Customer Ratings & Reviews

GOOD Direct streaming for most music services Both Android Assistant and Amazon Alexa AirPlay compatible with iOS Excellent sound quality Has battery and handle for limited portable use BAD Expensive Lacks true subwoofer Only 3-band EQ adjustment No built-in DLNA/UPnP support for home media servers TL/DR This is a nice, albeit expensive, speaker for someone who primarily uses streaming services for their music enjoyment. Streaming directly to the speaker overcomes the limitations of Bluetooth bandwidth, and the speaker's solid construction and mix of drivers does a great job in replicating the audio. But it has limited compatibility with audio formats and home media servers, making it somewhat disappointing for home audio enthusiasts. IN DETAIL The JBL Authentics 300, apart from having a ridiculous product name ( really, JBL, why not call it the Authentic and leave off the S? ), seems to be in some kind of limbo between premium Bluetooth speaker and mid-range home audio speaker. Its size and hardware features ( multiple drivers, 5.25" woofer, 100W output, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi ) give the impression of a networked home audio speaker that's meant to connect to your home server and play lossless music. But the software side and connectivity is strictly focused on Spotify, Tidal, and music streaming services, not the home server audiophile. Audio on the A300 is quite good with its twin tweeters and large woofer. Very crisp, very clean. It can also get quite loud without distorting. If you need something for the neighborhood BBQ or family reunion at the park, the JBL 300 has more than enough power to cover the open spaces, even running on battery. However, the radiator on the bottom is no replacement for a dedicated sub. With most rock, pop, and other current music, it's not a big deal. But in orchestral music or symphonic movie scores, the lack of impact on the low-end is very noticeable. A passive radiator simply can't give that physical punch an active sub can for things like timpani drums. Audio profile tuning is limited at best. The speaker has treble and bass dials on the top and the companion phone/tablet app has a 3-band EQ and nothing else. Perhaps JBL thought a more customizable EQ was redundant since there's already an auto-tuning feature ( every time the speaker powers on, it's supposed to auto calibrate the audio for the room its in ). I think leaving the EQ at its default curve already sounds great, but I know others will be frustrated they can't tweak it to their liking. The mobile app is also where you configure the speaker to directly link to services like Spotify, Tidal, Amazon Music, and others and you can set up Google Assistant for Chromecast and Amazon Alexa. You can also control speaker playback from multiple devices, not just the the one that started it. So if you used your phone to start playing music ( even if it's playing music from the phone over Bluetooth ), you can launch the JBL app on another device and go to the next track, change speaker volume, etc. Unfortunately the speaker isn't designed to connect directly to home media servers or similar. There's nothing in the JBL app to connect to Plex, no support for DLNA, UPnP, iTunes servers, or anything like that. You can workaround this with Chromecast to a degree, but it leaves a lot to be desired. When playing music from my home Plex server through Chromecast on my desktop PC, the Opus files have occasional stuttering and the FLAC files won't play at all ( the manual doesn't specify which audio codecs or formats the speaker supports directly ). The A300 has limited AirPlay support in that you can AirPlay from iOS devices but not from desktop iTunes ( at least not the current Windows version ). I also had no playback problems at all when using AirPlay from an iPad Pro regardless of audio codec, whether FLAC and Opus from my Plex server or 24/96 ALAC music stored locally on the iPad. The iPad got quite warm during those tests, so it was probably transcoding the audio before sending it to the speaker. Perhaps the oddest feature on the A300 is the integrated battery. While the smaller and easier to carry Authentics 200 doesn't have a battery, JBL put one in this larger model. Weird. JBL claims the battery lasts "up to 8 hours," though you shouldn't expect much more than 6 hours at normal listening volume. At best you could describe the A300 as semi-portable due to its size, weight, and the fact it isn't water or weatherproof. It's fine to bring in your back yard for some music on the patio, but it's certainly not something you want to take camping. All told, at the current $450 MSRP, I'd call it a little too pricey for what you get. The problem isn't in the sound quality, as that's fantastic. But it's not markedly better than smart speakers from Bose and Sonos with very similar features around the $300 mark.

Definitely worth the $! Great speaker, would recomment!

The sound was not is good is I thought but decent.

