So Much Fun, I Want Another

I didn’t think I wanted party speakers, but the JLab Pop Party have shown me I was wrong. These light-up Bluetooth speakers are immensely portable and fun, with both sound and a price that leaves little reason to complain.

Price and Availability

The JLab Pop Party is a $20 Bluetooth speaker available directly from JLab. It currently comes in black with blue accents, though the review unit I have is light blue with orange highlights.

Ready to Go Wherever You Do

What does it mean to be the life of the party? On the one hand, it means being the source of entertainment. It also means that the party goes wherever you go. That is true of the JLab Pop Party more so than your typical tiny Bluetooth speaker.

This device is round and lightweight enough to easily fit in an open palm. A plastic loop extends from one end that allows the speaker to hang from any number of things, such as the handlebars of a bike. You can just as easily loop it to a backpack, a fence, a deck trailing, the back of a chair, or a door handle. For a few days now, I’ve hung it from a handle in my kitchen, pumping Chillhop and Lo-Fi Girl while I pack lunches for my kids. Not exactly a party, but it does liven up what is not exactly the most fun time of day.

Except, to my surprise, that wasn’t even the easiest way to mount the speaker. Thanks to the magnets on the back, I can just slap this speaker onto the side of my fridge.

With an IP55 Rating, the JLab Pop Party can handle being caught in a rain shower, but it may not survive a dip in the pool. It’ll likely be fine in a situation where someone is spraying others with water on a hot summer’s day and happens to hit the speaker. With moderate dust protection, it’s decently safe to take to the beach.

A light snakes around the front of the speaker, changing color in tune with whatever sound is emanating out. There’s a power button on the bottom underneath a plastic flap that also hides the USB-C port that charges your device.

You’ll need to become familiar with this port, too. The device only lasts up to eight hours, thanks to its relatively small 2,000mAh battery. That number goes down to five hours if you have the RGB lights on. With an hour or two of use each day, the speaker gave me a low battery alert on the third day. Keep in mind that the default setting is to wait 30 minutes after you stop streaming audio before turning itself off.

Impressive Sound for the Price

Like the JLab Go Party speakers that cost 50% more than this smaller Pop Party speaker, the sound quality is good for what you’re paying. Don’t expect the deepest bass or for a single speaker to fill the backyard. That’s not what your $20 is going to buy you, as this is a 5-watt speaker at the end of the day.

What your $20 does get you is a substantial bump up from trying to fill a room with music playing off your phone’s speakers, even if your phone’s speakers are excellent. It’s also a way to listen to music outdoors without necessarily disrupting the neighbors. This is thanks to the two-inch drivers and the two-inch woofers that JLab has managed to pack inside a device that is only slightly longer than my pointer finger.

A perk of speakers this cheap is that you might actually be able to afford to sync up to 100 speakers together. You could get over a dozen of these little speakers for the price of a single Bose SoundLink Plus and find yourself with a whole-home sound system plus speakers to spare for the outdoors.

The Front of This Speaker Is Mostly Lights

Yes, this is a speaker, and sound quality is the most important thing—but most of us aren’t audiophiles. Many people in my life would not be able to tell the difference between this and a speaker three times the price without comparing them side-by-side. This one sounds fine.

What stands out more are the lights. Out of the box, the lights sync with the music, flashing alongside the heavy and high notes. There are five other variations for the lights that you can cycle between by double tapping the power button, but more expansive settings are available within the JLab app.

Inside the app, you can adjust the speed and brightness of the lighting. The app will also let you select precisely which seven colors, from a spectrum, you would like the speaker to cycle between. You can also turn the light off completely and extend your battery life.

Should You Buy the JLab Pop Party?

If you want the best-sounding speaker, you’re going to want something bigger, and you’re going to want to set your budget higher than $20. But it’s hard to be upset with the combination of quality and features on offer here.

The JLab Pop Party is one of the more enjoyable Bluetooth speakers I’ve used. It’s small and light enough to take anywhere, with a loop mechanism and magnets that make this speaker easy to place wherever you want it. The lights are fun when you want them and easy to turn off when you don’t. And the price is low enough to recommend to just about anyone, regardless of their age.