Audiophiles GTFIH - S350DB vs. Party box 300?

[KathleenRyan]

Want a good sound system for my garage gym with strong bass. Garage is/will be fully insulated including the door.

Edifier S350DB or JBL Partybox 300? Two very different types of setups. Portability doesn't matter since they will stay in the garage.

I've never owned anything by either company before. I've tested JBL headphones in the past and have always been disappointed by how "tin can" they sound, and lack of bass. So I'm already leaning towards the Edifier, but was hoping someone may have some insight.

[Lexira]

Sound is very subjective. I advise putting some music you hear a lot on a USB and take it to a local music shop and try both. To make the perfect decision, there is no other way around that.

[KathleenRyan]

Sound is very subjective. I advise putting some music you hear a lot on a USB and take it to a local music shop and try both. To make the perfect decision, there is no other way around that.

Yeah, that's partly why I was hoping someone here would have personal experience with one, or if I was really lucky anyone here that's heard both.

The Edifier system unfortunately isn't available anywhere around me on display or to test. If I remember correctly I did actually test a Partybox briefly at Best Buy when I first saw them a couple months ago, but was on my lunch break doing errands and couldn't really spend a lot of time with it or play any personal music to really get a good idea.

Overall though, again, I know I've never been "blown away" by anything I've heard from JBL so far. Closest Best Buy is now about 30 min away from me, I'll either find time to go out and check the Partybox again or just say **** it and go Edifier.

If anyone has personal experience lmk.

[rubyharo]

Want a good sound system for my garage gym with strong bass. Garage is/will be fully insulated including the door.

Edifier S350DB or JBL Partybox 300? Two very different types of setups. Portability doesn't matter since they will stay in the garage.

I've never owned anything by either company before. I've tested JBL headphones in the past and have always been disappointed by how "tin can" they sound, and lack of bass. So I'm already leaning towards the Edifier, but was hoping someone may have some insight.

Why not buy both? Then return the latter.




I used the party box 300 outdoors. I had it elevated off the ground, sound was really good if you're in the vicinity, but the range is not that big. guessing if it's for like a small gym that won't matter.


As for bass...I pressed the "bass boost" button a couple times and didn't hear or feel a difference. But bass was ok either way.


It also has kinda a fruity appearance / disco style lights.



For the jbl I think the selling point is mostly portability. Battery life is great, and it's bluetooth adapted. It's "truly" wireless. The sd350 iirc the smaller speakers arent wireless.

[KathleenRyan]

Why not buy both? Then return the latter.




I used the party box 300 outdoors. I had it elevated off the ground, sound was really good if you're in the vicinity, but the range is not that big. guessing if it's for like a small gym that won't matter.


As for bass...I pressed the "bass boost" button a couple times and didn't hear or feel a difference. But bass was ok either way.


It also has kinda a fruity appearance / disco style lights.



For the jbl I think the selling point is mostly portability. Battery life is great, and it's bluetooth adapted. It's "truly" wireless. The sd350 iirc the smaller speakers arent wireless.

Tbh this was probably enough to just sell me on the Eddy's, thank you.

The 350DB do support Bluetooth for wireless connections, but otherwise are a normal wired/non-portable 2.1 system - but again the portability doesn't matter for me.

All in all, just seems like the JBL has a lot of features that raise it's price, rather than sound quality, that I'm not interested in.

Thanks guys. Now if I'm lucky I can snag a 350DB set on Black Friday.

[chrsschb]

Buy a stereo receiver, sony 2-channel or something similar.
Pull up marketplace or craigslist and look for some bookshelf/tower speakers from the 80s/90s. Preferably Sony, Cerwin Vega, JBL, etc.

Blow everything you can buy right now out of the water for $100-200.

[lsiberian]

I used to be an audiophile and I wouldn't have been caught dead with either LOL.

I built my own speakers. Research shows that most of audio is psychological so pick the one that makes you happy.

[Ondemand]

Edifier makes some great stuff, definitely get those over JBL's

[KathleenRyan]

Buy a stereo receiver, sony 2-channel or something similar.
Pull up marketplace or craigslist and look for some bookshelf/tower speakers from the 80s/90s. Preferably Sony, Cerwin Vega, JBL, etc.

Blow everything you can buy right now out of the water for $100-200.

I considered this as well and may look into it again - I know you're right.

Part of what draws me to the Eddy's is that they look real clean and it's a complete system with everything needed built in. So it's just simple and easy too, and probably "good enough" for me.

[chrsschb]

I considered this as well and may look into it again - I know you're right.

Part of what draws me to the Eddy's is that they look real clean and it's a complete system with everything needed built in. So it's just simple and easy too, and probably "good enough" for me.

I think if I was just gonna buy something for the garage that was all-in-one I'd be looking at the UE Hyperboom or JBL Boombox. Both around $400 and sound great plus portable. We go tubing and do outdoor riding/camping a lot so I'd probably lean towards the boombox as it's waterproof and floats.

[KathleenRyan]

I think if I was just gonna buy something for the garage that was all-in-one I'd be looking at the UE Hyperboom or JBL Boombox. Both around $400 and sound great plus portable. We go tubing and do outdoor riding/camping a lot so I'd probably lean towards the boombox as it's waterproof and floats.

Just looked up Jim's Review Room for the Hyperboom, and they do seem very solid. They cost $100 more than the Edifier set, but I'll keep this unit in mind as well while I shop around, if I'm able to snag one closer to ~$300 then I probably will. Being able to pair two devices would be convenient, I don't think the S350 can do that.

Edit: So at this point, I think I'd be happy overall with either the Eddy's, Hyperboom, or doing a custom 2.1 - it'll probably just depend on what I find for what price once I'm ready to make the purchase.

[chrsschb]

Just looked up Jim's Review Room for the Hyperboom, and they do seem very solid. They cost $100 more than the Edifier set, but I'll keep this unit in mind as well while I shop around, if I'm able to snag one closer to ~$300 then I probably will. Being able to pair two devices would be convenient, I don't think the S350 can do that.

My buddy has the Altec Lansing ALP-XP800 and I thought about grabbing one so when we're in camp we can pair them together. I'd rather have a better, more personalized setup but that comes with its own slew of issues when deep in the woods.

[elterrible987]

Have neither of those specific models, do have some edifier 2.0's that I use for my PC.

My opinions:

- I think the edifiers for anything in the same price range will be a lot clearer sounding for sure, I think it will get loud enough for a home gym.
- the edifiers you can also spread out wider apart for a better stereo sound effect
- some of the edifiers have cheap ass remotes - the 350db has a nicer quality remote
- I think some of the 2.0 systems, especially with 5" speakers, will have enough bass to not need a subwoofer and might be better because will also have better sound quality


- the JBL primary advantage is its portable so you could take it with you to picnics ect if you wanted, so dual purposed
- its not really good to leave lithium ion batteries in the heat, so if your garage is uncooled in the south or during the summers it can shorten the battery life
- the sound quality/clarity might not really matter much for just working out, though filling the room you might want to have the speakers set further apart for it to be more even, instead of just coming from one side.
(example youre on the bench press and if the speaker is off to one side you only going to hear the sound mostly coming from that direction, vs hearing it more spread out)


tldr - i think the edifiers are a lot better, i wouldnt recommend the JBL unless you want to use it as a dual purpose and will take it out on the boat or camping or whatever too.