I just tested Soundboks’ portable party speaker — and it’s so close to be being great

Sometimes, a small speaker isn’t loud enough to soundtrack an evening with friends or a big party. You need a party speaker for that, and the Soundboks Mix is a solid choice. Soundboks’ portable party speaker is built extremely well and is protected against the elements, thanks to its IP65 rating. The sound? Nearly exquisite. The Mix delivers powerful, Earth-shaking bass, vibrant treble, and precise, balanced mids.

But is it the best Bluetooth speaker for the money? It costs $799 and features some noteworthy flaws, such as wobbly bass at high volumes, Bluetooth 4.2 only, no 360° sound, and more. If those are compromises you’re willing to make, then the Mix could be perfect for you. Trust me, it sounds really, really good.

For the complete breakdown, read my full Soundboks Mix review.

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Soundboks Mix review: Specs

Soundboks Mix review: Price & availability

Launched in March 2026, the Soundboks Mix is the Soundboks 4’s smaller sibling, and it effectively replaces the Soundboks Go as the brand’s most portable party speaker — it’s priced as such too. While the 4 costs $999, the Mix retails for $799 / £599 at Amazon. Given how loud it gets, the Mix is a great party speaker for anyone who doesn’t want to spend nearly a grand on the bigger model.

The Mix is Soundboks’ answer to the Marshall Bromley 450 ($799) and the JBL PartyBox 520 ($879). It’s got the specs and sound to go toe-to-toe with the Bromley 450, too, but is it worth buying instead of the Marshall? I've reviewed both, so let’s find out.

Soundboks Mix review: Design

The Soundboks Mix looks very similar to the Soundboks 4 — similar to how the Marshall Bromley 450 and Marshall Bromley 750 ($1,299) share design philosophies. You’re getting bang for your buck here as the Mix feels very well-built, featuring an ABS and polycarbonate cabinet, silicone ball corners to protect it from getting damaged, and a detachable steel grill. All in all, it feels sturdy and durable.

The Mix doesn’t sport any garish LED lighting that makes it look tacky, like on the JBL PartyBox 520 — although I do wish it had some integrated stage lights, like the Bromley 450 does. Branding is fairly minimal too, with the logo sitting in the top left corner. You can buy the speaker in black only, which is no bad thing; the Bromley 450 and PartyBox 520 come in single colors too.

As Soundboks’ most compact party speaker, the Mix doesn’t feel too heavy and doesn’t take up much space either. It measures 18.9 x 13.4 x 10.6 inches and weighs 21.38lbs, so it’s about 5lbs lighter than the Bromley 450. To move it around, you can use the built-in carry handle, which is fine, but because there’s only one located in one corner, the Mix feels a little unwieldy to move around. This problem could have been easily solved by installing a suitcase-style handle smack dab in the middle of its side, à la Bromley 450.

But hey, you can buy a strap to turn the Mix into a backpack… for $59. And it doesn’t come with a charger... which you can also buy separately for $59. The Mix feels to speakers what EA is to gaming: full of microtransactions.

Weatherproofing

If you want a rugged party speaker that you can use outdoors without worrying too much about it getting rained on, the Mix is a great choice. The speaker is IP65-rated which means it’s fully dust-tight and protected against rain and moisture. That’s slightly better than the Marshall Bromley 450 which is IP55-rated. When I was testing the Mix outdoors, it started drizzling and knowing that the speaker was IP65-rated reassured me.

Controls

There isn’t a lot going on in terms of controls on the Mix. All the physical buttons and volume dial are located on the speaker’s right edge, and these include the volume knob, TeamUp button for wirelessly linking up to five Soundboks speakers together, and the power button for, well, turning the speaker on and off. That’s about it. The buttons give good tactile feedback when pressed, and are fairly straightforward to understand.

Connectivity

The Mix utilizes Bluetooth 4.2 to connect wirelessly to your smartphone, laptop or other devices, and it features multipoint connectivity for simultaneously connecting up to two devices. Bluetooth 4.2 is disappointing, though, as it means there’s limited codec support, so you only get the standard SBC codec. No AAC and no LE audio, unfortunately.

This older version also limits the speaker’s maximum operating range to 40m only. Not great for a party speaker. What if you’re soundtracking a big gathering and you’re far away from the speaker, and the connection drops when you move out of range? That’s one way to kill the mood.

In comparison, the Marshall Bromley 450 utilizes the newer Bluetooth 5.3 with support for AAC and LC3, and sports many more connectivity options, such as RCA and two XLR/6.35mm combo jacks for plugging in instruments or microphones. One thing the Mix and Bromley 450 have in common, though, is 3.5mm wired playback. But if you want a versatile party speaker, I’d choose the Bromley 450 any day.

Like I alluded to earlier, there's a TeamUp button on the Mix for wirelessly connecting up to five Soundboks speakers. There's also a Bond button with arrows, located right under the TeamUp button. When it lights up in green, it means the speaker is connected to another speaker it has been linked to in the past. You can also become the "Host" when other speakers are connected to yours, and control them via the smartphone app (more on that shortly).

