Large sound in a large package

The JBL Authentics 300 is a hard-to-justify but easy-to-recommend portable speaker. As paradoxical as that sounds, it has some issues that can easily dissuade, namely its weight and price. But, the performance, design, and feature set overcome those shortcomings as long as you can afford it. The JBL Authentics 300 is good enough to receive mention among the best portable Bluetooth speakers. That’s especially true if you need something powerful enough for a party. It also does a great job with its Alexa support – good enough to possibly replace your Echo or Echo Dot.

Price and availability

More expensive than expected but worth it

The JBL Authentics 300 goes for $450, which is pretty pricey. Maybe it’s the elegant aesthetics, the features, or the voice assistant support. But the cost for this speaker seems more on par with what I would expect with something from Bose or Bang & Olufsen.

Still, I can’t say it’s overpriced, as I think the design and performance justify the price. It’s widely available at such retailers as Amazon and Best Buy. And, at least, it’s not $700 like its big brother, the JBL Authentics 500.

Design and hardware

Elegant and large

There’s something about the black leatherette, gold trim, and textured grille that harkens back to when radios had tubes and were more important than TVs. Just like the radios of yore, this thing is built like a tank. And, like a tank, it’s heavy as hell, making it not quite the most “portable” portable speaker out there at 10.8 lbs. It’s pretty big, too, measuring 13.46 x 7.7 x 7.1 inches. Of course, its size is not surprising considering it uses two 5.25-inch woofers as well as two 25mm tweeters and a large downward-firing passive radiator to produce sound. Physical controls are fairly simple, as there are three knobs for volume, bass, and treble. There are also buttons for power, Bluetooth, and preset, as well as a toggle on the back to turn voice assistant support on and off.

However, those knobs hide a fun little secret. They’re not actually analog knobs, so you can adjust them – an LED ring around each one will change to indicate its level – and then change the settings on your phone or JBL One app, and the previous settings you’ve physically set will have been forgotten in favor of the new ones.

As far as ports go, there’s a limited but adequate number. There’s the power, USB-C (which supports MP3 playback), Aux, and Ethernet. More interestingly, wireless connectivity goes beyond Bluetooth 5.3. The JBL Authentics 300 supports Wi-Fi streaming, so you can use Airplay, Alexa, Chromecast, Spotify Connect, and Tidal Connect.

Features and app

Intuitive app but limited EQ

The JBL One app has some very interesting features hidden in it to go along with the usual. As far as the usual goes, there’s battery life information, what’s playing and some limited control over that, and the EQ section – the most disappointing element of the app and the JBL Authentics features in general.

While it’s not surprising that the app only has three-band EQ, since there are two physical EQ knobs, it’s underwhelming. Cutting or boosting the bass, mid, or treble is fairly drastic, but in a world where most speakers and headphones offer up to ten bands, the control here is very limiting.

At least, there are some useful settings to mess with. You can connect the app to some supported music services for in-app music, meaning you don’t need to open a separate app to use. Moment is a nifty little feature where you use the app to set up a “moment” so that when you press the accompanying button on the speaker or in the app, a set playlist or radio station will start playing at your preferred volume. You can also set up voice assistant support through the app, though you can only choose from Alexa or Google Assistant. You can also set up Wi-Fi streaming, excluding AirPlay, here as well.

Performance and audio quality

Powerful with great sound and assistant support

First things first, the JBL Authentics 300 is loud. After all, it can pump out 100 watts of music. On top of that, thanks to those 5.25-inch woofers, the sound is full without sounding overwhelming in the mid-range. However, I wouldn’t call it balanced, either. This speaker is mid-forward. The high-end is present and detailed but not especially bright. That is surprising, considering the 25mm tweeters. The low-end, however, is impressively huge. Since the bass is getting a lot of help from a downward-firing passive radiator that spans two-thirds of the speaker box, it’s very present with a good amount of kick and rumble.

While it’s not especially wide, the JBL Authentics 300 does have a stereo image and soundstage. The imaging is decent – it’s not hard to place elements that are supposed to be on the left or the right. But, it is naturally limited by its form factor. Just be aware that it trades any possibility of 360-degree sound for that soundstage, so the speaker will sound best when you’re standing somewhere in front of it (some portable speakers go the 360-degree audio route).

Using Alexa or Google Assistant on the speaker is a breeze as it responds swiftly to requests. Using Wi-Fi streaming is also seamless – I was able to test it with Airplay and Alexa. Both allowed me to use my phone independently of what was playing on the JBL Authentics 300 while providing a steady, high-quality signal. And, as far as the Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity, it had very little latency. I was able to use it in conjunction with Netflix without being thrown off by any delay.

Battery and charging

Good but not great

The JBL Authentics 300 has eight hours of battery life on tap. That’s not bad, but certainly not impressive. The previously reviewed Soundcore Motion X600 is almost as loud at 50 watts and offers 12 hours. Of course, functionality like assistant support does affect battery life.

Luckily, you would have to run this speaker for eight hours straight to run it down that quickly, as it will shut off automatically after an hour of inactivity. I was essentially able to use this speaker when going to sleep because of that, as it would eventually follow me into slumber once whatever I was playing stopped. Still, eight hours is just okay for a speaker as big and heavy as this.

The competition

The Soundcore Motion X600 and the Soundcore Motion 300 prove that the competition regarding portable speakers is fiercer than you might think. Both speakers, made by Anker, are very affordable, with the X600 going for $200 and the 300 for $80.

The Soundcore Motion X600 is a much better comparison as it’s quite powerful in its own right, with 50W to the JBL Authentic 300’s 100W. It also has spatial audio, which is a bit of a rarity for portable speakers. Still, its sound quality is a little lower than the JBL, not to mention there’s no voice assistant support.

Should you buy it?

The JBL Authentics 300 is a great speaker with a full, pleasant sound and attractive packaging. It’s also decently featured with its voice assistant support. So, dropping about $450 on it is money well spent. However, you can find options for much less that can get most of the way there, at least in terms of sound quality. It just depends on whether you want a somewhat fuller sound and big bass from the JBL Authentics 300 or are willing to compromise on that (and possibly skip the voice assistant support).