JBL Pulse vs Pulse 2, Features Added and Cut

The JBL PULSE was heavily praised for its mesmerizing Muli-LED light show. Even though PULSE 1’s sound quality and battery life was rivalled by other devices at the time, its alluring LED display stole the hearts of many. It has such a great reputation, so what has JBL has done with the PULSE 2 to improve the original? Lets find out.

Design and Features

The PULSE 2 at first glance does not look that much different from PULSE 1. It is not until you put them side by side you will notice that they are different in many ways. PULSE 2 is slightly bigger both in terms of width and height, the controls have been placed along the speaker’s top rather than the side. There is a good reason for this.

The PULSE 2 now has passive radiators at both ends of the cylinder. The build quality of PULSE 2 is absolutely stunning, and that is really saying something because PULSE 1’s quality is not bad to begin with. The mesh surrounding PULSE 2 is finer with smaller holes which makes it feel smoother. This makes the PULSE 2 splashproof meaning it can handle light rain and spills but cannot be submerged in water.

PULSE 2 comes packed with the new JBL Prism colour sensor lens. PULSE 1 used a colour selector dial to customise your LED display, but in PULSE 2 you can aim at a colour in the environment and shoot it to choose a colour. This is incredibly gimmicky and the novelty wears of very quickly. The colour selecting dial found in PULSE 1 worked just fine and there is no need for JBL’s prism lens flashy nonsense.

The last new feature is PULSE 2 ability to wirelessly pair multiple JBL speakers using JBL Connect technology. This gives you the option to amplify you music using any JBL speaker that features the Connect technology.

Usage

NFC is no longer present in PULSE 2 so you will have to go through the normal pairing process which is not difficult, it just feels like a downgrade. But once you are connected you will notice the incredible sound quality of PULSE 2. PULSE 2 completely annihilates the PULSE 1 with clearer and crisper sound, deeper sounding bass and higher maximum volume.

The LED display quality on PULSE 2 is more premium looking but that about it. It was very disappointing that JBL removed the responsive equaliser display on PULSE 2 which made the PULSE 1 great. PULSE 2 has several modes which animate the LED display differently but non of them are like the brilliant equaliser mode found in PULSE 1.

Another thing to note is that PULSE 2 is only designed to sit vertically whereas the original can be placed both horizontally and vertically. If you want to place PULSE 2 horizontally, you can turn the PULSE 2 upside down where all the controls will be covered.This is the only way you can put PULSE 2 horizontally without it rolling away. The only thing stopping it rolling the JBL prism lens cut out so there is no rigid support.

Verdict

JBL has added great features to PULSE 2 but also taken some away. PULSE 2’s sound quality, battery life has been vastly improved, and now is splash proof. However it is not a perfect speaker. JBL removed the responsive equaliser display which made the PULSE 1 great. Also NFC is removed in PULSE 2 but instead JBL added a pointless colour sensor. PULSE 2 is only designed to sit vertically where as the original could be placed both horizontally and vertically.

JBL PULSE vs PULSE 2 Specification