JBL is expanding its party speaker lineup with a pricey new PartyBox model that could be perfect for karaoke. The $1,800 JBL PartyBox Ultimate 2 is an absolute unit. It has an impressive 1,500W of sound output coming from dual woofers, dual midrange drivers, and dual tweeters. That’s six drivers altogether.
Probably the biggest number you need to pay attention to here is the weight; the PartyBox Ultimate 2 weighs a ridiculous 120 pounds. That’s not unheard of in the party speaker world—Sony’s recently released ULT Tower Max weighs 124 pounds—but it’s beefy nonetheless. Also, just like the Ult Tower Max, there is no battery in the PartyBox Ultimate 2—this speaker needs to be plugged in to work. This speaker is truly built for parties, and big ones at that.
When I say it’s built for parties, I don’t just mean the hardware. JBL put its AI isolation features in the PartyBox Ultimate 2, which means you can strip out vocals from tracks you’re playing with the push of a button.
I’ve not used this feature on the PartyBox 2, obviously (it just came out), but I have used it on JBL’s Bandbox Solo, its practice amp and wireless speaker, and it works far better than you’d expect. Sure, you could just pull up a karaoke version of most songs on YouTube, but being able to do it with literally any song with the push of a button is still pretty rad.
If AI vocal removal doesn’t do it for you, there’s also AI Sound Boost, which is meant to maximize the volume of tracks without creating distortion, and Smart EQ Mode, which uses AI to assess what you’re listening to and adjust the EQ in real time. Software-wise, I’m also a fan of the Wi-Fi compatibility, allowing you to stream via AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, and Chromecast. If wired audio is more your thing, you can get lossless playback using USB-C, or you can connect an optical or XLR cable.
The PartyBox Ultimate 2 is available for preorder now and will ship starting Oct. 25.
