JBL Partybox 330 vs Sony ULT Tower 9: Which Is Better? (2026)

Q: Should I buy the JBL Partybox 330 or the Sony ULT Tower 9?

Buy the JBL Partybox 330 if you want a class-leading party speaker with some water resistance and TV/karaoke inputs, and can accept that it is not meaningfully louder or cleaner sounding than JBL’s own cheaper models. Buy the Sony ULT Tower 9 if you specifically want the larger tower format and longer battery life, but go in knowing our notes flag its bass as a weak point at volume.

Short answer: these are not really in the same size class, so the honest answer depends on which class you are shopping. The JBL Partybox 330 ranks #2 of 44 party speakers at $629.95, while the Sony ULT Tower 9 ranks #10 of 13 large party speakers at $898.

JBL Partybox 330 vs Sony ULT Tower 9

The Partybox 330 tops its entire class, and its own notes call out that its sound is nearly identical to the cheaper 310 and Stage 320 despite the power bump to 280W, so the bump alone is not the reason to buy it. What it does add over those models is an optical TV input with USB-C lossless playback, plus dual microphone and guitar inputs for karaoke and live sets. The tradeoff is losing the dedicated mic gain and control knobs those older models had.

The ULT Tower 9 sits lower in its own class, and its listed cons are specific: it does not go as deep in the bass and loses more bass at high volume than even the cheaper Partybox speakers, dropping off further as you turn it up. Its one credited strength is sounding slightly better than the ULT Tower 10. It does bring more driver count (seven drivers including a large 12.6 inch woofer and rear tweeters) and longer battery life at 25 hours against the Partybox 330’s 18.

Water resistance is not close: the Partybox 330 carries an IPX4 splash rating, while the ULT Tower 9 has no IP rating at all.

Everything else roughly lines up: both offer an app, aux input, karaoke-style microphone input with echo, guitar input, a USB power bank function, and Auracast-based multi-speaker party mode.

Buy the JBL Partybox 330 if you want a class-leading party speaker with some water resistance and TV/karaoke inputs, and can accept that it is not meaningfully louder or cleaner sounding than JBL’s own cheaper models.

Buy the Sony ULT Tower 9 if you specifically want the larger tower format and longer battery life, but go in knowing our notes flag its bass as a weak point at volume.

Water resistance is not close: the JBL Partybox 330 is rated at IPX4 (splashing), well ahead of the Sony ULT Tower 9 at no water resistance.

Looking for alternatives? See the complete Portable Bluetooth rankings.

Check JBL Partybox 330 price at Amazon ($629.95) →Check Sony ULT Tower 9 price at Amazon ($898.00) →

Specifications Side By Side

	JBL Partybox 330	Sony ULT Tower 9
Price	$629.95	$898.00
Ranked	#2 of 44 in Party Size Portable Bluetooth Speakers	#10 of 13 in Large Party Size Portable Bluetooth Speakers
App	Yes	Yes
Aux Input	Yes	Yes
Battery Life	18 hours (Manufacturer specified)	25 hours (Manufacturer specified)
Bluetooth	Yes	Yes
Bluetooth Codecs	SBC	SBC, AAC, LDAC
Bluetooth Version	6.0	5.3
Charging Time	3 hours	-
Drivers	2x 6.5” (165mm) woofers + 2x 1” (25mm) PEN dome tweeters	7 drivers: 1x 12.6”x12.6” woofer, 2x 4.7” midrange, 2x 2” tweeter, 2x 1.6” rear tweeter
EQ	Yes (Smart EQ mode)	Yes (10 band)
Guitar Input	Yes	Yes
IP Rating	IPX4	None
Microphone Input	Yes (Karaoke mode with echo effect)	Yes (Karaoke mode with echo effect)
Inputs	Optical	-
Party Mode	Yes (Auracast)	Yes (Auracast up to 100 speakers)
Power Bank	Yes (USB-C, 5V/1A)	Yes (USB-A, 5V/1.5A)
Power Input	AC Power cord	AC Power cord
Removable Battery	Yes	No
Stereo	Partially	Yes
Omnidirectional	No	No
TWS	Yes	Yes
USB Playback	Yes	Yes
Weight	37.7 lbs (17.1 kg)	65.3 lbs (29.6 kg)
Amplifier Power	280W	148W
Digital Aux Input	No	No
Lights	Yes	Yes
Wheels	Yes	-
Dimensions	26.1”H x 13.1”W x 14.8”D (662.5 x 334 x 375 mm)	16.1” x 35.8” x 18” (410 x 910 x 456 mm)
Strap	No	No
Built-in Microphone	-	No
Wi-Fi	-	No

