The Ult Tower 10 has great value, but the PartyBox Ultimate has broader appeal.
Until now, there hasn’t been a modern party speaker release that can go toe-to-toe with the monstrous PartyBox Ultimate, but Sony recently released the Ult Tower 10, another extremely large and loud speaker that serves as a worthy contender. If you’re looking for a speaker of this magnitude but aren’t sure which is the better buy, keep reading as we compare these two giants in a head to head comparison to find out which offers the best value.
Key Takeaways:
- For the most bass, go with the PartyBox Ultimate.
- The addition of Wi-Fi support elevates the PartyBox Ultimate above the competition.
- Both speakers need an AC power source and don’t have batteries.
- The Ult Tower 10 offers great value, but the PartyBox Ultimate brings more to the table.
Winner
The PartyBox Ultimate’s deeper, more powerful bass and Wi-Fi connectivity make it a better choice for most than the Sony Ult Tower 10.
JBL PartyBox Ultimate vs Sony Ult Tower 10
| Model | PartyBox Ultimate | Sony Ult Tower 10 |
| Release Date: | 2023 | 2024 |
| Water Resistance | IPX4 | Splashproof Top |
| Output Power | 1100W | 1000W |
| Bluetooth Version | 5.3 | 5.2 |
| Bluetooth Profiles | A2DP V1.3, AVRCP V1.5 | A2DP, AVRCP, SPP |
| Battery Life | AC Only | AC Only |
| Frequency Response | 30Hz-20KHz | 20Hz-20kHz |
| Woofers | 2x 9″ Woofers | 1 x12.6” Subwoofer |
| Midrange | 2x 4.5″ Midrange Drivers | 2x 3.15″ Midrange Drivers |
| Tweeters | 2x 2.75″ Tweeters | 4x 1.75″ Tweeters |
| Wheels | Yes | Yes |
| TWS | Yes | Yes |
| Multispeaker Pairing | Yes (Auracast) | Yes (Party Connect) |
| Weight | 87.1 lbs | 63.9 lbs |
| Dimensions | 17.9 x 17.3 x 41.3″ | 16.5 x 16.9 x 43.6″ |
| App Support | JBL One | Sony Music Center |
| Price: | Check Price | Check Price |
Design, Build, & Durability
Summary: Large, heavy and ultimately exuding an aura of power, these speakers are not particularly portable, but the built-in wheels improve the process. The Ultimate’s wheels are both larger and wider, making it slightly more portable across rough terrain. The Ultimate also has a slight benefit in water protection, as it’s the only one to have an IPX rating, though the Sony still has some water resistance for the top of the speaker.
Durability & Waterproofing
Winner: PartyBox Ultimate
These types of party speakers aren’t exactly designed to be rugged, but given that they’re high-end products there is a sense of quality in plastics used. It’s still a good idea to treat these speakers well and avoid any impact, as the grilles can be dented fairly easily with enough force.
The PartyBox Ultimate is slightly more durable though, including in its waterproofing. It’s the only one of the two speakers to have an IPX rating. The Ultimate is rated IPX4, which protects the whole speaker from light splashes – whereas the Ult Tower only offers some splash resistance to the top of the speaker to protect it from accidental drink spills or some light rain during transport.
Portability
Winner: Tied
These are both extremely and heavy speakers, but the PartyBox Ultimate weighs significantly more than the Ult Tower, coming it at 87.1 lbs and 63.9 lbs respectively. A significant cause of this weight difference is because of the PartyBox Ultimate’s wood cabinet interior which while increasing the weight, helps it to improve its sonic qualities.
Both speakers have built-in wheels, which negates a lot of the challenges posed by the extreme weight. The PartyBox Ultimate’s wheels are superior to that of the Ult Tower though, as they’re both wider, larger and give the speaker more clearance from the ground, which makes it easier to move across grass or gravel.
Lighting Effects
Winner: PartyBox Ultimate
What good’s a party speaker without lights? Both these speakers have outstanding lighting effects which create an aura around the speaker, but the way they are lit is quite different from one another.
The PartyBox Ultimate’s approach to lighting is comprehensive, it has a large area of lights in a pattern 8 formation that wraps around the front drivers, while also having light strips along the top, bottom and sides of the speaker. Additionally, there’s lights under the base that gets cast onto the floor, illuminating an area around the speaker.
