GOOD LOOKS BUT NO SMARTS

I'm not really a party speaker kind of guy.

To be honest, I'm not sure I'm a party kind of guy.

Bright lights. Thumping bass. Drinking. Actually, I don't mind the drinking.

The point is, I've never been a fan of flashing lights and silly noises. I love music but I can't see how adding a sensory assault to the process actually enhances it.

However, somewhere in my youth, way, way back... I do remember owning a lava lamp and thinking it was pretty cool. And if I'm going to be perfectly honest, I was probably playing music a lot of the time too.

The point is, I admit, lights and music can be a good combo...

It's been a while since I reviewed the original JBL Pulse - four generations ago to be precise. It's amazing how much has changed in the world of speaker technology since then.

Smart speakers are now all the rage and they come in many shapes and sizes. Often, people have several around the house and they've become an effective and economical way to set up a multi-zone sound system in your home.

The JBL Pulse 4 is not a smart speaker. It doesn't connect to your WiFi. It won't respond to your virtual assistant. It can't stream directly from your favourite online music service.

On the other hand, it's portable, it's waterproof and it looks completely crazy.

There's quite an obvious difference between this generation and its predecessors; no mesh-covered speaker compartment at the base. Instead, the sound from the downward firing woofer is dispersed from gaps in the undulating base design. This means not only does the Pulse 4 now offer a 360-degree light show, it's also uninterrupted from top to bottom.

I suppose there's a front and a back, although again, this is not particularly important, given the Pulse 4 fires out your music in every direction. The obligatory JBL badge is just above the base at the front, while the USB-C charging port and charging LED is to be found directly opposite at the rear. Unlike previous incarnations, there's no rubbery plug to protect the charging port from water. The speaker is still IPX7 waterproof, you'll just need to dry it properly before you charge it.

The location of the controls has also moved - you'll find these in three groups around the top bumper; power and bluetooth, volume and play/pause, light show and Partyboost. While most of those functions are pretty self-explanatory, the last two are more interesting. The Partyboost button lets you connect to another Pulse 4 to create a true-stereo sound system, or you can link to multiple speakers with the Partyboost function. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be backwards-compatible with older JBL speakers featuring the similar Connect+ option - I've tried it and it doesn't work. Something to bear in mind if you're looking to the Pulse 4 to expand your existing network of party speakers.

As for the light show, well that's really why we're here.

Sure the Pulse 4 sounds great - I don't think I've ever tried a JBL speaker that didn't impress me with how much sheer power and bass response it can thump out given its size and the Pulse 4 definitely stacks up. All the room-filling sound required to get a small party started or alternatively, you'll have no trouble hearing your playlist from the other side of the pool.

But there are many speakers out there that can deliver the same thing - or similar. Many of these have an auxiliary port so you can hardwire your source device too, whereas the Pulse 4 doesn't - bluetooth is your only option. Other speakers offer voice-assisted control too, via the virtual assistant on the phone or tablet connected to them. Not the Pulse 4.

But no other speaker looks quite like this. The multicoloured, 360-dgree LED display really is mesmerising and what's more, it's super customiseable. You can cycle through four preset light show patterns using the button on the speaker but the real fun begins once you open the JBL Connect app. From here you can change the colour of any of those patterns to whatever you like. You can even use your phone's camera to match the light show to the surrounding decor - perfect for a colour-themed party. There's also the option to create your own, custom light show, creating a repeating sequence from a selection of nine different patterns.

You can alter the overall brightness from the app too, either to better suit the mood or just save a bit of battery.

All these patterns pulse, move and shake more or less in response to the music playing from the speaker. If you have connected other Pulse 4's via Partyboost, you can sync light shows by giving the speakers a shake - although I was unable to try this feature as I only had one device to play around with.

JBL claims up to twelve hours play time on a full charge and while I haven't scientifically put this to the test, from my regular use of the speaker over a few weeks, it seems believable. It's not the longest playback of a speaker out there but a twelve-hour party seems plenty long enough to me. On the downside, it will take between three and four hours to fully charge, so best plan ahead if you're looking to dance all night long.

The clear outer casing certainly seems durable enough to take a few knocks although it does tend to attract fingerprints as there's not really anywhere else to grab the speaker by. Luckily, it's waterproof, so you can just wash it off.

The Pulse 4 is an interesting progression in this line of speakers because unusually, JBL has removed some features, rather than adding more. To be fair, features like voice-assistant integration and the auxiliary port were probably under-utilised in a device like this anyway and therefore unnecessary. The light show has always been the main event for the Pulse and fourth time round, JBL has definitely made it bigger and brighter than ever.


Click here for more information and pricing on the JBL Pulse 4 portable bluetooth speaker.