Intro: If you’re in a hurry and just want a quick takeaway, then here it is…I’m very, very impressed with this JBL Authentics 300 Smart Home Speaker and I can highly recommend it to others. In our home, it immediately moved up to the top as my new favorite speaker out of the more than a half dozen portable speakers I own! If you buy one, you WILL NOT be disappointed! It’s not cheap, but most certainly worth it in your pursuit of great sound. Even better if you can catch it on sale at Best Buy. Setup: The JBL Authentics 300 speaker setup was a cakewalk. First, I topped off the speaker’s battery, then I installed the JBL One app on my Android smartphone, which configured easily. I connected to the speaker that way first and then streamed some music using Amazon “Alexa”, which I had never done before. It went very well. Then I tried streaming via Bluetooth which also connected flawlessly to my Android smartphone, and I streamed more music on YouTube using the voice control “Hey Google” feature. Looks: I asked my wife what she likes most about our new speaker and without hesitation she said, “It’s beautiful. It looks so retro. I love it!” She also said, "It sounds great.” She is the one with the fashion sense in our household. We think the product design team at JBL that designed this speaker has earned themselves a huge bonus. Hopefully, they got it. From the sculpted, black, raised-grid cover fronting as a speaker grille and the black, pebble-grained, faux leather wrap around the speaker body to the metal trim on the front, this speaker screams, "Look at me!” It really is beautiful and in a nostalgic, retro-style. The JBL Authentics 300 Smart Home Speaker will be at home anywhere and looks good in any setting. If “heft” is your measure for deciding whether a speaker is quality or not, then rest assured this speaker has heft. It weighs right at 11 pounds, 10.8 pounds according to the specifications. Using the secure, drop-down handle, you’ll know you latched onto quality the first time you pick it up. Sound Quality: OMG!!!!!!! This speaker is so impressive. Right now, it’s behind me sitting on a heavy wooden table in my home office and I can feel the vibrations from Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary” coming through my feet! I’m not kidding, this, less than half cubic foot speaker, is vibrating the maple hardwood floor in my office! I’m probably going to hear about it when my wife comes up for dinner from her art studio beneath me in the finished basement. Between adjusting the Treble and Bass knobs and using the Equalizer in the JBL One app, you have infinite control over mixing the sound from your JBL speaker. The speaker has thundering bass and crystal-clear highs. This JBL Authentics 300 speaker is a pleasure to listen to and a lot of fun to use especially because of the following features. Features: The most tech-worthy features are the adjustable outer rings of the Volume, Treble, and Bass knobs and their gain LEDs beneath the outer rings. When you turn one of those three knobs, the center of the knob remains stationary while the entire outer ring of the knob rotates smoothly around the center. As you raise and lower the Volume, Treble, or Bass, a circular ring of white light beneath the knob increases or decreases. I’m not sure how to describe it, but that’s the general idea. Also, the outer ring on those three knobs has no beginning and no end. There are no low or high stops, and you can turn the rings forever in either direction. I don’t know their proper name, but I can think of no better term for them than calling them “Infinity Knobs”. Anyway, they are very interesting knobs. Never seen anything like them before. As far as the life of a battery charge goes, the JBL Authentics 300 speaker will stream your music for at least the 8 hours stated in the specs. Mine went 8 hours and 25 minutes after starting with a 100% fully charged battery. That was remarkable. I was very pleased with the battery charge life. Not often do you buy something that actually exceeds the specifications. Recommendation: As I mentioned in the beginning of this review, this JBL Authentics 300 Smart Home Speaker made an astounding impression on me, and I can recommend it to friends, family, and you without any reservations whatsoever. I quite literally have nothing negative to say about this speaker. I can’t even come up with a suggestion for something to be improved. That’s why it’s my new favorite speaker!

For the money it’s not loud enough when it isn’t plugged in.

I love this speaker!! So lets start off with that i own MANY portable speakers. Small to large and all in between. But this one is a little bit different. Yes it has a battery for moving around. But its not a "Party" speaker for me. Its my daily music in my office. This speaker has such great ambiance. Its subtle in its approach. Refined in its appearance. Its ability to just blend in with its surroundings is awesome. I was a little surprised with the bass and treble dials - and thought this was difference but I wasn't sure about them. But they really are a great asset to this speaker. Let me explain. This speaker isn't just for LOUD. It is a internet streaming device and as such the quality can vary from service to service and even station to station and device to device. That is where this comes into play. You can quickly and efficiently adjust this to your liking. Once setup, this speaker shines in its ability to play with great clarity and project at LOW volumes. Like I stated, I play this in my office mostly as background. It can be hard to locate the origin source and the speaker blends into the decor nicely. It can play loud if you desire and it will shine there as well. As for performance, the radiator sub envelopes and carries low frequency well without vibrations. and the main speaker is nice and clean for mids and highs. Great Speaker for every day use that has a nice and pleasing appearance with some portability.

