracast-enabled speakers wirelessly.
BATTERY & BATTERY LIFE
For its power, this party speaker comes equipped with a removable 4722mAh (34Wh / 7.2V) Lithium-Ion battery that can offer users up to 12 hours of playtime on a full charge.
The speaker also features a 10 minutes fast charging function for its removable battery, which gives you roughly another 80 minutes of battery life.
Whenever the speaker’s battery is running low on power, you simply have to connect the speaker’s AC power cord to its AC power port. It takes around 3.5 hours to recharge the speaker’s battery to full power.
Best of all, since its battery is removable, you can ultimately swap it for an another JBL Battery 200 (sold separately at $69.95 each) to keep the party going if its current battery happens to run out of power.
THE SMARTPHONE COMPANION APP – The JBL PartyBox App
Users can also control the speaker’s operation wirelessly by installing the JBL PartyBox App on their phone, which is available to download for free for iOS and Android devices.
Via the JBL PartyBox App, users can control the playback of their music, adjust EQ settings for the speaker’s sound profile, as well as customize the colors and patterns of the speaker’s light show, with a wide range of customization options to choose from.
In addition, the app also features an Effect Lab through which you can play several DJ sound effects, along with a Mic Effect menu for tuning your microphone’s audio effects.
WHAT’S IN THE BOX?
This party speaker comes neatly packed inside an Eco-friendly packaging that’s made of FSC-certified paper and printed with soy ink.
Inside their package, users will find: their JBL PartyBox Club 120, an AC power cord for charging the speaker’s battery, along with a quick start guide, a safety instruction manual, and the speaker’s warranty sheet.
FINAL THOUGHTS
When accounting for all its features, it’s safe to say that this is a really neat party speaker for playing music at parties. The speaker is powerful enough to play music with great sound quality in a large area, while its adapt light show makes your music so much more thrilling with mesmerizing light effects that automatically sync up to the beat.
The speaker also has a wide range of connectivity options, including dual mic and guitar ports, which is a really nice addition for karaoke fans and guitar players. Plus, its battery life is also really decent.
The JBL PartyBox Club 120 is currently available in two (x2) different color models: Black and White.
If you’re interested in purchasing this portable party speaker, know that each unit is currently discounted from its normal price of $399.95, and is now going for just $299.95 (saves you $100). You can order it online either directly from JBL’s official shopping page, or you can instead get it from Amazon.