Sony’s Ult Tower 10 is more toned down in its lighting and takes a different approach. The tops and bottom of the speaker light up, which casts light in all directions, allowing it to light up a fairly large area around it. However, there’s no lights across the face of the speaker.
They both look great, but the PartyBox Ultimate is substantially brighter and more vibrant with the lighting around the drivers.
Controls, Connectivity & App Support
Summary: The Ultimate’s controls are more traditional, with rubber buttons and dials while the Sony Ult Tower uses a glass touch screen panel for its controls, which aren’t as extensive. Connectivity is also better on the PartyBox Ultimate, supporting Wi-Fi and more modern Bluetooth. The mobile apps are excellent for both speakers, with the Sony having a slight advantage in sound customization with a 7-band EQ compared to the Ultimate’s 5-band EQ.
Inputs & Outputs
Winner: PartyBox Ultimate
Having a broad array of connection ports is useful for party speakers, which also often get used for karaoke or guitar. Both speakers have quite extensive connection options, and neither is an outright winner in this regard.
The Sony Ult Tower 10 has a digital optical port, which is great for those looking to connect it to a television but other than that the PartyBox Ultimate has a few more options including dual microphone inputs while the Ult Tower only has a single mic/guitar port.
Here’s an easy comparison between the ports offered by both speakers:
JBL PartyBox Ultimate
- 1x Mic input
- 1x Mic/Guitar input
- 1x USB-A port
- 1x 3.5mm aux input
Sony Ult Tower 10
- 1x Digital optical port
- 1x Mic/Guitar input
- 1x USB-A port
- 1x 3.5mm aux input
Controls
Winner: Tied
There isn’t a clear winner when it comes to the controls, personally I prefer the PartyBox’s controls which are more comprehensive and use a more standard approach with different buttons and dials laid out across the top of the speaker. The DJ sound buttons let users play various sound effects that can be set up within the app, which while somewhat novel, DJs may enjoy.
The Sony Ult Tower, on the other hand has a glass touch panel across the top which looks far more sleek and expensive, which some will prefer. However, looks aren’t everything and the controls aren’t as comprehensive as on the Ultimate. Still, you can adjust the lighting effects, control track playback and use the ULT button to toggle through a couple bass-centric EQ profiles. This button works in much the same way as the Ultimate’s Bass Boost button, toggling between a punchy or deep bass.
Wireless Connectivity
Winner: JBL PartyBox Ultimate
Both speakers have modern Bluetooth support, with the PartyBox supporting Bluetooth 5.3 while the Ult Tower supports Bluetooth 5.2. Both of these Bluetooth versions have fast and efficient Bluetooth codecs that reduce latency and increase sound quality.
The PartyBox Ultimate has a significant advantage over the Ult Tower though, as it not only supports Bluetooth but can also be connected to your Wi-Fi network for broader coverage. This allows you to control the speaker from anywhere in your house and reduces latency when connecting it to a television for example.
Multi-Speaker Pairing
Winner: Tied
Both speakers can be connected with another speaker of the same model in a true wireless stereo pairing, which improves the soundstage and coverage by splitting the audio signal into dedicated left and right channels which are assigned to each speaker.
They also both support general multi-speaker pairing where you can pair multiple speakers together. Sony uses their Party Connect feature which supports many of their larger, popular speakers include: ULT FIELD 7, SRS-XB23, SRS-XB33, SRS-XB43, SRS-XE200, SRS-XE300, SRS-XG300, SRS-XG500, SRS-XP500, SRS-XP700, SRS-XV500, SRS-XV800, SRS-XV900 and LSPX-S3.
The PartyBox Ultimate supports Auracast pairing and can also be paired with other JBL speakers with Auracast (we expect to see more JBL speakers moved across to Auracast in 2025): Clip 5, Go 4, Xtreme 4, PartyBox Club 120 and PartyBox Stage 320.
App Support
Winner: Tied
Both speakers have their own companion apps. The PartyBox Ultimate make use of the JBL One app, which is centered around home speakers and different from the JBL Portable app used for their smaller speakers.
The Ult Tower is supported by the Sony Music Center app, and offers similar comprehensive control over the speaker to the JBL One app.
JBL One: The JBL One app lets users change the lighting patterns and colors, adjust the sound effects on the DJ pad, control track playback and adjust the sound profile with a 5-band custom EQ. It can also be used for establishing multi-speaker pairings and toggling the bass presets.