Check JBL Partybox 330 price at Amazon ($629.95) →Check Sony ULT Tower 9 price at Amazon ($898.00) →

More worthwhile head-to-heads for JBL Partybox 330:

Prices on this page were last checked October 4, 2026 at 9:58 PM UTC. Product prices and availability are accurate as of that date/time and are subject to change; the price and availability shown on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

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The Two Speakers In Full

JBL Partybox 330: $629.95 Amazon B&H Photo Video eBay

Older models: the JBL Partybox Stage 320 (ranked lower, rated 4.6/5), the JBL Partybox 310 (ranked lower, rated 4.5/5) and the JBL Partybox 300 (ranked lower, rated 4.3/5).

Pros: A highly complete rolling party speaker: removable battery, telescoping handle and wheels, light show, Auracast, USB-C lossless and optical inputs, plus dual mic/guitar inputs. It supplies a little more power than the JBL Partybox 310 and JBL Partybox Stage 320, while reviewers report better midrange clarity than the older JBL Partybox 310 and the same deep party-speaker bass.

Cons: It remains very large and heavy, and the sound improvement over the JBL Partybox Stage 320 is modest rather than transformational. JBL removed the dedicated mic gain/control knobs found on earlier models, a real drawback for frequent karaoke use. Do not upgrade from a JBL Partybox 310 or JBL Partybox Stage 320 just for the higher watt figure.

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Full JBL Partybox 330 review and specifications →

Amplifier Power	280W
App	Yes
Aux Input	Yes
Battery Life	18 hours (Manufacturer specified)
Bluetooth	Yes
Bluetooth Codecs	SBC
Bluetooth Version	6.0
Charging Time	3 hours
Digital Aux Input	No
Dimensions	26.1”H x 13.1”W x 14.8”D (662.5 x 334 x 375 mm)
Drivers	2x 6.5” (165mm) woofers + 2x 1” (25mm) PEN dome tweeters
EQ	Yes (Smart EQ mode)
Guitar Input	Yes
IP Rating	IPX4
Inputs	Optical
Lights	Yes
Microphone Input	Yes (Karaoke mode with echo effect)
Omnidirectional	No
Party Mode	Yes (Auracast)
Power Bank	Yes (USB-C, 5V/1A)
Power Input	AC Power cord
Removable Battery	Yes
Stereo	Partially
Strap	No
TWS	Yes
USB Playback	Yes
Weight	37.7 lbs (17.1 kg)
Wheels	Yes

Check current price at Amazon ($629.95) →Check current price at B&H Photo Video →Search eBay for JBL Partybox 330 →

Sony ULT Tower 9: $898.00 Amazon eBay

Older model: the Sony SRS-XV900 (ranked lower, rated 3.7/5).

Pros: Slightly better sounding than the ULT Tower 10

Cons: Not as deep of bass and loses more bass at high volume even compared to the lower end Partybox speakers. Bass drops off a lot at higher volumes. Not quite as loud as the ULT Tower 10

Full Sony ULT Tower 9 review and specifications →

Amplifier Power	148W
App	Yes
Aux Input	Yes
Battery Life	25 hours (Manufacturer specified)
Bluetooth	Yes
Bluetooth Codecs	SBC, AAC, LDAC
Bluetooth Version	5.3
Built-in Microphone	No
Digital Aux Input	No
Dimensions	16.1” x 35.8” x 18” (410 x 910 x 456 mm)
Drivers	7 drivers: 1x 12.6”x12.6” woofer, 2x 4.7” midrange, 2x 2” tweeter, 2x 1.6” rear tweeter
EQ	Yes (10 band)
Guitar Input	Yes
IP Rating	None
Lights	Yes
Microphone Input	Yes (Karaoke mode with echo effect)
Omnidirectional	No
Party Mode	Yes (Auracast up to 100 speakers)
Power Bank	Yes (USB-A, 5V/1.5A)
Power Input	AC Power cord
Removable Battery	No
Stereo	Yes
Strap	No
TWS	Yes
USB Playback	Yes
Weight	65.3 lbs (29.6 kg)
Wi-Fi	No

Check current price at Amazon ($898.00) →Search eBay for Sony ULT Tower 9 →

FeaturedJBL Partybox 330Amazon • $629.95

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Specifications Side By Side

Related Speaker Comparisons

The Two Speakers In Full

JBL Partybox 330: $629.95 Amazon B&H Photo Video eBay

Sony ULT Tower 9: $898.00 Amazon eBay