JBL PartyBox 520 - Portable Battery-Powered Party Speaker with AI Sound Boost Up to 15 Hours of Play

Absolutely phenomenal speaker. We use it for just about everything at our school. Outside for music when the students are dropped off, calling names for pick up, in the gym for basketball games, etc... The handle and wheels are fantastic, and having XLR inputs is a great touch. I only wish it had an XLR output to another speaker instead of an 1/8th inch connector. But, I also understand my use case is probably different than most. Also, the lights, they're fine. We don't really use them. A neat little party trick. Over all, can't praise this enough for sound quality, portability, and useability. Fantastic investment. Read more

You get JBL quality sound out of a reasonably small portable speaker box! It’s about the size of a rolling suitcase and weighs about 50lbs. The light show is amazing and the battery life is truly impressive! We load it on our golf cart to go cruising around the neighborhood and it sounds terrific! I believe 99% of folks looking for a powerful and clean sounding portable speaker would be beyond satisfied with the JBL PartyBox 520!! Read more

Like so many have said before me, the 310 lead to the purchase of the 520. At the time the 310 was the biggest speaker you could buy from JBL that had a battery making it truly portable. New for 2025 the 520 is the next step in the Partybox lineup. Still battery powered and portable, and of course heavier than the 310. The 520 makes almost twice the power @ 400W RMS, with the 310 @ 240W RMS. The 520 does not leave me wanting more. I also chose the 520 because it fits under my desk, the 710/720 are at or over 40" so they are not as compact as the 520. As for the sound, at very-low-to-low volumes the sound is similar to that of the 310, but the right ear can tell there's something more special with the 520. It's when you start turning up the volume does the 520 begin to outclass the 310. Also keep in mind, no matter which you own, 310/320/520, they must be plugged into the wall to get that max power (RMS). Those using the JBL app will find familiarity but some unique features for the 520. It adds some new sound profiles and a 7-band customizable EQ. The 310 had a very basic EQ. I tinkered with the EQ and found a personal setting I love and this thing absolutely rips! The 310 will play your content loud, but the bass will fall off as you near the top in terms of volume. I don't find that the case with the 520 at all, as the volume goes up the bass stays right there. I was bummed when I read the tweeters on the 520 were smaller than that on the 310 but after listening to them side-by-side, you'd never know it, and it's a non-issue at this point. I'm listening to it as I write this review and it brings a huge smile to my face. So far (in any JBL portable speaker review) the battery life is extremely good, lasting me all week, playing my content 11 hours a day. I leave all the lights/visuals off. The added bonus is the battery is removable and you can buy extras and swap them out as needed, if needed. As for value, that's tough one, this speaker is not cheap and comes dangerously close to the 700-series in terms of price but not in power. The 520 and 720 are priced too close for their power differences, if space is of no concern, consider the 720. Thankfully I got this during the Black Friday deal and that lessened the financial blow. If I had to do it again at full price I might have had to think of that a bit more. Read more

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I own a 310 Partybox and now the new 520 it is a great speaker good bass and sound. It is a bit louder then the 310 however it does need to be up in the higher volume levels to get the good sound. At lower volume the bass is a little flat sounding even on the high setting. I would say at 50% volume the sound is very good and again at 75% volume. The price for the 520 is steep so it only makes sense to buy it if size is a concern? Otherwise you can get the monster JBL 720 for less when it is on sale and have 800 watts vs 400 from the 520. Read more

This is AMAZING quality! I teach line dancing lessons, and this FILLS a large room with high-quality sound. PLUS, it has a rolling handle, which many large speakers do not. Great purchase for my business Read more

JBL headphones might suck but they have better speakers than anyone on the market. They honestly sound better on battery mode then plugged in lol. They kind of hurt plugged in and I've had 2 ultimate before. I have 2 of them in my car (trunk of my hrv) and its like having a 10 thousand dollar sound system in your car) I've had 10 thousand dollar sound systems. I had 4 12s in my trunk of my 2011 cr-v. Enough bass to literally break my windshield 3 times. The 2 in my trunk is lower bass then those speakers ever got . And sound louder and clearer in the mids. And obviously in my house I can't turn them up very loud lol they're overpowering Read more

Great speaker Read more