The JBL Authentics 300 is a beautifully designed speaker, that both looks and feels premium. The JBL 300 has an elegant looking gold metal handle that’s wrapped in black pleather. The leather-like material is also wrapped around all sides of the speaker. The front of the speaker has the same gold colored metal around the grill. On top of the speaker there are 3 different knobs for manually controlling the volume, bass and treble. There is also a favorites button and a play button that can act as a multi function button depending the number pushes. The back of the speaker has an ethernet port, an AUX port and a USB-C port. There is also a switch that lets you turn off the voice activated features. The JBL 300 is a smart speaker that connects to the internet either wirelessly, or with an ethernet cable. There is also built in bluetooth in case you’re at a place with no internet. The speaker does have Chromecast built-in, Alexa and is Airplay compatible. It comes with a standard power cord which is used to charge the speaker. it takes about 2.5hrs to fully charge the speaker, and the battery will last about 8hrs on a full charge, that is depending on how you’re using the speaker. The speaker is set up by using the free JBL One app. The app is where you connect it to the internet, set certain options, enable google, alexa and connect other music streaming services. You can also set up custom equalizers for your own listening experience. The app is very easy to use and has just enough features that it doesn’t overload you with information. The first time I turned it on and listened to the JBL 300, it sounded great. The speaker offered exceptional bass quality and there was a good difference between highs and lows. I brought the speaker into another room and noticed that is sounded a little muddy. After a few minutes the sound quality started to improve, this was due to the speakers’ self tuning feature that automatically activates every time you turn it on. It’s designed to optimize and calibrate the sound depending on your listening environment. This is great concept, but I don’t like that it does this every time you turn it on. It would be much better if they gave you the option to push a button to active the calibration. I tried testing this out in many different rooms and open areas to see how well it works, but I was never able to get consistent results. Overall, I really like the JBL 300. The design is very elegant and the build quality is superb. The ability to connect the speaker to both WiFi and bluetooth is incredible. The sound quality is decent, it offers rich deep bass and very clear vocals…That is if the calibration software works properly. The self tuning feature is both very innovative and irritating, especially when you don’t get the optimal sound you’re expecting. Unfortunately, there is no way to turn this feature off at the moment. I don’t want to have to worry about achieving the sound level that I want every time I turn it on, I just want to turn on the speaker and enjoy the music. Aside from that, this is a quality speaker and I would recommend it.

This JBL Authentics 300 is one cool retro looking portable speaker. The sound is amazing and the features are on point, from Wifi to Bluetooth to Assistant enabled apps, this Home speaker packs a huge punch for what a portable speaker should contain! Weighing in a little heavy at almost 11 pounds, makes you appreciate the solid build this unit is, with a great retro look w/leather like touches all over. I love the look of this unit! AirPlay, Alexa, Chromecast, Spotify Connect are some of the best additional features of this speaker. Pros: Voice Assistant (Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa) Features Bluetooth 5.3, wi/fi 6 certified, and ethernet corded type connections. - an Aux 3.5mm line in - also the US version, supports mp3 playback on the USB C port Automatic self tuning sound. Boasts an amazing 8 hours of battery life from a 3 1/2 hour charge. (3.6V, 4800mAh lithium battery) Supported Music Services (Amazon Music, Calm Radio, Napster, Qobuz, TIDAL, TuneIn & iHeartRadio) Quite loud for a 100 Watt Speaker system, with clean sound. - 2x 25mm tweeters + 1 5.25" woofer built in The JBL One phone app lets you take control of the device even further -WiFi Streaming (Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect & AirPlay) -Ability to control your bass and treble as well as setup and control an equalizer for the best sound possible -Connect and send all your audio to the speaker from your phone -Check battery status, wifi strength -Update/Upgrade the devices software/firmware -Set power features (Auto Off timing) All in all this is one heck of a portable speaker 'system' by JBL, for me it hits the nail on everything I have wanted a portable speaker to have [great sound, loads of features and portability]. It's like a futuristic boombox! If you are a fan of JBL products, I would highly recommend checking this speaker out, you will not be disappointed.