Soundboks Mix review: Sound quality

There’s no dearth of tech squeezed into the Soundboks Mix’s portable body. It packs two 72W Class D amplifiers powered by a 10-inch woofer and a 1.2-inch dome tweeter. It can go all the way up to 121dB — a little louder than the Marshall Bromley 450 (100dB). The Mix covers a frequency response range of 40Hz to 20KHz, which is typical for party speakers as it delivers crisp highs and deep bass, perfect for pop, rock, EDM, what-have-you. I listened to my usual mix of testing songs on Qobuz, the best music streaming service for hi-res audio.

To test the Mix’s midrange performance, I listened to ‘First Light’ by Lana Del Rey, and I was instantly impressed. Lana’s vocals sat front and centre with remarkable clarity, and the speaker captured and accurately reproduced the warmth, texture and emotional nuance that define the James Bond theme song. Subtle details in her delivery, such as her short, sharp breaths, shone without sounding too clinical or like they were piercing through the soundscape. I also appreciated the Mix preserving the tonal balance even at the highest volume — the track never once sounded distorted, and it still sounded engaging and cinematic.

There’s nothing the Mix can’t handle, and it manages to deliver vibrant treble without making it sound too overzealous. The psychedelic/electronic guitar notes landed with impressive clarity and shimmered in ‘Elma’ by Yin Yin, while the drums’ hi-hats added depth to the track without becoming harsh or fatiguing.

Similarly, in Pink Floyd’s ‘Echoes,’ I thoroughly enjoyed the delicate balance between cymbal work and the ambient or atmospheric sound effects. The Mix added a brilliant airiness to the track, making me feel like I was there with the band as they recorded the song at Pompeii.

But this is a party speaker, after all, so I had to test it by listening to an electronic track you can dance to. ‘Lights Burn Dimmer’ by Fred Again and Jaime T highlights the Mix’s greatest strength: bass. With the EQ set to Indoor, the bass sounds very controlled and tight, giving the track a great backbone without overpowering the rest of the soundstage. I then tried the Bass+ EQ preset which turns the bass all the way up to 10.

While the song still sounded powerful and the bass was room-filling, I couldn’t help but notice that the bassline sounded wobbly, like it was too much for the Mix to handle. This was indoors so I tried this preset outdoors, and the bass still sounded slightly muddy — an issue I never encountered when testing the Marshall Bromley 450.

It’s also important to note that the Mix doesn’t feature 360° surround sound, which means that you can only really appreciate music when standing directly in front of the speaker. If you want a more immersive listening experience, and want your party guests to be able to hear your tunes regardless of where they’re standing, I’d recommend the Bromley 450 which features True Stereophonic 360° sound.

Listen along to my review with the Soundboks Mix testing playlist:

Soundboks Mix review: App

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The Soundboks Mix is accompanied by the brand’s app for all its speakers, and it’s available for free on iOS and Android. This is one area in which the Mix upstages the Marshall Bromley 450. The Bromley 450’s app is decent but not great, and the Mix offers a lot more in terms of customization.

Via the user-friendly app, you can make adjustments to the five-band custom equalizer, choose one of three EQ presets, control other Soundboks speakers you’ve paired with the Mix, control the volume, and, of course, update the firmware. I also like that the EQ presets have quirky descriptions. For instance, the Bass+ preset is described as, “More bass, just like you wanted. Yes, you.” I dig it.

Soundboks Mix review: Battery life

The Soundboks Mix offers superb battery life as it can last up to 40 hours between charges. Battery life will naturally depend on the volume and EQ presets, and happily, the app tells you how long the speaker will last when certain EQ presets are active. If you’re playing at full volume or have the Bass+ preset enabled, the battery life drops to eight hours. You can use any USB-C cable to charge the Mix.

Both the Marshall Bromley 750 and the Marshall Bromley 450 also pack 40-hour batteries. The Mix upstages the JBL PartyBox 520’s 15-hour and the Sony ULT Tower 9’s 25-hour batteries, too.

Similar to both the Bromleys, the Mix’s battery pack is removable and it can even be used to charge your smartphone, laptop and other devices. This is a handy feature to have especially if you’re out and about and not near a charging outlet.

Soundboks Mix review: Verdict

The Soundboks Mix isn’t without its compromises, but when it comes to sound quality, it still delivers a wonderful listening experience. Party speakers need to put out big sound, and the Mix can get incredibly loud without distortion. Earth-shaking bass is balanced well with detailed treble and mids, and though the bass can get a little wobbly at high volumes, it’s still enjoyable.

Designed to withstand the elements, the Mix is IP65-rated and is reinforced to stand the test of time. That said, for the same price of $799, the Marshall Bromley 450 offers better value for money. More ports for hooking up instruments, better connectivity thanks to Bluetooth 5.3, and 360° sound.

If all you want is full-bodied sound, the Mix is a great choice, but the extra versatility of similarly-priced rivals stops it achieving one of our very highest scores.