JBL Eon One Compact Battery Powered Portable Pa System w/ Bluetooth

JBL EON ONE Compact PA System reviewI’ve reviewed upwards of 30 products here, but none has brought me the joy this JBL Eon ONE Compact has after a couple weeks of ownership.First as a Bluetooth speaker.The unit was delivered just as I was about to shower. Why not Jam some Music right quick? I hastily opened the box, placed the Eon ONE on the bathroom counter, power cord to the wall (unit ships without charge on the battery, 2.5 hours to full),The whole process is incredibly intuitive, literally press power, then Ch Select Input to Ch 4 Aux, and tap Bluetooth button next to it. Sync your phone or iPad, pick your music and Rock out. No manual needed to get up and running in a pinch.Sound quality is crystal-clear, strong and solid. I own several other ... MoreJBL EON ONE Compact PA System reviewI’ve reviewed upwards of 30 products here, but none has brought me the joy this JBL Eon ONE Compact has after a couple weeks of ownership.First as a Bluetooth speaker.The unit was delivered just as I was about to shower. Why not Jam some Music right quick? I hastily opened the box, placed the Eon ONE on the bathroom counter, power cord to the wall (unit ships without charge on the battery, 2.5 hours to full),The whole process is incredibly intuitive, literally press power, then Ch Select Input to Ch 4 Aux, and tap Bluetooth button next to it. Sync your phone or iPad, pick your music and Rock out. No manual needed to get up and running in a pinch.Sound quality is crystal-clear, strong and solid. I own several other Bluetooth speakers. But none pumped the music over the glass shower door like this. I could feel the bass but also with a tweak of the treble control, I could intelligibly make out vocal lyrics loud and clear, despite the shower head “WHOOSH” that usually drowns out other speakers I’ve tried.As a musicians output deviceAs a guitar player I find it best to avoid impedance mismatches whenever possible.Here is a sample Input channel layoutCh 1 offers Phantom Power (required for condenser microphones )Ch 2 also combo XLR , dynamic mic or instrumentCh 3 employs a 1/4-inch Hi-Z instrument input (guitar, bass, keyboard)Ch 4 aux input w/ “Ducking” feature, quiets backing audio for voice micConnection can be direct from an instrument (guitar, keyboard, etc) or indirect from say a laptop running Logic Pro X 10.5, Ableton Live, or Main Stage 3. This option on a 2015 MBP really let me sculpt my tone with custom IRs (impulse responses)JBL claims 6 total inputs (2 are combo XLR- ¼” ) but you can connect multiple sources, say microphone on Ch 1, keyboard Ch 2, Guitar Ch 3, and Aux on Ch 4. With one master volume it took me a minute to learn how to enter “MIX MODE”.To enter MIX MODE - Press and hold Ch Select for 2-seconds. Now the 4 knobs prev for gain, treble, bass, reverb, control the volume for respective inputs 1, 2, 3, and 4 (as marked Mix Mode in the right most column)Power users however will get benefit (necessity) from the JBL Compact Connect app. It’s imperative to get the latest release, early June or later that resolves a firmware update that plagued pre 5.0.8 firmware, now 5.1.1 as of this writing.https://apps.apple.com/us/app/jbl-compact-connect/id1464116044Here you are put in charge of the four-channel digital mixer, and have bidirectional control of volume with visible feedback, plus the other features available from the units’ device controls are adjustable onscreen.One scenario where App control can be a game changer is in a live setting (I remember when we had live music). Pop open the app and you have remote EQ capability, without the need to disrupt guests and physically locate yourself next to the speaker for tweaks.I’ve had limited experience with Bose S1 Pro and Fender PA systems, but with more inputs, longer battery life (no Bose S1 ‘battery drain’ issue here), yet costing less money, this JBL EON ONE Compact is a winner.POSSIBLE USAGES-————-————-_ Small Venue Concerts_ Parties, Raffles, Bingo_ Fitness Instructors_ Religious Worship_ DJ live events_ Outdoor buskin gigs_ Weddings, receptions_ Karaoke parties_ Professional sounds engagements_Life of the Party Bluetooth Speaker (portable outdoors)PROS———JBL Compact Connect App pluses+ JBL Compact Connect app (link above) is a game changer+ maintain linkages to multiple units (up to 4 EON Ones)+ 4-channel input mixer - mic, line-level, phantom pwr (ch 1), Duck (ch 4)+ full EQ equalization controls including Flat, Speech, Music and Perf presets+ 8-band EQ with gain, frequency, and width faders+ FX Send and FX Return level adjustment knobs+ Reverb (on/off, room size S M L and level of reverb)+ Delay (on/off, time and amount of delay in the mix)+ Chorus (on/off, oscillation speed and level)+ Mix Mode - hold Ch select 2-seconds, for discrete vol control of ch 1-4+ Save 8 Snapshot configurations (7 + factory defaults)+ Firmware updateable via app, 5.0.8 —> 5.1.1 as of reviewJBL EON Compact One Physical Hardware+ BATTERY LIFE is AMAZING+ Crisp clean distortion-free sound+ Sexy, Sleek, and Portable, amazing appeal+ Omni-directional speakers prevent sound localization+ One Touch Ducking dims bg music for enhanced voice clarity+ Auto Power-save Standby mode, wakes via BlueTooth streaming+ Sound quality blows Bose FS1 out of the water imho+ 120 watt, 112 decibel output, much louder than Bose.+ 1” high-frequency horn tweeter for crystal-clear top end+ 8” LF low-frequency woofer, deep bass extension to 37.5 Hz bottom+ 48-volt phantom power for condenser mics on input 2+ ¼ inch Hi-Z input for guitar and bass instruments+ 4-channel mixer, 8-band EQ, onboard digital effects, chorus, delay, reverb+ 6 total inputs - (2) XLR combo ¼ inch, (1) ⅛ inch 3.5mm aux, (1) RCA stereo+ Wire free Bluetooth 5.0 , useful at parties or when dancing is involved+ (TWO 2) USB 3.0 high-speed ports to charge your iPad, iPhone, etc+ Simply astounded, even for corded, but it’s BATTERY POWERED for 12-hours !!+ New Firmware 5.1.1 now allows charging when the unit is OFF+ Upright Vertical speaker or Horizontal monitor placement+ Headphone jack for private monitoring of sources+ Wireless Sync between up to 4 units+ Weights under 18 poundsCONS———-No XLR line outs (RCA only)-not as powerful as dedicated tube guitar amp-It could benefit from external mixer for complex gigs-horizontal placement could benefit from adjustable support-intermittent Bluetooth drops (near dead iPad battery likely culprit)-possible problems w/ BT Broadcast to stereo units from app (not tested)-iPhone 8 and newer devices with BT 5.0 seem to maintain better connectivity-FX delay, chorus, reverb are Global, can not isolate reverb voice and guitar chorus-too many Pros to list, now I want another one for stereo (or three more for quad)-JBL should offer 2 and 4 pack bundles, and packages that include PA StandsCONCLUSIONThis unit is nothing short of amazing; features, portability, sound quality. Incredible versatility. I use it with a mic, and either an acoustic guitar straight in, or an electric guitar processed by Overloud’s amazing TH-U iPad amp sim. The family enjoy Karaoke on it, and kids use it as a super powerful portable Bluetooth sound system.