This has the Harmon Kardon sound signature inbedded in it and I can tell. The JBL branding is there and I could see it's signature styling as well. The combo is a winner in my book and that translates well in the sound department too! I have other external speakers and as for portability, this is ranks top, but for sound it just doesn't reach perfection for me, just yet. I am not sure if a software or firmware update will improve it, but for now, it's a very good portable speaker. This can use both Alexa and Google assistants at the same time, which is cool on it's own. The overall look and finish is pretty high quality except for the top buttons, which doesn't match the design feel of the rest of the speaker at all in my opinion, but that is a minor gripe. This is a speaker that is primarily to be used as a wifi streaming speaker, however, you can connect your devices via bluetooth and stream that way as well. The battery is supposed to last about 8 hours, but I think it is a bit less depending on how loud and what type of media is. I have to say, if you are playing something on the speaker, you can tweak the base and tremble to how you want it to sound on the fly. Normally I would use the app, which is a weak point of this speaker, in my opnion. Yes it has a EQ, but it's pretty bland and I prefer using the bass and tremble knobs on the speaker to further fine tune to my personal preference, but also depending on the type of music I am playing. The handle is one of the main reasons for me choosing this over the larger brother. I wanted the portablity in this instance. I am sure I will use it because it just looks cool, but I have other speakers that sound a bit better, but I am not saying this is a bad speaker or even weak. I have a specific profile I like to hear and off the bat I have to really tune in what I want, and when I did, it is almost there, but not fully, if that makes any sense. Most people wouldn't care, and most of the time, I probably will not either because this will most likely be used as a background music playing like at a holiday or birthday or private gathering, which I think this is meant for.

Before I go in-depth here, I just want to start by saying this thing has amazing sound!! The JBL Authentics 300 Smart Home Speaker is a great choice for anyone looking for a stylish and affordable smart speaker. It has a retro design that will look great in any home, and it produces excellent sound quality. The Authentics 300 is easy to set up and use. Simply connect it to your Wi-Fi network and download the JBL One app. Once the app is installed, you can use it to control the speaker, stream music, and access other features. The Authentics 300 supports a variety of music streaming services, including Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, and Pandora. You can also use the speaker to listen to podcasts and audiobooks. In addition to music streaming, the Authentics 300 can also be used to control your smart home devices. It is compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, so you can use your voice to control your lights, thermostat, and other smart devices. If you're in the market for a nicer than your average smart home speaker, please consider giving this one a try. After putting it to the test, I don't see how anyone could be disappointed with this purchase.

Sound quality is good, however the linking with other speakers on alexa has been a challenge!

The JBL Authentics 300 Bluetooth/Wifi speaker is an interesting new choice in the area of portable audio devices. The design is a nice retro style, and the build quality is very good. The speaker is solidly built and quite hefty. I have not noticed any distortion of the sound or loose construction at all. I really like the gold trimmed accents this speaker has. As for sound quality I find the 300 a fine sounding speaker. It is loud enough to easily fill my entire apartment with sound, and the bass response is very good, without being too overwhelming of the other frequencies. The treble is crisp, but not harsh or annoying. It does play at a higher volume when plugged in to AC power, and I also noticed that the volume was somewhat reduced when the internal battery went below the 40% level. I noticed a difference in sound in Bluetooth versus WiFi modes, which is to be expected. Not that Bluetooth mode sounds bad by any means, but I noticed some increased stereo separation and sound clarity when steaming in WiFi. The differences are noticeable. The one area I find lacking is the JBL One app that is used to control the Authentics 300. The app worked flawlessly with my iPad, but with my android phone, I could not get the speaker to connect via WiFi after many attempts. The app has since been updated, and now works with my phone. The 3 band equalizer could use some refining with more bands, but at least we have something to work with. Overall the JBL Authentics 300 is a fine choice for its retro styling and great sound.

