Review: JuiceBoom 360 Bluetooth Speaker

We all love music on the go, and with the weather being so lovely lately and most of us enjoying our lockdown gardens, you might be looking for a portable Bluetooth speaker. We got a chance to check out the latest from mobile accessory brand Juice.

In this review, we are looking at the Juiceboom 360. On first impressions it’s a great little speaker that is very affordable at only £29.99 and comes in just the colour black. The main features of this speaker are:

• 8 hours of playtime or up to 10 hours via a wired connection

• IPX5 rated

• 10m Bluetooth range

Inside the packaging, you get quite a few accessories with this speaker such as:

• Micro USB cable

• 3.5mm AUX cable

• Fabric pouch to keep the speaker safe when not in use.

This speaker is about the same size as a large can of baked beans (89x89x106mm). It’s made of plastic with a plastic rim around the top and the bottom of the speaker that is designed so the speaker will stay where you want it because of the shape of the plastic either end. You then have the middle section of the speaker covered in a mesh covering around the speaker with 4 rubberised buttons on the front.

The buttons on the front do the following:

• Circle with small line – Power button/ Bluetooth pairing

• Minus Sign- Decrease volume/skip back a track

• Plus Sign- Skip forward a track/ Increase volume

• Pause/Play sign – allows you to answer calls as well as play/Pause.

On the back of the speaker you have a rubber cover that when lifted has the following:

• AUX import

• Micro SD Card

• USB-A Port

• Micro USB port

The overall design of this speaker is well built and nothing gives you the impression it’s a budget speaker apart from the amount of plastic used in the build.

What I did notice and I thought was a very odd thing to do with a speaker is Juice has changed the way you normally increase or decrease volume and change tracks. They now make made you hold the plus or minus symbols for a few seconds and that controls the volume. Whereas a quick tap will change the track. This just feels a little backwards as most speakers I have tested its the other way and I have to say it can become a little annoying as a quick tap on what you think is the volume increase changes the track. Why would you do this?

Sound-wise this speaker comes with a 5W speaker that pumps sound out in a 360-degree angle as well as from the open-top where you can see sub on display.

I have played all the normal songs I play in a review and my opinion about the speaker is it does offer a rich overall sound profile that gives you a low-end base when the sound is about 50%. However, when you pump up the speaker to the max volume the highs just feel a little distorted and the overall sound feels a little tinny.

However, if you play this speaker at up to 60% volume you will enjoy it If you take speaker down the beach or by that inflatable pool we have all bought for the garden in the recent heatwave. It comes IPX5 rated which means it will be able to handle a sustained low-pressure water jet or in normal life, if you happen to bump in the pool and splash the speaker it will be fine. Just don’t drop the speaker in the pool otherwise it’s dead.  The Speaker also has a 10m Bluetooth range which means you can connect it to your phone but won’t need to be close to the speaker for it to work.

This speaker also allows you to answer a call via the play button and the call quality when tested was decent call quality, so I can’t complain.

So to conclude, for under £30 this is going to be that beach speaker you can take on holiday that can handle being dropped or even the odd splash of water and if you lose it then it’s not a big dent in the wallet.

It’s got a decent design and the audio quality is average but for the money you spend you can’t expect the quality you would get with a speaker that costs over the £100 mark. However, this speaker is designed for the family in mind who just want some music on the go and don’t want to spend the earth on a speaker and it’s this reason why you should buy this speaker for your next trip away.

Product Ratings: 

Design – 4 Stars

Features – 2 Stars

Audio Quality – 3 Stars

Value for Money – 4 Stars

Overall rating: 3.25 stars

JuiceBoom 360 – RRP £29.99 available from Tesco in September