Owned this product for about a month in December 2020. Sounds fine but had some major issues. The main problem is that much of the functionality of this speaker is tied in to the app. I consistently had issues in multiple areas with the app. To get the most of the speaker it has to be EQd, depending on the situation. Here the app failed miserably. I would set the EQ and save the settings, but the app refused to keep the settings. It would randomly disconnect and repeated attempts to reconnect would fail until finally, at some point, it would connect again. Once reconnected, EQ would reset and since settings wouldn't really save, it had to be manually EQd every single time. It was impossible to maintain a consistent sound. I also had some issues with the halo lights ... MoreOwned this product for about a month in December 2020. Sounds fine but had some major issues. The main problem is that much of the functionality of this speaker is tied in to the app. I consistently had issues in multiple areas with the app. To get the most of the speaker it has to be EQd, depending on the situation. Here the app failed miserably. I would set the EQ and save the settings, but the app refused to keep the settings. It would randomly disconnect and repeated attempts to reconnect would fail until finally, at some point, it would connect again. Once reconnected, EQ would reset and since settings wouldn't really save, it had to be manually EQd every single time. It was impossible to maintain a consistent sound. I also had some issues with the halo lights used to indicate gain/volume. Sometimes they made sense (100% full halo meant 100% volume). Other times it made no sense (70% full halo meant 100% volume). This speaker has potential, but until the firmware/app are fixed, it's just a pain to use.

The JBL Eon Compact One is a really nice quality piece of kit! From the first time you hold it you can feel how solid the build is. Couple this with its compact form factor, sleek design and well thought out inputs and controls and its a winner.And once you add the JBL app into the equation it moves into a different league entirely! One big plus with this unit is the fact that as well as being able to add separate EQ to all of mic and instrument inputs (either 2 band manually or 7 band using the app) you can also add that same level of EQ to the auxilliary channel which means you can also EQ backing tracks or background music whether you connect up through a cable or the great onboard bluetooth! The battery life is good and because its a Lithium Ion battery it ... MoreThe JBL Eon Compact One is a really nice quality piece of kit! From the first time you hold it you can feel how solid the build is. Couple this with its compact form factor, sleek design and well thought out inputs and controls and its a winner.And once you add the JBL app into the equation it moves into a different league entirely! One big plus with this unit is the fact that as well as being able to add separate EQ to all of mic and instrument inputs (either 2 band manually or 7 band using the app) you can also add that same level of EQ to the auxilliary channel which means you can also EQ backing tracks or background music whether you connect up through a cable or the great onboard bluetooth! The battery life is good and because its a Lithium Ion battery it keeps the weight down nicely. The ability to take a snapshot of your settings for a particular location is great as this means that when you return to that same location uou can simply recall your EQ settings by a touch of a button in the app, a great way to save set up time! My only real dislike about the unit is the fact that despite JBL claiming that its the loudest in category, like all of these small amps it could do with a little more volume but for most busking or small indoor events where you don't need to lift the roof this is a great quality solution! Up to FOUR of these can be linked and controlled by one device and all can be individually adjusted too so you can cover virtually any situation and if you have other active speakers there's a pass through output to allow you to add them to the JBL as reinforcement. So in conclusion - if your'e after a portable solution offering quality sound at a reasonable price then this offering from JBL is definitely worthy of your consideration!