Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I'm going to tell you right up front, I'm comparing this Doss speaker to a speaker that *normally* cost more quite a bit more than the SoundBox XL. Why? Well, because like many of the reviews have said, including clavinetjunkie whom I respect tremendously as a product reviewer, this speaker punches above its weight class. It's true! This speaker *does* compete against much more expensive BT speakers! And had I not scored this JBL Xtreme, on sale for only $128 (refurb - Frys), I probably would be blissfully satisfied with this Doss Soundbox XL for a bargain of a price and never looked back. Frys sells manufactured refurbished JBL speakers often so it's not like rare deal - Wait a week or two and you'll see the same advertisement. It took them more than once to get me to finally break down and bite. So without further ado, just how did this $90 Doss Soundbox XL compare to my refurb JBL Xtreme? If you're interested, read on. Do you like bass? No really - do you like *real* bass that's normally only produced by an actual subwoofer? The Doss is your speaker. It is downright amazing what this little speaker can do while being relatively so small. There's a "Test Your Speakers" video on Youtube by "Doctor Mix" and this speaker actually plays sub frequencies at audible levels as low as 20hz! In contrast, the JBL Xtreme doesn't come in until 60hz (and when it does come in, it comes in over-boosted as if to try and make up for the lack of tones prior)! The Doss is capable of playing distinguishable melodic bass tones in your song that only comes out as a repetitive thump in the JBL Xtreme. Rap songs really show off what the Doss SoundBox XL can do. Sounds like a clear winner is Doss right? Again, Read on. Mids, Highs, "Soundstage", "Imaging" "Clarity". All those are, in different ways, related to each other and this is where the JBL Xtreme shows the Doss what it's like to play with the big boys. I played all my favorite songs, ranging from EDM to Alternative Rock, subjected my wife to blind, speaker A vs Speaker B, back and fourth switch tests and it really was no contest. After switching from the JBL Xtreme, mid-song, back to the Doss, it's like the "it's floating in the air" wide imaging/soundstage the JBL Xtreme is putting out has been butterfly-netted and thrown in to a small box. That's literally the best way I can put it. For example, take a very vocal song with acoustic guitars in the background, like Paramore's - The Only Exception and switch back and fourth between the two and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. Build, design, and structural quality: Surprisingly, they take up nearly the same amount of space (see pictures), though the JBL is much heavier. They both require proprietary chargers though the JBL's charger is pushing quite a bit more power allowing you to charge quickly *while playing music*. I know why they rely on proprietary chargers but l wish both could have the option to charge via USB *in addition*. I don't know why they never offer that - seems like an easy compromise and customers would love it, even if the USB option would be slower. Build quality, the JBL is much sturdier, nicer and looks like it would hold up to general wear better. Being water resistant means you can just rinse it off and not worry about it. The Doss has a much more plastic'y feel but come on, you got to remember it's only $90 dollars here. Again, I already warned that this wouldn't be an apples to apples comparison but with everyone agreeing it punches above its weight class against much more expensive speakers, we can't just only talk about the sound quality when we're referring to a "portable" bluetooth speaker. Portable means it's going to get a little beat up and the JBL will fair better, provided your kid doesn't stick a pencil to its expose bass radiators on the sides. ;) Also, be careful with the Doss speaker as it produces so much bass, combined with its low weight, it can vibrate and move across the table and possibly fall over an edge and commit suicide. I would add more sticky pads under it and be mindful of where you place it. Sigh... If only I could combine these two speakers. The bass capabilities of the Doss SoundBox XL and the Mid/Highs & soundstage of the JBL Xtreme would be perfect. At the end, I chose the JBL Xtreme. The bass is just as loud as the Doss, but not capable of getting as low however the wide-open soundstage of the JBL Xtreme (superior DSP perhaps) more than makes up for it and just makes music more enjoyable, frankly. Please don't get me wrong: I don't think the Doss sounds bad. I don't think its sound stage / imaging is terrible, I just think the JBL is that much better. In fact, I would say the Doss SoundBox XL is on par with the another speaker I recently fell in love with and reviewed on Amazon against several speakers: the Anker Soundcore Boost (thanks again to clavinetjunkie's review which pointed me back to Anker to give them another chance). I had to knock off one star though. My Doss SoundBox XL has the same buzzing/rattling sound as a few of the other reviewers had mentioned. I know you can take it apart and fix it but Doss really should resolve that before sending them out. It's only noticeable when up close to the speaker (less than 10 feet) so it may not bother most. Overall I do recommend this speaker, I just wanted to give my two cents on how well it does against a more expensive speaker, in this case, the JBL Xtreme. Btw, against the JBL Flip 3, 4, charge 2 & 3, no contest - this Doss speaker is way better as far as sound quality. Again, bear in mind, ruggedness/portability is not the SoundBox strong point.