I want to start this off by saying that the Encore 2 is on a good early Black Friday deal at Sam's Club in the US for 199$. This is the "full" encore 2 with two wireless microphones.

I say this because I was not at all planning on buying it after picking up the original Encore Essential for 159$ over the summer. I thought this was a good deal compared to the essential 2 coming in at 329$. The above sale made me curious enough to pick up the new model.

QoL features are the main updates here - I'll try to highlight some main differences here:

1. The Encore 2 has a removable battery. This is replaceable with OEM replacements around 60-75 US dollars. Pretty steep, but I really like replaceable batteries for the sake of being more environmentally friendly. There is no reason a bluetooth speaker cannot last 10 years, so being able to swap the battery down the line is a great thing.

2. All new drivers - the tweeters are now silk dome vs paper cone. The main 5.25 inch driver is also new with a different texture and features an inverted dust cap. The original essential has a slightly different 5.25 inch driver with a traditional dust cap. The surrounds appear rubber on both units with similar thickness.

3. The shape is different - the essential is more of a box and is quite a bit deeper than the essential 2. The essential 2 is a little wider. It seems the overall volume of box it similar. The encore 2 is easier to fit on a shelf or shallower surface. It also has a slight upward tilt. I think they are assuming it will be placed on counters and nightstands where people tend to be higher than the speaker itself.

4. Wireless Mics - the encore essential did not have any wireless mics. The Encore 2 from Sams comes with two wireless mics which did not need to be paired. They have a single button which turns the mic on and it pairs almost instantly. These are integrated very well and sound very good for speech. The unit has volume and echo knobs on the top. This makes it easy to make adjustments. The LED ring glows bright white to let you know the mic has connected.

5. More polished app interface - there are more in app EQ adjustments in the encore 2. I mostly ran both units on the "default" EQ (JBL signature on the encore 2) with deep bass enabled in the bass boost setting. The encore 2 can be powered on from the app if it is plugged in. It has a "sleep" mode where the led light will remain lit dimly and the app can be used to power the unit on.

6. Sound Quality - I will start this off by saying that these both sound very good. More than that, they both sound very similar. I don't think anyone will be disappointed by either speaker and I do not think the differences are very large. For instance, you would not easily be able to tell them apart if blinded or if listening to them in different locations. With that said, I do prefer the sound of the encore 2 over the essential. The tweeters seem to sound a little smoother without becoming harsh. I felt that the drivers in the original essential have a tendency to sound a little harsh and lose some of the sparkle of more conventional tweeter designs/materials. There are two of them on both models, but it feels like the off axis response on the new unit is a little more consistent. This has been corrected this go around, but again the differences are small. Both claim 100 watts RMS of power.

7. LEDS are nicer - I do not have too much more to say about this. The light show is better on the encore 2. The LED ring still works to show you update status and volume level. Very similar, just a little better than the outgoing model. There is not a knob on the unit to adjust light settings on the unit. I do not think I will use this much, but it is easier than repeatedly pressing the LED light button to cycle through all the modes.

8. Things I would need to look at further - off AC performance. The encore essential has a noticeable drop off in bass performance on battery vs AC. Also battery life on the encore essential is good but not great. I know the battery life is about double compared to the essential, so that played a role in the decision.

Overall, I am pretty happy with the speaker as far as first impressions go. I think it offers a nice upgrade with regard to listening ability. Biggest benefit has to be the improved battery life and replaceable battery. It's a better home speaker with a smoother sound signature and more QoL features. If those things matter to you, then it may be worth it to upgrade. I do not think there is enough change to upgrade for sound quality differences. Hopefully this helps someone!