The Authentics 300 Smart Home Speaker has a very handsome retro look. The unit has a very solid hefty feel to it. The build quality is outstanding, and the materials feel high quality. Lots of attention to detail from textured rugged cloth speaker grill down to the stitching on the handle cover. The setup was rather easy after realizing I had to turn on power after plugging in. The quick start guide directs you to download the JBL One app for setup. Connected to my home Wi-Fi in a few easy steps on the app. There is a musical tone played when turning the unit on or off. My first thought was that it would be annoying, but I later decided that it was handy when turning the unit on to know when it was fully online and ready for use. The controls are smooth and have high quality tactile feel with perfect amount of resistance. I am not a fan of the overloaded play button (2 clicks for track skip and 3 for reverse). In my opinion they could have done without the Moment (favorite) button in lieu of actual forward reverse buttons. The battery indicator light gives you a visual indicator of level but unfortunately it is only shown at startup, shutdown, or when a control is pressed except when level is less than 10% when it is always on red. You can, however, check the level anytime from the app. I was able to run the speaker all day on a single charge and can vouch for 8+ hours or run-time. The unit will also go into standby and then automatically power down if there is no activity after a certain time when on battery. There are many different options for streaming music to the device along with a physical 3.5 mm input jack for external sources. I tested several streaming services from my Apple device and the 300 will show up as directly as a network device or via the Airplay connection. I also streamed DLNA from my Windows PC using my music library management software. You can also stream directly to the unit without a mobile device (powers the Moment button) from a few different music services configured via the App. Surprisingly, Spotify is not on the list. The EQ in the App has Low, Mid, and High tone controls. You can control Low (Bass) and High (Treble) via knobs on the unit but only Mid from the app. When you adjust on the unit the EQ in the app also adjusts accordingly. My only real concern, and it might be unfounded, would be that the bottom speaker is exposed. Granted there are feet that keep it ¾” off the ground and the speaker itself seems to be rubberized and sturdy I still have a fear of plopping it down somewhere and have something poke up into the speaker. Since this is intended to be a portable unit some sort of grill would have seemed to have been in order.

I must say I am impressed with this speaker. It is not the loudest I have heard but it’s pretty loud and decent bass and clear even if turned up. A lot of speakers I have used start to get distorted when turned up. I like that this had Bluetooth and auxiliary. Wife likes to connect the Xbox to it. Overall great sound quality, battery last a good amount of time and love the look. Why 4 stars though. They put all the button functions just on the volume knob. So you have to press once to stop/play twice to go to next song or 3 times to start over. I would have liked to seen a button on the bass and treble control as well and then just press once on the button to do what you want. Would also liked to have seen an auxiliary cord supplied and maybe even a car charger cord and a bag to store it all in. Those last things are not that big a deal but would have been a nice touch. But overall loving how this looks. Like that it has a different style look to it than most speakers that are out there. Again, the sound is great. Has bass but it does not overpower and does not distort the sound when it’s up. If you’re looking for a great sounding speaker that you can take with you or even just to use in the house, this one is for you.

The JBL Authentics 300 is a nice size, retro looking bluetooth speaker. Including power cable, and ability to charge other devices with its 10mA battery pack. The speaker has that retro look which is acceptable, if not a bit bland. But it does its job rather well. Of course, there is an app which connect the speaker to your phone and provides more wireless controls on top of the basic physical ones. I like the feel and operation of the physical buttons, but wish it had a mid range control as I listen to a lot of vocals. Having said that the sound is very clean and natural. The bass is not overwhelming, and high volumes are not required for clean listening. The grill is foam which I hope will last a long while. The unit can charge/power other devices, and after use, the battery seems very robust in that it lasts awhile and should give you many hours of play on a single charge. The handle is firm, and the unit does not seem exceptionally heavy, but its no lightweight! I have many occasions to use a Bluetooth speaker, be it for background music, or at family friends events. This is a big improvement!

True both AUDIOPHILE AND BASS HEAD HERE!! This speaker dose everything for me except for the super punch that will come from only the JBL BoomBox 3 Wi-Fi and boombox series but if u want serious bass with nice bunch and deep deep lows then you need to spend $600 on the JBL BOOMBOX 3 Wi-Fi then spend another $500 on the JBL authentics 300 and you’ll be good to go. My only big gripe is its ONLY A 100 watts just like the JBL EXTREME 4 that’s more then a hundred cheaper only it dosent pair with the newest big JBL speakers and is not loud enough to hear in unison with the JBL Boombox 3 Wi-Fi. Mind you!!! This is a LOT OF SOUND AND BASS we are talking headache leaves BUT ITS ALL PORTABLE. Also keep in mind if you used this same budget for a home system it would absolutely destroy this setup in bass and sound. I just wanted huge sound and bass in portability. But if you spend $1.1k for a home entertainment system you’d not even be able to hear these two PERFECT JBL’s paired in unison at max volume. Though this is VERY IMPORTANT TO MENTION you’d sure still FEEL THE BASS FROM THESE TWO I MENTIONED even over your plug in $1.1k home system that’s not portable!!

This speaker is the perfect size and uses the surface it sits on to generate bass. The look is very retro and I’ve gotten so many compliments! My husband bought it for me office because of the black and gold features but we have found ourselves taking it everywhere!! 10/10 and even thinking about buying the bigger version!

Connects very easy using bluetooth, sounds good too