Double Bass JBL Partybox Suprise

[Rod Sroufe]

Hello all! I recently bought a pair of these JBL Partybox 110 Bluetooth speakers to replace my garage stereo system that decided to die after 25 years. When researching my purchase I learned about mic and guitar inputs on the back. My end decision to purchase though was purely based on music playback.

I have some double header gigs coming up. On a whim I thought I’d try plugging one of my double basses into one of the JBL’s through an old Fishman Pro Platinum EQ preamp. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. The bass is a Romanian made hybrid with a David Gage Lifeline pickup. With this signal chain, the sound I get through the speaker quite closely matches the tone of the bass. The low end of the frequency spectrum is even fairly tight for a back ported cab. Again, quite good for what it is.

I have a jazz trio gig with piano and a horn player for which this will provide more than enough volume. Also very sweet that this will run on battery power for several hours. At about 21 pounds, I’m gonna give this a shot for this gig.

I’m not suggesting everyone go out and buy this speaker as your main gigging rig. However if you have access to one of these. Don’t be afraid to try it. It might surprise you!!

 

[Thomas02]

Oh, I agree with you. I had a speaker like this and almost sold it. But I was so blown away by the sound quality that I refused to try any other speaker. All my friends always ask me to play music when they come over, and we used to have house parties at my place. The price fully matches the quality this speaker provides. I have also come across several articles on the internet and several forums where this speaker has positive comments.

 

[Don Hergert]

I'm not an amp or speaker expert. And I'm guessing the unit in question is basically a powered speaker, plus bluetooth features, is that correct?

I had some Behringer Euro Live 12" powered speakers and tested their mic and instrument inputs with my DB, both with my DB's piezo/pre system and with its direct (clear) mounted mic system...

I was a little concerned about blowing the cone/diaphragm on these speakers.

With the output from the piezo/pre system on my DB, it sounded good at low-to-medium volume, but I didn't trust enough to test it for very long that way.

With the output from the mounted mic system things seemed logically no worse for standard speakers than a mic on a stand in front of a double bass, plus it provided more natural acoustic tone, so I ran that a while longer and it sounded good... But I never trusted enough to use it as an amp for a long period like for a gig.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that bass amps are built for the output of basses, and as such I suspect they are safer -- that is, less likely to self destruct -- with the low frequency range of a bass.

We do have some amp/speaker experts here and I hope they speak up about this question, as I'd like to learn more too.

 

[bassically_eli]

I'm not an amp or speaker expert. And I'm guessing the unit in question is basically a powered speaker, plus bluetooth features, is that correct?

I had some Behringer Euro Live 12" powered speakers and tested their mic and instrument inputs with my DB, both with my DB's piezo/pre system and with its direct (clear) mounted mic system...

I was a little concerned about blowing the cone/diaphragm on these speakers.

With the output from the piezo/pre system on my DB, it sounded good at low-to-medium volume, but I didn't trust enough to test it for very long that way.

With the output from the mounted mic system things seemed logically no worse for standard speakers than a mic on a stand in front of a double bass, plus it provided more natural acoustic tone, so I ran that a while longer and it sounded good... But I never trusted enough to use it as an amp for a long period like for a gig.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that bass amps are built for the output of basses, and as such I suspect they are safer -- that is, less likely to self destruct -- with the low frequency range of a bass.

We do have some amp/speaker experts here and I hope they speak up about this question, as I'd like to learn more too.

I'm not an expert, but these days powered speakers have built-in protection (usually in the form of DSP for this type of speaker). That likely makes blowing the cone from over excursion and/or over heating pretty idiot proof (I think/hope). In the case of over excursion, you'll hear warning sounds before you get to the damage point anyway. How much warning you get depends on the difference between the speaker's x_max and x_damage values, IIRC.

Edit: The above is in regards to the woofer(s)/low frequency damage. I'm not sure how much protection there is for the tweeter.

 

[Wasnex]

You may find this comparison review informative:
JBL PartyBox 110 vs SOUNDBOKS Go Side-by-Side Speaker Comparison - RTINGS.com

If you are interested in an option for busking, I think the PartBox 310 is the biggest/loudest in the series that is battery powered.
JBL PartyBox 310 vs SOUNDBOKS (Gen. 3) Side-by-Side Speaker Comparison - RTINGS.com

 

[Rod Sroufe]

I'm not an amp or speaker expert. And I'm guessing the unit in question is basically a powered speaker, plus bluetooth features, is that correct?

I had some Behringer Euro Live 12" powered speakers and tested their mic and instrument inputs with my DB, both with my DB's piezo/pre system and with its direct (clear) mounted mic system...

I was a little concerned about blowing the cone/diaphragm on these speakers.

With the output from the piezo/pre system on my DB, it sounded good at low-to-medium volume, but I didn't trust enough to test it for very long that way.

With the output from the mounted mic system things seemed logically no worse for standard speakers than a mic on a stand in front of a double bass, plus it provided more natural acoustic tone, so I ran that a while longer and it sounded good... But I never trusted enough to use it as an amp for a long period like for a gig.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that bass amps are built for the output of basses, and as such I suspect they are safer -- that is, less likely to self destruct -- with the low frequency range of a bass.

We do have some amp/speaker experts here and I hope they speak up about this question, as I'd like to learn more too.

 

[Rod Sroufe]

Yes this is a Bluetooth powered speaker primarily marketed for music playback. It does have two 1/4 inch jack inputs. One labeled mic and the other guitar. I suppose the purpose for karaoke and or small pa.

In my little playing test, I only got the speakers to fart out a bit when the gain on the Fishman preamp I was playing through was set a little too high. I dialed the gain back a bit and was able to get very healthy volume levels out of it without distortion.

The main disappointment with it is the signal is not the quietest as I could hear a bit of a hissing sound in the signal. It would quiet down though when I wasn’t playing however. Apparently there’s a sensor of some kind that attempts to mute the signal when it doesn’t detect sound coming through.

Anyway…just an interesting amplification option where I was expecting failure...