When it comes to choosing good quality speakers, JBL has always topped the list. With a varied selection of bluetooth speakers, across several price brackets, it is quite the no-brainer pick. However, if you’re someone who likes to go for something different, or research more, or even just don’t see JBL and its speakers fitting your budget, here are 7 alternatives you can explore.
If You Love JBL Speakers Then You'll Love These 7 Brands Too!
Tribit StormBox
A Bluetooth wireless speaker, with 360 degree immersive surround sound, the Tribit StormBox is great if you want a speaker with that booming bass—since the speaker comes with dual passive base radiators. It is waterproof, and when we say that we mean it (with it claiming to survive 30 minutes in water!) It's perfect for pool parties, a day at the beach, or impromptu rain dances. It's portable, weighing a mere 570 odd grams, with a 24 hour playtime.
Alternative For: JBL Flip 4
Favourite Feature: The fact that it's water resilient, and can stand dual pairing.
Price: INR 4,999 (discounted)
Phillips Audio Mini Portable Bluetooth Speaker
Perfect to carry just about anywhere, this mini speaker by Philips can be easily popped into your bag— you can take it college, on a hike, and even on vacation. It's sleek, sturdy, and comes with a built-in microphone for phone calls too. It comes in two variants, grey camouflage, and black. It's super light-weight, while we've heard that the bass is really good, with a decent enough battery life of up to 6 hours. It's not much, but it's a definite try. Plus it's reasonable and reliable coming from Philips.
Alternative For: JBL Clip 4
Favourite Feature: Built in micro-phone for phone calls and being super light weight.
Price: INR 1,239 (discounted)
Sony High Power Party Speaker
Officially called the V73D High-Power Party Speaker with BLUETOOTH® Technology, this one offers omnidirectional sound meaning sound all around. It’s perfect to make sure everyone in the room gets to hear the sound, also, expect lights to go off in different directions too. It’s perfect to make sure everyone in the room gets to hear the sound, and since it’s got a party mode, expect lights to go off in different directions too. This one also has a Taiko mode which means you can drop a beat on the top panel too. It has sounds of the bongo, djembe, surdo and the Japanese Taiko drum. It has vertical and horizontal gesture control too! Connect via Bluetooth easily, and start the party!
Alternative For: JBL Party Box 710
Favourite Feature: If you make DJ gestures, it will change the music! Flick left, and go back a song. Flick up, and turn the music up, which is super fun. The panel is water resistant too, so no fear of drinks spilling. You can also drop a beat on the top panel for sounds on percussion instruments.
Price: INR 59,990
boAt Stone Grenade
A compact, bluetooth speaker with upto 7 hours of battery, the boAt Stone Grenade is great if you're looking for a portable speaker that is water and shock resistant. It comes in 5 colour variants for you to pick and choose from, with a Bluetooth connectivity range of 10 meters, which isn't much, but decent enough. It's reasonably priced and is almost always discounted on Amazon.
Alternative For: JBL Go 2
Favourite Feature: Multiple connectivity modes, and the rugged design.
Price: INR 1,399 (discounted)
Marshall Kilburn II
Marshall speakers need no introduction. They're aesthetic, classic pieces with up to date modern technology. The Killburn II is another one of their best sellers, with a string of features making this 2 and a half kg portable speaker worth it. When it comes to sound, expect a clear midrange deep bass, and multi-directional sound. It has 20+ hours of portable playtime which is quite impressive. And comes with bluetooth connectivity upto 30 meters, perfect for a party.
Alternative For: JBL Boombox
Favourite Feature: the top panel comes with analogue control knobs for bass, treble and volume, allowing you to fine-tune to the exact sound you desire.
Price: INR 29,999
Mi Soundbar
Mi's sleek looking bar covers a solid range of sound from 50Hz to 25000Hz, which is quite a wide spectrum. Expect good quality sound whenever you watch or listen to something. With plenty of connectivity posts— aux cable, good old line-in, or even fibre optic and PDIF cables, this one is modern yet can go proper old school if you don't have a smart TV, which we think is pretty inclusive!
Alternative For: JBL Cinema SB213
Favourite Feature: The connectivity ports! This has S/PDIF, optical, aux-in and line-in connectivity ports so hook it up to your TV, audio device, mobile phone or laptop.
Price: INR 4,999 (discounted)
Sony Bluetooth Speaker
Known as the Sony SRS XB43, this one boasts of extra bass with a live sound mode, it comes with 24 hours of battery life, is water and dust proof, plus it also has flashing LED lights which honestly is a party mood. It can be places horizontally and vertically too. In addition to this, it has a frequency transmission range of 20 Hz–20,000 Hz which is quite decent!
Alternative For: JBL Xtreme 3
Favourite Feature: It’s got hands free calling, and the Extra Bass feature with dual passive radiators.
Price: INR 21,990