Sony Music Center: Sony’s Music Center app is impressive, with comprehensive control that allows users to quickly establish multi-speaker pairings, toggle between bass EQ presets and even has a 7-band custom EQ which can significantly change how the speaker sounds.
A secondary app called Fiestable is also recommended, as it gives broader control over the lighting effects and karaoke. However, the Fiestable app doesn’t look as clean in its design as the Music Center app.
Audio Performance
Summary: The PartyBox Ultimate has deeper bass and more volume, while still retaining excellent clarity and detail in the mids and highs. The Sony is a brighter-sounding speaker with more emphasis on the highs and upper mids. Although Sony’s 360-degree sound design improves soundstage and coverage around the speaker, the Ultimate’s bass heavy sound is still likely to be preferred by most users.
Frequency Response
Winner: PartyBox Ultimate
Despite a very similar design, these two speakers sound very different from one another. The PartyBox Ultimate has a more bass-heavy sound and can produce lows much deeper than that of the Sony. If you’re a bass-chaser looking for that window rattling sound, the Ultimate is going to appeal more to you.
It’s not that the Sony Ult Tower 10 lacks bass, but rather that it’s designed to sound brighter with more focus on the mids and highs. Because not everyone is a fan of deep, powerful bass and may find it distracting from vocals (or voices in TV shows), there are some people who are going to prefer the brighter, more vibrant sound of the Ult Tower. Still, even higher frequencies sound clearer on the Ultimate.
Since both speakers have custom EQ, there is some room to play around with these natural, inherent sounds and dial them in more towards your preference. But the reality is that it’s more easy and effective to get the PartyBox Ultimate sounding brighter than it is to get the Ult Tower to sound as bassy as the Ultimate.
Overall, most people will prefer the sound of the PartyBox Ultimate, with its deep and powerful bass that can rattle windows.
Part of what makes the Ultimate sound so good, is the interior wood cabinet which helps improve resonance. In contrast, the Sony has a plastic interior which causes it to lag behind a bit in the performance when compared.
Soundstage & Dynamics
Winner: Sony Ult Tower 10
With the Sony Ult Tower 10 featuring a lot more drivers than the PartyBox and a 360-degree design, it’s not surprising that the soundstage performance is better on it. The PartyBox Ultimate is by no means a slouch, but Sony is a distinct winner here. The 360-degree design means the Ult Tower pushes sound in a broader area, in all directions, as opposed to the Ultimate’s front-facing drivers.
Dynamic performance is excellent on both speakers, and small accents in production can be picked up quite easily. Both are able to reach high volume without much degradation in sound quality, a result of good dynamic range.
Volume
Winner: PartyBox Ultimate
The PartyBox Ultimate is a bit louder than the Sony Ult Tower 10. Both are loud speaker, but the Ultimate’s deep and powerful bass makes it sound especially loud. Some third party reviewers measured the Sony at 110-112 dB while the Ultimate gets closer to 115-118 dB.
No Battery / AC Only
Neither of these speakers have a built-in battery and can only be powered by an AC cable. This may limit their use outdoors, as you’ll need to run an extension chord to your speaker.
Price & Value
There’s an important discussion to be had around price and value. The PartyBox Ultimate retails for close to $1800 while the Sony Ult Tower 10 comes in at a much more forgiving price tag of around $1100. Given how close the performance is in many ways, there’s a strong argument to be made that despite the JBL PartyBox Ultimate’s superior performance, the Sony Ult Tower 10 is where the most value lies.
If you’re on a tight budget, and can’t justify the $1600 price tag, it may be worth buying the Ultimate on sale. Since it’s a new release it isn’t frequently on discount, but there are some sales where you can pick it up for under $1000, which would be a no-brainer in my opinion.
Conclusion
Although both speakers are impressive in their sound, features and volume – the PartyBox Ultimate is going to be preferred by more people. Its deep, powerful bass sets it apart from the Ult Tower 10 and the Ultimate manages to produce this strong bass without sacrificing clarity in the midrange or highs. The inclusion of Wi-Fi is also a strong benefit of the Ultimate, that allows it to be used in ways that the Ult Tower 10 cannot be.
If you’re looking for a powerful speaker for professional or home use, the PartyBox Ultimate is in my opinion, the best Bluetooth speaker out there in this size range.
